With active voice, the subject does the action. Look at these sentence examples and notice the subject doing something:
Bob built a sandcastle. Bob is the subject. He builds.
Mary found a seashell. Mary is the subject. She finds.
The ocean waves flattened the sand. The ocean is the subject. It flattens.
With passive voice, the action happens to the subject. Notice how the subject in each of these sentences passively receives the action:
The sandcastle was built by John. The sandcastle did nothing. It was passive.
The seashell was found by Mary. The seashell did nothing. It was passive.
The sand was flattened by the ocean. The sand did nothing. It was passive.
In writing, active voice is much stronger than passive voice. Try to make your sentence subjects do the action.
▶It’s your turn. rewrite this passive voice sentence so that it shows active voice: The leaves were raked by Jim. Jim_____________. Did you figure it out? Good for you!