passive vs. active in formal paper

[BobSmith]

1) In a formal paper, would you expect:

a) 4.5 minutes was dedicated to Diane Sawyer’s “Fire and Ice” story.

better stated as:

b) Diane Sawyer dedicated 4.5 minutes to the “Fire and Ice” story.

2) Is the a) version “passive” whereas the b) version “active”?

3) Is it ok to use "4.5"? Should it instead be “four minutes and thirty seconds”?

I remember reading a rule that was something like, “every number 10 and under can be writing as Arabic numbers, everything over should be written out.” But I can’t remember the rule now, and I don’t know how it applies to decimals.

Thanks!

[SlickVic9000]

(Not a Teacher)

1) Well, the active sentence specifies who's dedicating four and a half minutes to "Fire and Ice". If that's pertinent information to your topic, then I'd definitely include it.


2) The first one is passive and the second is active, as you have already said.


3) I'd say that's up to your professor. Just ask him if he has time. Unless he's already stated that he wants your paper in a particular style, such as MLA.

[BobSmith]

I went with

Four minutes and thirty seconds were dedicated to “Fire and Ice”.

Thanks!