Sometimes a sentence can be phrased in such a way that we don't know who performed the action. This is called a passive sentence. For example, "Expenses were covered for Matt’s trip to Japan." After reading that, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Who covered the expenses? Did the school or his parents pay for his trip, or did he receive a visit from the Secret Millionaire? Let your reader know. Rephrase the sentence by saying, "Matt's trip to Japan was paid for by his scholarship and the money that he earned working at Apple.”
Most of the time we want to write active sentences; however, there are exceptions. You may want to keep the reader in the dark. "Blood was discovered on the stairway." If you're writing a thriller, you don't want the reader to know who discovered that blood until later in your book or short story.
Be aware of sentence structure and strive for active sentences.
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