The rapid growth of…: nominalisation in academic and professional writing
Turn verbs and adjectives into nouns to write concisely and formally
What you'll be able to do
Write reports, essays and proposals in a concise, formal style, and read academic and professional texts more easily.
The idea
Nominalisation turns actions and qualities into nouns. Formal English uses it to pack information into fewer words and put the focus on ideas rather than people.
| Verb / adjective style | Noun style |
|---|---|
| The company grew rapidly. | The rapid growth of the company… |
| Because prices increased, … | Because of the increase in prices, … |
| We decided to close the branch. | The decision to close the branch… |
| The team was not available, so… | The team's unavailability… |
- The introduction of the new policy caused confusion.noun style
- The government introduced a new policy, which confused people.verb style
- There has been a significant improvement in results.noun style
- The rapid growth of the city has created new problems.growth as a noun
Common noun endings
-tion / -sion (decide → decision), -ment (improve → improvement), -ance / -ence (perform → performance), -ity (available → availability), -al (approve → approval), -ure (fail → failure).
Balance
Too much nominalisation makes writing heavy and hard to read. Use it for key ideas, not every sentence.
Common mistakes
The decide to close…→ The decision to close…an improve in results→ an improvement in resultsThe fail of the project→ The failure of the project
Practice
- The rapid _____ of the city has created a housing shortage.Options: growth · grow · grown
Show the answer
growth — Grow → growth.
- The _____ to close the branch was announced on Monday.Options: decision · decide · decisive
Show the answer
decision — Decide → decision.
- There has been a significant _____ in exam results this year.Options: improvement · improve · improving
Show the answer
improvement — Improve → improvement.
- Which sentence uses nominalisation?Options: The introduction of the new rules caused confusion. · They introduced new rules and people were confused. · People were confused because they introduced rules.
Show the answer
The introduction of the new rules caused confusion. — Introduce → introduction: the action becomes a noun.
- The _____ (fail) of the project was blamed on poor planning.
Show the answer
failure — Fail → failure.
More on this topic: Formal, professional and academic English