How to Avoid Nominalization in Academic Writing

Scan your draft for words ending in -tion, -ment, -ance, -ence, -ity, or -ness. These suffixes often indicate that a perfectly good verb has been frozen into a noun. In academic writing, these 'zombie nouns' often cluster around weak verbs like 'is,' 'are,' 'has,' or 'conducted.' For example, instead of saying 'The researchers conducted an investigation,' look for the noun 'investigation.' When you find these clusters, you have found a nominalization that is likely sucking the energy out of your sentence.

Once you locate a nominalized noun, strip away the suffix to find the root verb. If your noun is 'interference,' the root verb is 'interfere.' If the noun is 'utilization,' the verb is 'utilize.' This root verb represents the actual action taking place in the sentence. By isolating this verb, you prepare yourself to move from a static description of an event to an active narration of it. Identifying the hidden verb is the most critical step in shortening your sentences and improving flow.

Nominalization often hides the 'doer' of the action. Ask yourself: Who or what is performing the hidden verb? In the phrase 'The implementation of the policy was successful,' the actor (the government or the school) is missing entirely. To fix this, you must explicitly name the subject. Identifying the actor forces you to be more specific in your claims, which is a hallmark of high-quality academic writing. If the actor isn't in the sentence, you may need to look at the surrounding context to find it.

Place the actor at the beginning of the sentence and follow it immediately with your newly recovered verb. This creates a standard Subject-Verb-Object pattern. Instead of 'A discussion was held by the committee,' write 'The committee discussed.' This structure is naturally more concise and easier for readers to follow. It eliminates the need for extra prepositions like 'of' or 'by,' which frequently clutter nominalized sentences. Aim for a direct path from the subject to the action.