ACADEMIC WRITING RESOURCE
Nominalization: Turning Actions into High-Level Concepts
Nominalization is a linguistic “power move.” It is the process of turning verbs (actions) or adjectives (descriptions) into nouns (concepts).
While Resource #7 warned against using nominalization to create “bloat,” when used correctly, it is the primary tool that separates undergraduate writing from professional scholarship. It allows you to move from talking about people doing things to talking about abstract ideas and their relationships.
The "Active-to-Abstract" Scale
Observe how the tone of a sentence shifts as we move toward nominalization:
Level 1 (Casual)
"The government collected taxes and it helped the economy grow." (Verb-heavy, conversational).
Level 2 (Academic)
When the government collects taxes, economic growth is improved." (Stronger, but still focuses on the act).
Level 3 (Scholar/PhD)
"The collection of taxes serves as a primary catalyst for economic expansion." (Fully nominalized, conceptual, and authoritative).
Why Academics Love Nominalization
A. It Increases “Conceptual Density”
As we discussed in the Clarity Equation, your goal is to pack as much meaning as possible into as few words as possible. Nominalization allows you to “package” an entire process into a single word.
Instead of saying “When people move from the countryside to the city…” (8 words), you say “Urbanization…” (1 word).
B. It Creates Objective Distance
By turning an action into a noun, you remove the “actor” from the sentence. This helps you achieve the Scholarly Distance we covered in Resource #8.
Instead of: “Researchers analyzed the data.”
Try: “The analysis of the data revealed…”
C. It Allows for Better Linkages
Nouns are easier to “anchor” in a sentence than verbs. You can start a new sentence by referring back to a nominalized concept from the previous one.
Example: “…The central bank raised interest rates. This adjustment triggered a shift in…”
The Transformation Table
- To Analyze → Analysis
- To Evaluate → Evaluation
- To Implement → Implementation
- To Deviate → Deviation
- To Resonate → Resonance
- To Intervene → Intervention
The "Golden Rule": Avoid the Nominalization Trap
There is a dangerous side to this tool. If you nominalize every verb, your writing becomes “stagnant.” Sentences become heavy, hard to read, and boring.
The KM Strategy:
Nominalize when you want to talk about a concept or a theory.
Use Active Verbs (See Resource #6) when you want to describe a specific action or a clear result.
If your sentence has more than three words ending in -tion, -ment, or -ance, it is likely “over-nominalized.” Break it apart and give the sentence back its “heartbeat” with a strong verb.
Real-World Transformation
KM Success Transformation
“Increased investment in staff professional development directly correlates with enhanced employee performance and overall organizational success.”
Undergraduate Draft
“If a company invests more money into training its staff, the workers will perform much better and the company will succeed.”
Why the first version wins: It sounds like a professional report. It links three concepts (investment, performance, success) rather than just describing three things that happen
Are You Struggling to Sound "Scholar-Ready"?
Transitioning from “Action Writing” to “Concept Writing” is one of the hardest shifts for students to make. If your work feels too simple or “undergraduate,” a KM Academic Specialist can help. We provide Conceptual Density Audits, helping you identify where to nominalize for power and where to use active verbs for clarity.