Nominalisation is the process of expressing the main information in a clause as a noun phrase instead of a verb. This is commonly used in formal written English to make the language less personal and more authoritative. Here’s more information about nominalisation:
1. Nominalisation in Written English vs. Spoken English
- In spoken English, events are usually expressed using verbs.
- “My foot began to go red and swell up.”
- In formal written English, events are often changed into nouns or noun phrases.
- “Following a bee sting, the normal reaction is redness, irritation, and itching.”
2. Reasons for Using Nominalisation: Making Texts Impersonal and Authoritative:
- Nominalisation reduces the use of personal pronouns (I, you, he) and makes the text sound more authoritative and impersonal.
- Example: “Following a bee sting, the normal reaction is burning pain, redness, irritation, and itching.”
Adding Information:
- Nominalisation is useful in Academic Writing Task 1 because it allows you to add information to nouns concisely.
- You can use it to count, describe, and classify objects or concepts.
- Example: “the two coloured bar charts”
Avoiding Repetition:
- Nominalisation helps avoid repetition when referring back to a previously mentioned idea.
- Example: “The number of unemployed increased by 5% last month. The reason for this increase is still unclear.”
Paraphrasing:
- Nominalisation is useful for paraphrasing information. Different words can be used in the text and the questions in IELTS Listening and Reading tests.
- Example: Listening text: “Then I began to find it difficult to breathe and kept coughing.”
- Question: “Which TWO of the following symptoms did Julie experience? A) breathing problems, C) a cough”
In summary, nominalisation is a technique commonly used in formal writing to express information in a less personal and more authoritative manner. It allows for the addition of information to nouns concisely and aids in avoiding repetition and paraphrasing.