Nominalisation is one of our pet hates. It’s also one of the commonest ways in which writing falls down – which is why we bang on about it so much.
 
Nominalisation means turning a verb into a noun. So instead of using a construction with ‘to terminate’, you use ‘the termination of’; instead of ‘to discuss’, you use ‘discussion’; instead of ‘to negotiate’, you get ‘the negotiation of’, or instead of ‘to implement’, you end up with ‘the implementation of’.
 
e.g.

  1. We proceeded to the implementation of the project.
  2. We had a discussion about the proposals
  3. We worked with stakeholders on the negotiation of the new contract.

The problem with nominalisation is that is removes the action from the sentence (verbs, after all, are doing words) and replaces it with something static (a noun), which makes for writing that risks being bland, vague and dull.
 
So try and hold on to your verbs:

  1. We implemented the project.
  2. We discussed the proposals.
  3. We worked with stakeholders to negotiate a new contract.

It makes for livelier, more engaging and more ‘human’  writing.

Leave a Reply