Nominalisation turns verbs or adjectives into nouns: decide becomes decision, fail becomes failure. Combined with the passive, it makes writing formal and impersonal: “The decision was made to close the library.”
This style suits reports and academic essays, but it can also hide responsibility. Compare “Mistakes were made” with “The council made mistakes.”
In analysis, notice when writers use passive and nominalised forms to sound objective or avoid blame. In your writing, use them deliberately, not by habit, because too many make prose heavy.
Worked example
Make more formal: “They decided to close the library.”
- Nominalise decided: decision.
- Use the passive: was made.
Answer:The decision was made to close the library.
Key words
- nominalisation
- turning a verb or adjective into a noun
- impersonal
- not referring to specific people
- responsibility
- who is accountable
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.9-10.3