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HANDOUT

(The Academic Writing Style)

1. Nominalisation

In academic writing, nouns are often used to replace verbs. This is called nominalisation.

How does nominalisation make the style formal?

Nominalisation makes the style formal because it makes the writing impersonal. Compare the
following sentences.

A. I go to the movies every week.

B. Going to the movies is a weekly habit.

In A, the verb (go) has a personal pronoun (I). The focus is on the person, so the sentence
is personal. The style is therefore informal.

In B, the verb (go) has changed to the noun (going). This is an example of nominalisation.
Now, the focus is on the idea (going to the movies) rather than on the person doing the action.
The sentence is impersonal and therefore formal.

Let’s look at some more examples of nominalisation

Compare Paragraph A and Paragraph B from an essay about the advantages and disadvantages
of young children watching TV. You will see that Paragraph A and Paragraph B have the same
meaning, but Paragraph B is more formal.

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Paragraph A

The first advantage is that young children can learn many Repeats the pronoun
things when they watch TV. They learn about the alphabet ‘they’ + verb. This makes
and numbers from programs made especially for children. the focus of the essay ‘the
They also learn many facts about animals and the children’, not the idea of
environment from the many nature programs that the the ‘advantages’.
television stations broadcast. They learn to appreciate the
environment. In addition, they see how different TV
presenters act with each other and therefore they can learn
how to copy this behaviour. As a result, the children learn
to feel good about themselves and to feel confident.

Paragraph B

The first advantage is that watching TV can lead to the Use nominalisation to
acquisition of knowledge in young children. Literacy and make the style impersonal
numeracy skills are learnt from programs made especially and therefore more
for children. Factual information about animals and the academic. The focus is on
environment is broadcast on many different nature the advantages, which are
programs. Therefore, an appreciation of the environment is expressed by the nouns
developed. In addition, modelling the social interaction of
a variety of presenters on TV is encouraged and this can
lead to the development of good social skills. As a result,
self-esteem and confidence are gained.

How can I change verbs into nouns?

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There are three different ways to do this.

• Change the verb into its gerund form.

‘...when they watch TV’ ‘Watching TV...’.

• Change the verb into its noun form.

‘They learn to appreciate the environment...’ ‘appreciation of the

environment...’

• Change the verb into a different noun that has the same meaning but is more
academic.

‘They can learn many things...’ ‘The acquisition of knowledge...’.

2. Passive voice

How does the passive voice make the style formal?

The passive voice is used when the writer wants to take away the focus from the person or
thing doing the action. This makes the writing style impersonal and
therefore formal and academic. Look at the following sentences.

A. Active: I'll have to do a lot of work to finish the project.

B. Passive: A considerable amount of work needs to be done in order to

complete the project in the specified time.

In Sentence A, the subject is the person doing the action (I).

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In Sentence B, the subject is a noun group (a considerable amount of work). The person doing
the action is no longer the focus, so B is impersonal. This makes the sentence
more formal and academic.

Let’s look at more examples of how the passive voice makes the style impersonal and therefore
more academic.

Look again at Paragraphs A and B about the advantages of young children watching TV. Some
active verbs in Paragraph A are in bold. In Paragraph B, the verbs in the passive
are highlighted. Compare the bold and the highlighted words.

Paragraph A

The first advantage is that young children can learn many things while they are watching TV.
They learn about the alphabet and numbers from programs made especially for children. They
also learn many facts about animals and the environment from the many nature programs that
the television stations broadcast. They learn to care about the environment. In addition, they
see how different TV presenters act with each other and therefore they can learn how to copy
this behaviour. As a result, the children learn to feel good about themselves and to feel
confident.

Paragraph B

The first advantage is that watching TV can lead to the acquisition of knowledge in young
children. Literacy and numeracy skills are learnt from programs made especially for children.
Factual information about animals and the environment is broadcast on many different nature
programs. Therefore, an appreciation of the environment is developed. In addition, modelling
the social interaction of a variety of presenters on TV is learnt and this can lead to the
development of good social skills. As a result, self-esteem and confidence are gained.

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3. Academic vocabulary

Why does word choice influence the writing style?

You are writing for an educated reader. Therefore, you should use formal, academic
vocabulary. Do not use informal or colloquial vocabulary.

Compare the following informal and formal sentences. You can see that both sentences have
the same meaning but different word choices.

A. Informal: I go to the movies every week.

B. Formal: Going to the movies is a weekly habit.

A. Informal: I’m going to have to do heaps of work to finish the project on

time.

B. Formal: A considerable amount of work needs to be done in order

to complete the project at the specified time.

Let’s look at more examples of how word choice can make your writing formal and academic.

Look again at Paragraphs A and B about the advantages of young children watching TV.

Some words in Paragraph A are in bold. In Paragraph B a different, more academic words with
the same meaning are highlighted. Compare the bold with the highlighted words.

Paragraph A

The first advantage is that young children can learn many things when they watch TV. They
learn about the alphabet and numbers from programs made especially for children. They also

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learn many facts about animals and the environment from the many nature programs that the
television stations broadcast. They learn to care about the environment. In addition, they see
how different TV presenters act with each other and therefore they can learn how to copy this
behaviour. As a result, the children learn to feel good about themselves and to feel confident.

Paragraph B

The major benefit is that watching TV can lead to the acquisition of knowledge in young
children. Literacy and numeracy skills are developed from programs made especially for
children. Factual information about animals and the environment are broadcast on many
different nature programs. Therefore, an appreciation of the environment is developed. In
addition, modelling the social interaction of a variety of presenters on TV is encouraged and
this can lead to the development of good social skills. Consequently, self-esteem and
confidence are gained.

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Sample Argument essay

The majority of people today share more information than they used to due to the
internationalisation of the mass media. Some people believe this is closing the gap between
cultures and is bringing many benefits worldwide. I agree with this statement for the
following reasons.

One advantage of world-wide media is that films, plays, music and sports events can be
enjoyed and celebrated around the world. Many people believe that sharing these
aspects will create a global culture that brings people closer together.

Another advantage of world-wide media is that issues such as human rights abuses become
internationally recognised. Countries that try to keep these atrocities hidden are made public
by the media. As a result, the globalisation of the media can help to raise people’s awareness
of these issues and this may help to reduce or even eliminate the problem in the future.

In addition, the international media has provided a valuable educational tool for children and
adults alike. Foreign television teams keep the public up-to-date with news and images of
different cultures and ways of life. Thus, people can educate themselves about these cultures
not just by reading books but by watching news programs and documentaries. In this way,
global culture will bring valuable educational benefits worldwide.

In conclusion, the international media serves to educate and involve people in cultural and
political issues. I therefore believe that the global culture created by this media has brought
and will continue to bring many benefits worldwide.

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