Representing actions with nouns
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Overview | page 5 of 5 |
Types and styles of writing containing nominalisation
Spoken English differs from written English in a number of ways, and one important
characteristic of writing is the presence of nominalisation. This is especially so in
technical writing. For further information about the differences between spoken and
written English, see 
Representing actions with nouns: Forms of
nominalisation (p 2).
Nominalisation is extremely common in English and nearly every text will contain at least some examples. However, there are certain types of writing which are characterised by large amounts of nominalisation, such as the following:
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school textbooks (science, maths, history, geography) |
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newspaper headlines and reports |
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business letters and reports |
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academic essays and articles |
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legal documents |
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scientific and technical writing |
For further examples of these types of writing with the nominalisations highlighted,
see
Representing actions with nouns: Examples from a variety of text types.
Introduction
Types and styles of writing containing nominalisation
