Category Archives: nominalisation

what is “measured” writing?

Posted on May 13, 2019 by

I was recently part of a small discussion on another social media platform where someone reported that their supervisor had said their writing wasn’t sufficiently “measured’. Without seeing the actual work it was pretty hard to understand what the supervisor … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument, boosters, disciplines, hedges, measured writing, nominalisation, passive voice, stance, thingification | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

eight ways to write theory very badly

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

If you want to be the person who makes their reader sigh and eventually give up when they get to your theoretical ‘bit’, here’s some non-fail writing strategies. Do these and I guarantee your reader will be enervated and/or exasperated: … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, nominalisation, primary source, reader, secondary source, syntax, theory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

thesis to book: you may need to change your writing ‘voice’

Posted on July 21, 2014 by

Unlike thesis examiners, academic book publishers are looking for something that is, above all else, a decent read. A first book is by definition written by an author who isn’t widely known, so publishers will be particularly keen to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Helen Sword, nominalisation, signposts, thesis, thingification | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

holiday question 2: Why do we make researching into nouns?

Posted on December 23, 2013 by

Every now and then I wonder why it is that we talk about research processes as things. Our research uses interviews, not we interview. Or we opt for surveys rather than we survey. Or there are focus groups, rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in Michael Billig, nominalisation, nouny, participant observation, participating/observing, research methods, thingification | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments