Nominalization audit + Williams's actor-action clarity routine

Read aloud: 'The investigation by the researchers revealed an anomaly.' vs. 'The researchers investigated and found an anomaly.' Which is clearer?

• Affirm: the second is clearer — verbs are doing work; actor is named
• Connect: today we work with nominalization — when it helps and when it hurts

Today we work with NOMINALIZATION — the conversion of a verb into a noun. 'investigate' (verb) → 'investigation' (noun). 'analyze' (verb) → 'analysis' (noun). 'decide' (verb) → 'decision' (noun). Nominalization is a powerful academic move when it EARNS its place — it lets the writer make actions into discussable concepts. 'The investigation revealed an anomaly' — fine. 'The analysis is incomplete' — fine. But nominalization OBSCURES when it hides actors and turns clear sentences into murky ones. 'The investigation by the researchers revealed an anomaly' — better as 'The researchers investigated and found an anomaly.' Joseph Williams's ACTOR-ACTION CLARITY routine: in any sentence, ask WHO IS DOING WHAT? Make the ACTOR the SUBJECT and the ACTION the VERB. Avoid hiding the actor in a 'by' phrase or omitting the actor through expletive constructions ('it was found that' / 'there is a need for'). Compare: WEAK NOMINALIZATION: 'There is a need for a reduction in emissions.' STRONG ACTOR-ACTION: 'Governments must reduce emissions.' Same content; the strong version names the actor and uses verbs. The Pass-2 nominalization-audit: in each sentence, ask: are the actors named? Are the actions in verbs? If yes, keep. If no, revise. WATCH for clusters of nominalized nouns — they signal that verbs have been hidden. 'The realization of the implementation of the recommendation' — three nominalizations stacked. Revise: 'They implemented the recommendation when they realized ___.'

• Strong revision uses 2 verbs (decided, implement) instead of 2 nominalized nouns.

  model Three nominalizations: DECISION (decide), IMPLEMENTATION (implement), POLICIES (no nominalization — okay). Actor hidden in 'by the committee.' Revise: 'The committee decided to implement new policies.' Same content; actor named; verbs working.

  prompt Audit this sentence: 'The decision regarding the implementation of new policies was made by the committee.'
• Expletive constructions ('There is/are/was') often hide actors. Audit and revise.

  model Expletive 'There was' + nominalization 'discovery.' Revise: 'Smith discovered evidence that confirmed the hypothesis.' Now actor is subject; action is verb.

  prompt Audit this sentence: 'There was a discovery by Smith that confirmed the hypothesis.'
• Nominalization is fine when the action IS the topic. Audit reveals when it isn't.

  model YES. SYNTHESIS as a noun-concept is exactly what's being discussed; the sentence is ABOUT synthesis as a concept. Keep it.

  prompt Is this nominalization earning its place? 'The synthesis of multiple sources is the central skill of academic writing.'

• Pair-share: audit one sentence from your draft for nominalization. Decide: earn its place, or revise?
• Cold Call: apply actor-action routine to 'It was found by the team that the data are unreliable.'

M-8-F-RH-17-A Chart

MG-23 anchor: 1-page reference with nominalization definition, when-it-earns-place test (is the action the topic?), revision examples. Print-ready 11x17.

M-8-F-RH-17-B Chart

MG-24 anchor: 1-page reference with Williams's actor-action routine, expletive-construction warning, before-and-after revision examples. Print-ready 11x17.

• Audit 8 sentences for nominalization. Apply actor-action routine. Revise where nominalization doesn't earn its place; keep where it does.

  scaffold MG-23 nominalization-audit card; MG-24 actor-action card
• Apply nominalization-audit to one paragraph of your synthesis essay draft. Revise.

  scaffold Pass-2 audit checklist

• Revise this nominalization-heavy sentence using actor-action: 'There is a recognition by educators that there is a need for the implementation of changes in curriculum.'

• Restate: nominalization earns its place when the action is the topic; otherwise actor-action serves clarity
• Preview lesson 18: Symposium prep + multimedia aid

• Audit your synthesis essay for nominalization. Revise 5 sentences where nominalization doesn't earn its place.