Revise a noun-heavy sentence without changing the action it reports

Identify the action, its status and any known participant before changing an abstract noun into a verb. A revision should make the relationship easier to follow while preserving whether the work was proposed, attempted, completed or left uncertain. Shorter wording is not an improvement if it reports more than the record supports.

A noun formed from a verb or adjective is often called a nominalisation. Such nouns can be useful in academic writing, especially for discussing a process as a concept or connecting sentences. The task is to choose a clear expression for the particular point, not to remove every noun ending in “-tion”.

Find the action behind the phrase

Look for combinations such as “make an assessment” or “carry out a comparison”. Ask what is being done and which part of the sentence conveys that action. Then consider whether a more direct verb would help.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s sentence-revision guidance, checked on 1 November 2026, recommends making the sentence’s action clear in its verb. The University of Melbourne’s nominalisation guide, also checked on that date, explains useful functions of noun forms alongside readability and meaning-change risks. Together these provide a revision question rather than a ban: what does this form help the reader understand here?

Do not assume that a suffix identifies a problem. Established concepts and technical terms may need their noun forms. Judge their role in the sentence and the actual conventions of the discipline.

Work through an original fictional revision

The project, notes and wording below are entirely invented teaching material. They report no actual research or completed project.

Imagine that a fictional team plans to compare two versions of an exhibition label. The notes record a proposal for the comparison; they do not show that anyone has carried it out.

A draft sentence reads:

The undertaking of a comparison of the label versions was proposed by the team.

A clearer account could read:

The team proposed comparing the label versions.

The revised sentence preserves the proposal status. “The team compared the label versions” would be shorter but would invent completed work. The important check is not merely whether a noun became a verb; it is whether the new verb still reports the same event.

Now suppose a later, separately checked record establishes that the comparison was completed. A sentence reporting that completed action could use “compared”. The earlier proposal note alone would not justify that change.

This fictional example supplies no evidence to import into a real report. Confirm the actual participants, actions and timing before revising your own account.

Keep a useful concept when the paragraph needs it

A noun can connect the current sentence to an idea already introduced. After a paragraph describes how two versions differ, “This comparison” may provide a useful starting point for discussing what those differences mean. Repeating the whole action in a new clause could be more cumbersome.

The question is whether the noun has a clear referent and a useful job. “The implementation of the process of comparison” can leave the reader searching for the action through several layers. A precise named concept may organise the paragraph; a stack of abstract labels may obscure it.

Check definitions when changing forms. A disciplinary term may have a meaning that is not captured by a related everyday verb. Where the change affects a technical claim, verify it with the appropriate source or specialist rather than treating the revision as purely cosmetic.

Preserve responsibility without guessing

A noun-heavy sentence sometimes makes it difficult to see who did the work. Use the record to clarify responsibility where it is known and relevant. Do not add “the researchers”, “the institution” or another convenient participant because the sentence sounds smoother with a named subject.

If responsibility is unresolved, keep that uncertainty visible and seek clarification through the appropriate process. A stylistic revision cannot identify an actor the evidence does not identify. Nor can it turn a requirement into an accomplishment or a possibility into an established result.

Read for the new meaning, then for flow

Compare the original and revised accounts for action, participant, timing, status and qualification. Check the surrounding sentences so that a clearer local expression does not break a useful connection to the previous paragraph.

Use the word-count revision guide when shortening a larger draft. Use the transition guide when the revised sentence needs a clearer connection. The final choice should make the supported action easier to understand while retaining the concepts the argument actually needs.