How to Easily Find and Fix Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are a common flaw in scientific and medical writing. You may think that they give your writing a formal tone and “scientific feel.” But they actually transform your clear language into confusing content by muddling your words, lengthening your phrases, and boring your readers.
Abstract nouns turn strong verbs into complex words or phrases. For example, “investigate” and “improve” become “investigation” and “improvement.” As a result, abstract nouns mask the verb, sucking the energy from your writing.
These terms also lengthen your text. First, they make words longer (e.g., “identification” has six more characters than “identify”). And these terms are often sandwiched between “the” and “of,” adding another two words or seven characters (including spaces) to your sentence. When faced with a word or character limit, revising these terms can reduce the length—and boost the clarity—of your writing.
How can you quickly find and fix abstract nouns?
Step 1: Use the find feature to search for the word “of.” Nearly every abstract noun uses the construction “the … of.”
Step 2: Look for the suffix. Check whether the word before “of” has a suffix that turns it into a noun. Some examples of these suffixes include “-tion,” “-ment,” “-ize,” “-ility,” and “-ness.”
Step 3: Convert the abstract noun into a strong verb. Rephrasing the abstract noun will add clarity and vigor to your writing.
Want a cheat sheet to help you find and fix abstract nouns in your writing? Get access to our free writing toolkit!
