Nominalizations are a major part of what's wrong with lots of student writing. A nominalization is an action expressed as a noun. Any nominalization can be turned into a verb, and vice versa (sometimes the two forms, the noun and the verb, are identical)
[Check his site for a list of nominalizations.]
Nominalization ...........................................................................Revision
An analysis was performed. | Dr. Radic performed an analysis. |
A distortion occurred in the presentation of the candidate's position. | Your newspaper distorted the candidate's position. |
There were reports of attacks on women in Central Park. | A roving band of men in Central Park attacked any women who crossed their path. |