In the winter issue of Peer to Peer, Gary Kinder provides great advice on spotting and eliminating nominalizations, our process of turning powerful verbs into wimpy nouns. Read the article here:
http://epubs.iltanet.org/i/448505/70.
You can test your understanding of his advice with this exercise . . .
Here's a snippet of text to review:
Our fees will be based on the time required for the completion of our services and the personnel we have assigned to the project, plus out-of-pocket costs. We also give consideration to the difficulty and size of the assignment, the degree of skill required, time limitations, the nature of the project, and the value of our services, which we will conduct a review of with you. Our fees and costs will be billed monthly and are payable upon receipt of the invoice. Invoices that remain unpaid 60 days past the billing date will be deemed delinquent and are subject to an interest charge of 1% per month.
You agree to submit to mediation any dispute regarding the meaning, performance, or enforcement of this engagement, prior to resorting to litigation, and that both parties will engage in the mediation process in good faith once either party gives a request in writing to mediate. You also are in agreement that any mediation shall be administered in Travis County, Texas, according to the laws of the State of Texas. The costs of any proceeding shall be shared equally by the parties.
Can you spot the numerous nominalizations? Here are some markers to assist you:
Our fees
will be based on the time required for the completion of our services
and the personnel we have assigned to the
project, plus out-of-pocket costs. We also give consideration to
the difficulty and size of the assignment, the degree of skill required, time
limitations, the nature of the project, and the value of our services, which we
will conduct a review of with you. Our fees and costs will be billed
monthly and are payable upon receipt of the invoice.
Invoices that remain unpaid 60 days past the billing date will be deemed delinquent and are subject to an interest charge of
1% per month.
You agree to
submit to mediation any dispute regarding the meaning,
performance, or enforcement of this engagement, prior to resorting to
litigation, and that both parties will
engage in the mediation process in good faith once either party
gives a request in writing
to mediate. You also
are in
agreement that any mediation shall be administered in Travis County,
Texas, according to the laws of the State of Texas. The costs of any proceeding
shall be shared equally by the parties.
Can you correct the text? With nominalizations corrected, your text should look like this:
Our fees will be based on the time required
to
complete our services and the personnel
we have assigned
to the project, plus
out-of-pocket costs. We also
consider
the difficulty and size of the assignment, the degree of skill required, time
limitations, the nature of the project, and the value of our services, which we
will
review with you. Our
fees and costs will be billed monthly and are payable
when you receive the invoice. Invoices that
remain unpaid 60 days past the billing date will be deemed
delinquent and are subject to an interest charge of
1% per month.
You agree to mediate any dispute regarding
the meaning, performance, or enforcement of this engagement, prior to resorting
to litigation, and that both parties will mediate in good faith
once either party requests
in writing to mediate. You also agree that any mediation shall be administered in Travis County,
Texas, according to the laws of the State of Texas. The costs of any proceeding
shall be shared equally by the parties.