In Sections I and II of this book, we considered general issues regarding

The erosion rate of 0v.126 mg/g for this air plasma sprayed thermal 
barrier coating is low. . .
The coating, which is designed to form a barrier to heat and which is 
fabricated by being sprayed with plasma while it is exposed to the air, 
eroded at the rate of 0.126 mg/g, which is low . . . (clausal equivalent)

---

Academic discourse 99
Noun phrases contribute to the construction of terminology and act as a 
sort of shorthand for specialists, but the relations between the elements are 
not clearly specified, making them difficult for learners and non-specialists 
to understand. It may not be obvious, for example, what air plasma sprayed 
means. Is air plasma a type of plasma? Is the coating sprayed with air or 
with plasma? Similarly, noun phrases are difficult for students to produce. 
They might write thermal coating barrier or erosion rate with 0.126 mg/g. 
Thus learners need plenty of exposure to and practice with authentic aca-
demic texts that are characterized by the use of this nominal style.
Nominalization is the use of a noun or noun phrase to express the mean-
ing of a process or property; for example, the process of explaining can be 
nominalized as explanation. Nominalization has several important effects 
on the text. First, it makes texts more abstract. For example, when we use 
the clause writers use nouns, we need a subject and verb, but when we nomi-
nalize it, these elements disappear: the use of nouns. Nominalization also 
allows us to re-present material in a reduced form, which can create cohe-
sion by functioning as given information. For example, in the two sentences 
below, this position is a nominalization of the clause EAP textbooks do not 
represent authentic academic discourse and is given information.
It has been argued that EAP textbooks do not represent authentic aca-
demic discourse. 
This position is supported by several corpus-based 
studies.
The nominalization labels the whole of the previous statement in a way 
that shows the reader how the information is to be understood (it is a posi-
tion) and may indicate the writer’s stance (see the next section for an expla-
nation of stance). For example, if the writer wanted to accept the criticism 
of textbooks, the nominalization this problem could be used. The choice of 
nominalization also indicates to the reader how the text will proceed. We 
expect a problem to be followed by potential solutions, but a position to be 
supported or challenged.
Thus the effects of nominalization are far-reaching; not only does it con-
tribute to the construction of terminology, making texts more concise and 
abstract, but it can also create cohesion, indicate the writer’s stance and help 
the reader follow the text. It is thus essential for students to understand the 
multifunctionality of nominalization and to practise both reading and writ-
ing texts that have a high density of such nominal expressions.