Academic writing frequently uses nominalisations - the noun forms of verbs. The process of nominalisation turns verbs (actions or events) into nouns (things, concepts or people). The text is now no longer describing actions: it is focused on objects or concepts.
Example:
We walked for charity.
The verb 'walked' has been nominalised to the noun 'walk'
The charity walk .....
As you can see from the example above, when a verb is nominalised, it becomes a concept rather than an action. As a consequence, the tone of your writing will sound more abstract and also more formal.
Comapre:
We walked for charity.
We raised money for the Leukemia Foundation.
The charity walk raised money for the Leukemia Foundation.
Crime was increasing rapidly and the police were becoming concerned.
The rapid increase in crime was causing concern among the police.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939. This was the immediate cause of the Second World War breaking out.
Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 was the immediate cause of the outbreak of the Second World War.
Here is an extract from a biology report. Nominalisation has been used frequently in this passage, creating a more academic, abstract tone.
Many Australian plant species produce seeds with fleshy appendages called elaiosomes. It was hypothesised that elaiosomes are involved in the dispersal of seeds by ants. To test this hypothesis, the removal of seeds with elaiosomes was compared to seeds from which the elaiosome had been removed and observations were made to confirm that the agents of seed removal were indeed ants. It was found that the removal of seeds with elaiosomes was significantly greater than those without elaiosomes. Observations of the seed removal process confirmed that ants were the only agents of seed removal.
The frequent use of nominalisation was one factor responsible for the difference in formality between the model texts.
华师大校友共享记忆：转眼已不再是那个少年
When you are old and sick, all you've got is memory.
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