Nominalisation in history and social science writing_OLD VERSION

The beginnings of a new era

Let’s repeat the previous activity.

Read this snippet and use the process we used before to write a version as if you were telling someone aloud.

  1. Read the snippet carefully, making sure you understand each part.
  2. Close your eyes and imagine the scene.
  3. Imagine you’re describing the scene to a friend.
  4. Open your eyes and write what you said in your head.

Alternatively, just talk out loud! Remember, you don’t have to sound good or correct, you just need to write the way you speak.

Standard history texts will tell you that the nineteenth century saw the beginnings of a new era of choice for Europe’s workers, primarily due to the invention of meritocracy – rewarding people on the basis of their skills or aptitude – and the growth of public education.

The Wonderbox(2012)
Write your conversational version here.

How did you go?

Here’s a version we’ll work with in the next few activities:

Most history books will tell you that, in the nineteenth century, workers in Europe began to have more choice because people started hiring and promoting each other for their skills and aptitude, instead everyone being forced to do jobs based on what their families did, and because governments started to provide more and more public schools so that everyone had the opportunity to learn.

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