MAKING NOMINALIZATION WORK IN WRITING: A CORPUS-BASED STUDY OF PHRASAL COMPLEXITY IN THE ARGUMENTATIVE READING SECTION OF THE EFL TEXTBOOK

Abstract

This research deals with the existence of nominalization realized in the argumentative reading section of the EFL textbooks. It investigates the types, the processes, and reasons of using nominalization on phrasal complexity in the argumentative text. The research objectives were to identify the types of nominalization in the argumentative reading section, to describe the nominalization of phrasal complexity realized in the argumentative reading section, and to elaborate on the uses of nominalization impact phrasal complexity in the argumentative reading section. This research employed qualitative research. The sources of data were taken from two textbooks, "Bahasa Inggris: Stop Bullying Now, Kelas XI" and "Modul Bahasa Inggris SMA Class XI," focusing on the argumentative reading sections. The research finding show that there were only four types of nominalization in the argumentative: noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, verb suffixes, and compound nouns, with the phrasal noun not being realized. In terms of nominalization processes, only one were used, V2N, while the other two were absent: Adv2Adj and Gen. Meanwhile, a new research was found in this study namely verb inflection, compound word, and N2Adj. The last finding regarding reasons indicates that only four reasons for using nominalization were implemented in this study: paraphrasing, formality, concision, and grammatical metaphor. One another reason disciplinary variation was not present. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of employing nominalization strategically for formal and abstract argumentation in writing, urging both students and educators to understand its diverse forms, maintain clarity, and ensure a balanced representation across various types to foster comprehensive comprehension.