If you have worked through this Mini-module, you will have already come a long way towards improving your writing.
Effective use of grammar in writing involves a mixture of knowledge, skill, and experience. It is a little like riding a bike. You can't learn to ride a bike just by getting the knowledge from a book. You still need to get on the bike and actually practise. This will probably involve some wobbling and embarrassment, but that's an essential stage in learning the skills and gaining the experience necessary to master cycling. It is the same with academic writing: you need to do it to learn it.
Below are some tips, followed by a selection of common mistakes, and finally some useful links to help you keep developing.
They should all have at least a subject, a verb, and an object. Example:
The doctors, who were the senior members of the team. X
The sentence is missing a verb and an object, as you can see below.
| Subject | Nested sentence (part of the subject) | Verb | Object | |
| The doctors, | who were the senior members of the team. | - | - | X |
| The doctors, | who were the senior members of the team, | gave | clear instructions. | √ |
For example:
"Shakespeare is just a nom-de-plume for Bacon is the real author of The Tempest." X
This should be either
"Shakespeare is just a nom-de-plume for Bacon. Bacon is the real author of The Tempest." √
Or
"Shakespeare is just a nom-de-plume for Bacon, who is the real author of The Tempest." √
For example
The first helicopter flew in 1906, it was not very successful. X
This should be either:
The first helicopter flew in 1906, but it was not very successful. (Joined with a linking word) √
Or:
The first helicopter flew in 1906. It was not very successful. (Two sentences) √
"Either Smith or Green are wrong." X.
It should be: "Either Smith or Green is wrong." √ (The word "either" is singular)
"Each of the metals want to react with the oxygen." X.
It should be: " Each of the metals wants to react with the oxygen." √ (The word "each" is singular)
"The number of candidates applying to be C. of E. vicars are falling rapidly." X.
It should be: "The number of candidates applying to be C. of E. vicars is falling rapidly." √ (The word "number" is singular)
"The only cake that all respondents liked were the chocolate ones." X (The subject "cake" is singular)
It should be either: "The only cakes that all respondents liked were the chocolate ones." √
Or: " The only cake that all respondents liked was the chocolate ones." √
Or: The chocolate cakes were the only ones that all respondents liked. √
Click for more on agreement from Walden University.
One common problem is students not using the past tense when writing about their research methods. The student writes the methods section in advance and so, naturally, uses the future: but, for the reader, the procedure should be in the past.
"The test tubes will be weighed accurately." X.
It should be: "The test tubes were weighed accurately." √
Another common question regards whether to use the past or present tense when talking about previous literature. For example:
"Smith argues / argued that hydrogen is / was very inflammable."
Depending on your intentions, all combinations of the above sentence are potentially correct. However, in a long piece of writing, it is very easy to be inconsistent and so confuse the reader. In most cases, the best (and easiest) way to handle this situation is to use only the past tense, like this:
"Smith argued that hydrogen was very inflammable."
In English grammar, this is known as reporting or "reported speech". Find out more about this from the University of Victoria.
Here are some examples of sentences which are not clear:
| "Simeon meditated on an ancient pillar near Aleppo." | It is not clear whether Simeon was meditating about the pillar or was sitting on the pillar. This would be a clearer way of writing it: "Simeon meditated while sitting on top of an ancient pillar near Aleppo." |
| "Smith made tea for some visitors in a china pot." | The reader can probably guess the meaning of this, but it also creates an irrelevant funny picture of the visitors inside the pot. This would be a better way of putting it: "Smith used a china pot to make tea for some visitors." |
| "The nurses injected some employees during their coffee break." | This sentence is ambiguous: it can be understood in two different ways because "their" could refer to the employees or the nurses. This would be a clearer way of writing it: "The nurses administered the injections during the employees' coffee break." |
| "The King chased an intruder from Buckingham Palace wearing pyjamas." | The sentence puts a funny and irrelevant image into the mind of the reader. This would be a clearer way of writing it: "The King, wearing only his pyjamas, chased an intruder from Buckingham Palace." |
Make a point of checking your writing and always plan ahead so that you give yourself plenty of time for checking and re-drafting.
We have two other Mini-modules which will be useful if you want to continue improving your English language and writing:
We also have Resources Pages. All of these have videos of our workshops, YouTube playlists, interactive activities, HowTo Guides, and useful links. Here are the links to three of our Resources Pages:
