Common English mistakes in academic writing
Published on
August 11, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
October 8, 2020.
Students tend to make the same language mistakes over and over again in academic writing . Taking a careful look at these lists of mistakes that we often encounter may help you to break these habits. Avoiding them will set your writing apart and give it a more polished feel.
Spelling mistakes
Although spellcheck features catch many spelling mistakes, they cannot be relied on entirely. These words are still frequently misspelled in many theses.
Incorrect
Correct
acheiveachieve
benifitbenefit
conciousconscious
definatelydefinitely
dependantdependent
disatisfieddissatisfied
existanceexistence
focussedfocused
heteroskedesticityheteroskedasticity
homogenushomogenous
imediateimmediate
labratorylaboratory
ocassionallyoccasionally
payedpaid
possespossess
practicalypractically
precedureprocedure
publicallypublicly
questionairequestionnaire
respondantrespondent
seperateseparate
skedesticityskedasticity
skewednessskewness
specificly,specifically
suceedsucceed
therefortherefore
undoubtablyundoubtedly
unforseenunforeseen
wetherwhether
wichwhich
Word choice
Incorrect
Correct
Why?
Researches were conducted.Research was conducted.Research is an uncountable noun .
Further , the chance of bias is high.Furthermore , the chance of bias is high.Further does not mean “in addition”; furthermore does
The amount of variables may change.The number of variables may change.
Use number with countable nouns (e.g., changes), amount with uncountable nouns (e.g., air).
A MRI , a HR directiveAn MRI , an HR directiveAn abbreviation that starts with a vowel sound takes “an.”
The teenagers that The teenagers who
Use who with people, that with things
Adjectives
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Are both similarAre similar
Although the two cases are similar , they are not identical.
PoliticPolitical
Both economic and political factors were considered.
So called…, factor based…So-called…, factor-based…
The so-called experts only conducted factor-based analyses .
SpeciallyEspecially
The authors were especially interested in inflation pressures.
Capitalization
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Results Of The InterviewsResults of the interviews or Results of the Interviews
Additional information is presented in Table 9 (Results of the interviews ).
Conjunctions and linking terms
Incorrect
Correct
Example
First of all, firstlyFirst
First , all participants were given a survey.
However …However, …
However, most theorists disagree.
LikeSuch as
Northern cities such as Oslo and Helsinki have long, dark winters.
Nouns/noun phrases
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Insights inInsights into
The results offer valuable insights into the problem.
MNC’s, PC’sMNCs, PCs
Most MNCs purchase thousands of PCs annually.
One criteriaOne criterion
Although many criteria were considered, one criterion stood out
Research conclusionResearch conclusions
Chapter 6 contains the research conclusions .
Taxi’s, umbrella’sTaxis, umbrellas
Taxis are often full of forgotten umbrellas .
The childs behavior, the parents attitudeThe child’s behavior, the parents’ attitude
Although the child’s behavior was aggressive, her parents’ attitude was very relaxed.
Two analysisTwo analyses
Several analyses were conducted, but one analysis was most fruitful.
Two hypothesisTwo hypotheses
This dissertation proposes many hypotheses .
Prepositions/prepositional phrases
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Besides, Next toIn addition to
In addition to building dams, the government also invested in roads.
From…till…From…to…
The ages ranged from 18 to 24.
In the light ofIn light of
The test was cancelled in light of the wind.
PerBy
The participants were grouped by height.
To what extendTo what extent
It is not known to what extent the subjects were being truthful.
Pronouns
Incorrect
Correct
Example
A person… his…People… their…
Researchers should cite their sources.A researcher should cite his or her sources.
You…One…
If one reads the study, one may indeed be convinced.
Punctuating numbers
Incorrect
Correct
Example
10.000,0010,000.00
The price was exactly $10,000.00 .
1960’s1960s
Many styles of music emerged in the 1960s .
Quantifiers
Incorrect
Correct
Example
A couple ofA few, two/three, a handful of
A few controversial questions were also included.
A lot ofMany, much, several, a great deal of
Much time was spent on the test.
Terms used in citations
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Et al, Et all.Et al.
The mutation is thought to be widespread (Han et al. , 1999)
Et al. hasEt al. have
Omar et al. have asserted that the effect is temporary.
Verbs/phrasal verbs
Incorrect
Correct
Example
Choose yesterdayChose yesterday
The project manager chose her team before planning began.
Divide inDivide into
This dissertation is divided into seven sections.
Lead yesterdayLed yesterday
Although the Liberals currently lead in the polls, the Conservatives led last week.
Make a photoTake a photo
The time was set to take photos at 20-second intervals.
Send yesterdaySent yesterday
The email was sent to all employees.
Words that are commonly confused
Which one to use?
Correct
What’s usually the difference?
Effect/affect
The effect was strong; the drug affected all members of the experimental group.
Effect = noun
Personnel/personal
The company’s personnel do not like to discuss their personal problems.
Personnel = noun
Principal/principle
The principal author outlined the theories and principles that arose from the study.
Principal = adjective
Were/where
Where were you?Were = verb
Following these tips will help you to improve your written academic English in general. The next step is to fine-tune your writing depending on whether you are using American, British, or Australian English !
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1 comment
Sarah Vinz (Scribbr-team)
August 11, 2015 at 1:11 PMThanks for reading! Hope you found this article helpful. If anything is still unclear, or if you didn’t find what you were looking for here, leave a comment and we’ll see if we can help.