You have completed your dissertation. You thought, “Let’s give a read before submission. There, you notice grammar mistakes. There are wrong tenses, missing commas, and awkward sentences.
Your heart drops.
However, don’t worry, you are not alone. Even strong researchers fall into the same grammar traps. The good news? In this blog, you will learn to focus on five common grammar traps. So, let’s get started!
Why Grammar Matters in a Dissertation?
Before you learn to correct grammar traps, let’s discuss why grammar matters! If you think your examiners are becoming irritating grammar geeks, you are mistaken. Your dissertation is not all about what you say, but how you say it.
That is to say, grammar mistakes can:
- Distract readers from your argument
- Undermine your academic authority
- Create confusion in complex explanations
Poor grammar in your dissertation implies poor research, but it can look that way. So, you must fix grammar traps to ensure your ideas shine. Let’s learn how?
1. Subject–Verb Agreement Errors
Is your dissertation filled with long, complex sentences that go on without clarity? There are subject–verb agreement errors. This makes your ideas sound confusing and unpolished.
When you are writing your Dissertation, you fall into a grammar trap because of:
- Long noun phrases
- Prepositional phrases
- Technical terminology
So, these elements can obscure the real topic of your dissertation.
How to fix it?
- Circle the main verb in each sentence
- Draw a line back to the true subject
- Ignore phrases like of, with, along with, or including
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This visual check can help you expose mismatches and prevent guesswork. However, that’s not only the grammar trap that confuses. But some commas also disrupt everything. Read on to find out!
2. Misuse of Comma
Are commas breaking sentences into awkward pieces? If so, this might be making your clear ideas sound confusing. Hence, grammar errors appear as:
- Two full sentences joined by a comma.
- Unnecessary commas are disrupting the flow.
- Sentence fragments caused by incorrect punctuation.
That happens when you are tired, you rely on spoken rhythm rather than formal grammar rules.
How to fix it?
- Read sentences aloud to hear natural breaks
- Check whether each side of a comma could stand alone as a sentence
- If yes, use a conjunction or semicolon, not just a comma.
You might feel awkward while reading aloud. However, it is one of the fastest ways to detect punctuation issues. This will also help you find passive voice in your dissertation.
3. Overuse of Passive Voice
There is nothing wrong with using Passive voice. However, if you overuse it, passive voice can make your dissertation unclear and wordy. For example, “Research was carried out by the team. The team carried out the research.”
In other words, overuse of passive voice can hide the subject of your dissertation. There misconception among students that passive voice sounds more “academic.” In reality, most disciplines now prefer clear, active constructions, especially outside method sections.
How to fix it?
To fix passive voice in your dissertation, use your word processor’s search function to find:
- was
- were
- is
- by
Also, you don’t need to remove every passive sentence. Fix the unnecessary ones. So, read on to the following section to learn one more important grammar trap!
4. Incorrect Use of Articles
When you are writing a lengthy research paper, using articles can be a challenge. This can change the meaning or make the writing sound unnatural. For example, “This study investigates impact of leadership styles. This study investigates the impact of leadership styles.”
Hence, here are some common grammar traps that can help because of:
- Missing articles
- Overusing “the”
- Confusion between general and specific references.
How to fix it?
The simple way is to do one dedicated proofreading round only for articles. While doing it, keep these questions in mind:
- Is the noun specific or general?
- Is it countable or uncountable?
Thus, reviewing each article. It prevents word overload and improves the accuracy of your dissertation. However, there is one last grammar mistake that happens when you are in a rush and dealing with a complex topic. Let’s find out!
5. Tense Inconsistency
When the deadline is approaching, you are working day and night on your dissertation. You might switch between past, present, and future tenses. This confuses readers and weakens coherence in your research paper.
So, you must follow the general rule:
- Past tense: Methods, experiments, observations
- Present tense: Facts, theories, conclusions
When you are writing a lengthy dissertation, you can miss tense consistency.
How to fix it?
- Before you start writing, decide on tense conventions.
- Record them in a simple style sheet
- Edit one chapter at a time instead of jumping around
With these tips, you can maintain consistency of tense. It improves the readability and professionalism of your dissertations. Don’t miss reading the last section to learn the smart proofreading strategy!
A Smart Proofreading Strategy That Saves Time
If you try to fix every grammar error, it is not possible. Therefore, use this approach:
- Structure first: argument flow and section logic.
- Clarity second: sentence meaning and transitions.
- Grammar last: target one error type per pass.
Hence, this smart proofreading method can keep editing focused and efficient. Moreover, if you feel so tired, don’t edit alone. So, ask peers to review clarity or seek help from Dissertation Editing Services. Their feedback can help you catch grammar errors you no longer see.
Final Thoughts
Attention researchers,
Grammar issues doesnt mean you are not a good researcher. It is natural to fall into a grammar trap while writing long academic papers. Therefore, you must focus on these 5 common issues:
- Subject–verb agreement
- Misuse of commas
- Passive voice
- Incorrect use of articles.
- Inconsistent tenses
Now, by reading this blog, you have learned how to fix these grammar traps. So, there are no worries. So, you can improve clarity in your dissertation in far less time than you expect. Remember, proper grammar impresses your examiners. It allows y