Top 8 Grammar Mistakes Students Make in Academic Writing

<h2>1. Comma Splices</h2>
<p>Joining two independent clauses with only a comma: "The study was small, the results are still significant." Fix: use a semicolon, add a coordinating conjunction, or split into two sentences.</p>
<h2>2. Apostrophe Misuse</h2>
<p>Apostrophes mark possession (the student's essay) or contraction (it's = it is). They never make a word plural. "The study's results" is correct. "The studies results" is missing an apostrophe. "The study's" used for a simple plural is wrong.</p>
<h2>3. Dangling Modifiers</h2>
<p>"Having reviewed the literature, the gap became clear." Who reviewed the literature? The gap? This should read: "Having reviewed the literature, <em>I</em> identified a clear gap."</p>
<h2>4. Subject-Verb Disagreement</h2>
<p>"The results of the study <em>shows</em>..." — incorrect. The subject is "results" (plural), so it should be "show." Do not be misled by a singular noun that appears between the subject and verb.</p>
<h2>5. Overusing the Passive Voice</h2>
<p>Academic writing tolerates more passive voice than other genres, but overuse creates weak, unclear prose. "It was found that..." → "The study found that..." is more direct and easier to read.</p>
<h2>6. Incorrect Use of "Which" vs "That"</h2>
<p>"That" introduces restrictive clauses (essential to meaning). "Which" introduces non-restrictive clauses (added information, set off by commas). "The essay that received the highest mark used active voice" vs "The essay, which was submitted late, still received a pass."</p>
<h2>7. Run-On Sentences</h2>
<p>Long is not the same as complex. A run-on sentence joins multiple ideas without adequate punctuation or conjunctions. When a sentence exceeds 40 words, consider whether it can be broken up without losing meaning.</p>
<h2>8. Inconsistent Tense</h2>
<p>Academic writing about past research uses past tense ("Smith (2019) found..."). Writing about enduring facts uses present tense ("Water freezes at 0°C"). Do not switch between them within the same section without reason.</p>