Our editors have been editing and proofreading for years and often see many common mistakes that could be improved. We will go over the five most common mistakes in academic writing and show you how to fix them.

Common Writing Mistakes

Run-On Sentences

One thing that we have noticed is run-on sentences. Although run-on sentences are not exactly “grammatically incorrect,” it plays a big role in the readability of an article. A run-on sentence distracts the reader and sometimes makes it very hard to follow. This mistake can be avoided by taking a long sentence and breaking it up into two sentences. We get distracted if a sentence is over three or four lines long (not counting citations). Although the sentence may look and sound grammatically correct, it is hard to read. The purpose of a paper is so that someone can read and comprehend it. Keep this in mind while writing. For example,

“Your academic paper should focus on your research, methods, studies, limitations, conclusions, and everything else that you feel that it should include, and be sure to remember to check mistakes in the paper because you want it all to make sense whenever the reader is reviewing your paper.”

Although grammatically correct, the sentence is a little long and hard to follow. Try making it into two or three sentences. You could make it into three sentences like this:

“Your academic paper should focus on your research, methods, studies, limitations, conclusions, etc. Be sure to remember to check for mistakes in the paper. You want it to make sense whenever the reader reviews your paper.”

It helps to have someone else review your paper for editing to see if they find any long and confusing sentences.

Sentence Fragments

Another big mistake that we find non-native English speakers making is sentence fragments. These mistakes are a result of sometimes trying to break up run-on sentences. Sometimes the writer does not quite make two sentences due to a lack of understanding or simply not paying attention. Even though the sentence may look complete, it is only sometimes complete. Whenever forming a sentence, there should always be a subject and a main verb. For example, write you have a sentence like,

“I am going to the store to get more food for my household. Such as apples, bananas, and carrots.”

The second sentence is a sentence fragment. There is no verb. We could correct it to write,

“I am going to the store to get some more food for my household, such as apples, bananas, and carrots.”

If you want to separate it into two sentences, you could put, “I am going to the store to get some more food for my household. I need to get apples, bananas, and carrots.”

It always helps us to read the sentence aloud to see if it makes complete sense. If you take the sentence,

“Such as apples, bananas, and carrots,” it would not make any sense. What about apples, bananas, and carrots?

The best way to check a sentence is to make sure there is a definite noun and an actual verb for academic writing.

Repetitive Sentences

One more common mistake we find is repetitive sentences. Sometimes while writing, the author wants to lengthen an article or reiterate what they are trying to say. However, most of the time, it comes across as almost the same sentence. For example,

“Reading aloud will help you find mistakes that you never knew were there. If you read aloud, you will find more errors than normal.”

These sentences are almost the same thing. Try either combining sentences or removing one. Again, reading aloud is a good way to avoid repetitive sentences for editing and proofreading a document before submission to a journal or institution.

Decimals

When reading articles involving numbers, we find that some non-native English writers use commas instead of decimals. For example, a non-native English writer may put “33,7%.”

Instead, the writer should use a period for the decimal (33.7%). This is not just for percentages but for all numbers containing a decimal.

Formatting Headlines

Formatting is a huge issue that we see a lot. For example, while editing, we see five headlines formatted differently. This can include different fonts, font sizes, centering, bold, italics, etc. Before writing a paper, a good idea would be to decide on formatting. If you do this, you will be able to stay consistent throughout the entirety of the paper.

Improve Your Academic Writing

Aside from the mistakes, we list below some advice on keeping your academic paper on track. By reading up on some tips and tricks to write a good paper, you can easily avoid common mistakes writers make.

Peer Review

After writing an article, we suggest seeking someone for editing and proofreading to read over it. Even if you seek a peer review, getting another set of eyes on the paper is always a good idea. Too often, someone will believe their paper is perfect before submitting or publishing it. However, going over your essay, you begin to get used to the mistakes on the page. While reading it, it sounds perfect to you because you have read it so much. A fresh pair of eyes on the paper always helps it reach perfection.

Outline

Getting a rough outline of your paper is always a good idea. If you do not have an outline, your paper may seem scattered and not get your point across. This can lead to the abovementioned problems, like run-on sentences, sentence fragments, and repetitive statements. An organized layout of all your information will help you organize your research. If you are scattered in your paper, some readers may need help to follow along, which defeats your paper’s entire purpose. Your paper aims to get your information across to the reader to teach them.

Read Aloud

Another tip that has proven helpful many times is reading your paper aloud. If you only read your paper in your head, your eyes scan numbers and letters. Reading aloud helps you to focus on your writing and hear the words to see if they make sense. Reading aloud also allows you to pause and think about your writing, and you will notice that you are catching mistakes you did not even realize were there.

Those were just a few mistakes and tips that will help you improve your writing. You can always do further research for editing, editing service, and proofreading your paper.