"Publish and prosper" is a series of posts about tips for researchers whose first language is not English but who submit papers to journals published in English. The series touches upon not only writing (spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, and style) but everything else relevant to publishing research papers that journal editors wish their authors knew.

1. Although, Though, and Even Though: Is there a difference?

2. Although I was vaguely aware of the difference between the three terms " though ," " although ," and " even though ," I was astonished when a Google search for the topic showed thousands of hits. Fortunately, many of the top links appeared to agree on how the terms are different: " though" is an informal variant of " although," and " even though" is used for emphasis.

3. The Oxford Dictionary of English says as much in a usage note: "The form although can be replaced by though , the only difference being that although tends to be more formal than though ." The BBC's Learning English website explains, in response to a query about the difference, that " Though is often used with even in order to give emphasis." I even found a short practice exercise to learn the difference between "although," "even though," "despite," and "in spite of."

4. In writing research papers, therefore, "although" is preferable to " though ." Use " even though" to indicate a result that is strongly contrary to expectations. Example Although the soil was fertile, the plants grew slowly. Even though the recommended dose of fertilizers was doubled, plant growth remained poor.

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