Grammatical errors can be a major mood- and interest-killer for the reader. Here, I explore some common grammatical errors and provide suitable alternatives to rectify those mistakes.

1. Research Paper Writing 101:
Grammatical Imperatives
Rafey Iqbal Rahman
Gold Medal Recipient, 33rd IEEEP Multi-Topic International Symposium 2018

2. #1 Numbers below 11 are written in words
Consider the following sentence:
“9 major industries are bringing a paradigm change in this …”
This is wrong. It should be as follows:
“Nine major industries are bringing a paradigm shift in this …”

3. #2 Use comma in sentence beginning with “In”
Consider the following sentence:
“In 2013 Oxford Performance Materials received FDA approval …”
This is wrong. It should be as follows:
“In 2013, Oxford Performance Materials received FDA approval …”

4. #3 Multiple nouns mean plural case
Consider the following sentence:
“... another AMT was introduced, such as … (FDM), … (LOM), …, (SLS), …”
This is wrong since multiple nouns have been used (FDM, LOM, SLS, etc.). It should be as follows:
“... the world saw other AMTs, such as … (FDM), …, (LOM), …, (SLS) …”

5. #4 Run-on sentences are a sin
Run-on sentences refer to long sentences void of punctuation marks. Consider the following sentence:
“It’s also known as extrusion-based rapid prototyping technique it contains a nozzle that melts the material …”
This is wrong. It should be split into two sentences as follows:
“It also refers to the extrusion-based prototyping technique. It contains a nozzle that melts the material ... ”

6. #5 Form a habit of using Oxford commas
Consider the following sentence:
“... these processes have taken a key interest in the making of … implants, devices and scaffolds.”
This is wrong. It should be as follows:
“... these processes play a pivotal role in producing … implants, devices, and scaffolds.”

7. #6 Use a comma to separate clauses
In compound sentences, a comma should be used to separate clauses. Consider the following sentence:
“... it should be cautioned … challenges remain and the most transformative applications will need time …”
This is wrong since no comma is used before and to separate clauses. It should be as follows:
“... it should be cautioned … challenges remain, and the most transformative applications will need time ...”

8. #7 Use “However” to provide opposing views
I know you need to increase the word count 😉 but a single word would do when writing opposite:
“Some of the disadvantages are the process taking a long time, …”
The above can be changed to:
“However, the process takes a long time …”

9. #8 Keep sentences short
Consider the following sentence:
“SLS is a relatively new technique which is used for rapid prototyping …”
The phrase “which is” can be eliminated:
“SLS is a relatively new technique used for rapid prototyping …”

10. #9 Suitable adjectives should be used
Consider the following phrase:
“Material not used”
It can be more appropriately written as:
“Unused material”

11. #10 Follow the subject-verb agreement
Consider the following sentence:
“SLS features are not much detailed and provides a rougher surface …”
This is wrong since “features” (plural) is followed by a singular verb (“provides”). It should be as follows:
“SLS features are not much detailed and provide a rougher surface …”

12. #11 Use (-) in word ending with “intensive”
Compound words ending with “intensive” should be separated with a hyphen (-). For instance:
“laborintensive”
Should be changed to:
“labor-intensive”

13. #12 Phrase “such as” should be preceded by (,)
A comma should be used before the phrase “such as”. For instance:
“Thermoplastics such as polylactic acid …”
Should be changed to:
“Thermoplastics, such as polylactic acid …”

14. Queries?
Rafey Iqbal Rahman
rafey.iqbal16@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/rafeyirahman