Common Grammatical Errors

Subject/ Verb agreement

The form of the verb in a sentence must agree with the subject:

There is still some creationists that believe...

'creationists' requires the plural verb 'are' 'assumption' is singular, so 'is'

Their assumption are correct

Tense Agreement

Past and present should not be mixed

Kelvin asked the question....because of this, he thinks

Asked should be paired with 'thought'. Also, note that Lord Kelvin is long dead. Discussion of his beliefs should be in the past tense

Age and Old

Using both 'age of' and 'years old' is repetitive and unnecessary.

The age of the earth is over 20 million years old.

Either, 'The Earth is over 20 million years old' or 'The age of the Earth is at least 20 million years'.

Plurals and Possessives

Grouping nouns should be plural

E.g. Scientists, Biologists, Geologists

When plurals ending in 's' are possessive, add an apostrophe after the s.

Biologists' ideas were widely mocked Lord Kelvin's ideas

When singular nouns are possessive, add 's

It's vs. Its

It's is a contraction of it is.

It's rainy out today... The alien was mad. Its ship had run out of fuel.

Its is a possessive form of 'it'

Fragments

Only complete sentences (containing both subject and verb (and accompanying phrases) should end in a period.

'35 million years old.' vs. 'He stated that the Earth was 35 million years old.'

The Earth, The Moon, The Sun

If you are referring to a specific proper noun, it should be capitalized.

The Moon rotates the Earth, causing tidal variation. The moon rotates around the planet, and also around a sun. The Sun and Moon cause tidal variation on Earth. (can be earth)

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is a proper noun. It is singular and describes a specific process defined during the first week of class. It is not The Scientific methods.

There could be other methods which are scientific, but when you mean the specific process, it is singular, and generally capitalized

Because vs. As/Since

One thing may happen because of another.

Because of these new discoveries, scientific thought on the age of Earth had to change.

Since, while occasionally used instead of because in casual writing, is generally accepted to refer to time

Since these new discoveries, scientific thought has had to change.

As should not be used instead of because. It has its own meaning.

As these new discoveries occurred, scientific thought was also changing.

Follow up on Plagiarism: Quotes

It is O.K. to quote a source. However, quotes should be brief, and must be interpreted!

According to Sir James Dewar, Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open. In other words, if you are unwilling to accept new ideas, you are not learning!

Further Resources

If you have any questions on grammar, you can ask me You can also do an internet search. There are many useful grammar explanation sites and worksheets.

Try https://owl.english.purdue.edu/