: Re: Do academic papers have to be necessarily grammatically correct? I notice that a lot of beautiful literature contains sentences that are not grammatically correct. Here are some examples:

@Samaraweera193

Academic writing intends to be clear and authoritative. You are writing to convince others that some particular claim is valid, and while most of the work of convincing will be carried by your evidence and reasoning, you can't overlook more subjective, psychological effects. 'Artistic' prose will tend to put academics off, making them think you are not serious about the work; poor grammar (if it's not obviously connected to English-as-a-Second-Language issues) will make them skeptical of your intelligence, and frame your research in a light you do not want it framed in.

I mean, consider what your own attitude would be if I had started this answer with either of the following:


"Academic prose captivates its audience with a luxuriance of clarity and authority"
"Academic write to be clear authority"


To my ear, the first sounds flowery and the second dull and plodding, and either way I would be bracing to slog through a mess written by an amateur. Prose like that set the research up for failure. It's hard enough to convince people on analytical grounds, so there's no sense creating skepticism about your personal attributes.

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