As journal editors and reviewers, we receive and deal with a large number of manuscripts each year. Below is a summary of some of the common mistakes that researchers make while preparing their manuscripts.

Mistake 1: Missing Coherence

Most of the manuscripts lack coherence, that is, a logical connection between sections and subsections. Missing coherence is also common even in the paragraphs. Sometimes, there is no logical connection between the sentences of a paragraph.

Mistake 2: Absence of Contextualization

In the Introduction, authors do not provide any background of the topic. They also do not demonstrate the research gap. Some authors irritate the editors and reviewers by writing the cliché gap statement: “Hardly any research has been conducted…”.

Mistake 3: Purposeless Literature Review

Some manuscripts just compile information from different sources. As they simply compile and put ideas together, the literature review does not make any sense. Most often, the literature review lacks connection with the research questions, objectives, and the overall design of the research.          

Mistake 4: Missing Discussion

Some authors do not understand the difference between Results/Findings/Analysis and Discussion section. They simply summarize the data and do not offer any interpretation in the Discussion section.

Article by
Adilur Rahaman
Executive Editor, Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA) Journal