Discussion Grammar Diagnosis
Theory basis
Science Research Writing Unit 4.2.2 Q&A "Why is Sentence 2 in the Present Simple tense?" + "Why are Sentences 3 and 4 in the Past Simple tense?" + 4.5 (modal verb forms and tense).
Tense principles (the single biggest grammar issue in Discussion)
| Tense | Use in Discussion | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Permanent truths, generalisations, established facts | "Stress disrupts the intestinal barrier." |
| Past Simple | Study-specific findings (this paper) | "We found a significant difference..." |
| Present Perfect | Recently completed actions with present relevance (rare in Discussion) | "Several studies have investigated this question." |
| Modal + bare infinitive | Possibility / ability / recommendation (see Vocabulary skill) | "Stress may disrupt..." |
Tense reflects the writer's confidence:
- Present Simple = "I believe this is a permanent, independent truth"
- Past Simple = "this is what we observed in our study"
Self-check: Can you swap the verb between present and past without changing the claim? If yes, the tense choice encodes confidence, not time.
What this skill diagnoses
- Tense–claim alignment — Is the tense right for the writer's intended epistemic stance?
- Tense consistency — Same move (e.g., revisit results) should use consistent tense unless there's a deliberate epistemic shift.
- Subject-verb agreement — especially with long subjects (the results of the present study, the participants who completed the second task).
- Article usage — a / an / the / zero article, especially with abstract nouns (the result, a significant result, results).
- Voice — active vs passive; consistent choice within a sentence.
- Punctuation — comma splices, run-ons, missing commas in compound/complex sentences, consistent decimal/thousand separators.
Diagnostic signals
| Signal | Means |
|---|---|
| "Stress disrupted the intestinal barrier." (general claim, past tense) | Tense weakens claim — should be Present Simple |
| "The results of the present study suggests..." | Subject-verb agreement (study is singular; results is plural) |
| "It has been found that..." (no agent) | Unattributed passive — usually acceptable, but watch overuse |
| "a important finding" | Article error — should be "an" |
| "However the sample size was small" (no comma) | Punctuation — needs comma after "However" sentence-initial |
| Two independent clauses joined with comma only | Comma splice — needs semicolon, period, or conjunction |
Output format
## Grammar Diagnosis
### Tense
- Move-by-move tense audit (table)
- Tense-claim alignment issues
### Other grammar
- Subject-verb agreement: [list issues with sentence_ref]
- Article usage: [list]
- Voice: [list]
- Punctuation: [list]
### Top issues (severity: critical / major / minor)
1. ...
Cross-reference
- Modal verb forms (can/could/may/might/must/should + perfect) overlap with the Vocabulary skill. This skill handles the form; Vocabulary handles the appropriate usage for hedging.
Academic integrity
Does not generate or rewrite. Only diagnoses.
References (to be filled in Phase 2)
references/rubric.mdreferences/checklist.mdreferences/examples/