Q: Will my revised manuscript be rejected if there are some grammatical errors?

Detailed Question -

I have submitted for a major revision. Some grammatical errors are still there, but I have addressed all questions very nicely. I want to know: Will these grammatical errors lead to rejection or will I receive a minor revision for correcting the grammar?

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

There’s a simple answer to this, and there’s a complex answer.

The simple one first. No, your manuscript is not likely to be rejected at the peer review stage for “some grammatical errors.” At this stage, reviewers and editors alike are looking to see whether you have addressed the scientific issues adequately, which you seem to have.

Now, the complex answer. You haven’t mentioned whether you caught these errors after resubmitting the revised manuscript or before. If after, in a way, that’s excusable, as you may have been rushing to resubmit to meet the deadline. In this case, a few grammatical misses here and there are fine, and as you have rightly surmised, they could be addressed in the next and possibly final round. However, if you noticed this before and still proceeded to resubmit the manuscript without addressing them (ostensibly to meet the deadline), primarily from a diligence perspective, it may not be viewed in the right light, especially if the editor is able to sense this.

Anyhow, in either case, what you can do, if you haven’t already, is to mail the editor saying that there are some grammatical errors you’ve noticed that you hope you could fix in the next/final round. This way, you’ll be communicating to them that you are aware of these issues and are as keen to address them as soon as possible.

For the future, it may help to go through and keep handy the following resources:

Note: The last link is to what is called a publication coach series – an email-based coaching series. It is available on R Upskill, a sister brand offering learning programs for various aspects of a researcher’s work, including writing, submission, publication, and career development. Do check it out, especially because for a limited period, the courses are available for free. :)

For now though, all the best for the next/final round of submission/review!

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