Avoiding “is that” when adding an explanatory subordinate clause to a sentence in academic writing

Question

Consider the following sentence as a starter of the final paragraph of an article:

While previous studies have proven to be valuable, a potential drawback of the type of methods used is that they evaluate . . ..

When I read that sentence out loud, it sounds a bit “clumpy” perhaps even a bit informal. Is there better way to phrase such a sentence? Alternatively, am I worried for no reason here?

Answer 1

The only problem here is with they evaluate.

Presumably, it refers to methods, since that is the only plural antecedent in that clause. But consider what it looks like when you shuffle the pieces around:

The type of methods used evaluate X.

The subject of this clause is type, not methods, and it requires a singular verb.

What you want to say is:

... a potential drawback with methods of the type used is that they evaluate ...

I've changed drawback of to drawback with to avoid two ofs that close to each other, but that's just for my ear: it's not essential.

Finally, I think the word you want is clunky, 'mechanically awkward', not clumpy, 'composed of clumps'.