This is a new kind of error. I see it in essays almost every day. For some reason, it seems a lot more common nowadays. Weird.
“Even if”
“Even if” refers to a possible situation. The meaning is close to “whether or not.”
Like:
“Even if we work hard, we will fail.”
This means that we might work hard or we might not work hard. In either case, we will fail.
Or:
“Even if the government shuts down the factory, global warming will continue.”
This means that the government might shut down the factory. Or it might not shut down the factory. In either case, global warming will continue.
“Even Though”
“Even though” refers to a situation that is true. The meaning is close to “despite the fact.”
Like:
“Even though we worked hard, we failed.”
This means that we worked hard and we failed.
Or:
“Even though we work hard, we fail.”
This means that we always work hard and we always fail.
Or:
“Even though the government shut down the factory, global warming continued.”
This means that the government shut down the factory, and global warming continued.
Or:
“Even though the government will shut down the factory, global warming will continue.”
This means that the government will shut down the factory, and global warming will continue.