Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions

Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by thirdyear English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions

I would like to express my gratitude to my extraordinary instructor Mrs Vu Thi ThuTrang, thank her for mentoring me She inspired me to pursue this topic and gave me theconfidence and tools I needed to do it Without her direction and constant encouragement, Iwould not have learned so much and would not have been able to complete this researchproject I am greatly indebted to her insightful comments on my work In addition, I am alsograteful to all teachers at Thuongmai University for their useful lectures and contributionwhich help me get steady foundation with great ideas in this thesis writing process

A special gratitude also goes out to the third year English majors who were involved inthe study Thanks to their help, I was able to conduct my research

Hanoi, December 2020 Tong Ngoc Minh

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

LIST OF TABLES vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

1.3 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Methods of the study 3

1.6 Design of the study 3

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Academic writing 4

2.1.1 Definitions of writing 4

2.1.2 Definitions of Academic writing 5

2.2 The importance of writing 7

2.3 Essay writing 8

2.3.1 Definitions of essay 8

2.3.2 Classification of essay 8

2.3.2.1 Narrative essay 9

2.3.2.3 Cause and effect essay 11

2.3.2.4 Process analysis essay 11

2.3.2.5 Argumentative (Persuasive) essay 11

2.3.2.6 Expository essay 11

2.4 Structure of English essay 12

2.4.1 Introduction 12

2.4.2 Main Body 12

2.4.3 Conclusion 13

2.5 Assessment criteria 13

2.6 Grammatical errors 15

2.6.1 Definitions of grammar 15

2.6.2 Definitions of grammatical error 16

2.6.3 Common grammatical errors 16

2.6.3.1 Word choice 16

2.6.3.2 Word form 18

2.6.3.3 Wordiness 18

2.6.3.4 Subject- verb agreement 19

2.6.3.5 Word order 20

2.6.3.6 Verb tenses 20

2.6.3.7 Not parallel 21

2.6.3.8 Choppy 22

2.6.3.9 Run-ons 22

2.6.3.10 Fragments 22

2.6.3.11 Semi- colons 23

2.6.3.12 Comma splices 23

2.7 Mother tongue’s influence 23

2.7.1 Overgeneralization 23

2.7.2 Mother tongue’s interference 24

2.7.3 Interlingual and intralingual 25

2.8 Organization 25

2.8.1 Thesis statement 25

2.8.1.1 The Statement is Unclear 25

2.8.1.2 The Statement is Too Complicated 26

2.8.1.3 The Statement has no real purpose 26

2.8.2 Support 26

2.8.3 Layout 26

2.8.3.1 Pay attention to detail 27

2.8.3.2 Avoid unclear hierarchy 27

2.9 Summary 27

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 28

3.1 Subjects 28

3.2 Survey questionnaires 28

3.3 Data collection and analysis 28

CHAPTER IV: SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE ESSAY WRITING 40

4.1 Self-correction 40

4.2 Teacher-correction 43

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 45

REFERENCES 46

APPENDIX 47

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MTI: Mother Tongue Influence

ESL: English as a Second Language

L1: First language

L2: Second language

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Assessment criteria 15

Table 2 Word form 18

Table 3 Verb tenses 21

Table 4 Layout 27

Figure 1: Students find the most difficult skills 28

Figure 2: Students interested in English writing 29

Figure 3: The importance of English essay writing 30

Table 5 Figure 4 Students feeling about English essay 30

Table 6 Figure 5 Student’s knowledge about organization of an English essay 31

Figure 6: The reason why the students make grammatical errors 32

Figure 7: The importance of grammar in English essay writing 33

Figure 9: Kinds of grammatical errors 34

Figure 10: The habit of checking grammatical structures 35

Figure 11: The frequence of using dictionaries 36

Figure 13 Strategies to improve 37

Figure 14: The habit of making outline 38

Figure 15: The importance of getting feedback 39

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

English is described as the "language of opportunity" It is one of the most widely usedlanguages in the world In addition to the UK, 60 out of 196 countries consider English asthe official language It is estimated that 1.5 billion people speak English globally, and aboutanother billion are in the process of learning it This is why English is more beneficial thanlanguages that are less likely to be used It means that English is the language that will giveyou the best results for your efforts After all, intellectual challenges aside, there are fewpoints that put a great deal of time and effort into learning a language that you will almostnever have the opportunity to use

Even in a country where English is not an official language, English is still considered

a "lingua franca" - a common language for people of different origins Many people comefrom different lands and will benefit you one day when you need a job When traveling, youwill not need to worry about getting lost in an unfamiliar country, having confidence inordering food and being able to talk to the locals about their lives With English, you havemore options to work in industries that require employees to be fluent in this language such

as aviation, travel, movies

Nowadays, English becomes a compulsory subject in many schools, colleges anduniversity Students are taught four skills which are listening, speaking, reading and writingfrom their primary school to university Students often find that writing is the most difficultskill that requires the writer to master and use a complex combination of language skills,from vocabulary and spelling to the ability to organize ideas logically Many native speakers

of English when writing on topics they have known well; they must try very hard to writecorrectly Therefore, when writing English, students who are from non- native Englishspeaking countries must make a lot of effort to do things that a normal native speaker alsofinds difficult

Essay writing is one of the important contents of writing syllabus for the Englishmajors Like other students, the third- year students at Thuongmai University have also somedifficulties in writing although they can speak and read quite well, hardly they write

correctly They often do not take much serious consideration into grammatical usage inwriting, consequently numerous of them actually make many grammatical mistakes.Normally, they will solve the problem themselves by looking for documents as well asasking friends However, the problem will be more difficult if they do not know deeply

about the problems which related to grammar That is the reason why the title “Common grammatical errors in essay writing made by third-year English majors at Thuongmai University and suggested solutions” is carried out Reviewing and improving students’

study skills will not only enhance their confidence and help them succeed in the future, butwill also enable them to work more effectively in the time available for study

The thesis aimed at detecting some common grammatical errors in writing Englishessay, recognizing the importance of writing, showing factors that influence the writing ofstudents' essay Then, it also gives some solutions to enhance their essay writing

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims at analyzing common grammatical errors in essay writing of third-yearEnglish majors at Thuongmai University and propose some appropriate recommendationsand solutions in the hope of improving essay level The study is intended to address thefollowing issues:

- Give an overview of academic writing and essay writing;

- Figure out the grammatical errors made by third- year English majors;

- Propose the solutions to enhance writing skills

1.3 Scope of the study

In order that the study can be deeply examined, the writer needs to limit the study onwriting essay for the third-year English majors of Thuongmai University, course 2017-2021.The research focuses on discovering the common grammatical errors of the third- yearEnglish majors in essay writing, showing the results as well as suggesting some effectivesolutions to enhance their skills

1.4 Research questions

With the aims to figure out some solutions to help the third-year English majors ofThuongmai University improve and enhance their essay writing skills, the research questionswere addressed as follows and this thesis was hoped to answer them:

- What are the difficulties that the third-year English majors at Thuongmai Universityface in essay writing?

- Which grammatical errors do the third-year English majors often make?

- What are the factors affecting on those difficulties?

- How to improve the quality of essay writing for the third-year students at ThuongmaiUniversity?

1.5 Methods of the study

To make the aims of the study clearly, the author will use questionnaires to identify thedifferences between before and after of survey Then the data will be synthesized andanalyzed to help figure out student’s problems and the tips for improving their weakness.The author also uses information in books which were written by both English andVietnamese authors who had research in essay writing The writer hopes to find out thecommon grammatical errors in essay writing made by the third-year majors at ThuongmaiUniversity and suggest the ways to deal with them

1.6 Design of the study

The study consists of five main chapters:

Chapter I: The introduction includes the rationale, aims and objectives of the study,

scope of the study, research questions, methods of the study and design of the study

Chapter II: Literature review supplies the readers with the theoretical background

including the theory of academic writing, essay writing, assessment criteria and grammaticalerrors

Chapter III: Findings and discussions includes methods, subjects, survey tests and

questionnaires which are used, data collection and analysis Then, it shows commongrammatical errors as well as the major causes in essay writing

Chapter IV: Some solutions to improve essay writing plays an important role to find

out solutions to help students solve the problems

Chapter V: The conclusion summarizes the main point of the whole study.

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Academic writing

Writing has been with us for several thousand years, and nowadays is more importantthan ever Not everyone knows about its theories deeply So, this chapter gives an overview

of the previous studies, the general viewpoint on essay writing as well as theories related toit

2.1.1 Definitions of writing

There are many definitions of writing given by famous linguists

According to Nunan (2003), writing is physical and mental act, it’s about discovering ideas, thinking about how to communicate develop them into statements and paragraphs that will be comprehensible to a reader Writing has dual purpose: to express and impress Writers must select the most advantageous dedium for their writing Each types have a different level of difficulty which determined by its objectives Writing is a process and also

a product The writer creates, plans, writes various drafts, revises, edits and publishes The audience reads are a product.

Berninger (2002) also defined writing is considered an active creation of text envolves

on the one hand lower- order transcription skills such as hand-writing, punctuation and spelling, and on the other hand, higher- order self-regulated thinking processes such as planning, sequencing and expressing the content It requires the writers to express the content of writing into a good composition by considering the aspects of writing to be

understood the readers

Byrne (1988, p.1): Writing is the act of forming graphic symbols such as letters or combination of letters which relate to the sounds we make when we speak It is somehow like “making marks on a flat surface of some kind” Nonetheless, at higher level, writing is not only the “production of graphic symbols” It is the process of “arranging symbols according to certain convention, to form words and words have to be arranged to form sentence” In this way, any act relating to the forming, with or without meaning, of letters

can be considered writing

The definitions of writing are variously stated by some experts According to White

and Arndt (1991) in Hammad (2003, p.1), writing is a thinking process which demands

intellectual effort, and it envolves generating ideas, planning, goal setting, monitoring, evaluating what is going to be written as well as what has been written, and using language for expressing exact meanings It means that writing consists of some stages that should be

done by the writer in conveying the message of writing

Besides, in the opinion of Chakraverty and Gautum (200), writing may be defined as

“reflective activity that requires enough time to think about the specific topic and to analyze and classify and background knowledge Then, writers need a suitable language to structure these ideas in the form of a corehent discourses”.

Another definition of writing skills is also defined by Wikipedia that writing is a medium of human communication that represents language with signs and symbols For languages that utilize a writing system, inscriptions can complement spoken language by creating a durable version of speech that can be stored for future reference or transmitted across distance Writing, in other words,is not a language, but a tool used to make languages readable Within a language system, writing relies on many of the same structures as speech, such as vocabulary, grammar, and semantics, with the added dependency of a system of signs or symbols The result of the activity of writing is called a text, and the interpreter or activator of this text is called a reader.

In addition, according to Henry Rogers, Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach,

Blackwell (2005), writing is not language, language is a complex system residing in our

brain which allows us to produce and interpret utterances Writing involves making an utterance visible.

Based on explanations, it can be concluded that writing is an effort to express thewriter’s thinking, feeling, or ideas in a written form by considering writing aspects andwriting stages to be clear understood by their readers

2.1.2 Definitions of Academic writing

In contrast to personal writing, Academic writing is different because it deals with thetheories and causes of a given topic, as well as exploring alternative explanations for thesetheories or events

According to Hartley, James in Academic writing and publishing: A practical guide, New York: Routledge (2008), academic writing refers to a style of expression that

researchers use to define the intellectual boundaries of their disciplines and their specific areas of expertise Characteristics of academic writing include a formal tone, use of the third -person rather than first-person perspective (usually), a clear focus on the research problem under investigation, and precise word choice Like specialist languages adopted in other professions, such as, law or medicine, academic writing is designed to convey agreed meaning about complex ideas or concepts for a group of scholarly experts”.

Andrew (1995, p.2-3) claim that academic writing is “logical and formal reasoning”, “aprocess of reasoning” and “proof and evidence” Academic writing follows a particular tone,which uses concise, formal, and objective language Academic writing also adheres to

traditional conventions of punctuation, grammar, and spelling “In most forms of Academic writing, a detached and objective approach is required An academic argument appeals to logic and provides evidence in support of an intellectual l position It is important to present your arguments in logical order and to arrive at conclusions However, Academic writing can take many forms In Academic writing, writers always interact with each other’s’ texts and so there will be frequent references to the ideas, thinking or research of other authors writing in the field Also, in Academic writing, it is important that when a claim is made, it

is backed up by reasons based on some form of evidence It is expected that the author takes

a critical approach to the material being explored” (Crème & Lea, 2003)

Besides, in the opinion of Burke (2010, p.40 -41), Academic writing is “a mental and cognitive activity”, since it is a product of mind The image of an individual working alone

in a quiet environment has furthered the review of writing as mental and cognitive activity

However, as has been pointed out, “writing can be understood only from the perspective of a society rather than a single individual” Academic writing “is expected to address an intellectual community in which the students engage in active learning” Some basic or rules

must be established Using information to one’s advantage is a key part of learning Success

at the postgraduate level depends on “the students’ ability to access, evaluate, and synthesize the words, ideas, and opinions of others in order to develop their own academic voice” When presenting what they have learned, it is therefore vitally important that

students are able to show clearly what they have drawn from others and what is their own(Bristol, 2010, p.3)

Talor (1984, p.2) also expresses that “in Academic education, writing is a complex process in which writers use language as a tool to discover and clarify meaning on experience in order to say exactly what they mean”.

In conclusion, Academic writing in English is a challenge even for most native Englishspeakers However, it is particularly difficult for ESL graduate students They face manydifficulties and stresses such as difficulty distinguishing between spoken and writtenEnglish, identifying the skills needed for successful writing or avoiding plague words andphrases Therefore, they need to give more efforts as well as practice regularly to be master

2.2 The importance of writing

There is no doubt writing is an essential public relation skill

According to Walsh (2010), writing is important because it’s used extensively inhigher education and in the workplace If students don’t know how to express themselves inwriting, they won’t be communicating well with professors, employers, peers, or just aboutanyone else Much of professional communication is done in writing: proposals, memos,reports, applications, preliminary interviews, e- mails and more are part of the daily life of acollege student or successful graduate

Maley (2009), for example, emphasizes the following benefit of creative writing:

- It aids language development at all levels: grammar, vocabulary, phonology anddiscourse; it requires learners to manipulate the language in interesting and demanding ways

as they attempt to express uniquely personal meanings;

- It requires a willingness to play with the language;

- It concentrates more on the right side of the brain, with a focus on feelings, physicalsensations, intuition and musicality; it also affords scope for learners who in the usualprocesses of formal instruction are therefore often at a disadvantage

Harmer (2004, p.33-34) states that there are some the importance of learning writing

Writing is often not time-bound in the way conversation is It means that in writing activities the students have longer time to think rather than in speaking activities Thus, the students can choose the appropriate word that will be used to express their ideas They can also have longer time to check their grammar Writing encourage students to focus on accurate

language use because they think as they write It may provoke well development as they resolve problems which writing puts in their mind.

Writing is a way to explain, educate, inform, entertain one’s natural, social behavior,professional and personal point of view or philosophy or expertise to the specific or broadaudience by using words and appropriate vocabulary in a systematic method and flow Bylearning writing, the students will get knowledge how to write effectively, how to expressideas, how to share their thoughts with anyone else through writing

2.3 Essay writing

2.3.1 Definitions of essay

“Essay is a short of writing about particular subject, especially one written by a student and writing itself is the skill or activity of producing words on a surface” (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary: 2007) It means that essay writing is the activity of

producing short of written text that can be understood by the readers

In the Preface of Collected Essays by Huxley (1923), the author commented “The essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything”, and added

“by tradition, almost by definition, the essay is a short piece”.

Zemach also describes that an essay is a group of paragraph written about single topic and central main idea It must have at least three paragraphs, but a five paragraph essay is common length for academic writing Therefore, creating an essay which there is overall

thesis statement consist of three supporting paragraphs begin with a topic sentence isrequired for making an essay

In brief, essay writing is an activity to produce a group of paragraph written aboutsingle topic It serves as a way to assess the writer’s understanding of specific ideas and theirability to explain and argue these to answer a given question Essays are independent pieces

of work, which involves the use of materials as well as the writer’s researches into thequestion

2.3.2 Classification of essay

When the students write an essay, it is very important for them to know what type ofessay which they are writing Each type has different way to write as well as different ideas

to support Each subject has specific requirements for the essays to be written Somesubjects need longer essays, while others need shorter ones, such as a five-paragraph essay.Essay writing has been divided into several types Langan (2001) has divided essays into thefollowing types.

2.3.2.1 Narrative essay

As a mode of expository writing, the narrative approach, more than any other, offerswriters a chance to think and write about themselves They all have experiences lodged inour memories, which are worthy of sharing with readers Yet sometimes they are so fusedwith other memories that a lot of the time spent in writing narrative is in the prewritingstage

A narrative essay means telling a story Narrative essays are told from a defined point

of view, often the author's, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory detailsprovided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story The verbs arevivid and precise The narrative essay makes a point and that point is often defined in theopening sentence, but can also be found as the last sentence in the opening paragraph

Since a narrative relies on personal experiences, it often is in the form of a story Whenthe writer uses this technique, he or she must be sure to include all the conventions ofstorytelling: plot, character, setting, climax, and ending It is usually filled with details thatare carefully selected to explain, support, or embellish the story All of the details relate tothe main point the writer is attempting to make

2.3.2.2 Comparison and contrast essay

To compare is to examine how things are similar, while to contrast is to see how they

differ A comparison and contrast essay emphasizes how two things are alike or how theydiffer Comparison and contrast are two thought processes constantly in everyday life Whencomparing two things, we find how they are similar, when contrasting two things, we showhow they are different The purpose of comparing or contrasting is to understand each of thetwo things more clearly and to make judgments about them

This essay type is common at university, where lecturers frequently test studentunderstanding by asking them to compare and contrast two theories, two methods, two

historical periods, two characters in a novel, etc It is also possible, especially for short examessays, that only the similarities or the differences, not both, will be discussed.

2.3.2.3 Cause and effect essay

The best essays are often written about a topic that the author genuinely cares about Ineveryday life, there are many actions that do not occur without causes It is realized thatthose actions have good or bad effect When constructing an explanation text, it may benecessary to show a cause and effect relationship By examining the causes or effects of anaction, it explains someone to understand things that happened

2.3.2.4 Process analysis essay

A process essay is used for an explanation of making or breaking something Often, it

is written in chronological order or numerical order to show step-by-step processes It has allthe qualities of a technical document with the only difference is that it is often written indescriptive mood, while a technical document is mostly in imperative mood

2.3.2.5 Argumentative (Persuasive) essay

An argumentative (persuasive) essay is a critical piece of writing, aimed at presentingobjective analysis of the subject matter, narrowed down to a single topic The main idea ofall the criticism is to provide an opinion either of positive or negative implication As such, acritical essay requires research and analysis, strong internal logic and sharp structure Itsstructure normally builds around introduction with a topic's relevance and a thesis statement,body paragraphs with arguments linking back to the main thesis, and conclusion In addition,

an argumentative essay may include a refutation section where conflicting ideas areacknowledged, described, and criticized Each argument of argumentative essay should besupported with sufficient evidence, relevant to the point

2.3.2.6 Expository essay

Expository writing's main purpose is to explain It is a subject-oriented writing style, inwhich authors focus on telling about a given topic or subject without voicing their personalopinions These types of essays or articles furnish with relevant facts and figures but do notinclude their opinions This is one of the most common types of writing It is always seen intextbooks and how-to articles The author just tells about a given subject, such as how to dosomething

2.4 Structure of English essay

An essay is a piece of continuous, flowing, paragraphed text that is usuallyuninterrupted by headings, so it can appear to be instructed In fact, good essays need to bevery carefully structured indeed A basic essay consists of three main parts: introduction,body and conclusion

2.4.1 Introduction

The introductory section is supposed to do three things:

First, the writer uses it to introduce the subject of the essay, and more specifically, the

issue with respect to the subject The subject might be, say, the ethics of sport hunting Theissue might be whether hunting with bow and arrow is more or less humane than riflehunting

If the issue is somewhat complex or unfamiliar, the writer may need to spend a bit oftime on this introductory section, providing enough background and context for the reader tounderstand, in rough outline, what the issue is

Second, the writer states the thesis of the essay The thesis is the position or stance that

the essay is going to take, on the issue in question

Third, it’s often recommended that the writer says something about how the rest of the

essay is going to be organized, so the reader has some idea of what to expect and how theargument is going to unfold This becomes increasingly important as essays become longerand more complicated

The topic sentence should be followed by sentences containing evidence to back thepoint up The writer cannot just say that something is true without any supportinginformation.

Evidence will usually be in the form of information from other sources like books,academic journals or reputable websites This could be a direct quotation but is usually bestwritten in the writer words When providing information from other sources, the writer mustprovide in-text citations that link to bibliography (or footnotes if using)

The primary goal of the main body is to present the central argument of the essay.There are many ways of doing this, but an essential part of any argumentative essay is toconsider natural objections to the main argument, and then present replies that defend theargument against those objections

2.4.3 Conclusion

In the concluding section of the standard academic essay, the writer is expected torestate the main thesis, review and summarize the key argumentative in the essay Theseelements of the concluding section become more important and more prominent as essaysbecome longer and more professional

2.5 Assessment criteria

In the field of education, there is no complete agreement among researchers as to what

is meant by assessment Based on the work of Poehner (2007), assessment is defined as a process for documenting, in measurable terms, the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs

of the learner There is a general consensus about what assessment can mean and therefore

some researchers have tried to establish a definition of exactly what it might be According

to Graham et al (2011), assessment is the only method that tutors use to identify their

students' weaknesses or strengths in writing Tutors use assessment to identify spelling, grammar and punctuation problems in writing.

An effective assessment process needs criteria, which are considered an essentialelement Some researchers provide general definitions of assessment criteria as highlighted

by Foxman et al (1989) where criteria are seen as a description of the knowledge and skills possessed by the teacher to ensure that all students achieve learning.

This is assessment criteria for essay writing:

TASK ACHIEVEMENT

Content

All points covered with some expansion Minor omissions accepted The writing is of an

appropriate length.

Register

The writing is consistently formal,

informal or neutral as dictated by the task.

Effect on target render

The reader clearly understands

the message, is fully informed Thewriting satisfactory achieves the desired effect

ORGANIZATION

General organizati on

The organization is well-structured

with a clear beginning, middle and end It is divided into paragraphs In letters and reports, the appropriate layout and writing

conventions are observed

Cohesion

Information and ideas are clearly

organized through the use of a reasonable to good variety of cohesive devices There is very little repetition of the same phase

Vocabular y

Vocabulary is used appropriately for the topic The student

demonstrates his/her ability to convey the message effectively though word choice may

occasionally lack precision

Repetition is generally avoided

A good range of simple and a

reasonable range of complex structures and vocabulary requiredfor academic writing is used The student is able to describe

diagrams, processes and data contained in charts and tables as well as write an essay presenting a clear overview of their arguments

Table 1 Assessment criteria

Each category is marked, points awarded and then scores totaled However, if the

writing fails to address the topic – only ACCURACY will be marked.

It is really important for students to determine their assessment criteria There are manydifferent types of writing skills, so they will need to select a few to focus on Decide exactlywhich skills they want to evaluate, since this will determine the nature of the assignment andhow they evaluate it For example, the student might focus on:

- The use of proper writing conventions, such as good spelling, grammar, syntax,capitalization, and punctuation

- The writer’s mastery of written vocabulary

- The clarity and fluency with which the writer presents their arguments.

- The use of clear and logical structure within the text

2.6 Grammatical errors

2.6.1 Definitions of grammar

Grammar is defined in several different ways The Oxford American Dictionary, for

example, defines grammar as: "the study of words and the rule for their formation and their relationships to each other in sentences; the rules themselves; speech or writing judged as good or bad according to these rules" (1980, p.282).

Even these definitions appear to be too constraining Although these definitions reveal

a range of meanings for grammar, they presuppose that grammar does not have a moreglobal meaning The definition that will be adhered to in this essay is the one created by

Janice Neuleib who defines grammar as: "The internalized system that native speakers of a language share" (1987, p.349) This definition allows grammar to take on several forms

beyond the linguistic and formal writing processes

Broadly, according to Palmer (1976), grammar is the set of rules that the speakers of a language observe when speaking or writing it.

John Dawkins writes that there should not be a right or wrong way of practicing

grammar "According to the handbooks there is a right-or-wrong approach Such instruction

is negative in that it tells students what not to do and how not to do it; better instruction in any skill, I assume it is going to tell students what to do and how to do it" (1995, p.534) This right or wrong approach does not encourage students to study and improve their writing

skills This type of negative reinforcement may teach students how to use grammar rules, but

it will not promote exploration of grammar and writing

2.6.2 Definitions of grammatical error

Hsu (2013, p.514), asserts that grammatical errors thus means inaccurate form,semantics meanings, and use ESL will use ESL accurately, meaningfully, and appropriatelyafter mastering these three dimensions, these errors belong to local errors which arelinguistically, morphological, lexical, syntax, and orthographic errors, while global errorsmeans communicative errors which show ESL misinterpret conversational messages

Besides, error is different from mistake According to Zawareh, “Mistakes as a failure which learners neglect on correctly utilizing a known system and learners can self-correct once concentrating, errors can reveal learners' insufficient competence in producing sentences with correct grammar” (2012, p 280).

2.6.3 Common grammatical errors

2.6.3.1 Word choice

a Words with similar sounds or meanings

Using a word that sounds similar to the intended word but has a different meaning isone of the most common errors in word choice Among native speakers, such an error isoften just a slip of the tongue Among non-native speakers, however, it could be the result ofgenuine confusion

In many cases, similar-sounding words may have similar (but not the same) meaning,which adds to the confusion

Example: Attained and obtained

Incorrect: The sensors attained steady state readings at high temperatures.

Correct: The sensors obtained steady state readings at high temperatures.

Attain means reach and is mostly used when talking about a condition or stage (e.g.,

“the larva attains maturity”), while Obtain simply means get (e.g., “he obtained data from

hospital records”)

b Spelling errors due to differences in pronunciation

Sometimes, the cultural aspects play a role in spelling errors For instance, our editorshave noticed a common case of confusion among Japanese authors, which most of you mustalready be aware of It is the classic confusion between the letters “l” and “r.” This, as youknow, is because of the phonemic differences between English and Japanese

For instance, spell check won’t recognize the problem when an author says “correct”instead of “collect,” “arrow” instead of “allow,” or “rock” instead of “lock.” The only way

to avoid these errors is to be extra careful when writing them, looking up spellings of at leastthe “r/l” words you use most frequently in a paper, and doing a thorough proofread at theend, once you have completed writing the entire manuscript

Example

Incorrect: The poles were displaced in the direction of the applied pressure.

Correct: The pores were displaced in the direction of the applied pressure.

c Words with negative connotations

If the writer wants from marketing collateral is to accidentally offend the audience, besure that the word choice the writer uses doesn’t have double meanings or negativeconnotations that might confuse readers

For instance, the word “youth” has positive overtones relating to both childhood andvitality Meanwhile, “juvenile” may technically mean the same thing, but it can also havenegative connotations relating to immaturity If you were advertising a health and beautyproduct, you would talk about how it leaves you with a “youthful appearance,” not a

“juvenile appearance;” the latter would simply imply that you look childish

2.6.3.2 Word form

A word form error occurs when a writer uses the wrong part of speech In English, aword can have several forms, depending on whether it is being used as a noun, verb,adjective, or adverb

Example: I am interesting in physics.

- The past participle interested should replace interesting, the present participle.

Word form errors are very obvious to the reader and papers with these errors willappear flawed Therefore, the writer should use a dictionary to look up the word and itsforms, uses textbooks, magazines, or general literature to practice identifying nouns, verbs,adjectives, and adverbs, understands the grammar of some common endings

Noun suffixes -ment -ness -tion -ity -ence -ism -ist -ship

Verb suffixes -ate -en -ify -ize

Adjective suffixes -ous -ful -less -ive -able -ent -ic -al -y

Adverb suffix -ly

Table 2 Word form

2.6.3.3 Wordiness

If the writer has something to say to readers, spit it out (figuratively, not literally).Inflating sentences with unnecessary words or pointless filler only muddles what the writer

means to say Wordy sentences also frustrate readers, so get to the point Streamline thesentences by using strong verbs and nouns instead of trite adjectives and adverbs.

Don’t overuse words such as “that,” “just,” and “very.” Proofread the work to keep theprose tightened and toned

Example

Incorrect: It has come to our attention that your tax returns are overdue and we urge

you to file them at your earliest convenience

Correct: Your tax returns are overdue Please file them now.

2.6.3.4 Subject- verb agreement

Subject verb agreement refers to the fact that the subject and verb in a sentence mustagree in number In other words, they both must be singular or they both must be plural Thewriter can’t have a singular subject with a plural verb or vice versa The tricky part is inknowing the singular and plural forms of subjects and verbs Failing to make the subject ofsentence agree in number with the verb is a common error

Here are some more guidelines for subject- verb agreement

Rule 1: When two singular subjects are joined by the words or or nor a singular verb is

in order

Example: He or she is going to the school.

Rule 2: Two singular subjects joined by either/or or neither/nor also need a singular

verb

Example: Neither you nor your dogs know how to behave.

Rule 3: When the word and connects two or more nouns or pronouns, use a plural

verb

Example: Sam and Dan are best friend.

Rule 4: When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or

pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer

the verb

Example: The coach and his friends buy this for me / His friends and the coach buys

this for me

Rule 5: When two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ refer to the same person or thing, the

verb is singular

Example: The captain and coach of the team has been sacked.

In case these were two different individuals, two articles need to be used: The captain

and the coach of the team have been sacked.

Rule 6: When the percentage or a part of something is mentioned with plural meaning

the plural verb is used

Example: 40 of every 100 children are malnourished

Rule 7: When any of “few, many, several, both, all, some” is used with an uncountable

noun, the verb is singular

Example: Some milk is spoilt

2.6.3.5 Word order

It is hard to learn word order According to Odlin (1989), Language learners are known to produce a range of word order errors Besides, Selinker (1972) also said that Word order differs significantly across languages It is important to master word order,

especially since word

Example: He get to cleaned his son.

→He get his son to cleaned

Word order refers to the way words are arranged in a sentence To determine theproper sequence of words, the writer needs to understand what the subject (S), verb (V),object (O), complement (C), and adverbial (A) are Based on these elements, there are sevensentence types:

- SV: She has arrived

- SVA: Mark is in the hospital

- SVC: He looks confused

- SVO: I borrowed his pencil

- SVOA: They put him in a good position

- SVOC: He made me happy

- SVOO: He gave me his book.

Here are twelve tenses in English

Present perfect Is has rained a lot lately

Present perfect continuous She has been singing a song

Present perfect It has rained a lot lately

Present perfect continuous She has been singing a song

Past continuous I was learning English last year

Past perfect She had left when I went home

Past perfect continuous They had been being friend since childhood

Future perfect By next week, they will have sold this house.Future perfect continuous I will have been going to school on Monday

Table 3 Verb tenses

In English, each tenses has its own formulas and uses, but because of the lack of basicgrammar knowledge, students often make grammatical errors

2.6.3.7 Not parallel

Parallel structure adds both clout and clarity to the writer writing When the writer usesparallel structure, the writer increases the readability of their writing by creating wordpatterns readers can follow easily

Correct parallel structure is important because it makes a sentence easier to read andunderstand It allows for essays and paragraphs to flow more smoothly for the reader To fix

an error in parallel structure, the writer must put all the words or phrases in a series in thesame form Here are some examples of errors in parallel structure and how these errors can

be fixed

Example 1:

Not Parallel: My best friend took me dancing and to a show.

Parallel: My best friend took me to a dance and a show.

When the writer connects two or more clauses or phrases with a coordinatingconjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so), use parallel structure

Example 2:

Not parallel: Attaining a college degree is neither cheap nor will it be easy.

Parallel: Attaining a college degree is neither cheap nor easy.

The series in this sentence contains two phrases cheap and will it be easy To make the phrases parallel, the writer can get rid of will it be.

The first type leaves out a word - usually a conjunction - that is required to connect adependent and independent clause

Example:

Incorrect: The students did well on the test they didn't study very much.

This sentence should use either a conjunction 'but', or 'yet' or a subordinatingconjunction 'although, even though, or though' to connect the sentence

Correct: The students did well, yet they didn't study very much.

Another common run- on sentence occurs when using too many clauses

This often occurs using the word 'and'

Example: We went to the store and bought some fruit, and we went to the mall to get

some clothes, and we had lunch at M&M, and we visited grandparents

The continuous chain of clauses using 'and' should be avoided In general, do not writesentences that contain more than three clauses to ensure that your sentences do not becomerun-on sentences

2.6.3.10 Fragments

Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences that don’t have one independent clause

A fragment may lack a subject, a complete verb, or both Sometimes fragments depend onthe proceeding sentence to give it meaning

Example: A kind man in a fedora stopped beside Ariel; to see if he could help She

sniffed; looked up This was her lucky day after all; or maybe just miraculous

Incorrect: He was very hungry; he ate a whole pizza.

Correct: He was very hungry He ate a whole pizza.

2.7 Mother tongue’s influence