Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 18 no. 4 (2024)

Breaking the Rules: Investigating Grammatical Errors in University Writing

Annie Domede

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Writing is a fundamental skill crucial for academic success and professional development. However, despite the emphasis on writing proficiency in university-level education, many students continue to struggle with grammatical errors in their writing. These errors not only affect the clarity and coherence of their work but also impact their ability to communicate their ideas effectively. Understanding the nature and prevalence of grammatical errors among university students is essential for educators and policymakers aiming to enhance writing instruction and support. This study sought to discover the common grammatical errors in writing by Omani university students and understand the sources of these writing difficulties. This error analysis studied 72 business emails collected on two (2) different occasions. These emails were prepared and submitted by students in Technical Writing for their first email writing activity during the first day of classes and for their first quiz in Week 4 at University of Technology and Applied Sciences - Al Musannah (UTAS-A), Sultanate of Oman. The errors from each writing activity were recorded and classified into various grammatical error categories. Frequency counting and ranking were utilized to identify the most common grammatical errors incurred by the students. The result of the study shows that 831 grammatical errors were committed by the students in the two (2) written outputs of about 9000 words. A closer look at these errors reveals that omission of grammatical or function words is the most recurring error of the students, followed by using wrong words, sentence fragments, and then run-ons.



References:

  1. Ababneh, I. (2017). Analysis of Written English: The case of female university students in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 5(4), 1. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v5i4.2264.
  2. Abushihab, I., El-Omari, A.H., & Tobat, M. (2011). An Analysis of Written Grammatical Errors of Arab Learners of English as a
  3. Foreign Language at Alzaytoonah Private University of Jordan. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 20, Number 4. Pp. 543-552. http://tinyurl.com/yrftjs4d.
  4. Alghazo, K., & Alshraideh, M. K. (2020). Grammatical Errors Found in English Writing: A Study from Al-Hussein Bin Talal
  5. University. International Education Studies, 13(9), 1. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n9p1.
  6. Al Haysony, M. (2012). An Analysis of Article Errors among Saudi Female EFL Students: A Case Study. Asian Social Science. http://tinyurl.com/y8sjce2h.
  7. Altheneyan, A., & Boayrid, N. F. (2019). Writing errors among Arab EFL learners: A Review of literature. International Journal of Linguistics, 11(5), 319. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v11i5.15294.
  8. Al-Shujairi, Y. B. J., & Tan, H. (2017). Grammar errors in the writing of Iraqi English language learners. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(4), 122. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.4p.122.
  9. Al Towity, A. (2021). Exploring Grammatical Errors in English Writing Made by EFL Saudi Learners at Al-Dayer University College,
  10. Jazan University. Humanities and Educational Sciences Journal. http://hesj.org/ojs/index.php/hesj/index.
  11. Atashian, S. and Al Bahri, O.K. (2018). Towards Grammatical Errors in Academic Writing & their Perceptions. Arab World English
  12. Journal. https://awej.org/towards-arab-students-grammatical-errors-in-academic-writing-their-perceptions/.
  13. Beare, K. (2019, February 5). Why is writing more difficult than speaking? ThoughtCo. http://tinyurl.com/mv5jfpz4.
  14. Chitondo, L. (2021). An analysis of grammatical errors in student teachers’ written work at Rock view University in Lusaka.
  15. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, Volume 9, Issue 12, pp. 22-35. https://doi.org/10.20431/2347-3134.0912003.
  16. Domede, A.B. (2020). Common Spelling Errors of Omani College Students. In S.S. Scatolini and M.A. George (Eds.), Education and
  17. Society in the Middle East and North Africa English, Citizenship and Peace Education (pp. 22-36). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  18. Hidayat, D.N., Fitriyani, N., Alek, Eviyuliwati, I., and Septiawan, Y. (2020). An Investigation into The Grammatical Errors of Students’
  19. Writing. Journal of English and Education Development, Volume 4, No. 1, pp. 9-16. https://doi.org/10.31605/eduvelop.v4i1.8061.
  20. Leman, M.I. (2015). Common Grammatical Errors in Students’ Writing at Man 1 Parepare. http://eprints.unm.ac.id/8354/1/M.%20IBRAHIM%20ARTICLE.pdf.
  21. Lestari, I.A., Juliansyah, & Pratama, Y. (2020). Grammatical Errors in Students’ Writing: Descriptive Study on Grade 7 Students.
  22. Journal of English Language and Culture. Vol. 11 (No. 1). pp.23-38. http://journal.ubm.ac.id/
  23. Nordquist, R. (2020b, February 5). What is a grammatical error? ThoughtCo. http://tinyurl.com/mr2d52tr.
  24. Murad, T., & Khalil, M. (2015). Analysis of errors in English writings committed by Arab first-year college students of EFL in Israel. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(3), 475. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0603.02.
  25. McCombes, S. (15 May 2019). Descriptive Research: Definition, Types, Methods & Examples. https://tinyurl.com/3rbtmxmj.
  26. Qamariah, H., Wahyuni, S. & Meliana, (2020). An AnalysioStudents’s’sGraoStudents’s’orsrs in Writing English Text in the Second
  27. Grade Students of Smk-Smti Banda Aceh. Getsempena English Education Journal. 7. 58-71. 10.46244/geej.v7i1.1041.
  28. Top 20 errors in undergraduate writing. (n.d.). Hume Center for Writing and Speaking. https://hume.stanford.edu/resources/student-resources/writing-resources/grammar-resources/top-20-errors-undergraduate-writing.

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic