ASSESSMENT OF ERRORS IN THE WRITINGS OF SELECTED UNDERGRADUATES
Keywords:
Evaluation, Inacurracies, Syntax and CommunicationAbstract
Writing is a skill that is highly relevant to every aspect of scholarship. Despite its importance, students rarely accord it its due. The study set out to find out the effects of two years’ teaching of Communication Skill in a Nigerian university. An assessment in a formal letter of application was given to the students. Twenty students were randomly selected from each of the six Departments that took the course. Qualitative research method was used to analyse the findings of the study. The result indicates that the students committed a total of 980 errors in the essay, with orthographic errors being 522, followed by 233syntax errors. These show that the students have not sufficiently mastered the rules governing the syntax and general rules of the English language. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that university undergraduates should take communication skills in writing throughout their course of study in the university.
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