Writing Skills Problems: Causes and Solutions (Published)
The purpose of this research was to discover the problems of writing skills that General Foundation Programme (GFP) students have and to come up with effective solutions. In Feb 2023, the study was carried out at A’Sharqiyah University, Oman. A descriptive study approach (content analysis) was adopted by the researcher. 36 GFP students were chosen at random and instructed to compose a paragraph of 100–120 words on a certain topic. Six GFP instructors had marked the essays of the students twice; to identify errors made by students. The study found that students struggle with the selection of words, punctuation marks, spelling, capitalization, verb tenses and the structure of sentences, when writing. Following those conclusions, various recommendations were made. For example, students should read a lot because it improves their vocabulary, grammatical skills, and general understanding. Additionally, the writing instructor should place more emphasis on the good aspects of students’ work rather than their shortcomings
Keywords: A'Sharqiyah University, GFP, GFP instructors., effective solutions, writing problems
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING PROBLEMS: DIAGNOSIS AND REMEDY (Published)
The aim of this study is to identify university students’ writing problems in English language and to suggest ways of solving those problems. The study was conducted in the Teachers’ College, and the College of Education, Nile Valley University, North Sudan in 2014. The research method used was the descriptive research method. A sample of 20 .English language students were selected using a simple random sampling procedure. They were instructed to write a composition of about 250 -300 words on “A description of my own home town/village”. The students’ compositions were reviewed twice by 10 English language instructors. The aim was to identify the errors and mistakes made by the students. The findings reveal that those university students have various writing problems: language problems at the levels of morphology and syntax; usage errors, and mechanical mistakes, that is, spelling, punctuation and capitalization, lack of several writing development skills, cognitive problems and graphomotor problems. In the light of these findings a number of recommendations have been made: It is always helpful to tell learners to revise their written work aloud. When they speak, they will make natural pauses and this will help them in punctuation. Spelling mistakes can be corrected by using dictionaries or spellcheckers. Usage mistakes and grammar mistakes will eventually disappear, if the students read extensively in English.
Keywords: grammar mistakes, mechanical mistakes, usage mistakes, writing problems