Grammatical Error Analysis in the Academic Writing of English Language First-Year College Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the written discourse of college students in Iraq and identify the frequent grammatical errors they make. A mixed-methods design was adopted for the investigation. A non-random convenience sample was used. Quantitative data from 110 compositions written by first-year university students in the Department of English, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar, were collected following their admission for the academic year 2023–2024. An interview was also conducted in order to triangulate the data. James' grammar error framework and Corder's error analysis model were used to analyze the compositions. Besides, Brown's taxonomy was employed to categorize the various types of errors. The findings revealed that the most frequent errors committed in the compositions under investigation were the use of verb tenses, articles, and prepositions and this represent a major area of difficulty for the students. They also showed that the addition and omission types of errors were frequently common in the performance of students under study when writing their compositions. The study infers that interlanguage was the primary source of these errors. Pedagogically, the findings of this paper imply the necessity of explicit grammar instruction and the focused error feedback to improve the students' performance when writing their compositions. In particular, these targeted interventions can significantly enhance students' academic writing skills, equipping them with greater accuracy and confidence in producing coherent and well-structured texts.