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PUNCTUATION ERRORS IN WRITING IN ENGLISH

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 421 - 432, 31.07.2023

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the punctuation errors that the students made in the process of academic writing in English, to discuss the reasons underlying these errors, and to suggest some remedies for these errors. The data collection procedure was accomplished through 56 English essay papers written by the participants as a final assignment in the writing course. After their errors were identified, quantified, and categorized as intralingual and interlingual, the reasons for the errors were also discussed in terms of literature background. The findings demonstrate that the students frequently made errors in using a comma, and that the students had a tendency of committing interlingual errors, although their errors were also caused by their target language. In the light of the findings, it is recommended that punctuation marks should be taught in the target language in detail, and both differences and similarities between native and target language should be pointed out in teaching punctuation.

References

  • Alhaysony, M. (2012). An analysis of article errors among Saudi female EFL students: A case study. Asian Social Science, 8(12), 55-66.
  • Awad, A. (2012). The most common punctuation errors made by the English and the TEFL majors at An-Najah National University. Humanities, 26(1), 211-233.
  • Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. New York: Longman, Inc.
  • Carey, G. V. (1960). Mind the stop. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance of learner's errors. IRAL, 5(4), 147-170.
  • Corder, S. P. (1981). Error analysis and interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Cresswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New Jersey: Merril.
  • Darus, S. and Ching, K. H. (2009). Common errors in written English essays of form one Chinese students: A case study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 10(2), 242-253.
  • Elkılıç, G., Han, T. and Aydın, S. (2009). Punctuation and capitalization errors of Turkish EFL students in composition classes: An evidence of L1 interference. International Symposium on Sustainable Development. June 9-10, 2009. Sarajevo: Bosnia and Herzegovina. 279-284.
  • Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Gass, S. M. and Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
  • Gass, S. M., Behney, J. and Plonsky, L. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
  • Golshan, M. and Karbalaei, A. (2009). Grammatical problems in the writings of EFL undergraduate learners. South Asian Language Review, 19(1), 1-11.
  • Gowers, S. E. (1973). The complete plain words. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
  • Husada, S. (2018). An error analysis of using punctuation made by students in descriptive text at the second year students of SMPN 3 WERA in academic year 2017/2018. Jurnal Pendidikan Berkarakter, 1(1), 23-26.
  • Kane, T. S. (1983). The oxford guide to writing: A rhetoric and handbook for college students. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Khansir, A. A. and Ahrami, M. (2014). Error analysis and paragraph writing. Language in India, 14(9), 74-162.
  • Kırmızı, Ö. and Karcı, B. (2017). An investigation of Turkish higher education EFL learners’ linguistic and lexical errors: Educational process. International Journal, 6(4), 35-54.
  • Lay, K. J. and Yavuz, M. A. (2020). Targeting Turkish-to-English interlingual interference through context-heavy data-driven learning. SAGE Open, 10(2), 1-12.
  • Murshidi, G. A. (2014). Subject-verb agreement grammatical errors and punctuation errors in submissions of male university students. European Journal of Business and Innovation Research, 2(5), 44-47.
  • Nash, W. (1986). English usage: A guide to first principles. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
  • Partridge, E. (1964). You have a point there. London: Hamish Hamilton.
  • Polat, M. (2018). A comparative analysis of written errors of Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Syrian students in English writing skills. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 5(2), 64-78.
  • Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985). A comprehensive grammar of the English language, London: Longman Group Limited.
  • Richards, J. (1972). A non-contrastive approach to error analysis. English Language Teaching Journal, 25(3), 204-219.
  • Richards, J. (1984). Error analysis: Perspectives on second language acquisition. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
  • Richards, J. C., Platt, J., Platt, H. and Platt, J. T. (1993). Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. New York: Longman.
  • Richards, J. C. and Schmidt, R. W. (2002). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
  • Samhon, E. A. M. and Abdall, A. Y. (2016). Common punctuation errors made by secondary schools students in English: A case study at secondary schools. Journal of Humanities, 17(4), 73-87.
  • Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, 209–231.
  • Sermsook, K., Liamnimitr, J. and Pochakorn, R. (2017). An analysis of errors in written English sentences: A case study of Thai EFL students. English Language Teaching, 10(3), 101-110.
  • Sridhar, S. N. (1981). Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage: Three phases of one goal. In J. Fisiak (Ed.), Contrastive linguistics and the language teacher (pp. 207-241). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
  • Sürüç Şen, N. and Şimşek, A. (2020). An analysis of Turkish students’ written errors: A case of an EFL context. Journal of Language Research, 4(1), 58-68.
  • Taşçı, S. and Aksu Ataç, B. (2018). Written grammatical errors of Turkish adult learners of English: An analysis. Online Submission, 4(1), 1-13.
  • Terzioğlu, Y. and Bensen Bostancı, H. (2020). A comparative study of 10th grade Turkish Cypriot students’ writing errors. SAGE Open, 10(1), 1-19.
  • Tizazu, Y. (2014). A linguistic analysis of errors in learners’ compositions: The case of Arba Minch university students. International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, 2(2), 69-101.
  • Wati, M. K. (2014). Errors made by the third semester students in using punctuation marks. Lingua Scientia, 6(1), 69-77.
  • Yalçın, I. (2010). Turkish speaking first year and third year ELT students’ syntactic errors in their argumentative essays. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
  • Zafar, A. (2016). Error analysis: A tool to improve English skills of undergraduate students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Science, 217, 697-705.
  • Zheng, C. and Park, T. J. (2013). An analysis of errors in English writing made by Chinese and Korean university students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(8), 1342-1351.

PUNCTUATION ERRORS in WRITING in ENGLISH/İngilizce Yazma Becerisinde Noktalama Hataları

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 2, 421 - 432, 31.07.2023

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı İngilizce olarak yazılan akademik yazılarda yapılan noktalama hatalarının çözümlenmesi, bu hataların altında yatan nedenlerin irdelenmesi ve bu hatalar için düzeltici önerilerin sunulmasıdır. Veriler, katılımcıların yazma dersinde dönem sonu ödevi olarak yazdıkları 56 İngilizce makaleden elde edilmiştir. Bu yazılardaki noktalama hataları belirlendikten, yüzde ve sıklık olarak hesaplandıktan ve dil içi ve diller arası hatalar şeklinde sınıflandırıldıktan sonra, hataların altında yatan nedenler de açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Çalışmanın nicel sonuçları öğrencilerin İngilizce olarak yazdıkları akademik yazılarda en sık hata yaptıkları noktalama işaretinin virgül olduğunu göstermiştir. Hata çeşitleri açısından sonuçlara bakıldığında daha çok diller arası hataların yapıldığı ve ana dilden kaynaklı hataların yanı sıra hedef dilden kaynaklı hataların da yapıldığı görülmüştür. Bu bulgular ışığında, noktalama işaretlerinin yabancı dil öğretimi sürecinde hedef dilde öğretilmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir. Ayrıca öğretim sürecinde noktalama işaretleri konusunda anadil ile olan benzerlik ve farklılıkların altının çizilmesi önerilmiştir.Bu çalışmanın amacı İngilizce olarak yazılan akademik yazılarda yapılan noktalama hatalarının çözümlenmesi, bu hataların altında yatan nedenlerin irdelenmesi ve bu hatalar için düzeltici önerilerin sunulmasıdır. Veriler, katılımcıların yazma dersinde dönem sonu ödevi olarak yazdıkları 56 İngilizce makaleden elde edilmiştir. Bu yazılardaki noktalama hataları belirlendikten, yüzde ve sıklık olarak hesaplandıktan ve dil içi ve diller arası hatalar şeklinde sınıflandırıldıktan sonra, hataların altında yatan nedenler de açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Çalışmanın nicel sonuçları öğrencilerin İngilizce olarak yazdıkları akademik yazılarda en sık hata yaptıkları noktalama işaretinin virgül olduğunu göstermiştir. Hata çeşitleri açısından sonuçlara bakıldığında daha çok diller arası hataların yapıldığı ve ana dilden kaynaklı hataların yanı sıra hedef dilden kaynaklı hataların da yapıldığı görülmüştür. Bu bulgular ışığında, noktalama işaretlerinin yabancı dil öğretimi sürecinde hedef dilde öğretilmesi gerektiği düşünülmektedir. Ayrıca öğretim sürecinde noktalama işaretleri konusunda anadil ile olan benzerlik ve farklılıkların altının çizilmesi önerilmiştir.

References

  • Alhaysony, M. (2012). An analysis of article errors among Saudi female EFL students: A case study. Asian Social Science, 8(12), 55-66.
  • Awad, A. (2012). The most common punctuation errors made by the English and the TEFL majors at An-Najah National University. Humanities, 26(1), 211-233.
  • Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. New York: Longman, Inc.
  • Carey, G. V. (1960). Mind the stop. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance of learner's errors. IRAL, 5(4), 147-170.
  • Corder, S. P. (1981). Error analysis and interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Cresswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New Jersey: Merril.
  • Darus, S. and Ching, K. H. (2009). Common errors in written English essays of form one Chinese students: A case study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 10(2), 242-253.
  • Elkılıç, G., Han, T. and Aydın, S. (2009). Punctuation and capitalization errors of Turkish EFL students in composition classes: An evidence of L1 interference. International Symposium on Sustainable Development. June 9-10, 2009. Sarajevo: Bosnia and Herzegovina. 279-284.
  • Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Gass, S. M. and Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
  • Gass, S. M., Behney, J. and Plonsky, L. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
  • Golshan, M. and Karbalaei, A. (2009). Grammatical problems in the writings of EFL undergraduate learners. South Asian Language Review, 19(1), 1-11.
  • Gowers, S. E. (1973). The complete plain words. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
  • Husada, S. (2018). An error analysis of using punctuation made by students in descriptive text at the second year students of SMPN 3 WERA in academic year 2017/2018. Jurnal Pendidikan Berkarakter, 1(1), 23-26.
  • Kane, T. S. (1983). The oxford guide to writing: A rhetoric and handbook for college students. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Khansir, A. A. and Ahrami, M. (2014). Error analysis and paragraph writing. Language in India, 14(9), 74-162.
  • Kırmızı, Ö. and Karcı, B. (2017). An investigation of Turkish higher education EFL learners’ linguistic and lexical errors: Educational process. International Journal, 6(4), 35-54.
  • Lay, K. J. and Yavuz, M. A. (2020). Targeting Turkish-to-English interlingual interference through context-heavy data-driven learning. SAGE Open, 10(2), 1-12.
  • Murshidi, G. A. (2014). Subject-verb agreement grammatical errors and punctuation errors in submissions of male university students. European Journal of Business and Innovation Research, 2(5), 44-47.
  • Nash, W. (1986). English usage: A guide to first principles. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
  • Partridge, E. (1964). You have a point there. London: Hamish Hamilton.
  • Polat, M. (2018). A comparative analysis of written errors of Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Syrian students in English writing skills. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 5(2), 64-78.
  • Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985). A comprehensive grammar of the English language, London: Longman Group Limited.
  • Richards, J. (1972). A non-contrastive approach to error analysis. English Language Teaching Journal, 25(3), 204-219.
  • Richards, J. (1984). Error analysis: Perspectives on second language acquisition. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
  • Richards, J. C., Platt, J., Platt, H. and Platt, J. T. (1993). Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. New York: Longman.
  • Richards, J. C. and Schmidt, R. W. (2002). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
  • Samhon, E. A. M. and Abdall, A. Y. (2016). Common punctuation errors made by secondary schools students in English: A case study at secondary schools. Journal of Humanities, 17(4), 73-87.
  • Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, 209–231.
  • Sermsook, K., Liamnimitr, J. and Pochakorn, R. (2017). An analysis of errors in written English sentences: A case study of Thai EFL students. English Language Teaching, 10(3), 101-110.
  • Sridhar, S. N. (1981). Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage: Three phases of one goal. In J. Fisiak (Ed.), Contrastive linguistics and the language teacher (pp. 207-241). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
  • Sürüç Şen, N. and Şimşek, A. (2020). An analysis of Turkish students’ written errors: A case of an EFL context. Journal of Language Research, 4(1), 58-68.
  • Taşçı, S. and Aksu Ataç, B. (2018). Written grammatical errors of Turkish adult learners of English: An analysis. Online Submission, 4(1), 1-13.
  • Terzioğlu, Y. and Bensen Bostancı, H. (2020). A comparative study of 10th grade Turkish Cypriot students’ writing errors. SAGE Open, 10(1), 1-19.
  • Tizazu, Y. (2014). A linguistic analysis of errors in learners’ compositions: The case of Arba Minch university students. International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, 2(2), 69-101.
  • Wati, M. K. (2014). Errors made by the third semester students in using punctuation marks. Lingua Scientia, 6(1), 69-77.
  • Yalçın, I. (2010). Turkish speaking first year and third year ELT students’ syntactic errors in their argumentative essays. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
  • Zafar, A. (2016). Error analysis: A tool to improve English skills of undergraduate students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Science, 217, 697-705.
  • Zheng, C. and Park, T. J. (2013). An analysis of errors in English writing made by Chinese and Korean university students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(8), 1342-1351.
There are 40 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Nejla Gezmiş 0000-0003-4909-1460

Publication Date July 31, 2023
Submission Date February 1, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 13 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Gezmiş, N. (2023). PUNCTUATION ERRORS IN WRITING IN ENGLISH. Kırıkkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 13(2), 421-432.

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