Paragraph Organization Errorsinthe Writingof College Students
Paragraph Organization Errorsinthe Writingof College Students
Paragraph Organization Errorsinthe Writingof College Students
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Original Article
Aizaz Soomro
Sukkur IBA University - Pakistan
aizaz.aijaz@yahoo.com
How to Cite:
Siddiqui, K., Abbasi, R. H., & Soomro, A. (2023). Paragraph Organization Errors in the Writing of Pakistani College-
Going Students: An Error Analysis Study. Academy of Education and Social Sciences Review, 3(2) , 47–55. https://
doi.org/10.48112/aessr.v3i2.479
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Siddiqui, Abbasi & Soomro
Abstract
Writing something worthy of reading in a foreign language is a challenging task. Students learning English as
a foreign or a second language suffer most in writing especially in paragraph writing. Although studies have
been conducted to explore language errors in English composition of Pakistani students, paragraph organiza-
tion errors have received little attention. Therefore, this study investigated errors in the unity, development, and
coherence in the paragraphs written by Pakistani college students. Besides, the study also explored the factors
that cause errors in the paragraphs. In this regard, writing samples of purposively selected 20 college participants
were analyzed using error analysis classification by Liu and Wang (2011). Thereafter, five participants were inter-
viewed individually through semi-structured interviews to explore factors that cause errors in the paragraphs of
college students. The findings revealed that the students made most errors in paragraph unity, followed by par-
agraph development, and then paragraph coherence. Besides, the thematic analysis of the interviews revealed
that cramming culture, excessive attention given to grammar and lack of quality feedback were the key factors
that had affected the paragraph organization skills of these students. The study discusses implications for stu-
dents and teachers.
INTRODUCTION
English is the most commonly spoken language in the world (Mauranen, 2003). It is used in various spheres
of life ranging from business, commerce, and education to science and technology. English has transformed
into a language of study and it is a vital means of communication and transfer of information, particularly
in the field of education. English has emerged as a medium of study and the common source of significant
information transfer (Mahboob, 2014). Bearing in mind its enormous significance around the world, it is highly
supported in Pakistani academia too. Not only is English Pakistan’s official language, but it is also a medium
of instruction across the country (Coleman, 2010; Mahboob, 2020). As the English language is widely used,
pupils must be proficient in all four language aspects: reading and listening (input skills), writing and speaking
(output skills). However, research shows that L2 students face a wide range of issues while learning a foreign
language. Since the expression of thoughts in a well-planned and well-organized manner are indispensable,
addressing writing challenges are of considerable importance (Korth et al., 2017).
Because writing is a useful skill that requires a significant amount of effort, it becomes a much more
challenging task to write something in a foreign language or L2. Students, especially those who are learning
English as a second language (henceforth ESL), have a tough time creating something that is worth reading.
Likewise, Pakistani college students have difficulty learning the English language, particularly mastering the
ability to write. Studies indicate that students in Pakistan at different levels make errors in significant areas
such as spellings, tenses, sentence structures, punctuation marks, and paragraph structure (Fareed, et al., 2016;
Javed, et al., 2013). Although there has been a lot of research in difficulties experienced by learners in learning
the English language, paragraph organization has received very little attention, especially at the college level
(Siddiqui, 2020). Besides, students who have done their Matriculation from public sector education institutes,
seem to struggle more in writing classes. So far, the researcher failed to locate any empirical studies that have
been carried out in Pakistan to find the types of errors these students make in paragraph organization and
what the reasons for college students’ problems with paragraph organization are.
This study aims to identify the paragraph organization errors made by college-going students and to
investigate the factors causing such errors in paragraph organization. The research questions that emerged
for the study were:
Research Questions
• What errors in paragraph organization do students make in Pakistani colleges?
• What factors cause these errors in the students’ writing samples?
Significance of the Study
The study findings will be advantageous for the students, teachers, and program designers in their own
ways. Students would be more conscious of their flaws in writing a paragraph, which would prevent them
from repeating the mistakes in the future. The study will inform teachers of the regular forms and frequency
of errors students make when writing paragraphs. In this way, the teachers will be able to concentrate on
the mistakes while designing writing tasks. Moreover, they can pay substantial attention to techniques,
approaches, and methods used to enhance the skill of students in paragraph writing.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Paragraph Development
Paragraph structure is probably the most important thing to discuss when it comes to the structure
and arrangement of a document (Wali & Madani, 2020). Collection of words and phrases make sentences;
combination of sentences make paragraphs in different genres of writing like letters, reports, essays, and
other longer work of composition (Sattayatham & Ratanapinyowong, 2008). Therefore, in any text, the value
of paragraphs is important. A paragraph is made up of a topic sentence followed by supporting details, and
ending with a concluding or closing sentence (Sattayatham & Ratanapinyowong, 2008); and only one idea
must be dealt with in each paragraph (Saeed, et al., 2021). A topic sentence is a sentence that usually takes
the first place in a paragraph, stating the main idea of the whole paragraph, followed by supporting ideas that
give information about or explain the core theme. A paragraph ends with a closing sentence, which either
restates the topic sentence or presents a short summary of the entire paragraph or includes a blend of both
(Kemper, et al., 2018).
Error Analysis (EA) and its Importance
Despite several criticisms, such as disagreements over what constitutes a mistake, definition of an error
and the ways to recognize errors and error analysis (EA) continues to be a perfect tool for investigating errors
made by learners (Wu & Garza, 2014). Countless researchers have tried to define error in the past years. For
example, Corder (1967) characterizes an error as a code breach, or a departure from the norm; James (2013)
interprets error as an unsuccessful language; Lennon (1991) considers an error to be a linguistic form or a
mixture of forms that the speaker’s native speaker counterparts would not produce in the same sense and
under similar production conditions. What is popular with these meanings is the obvious difference that they
all refer to errors as linguistic deviations. To match certain study objectives, researchers have experimented
with a broader definition of a mistake.
Zhang, et al., (1995), for example, discovered both linguistic and rhetorical faults encompassing not only
grammar, but also discourse concerns in their study. Error analysis is a kind of technique to evaluate the
speech or written output of second/foreign language learners. From various viewpoints, several researchers
have already addressed error analysis. Both Corder (1967) and Brown (2000) emphasize the importance of
language learner errors in research because it reveals the learners’ current level of knowledge. According to
Corder (1967), studying errors is not only something to be avoided, but it can also be beneficial in and of
itself. Corder (1967) noted that the mistakes of students should not be overlooked because these are those
mistakes that establish functions for language learners. As some researchers have pointed out (Corder, 1967;
Dai & Shu, 1994), error analysis in the following aspects is highly important for second language acquisition.
Error Analysis and Paragraph Writing
Numerous research studies have been conducted since the 1970s to define and categorize errors at
different stages of writing, like, the sentence, paragraph, and discourse stages. At the Chinese University in
Beijing, Liu and Wang (2011) identified mistakes and looked at how they (the mistakes) related to the writing
that students produced over time in the target language. Data from 90 compositions generated as the result
of three tasks delivered to 30 Chinese undergraduate non-English majors over an eight week period were
evaluated to investigate errors at the paragraph level amongst four categories: paragraph unity, paragraph
growth, paragraph coherence, and point of view inconsistency. The findings indicated that 105 paragraph-level
faults were found out of 1138 reported errors in 90 compositions (9 percent). The most frequent problems at
the paragraph level according to the researchers were point of view inconsistency (11%), errors in paragraph
development (43 %), errors in paragraph coherence (28 %), and errors in paragraph unity (18 %).
Having evaluated paragraph-writing samples of 70 students at Bushehr University of Applied Science and
Technology (Shahhoseiny, 2015) discovered 165 mistakes in total. Fifty-eight errors were identified in the
subject sentence, which accounted for 81.6 %, 97.2% for 69 errors in supporting sentences, and 53.5% for 38
errors in the closing sentences. Furthermore, ANOVA one-way analysis of these errors in paragraph writing
revealed interesting findings. There were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of errors
between the topic sentence and the supporting or ending sentences, whereas the number of errors between
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The participants comprised 20 college students between the age of 16 and 20 (ten male and ten female). All
of them spoke Sindhi as their first language. These participants were selected at the start of the course using
purposive sampling technique as it enables the researcher to extract rich information from the participants
(Etikan, et al., 2016).
The Writing Samples
The written paragraphs of 20 college students learning English in their second-year program at a public
sector college are the corpus examined for data collection for this study. In their writing lesson, students were
assigned to compose a paragraph on a given topic. The choice of topic was based on the general and familiar
nature of the subjects so that the students could express their ideas freely and easily. Participants were invited
to write on the following topic: My first day in college. The writing samples of the study participants were the
first approach used to determine how the topic sentence was created, how it was supported with supporting
elements, and how it was concluded. The documentary evidence refers to “systematic gathering of data”
(Bretschneider, et al., 2017) thus, enabling the researcher to view and identify the areas of frequently made
errors.
Semi-Structured Interviews
Another tool to gather data for this study was the semi-structured interviews. A semi-structured interview
is a data collection strategy that allows researchers to interview participants by asking preset questions, and it
allows individuals to freely express the issues that are most important to them (Galletta, 2013). This tool helped
to gain the perspectives of the participants pertaining to the factors that influence their errors in paragraph
organization. This approach was also employed to acquire a holistic understanding of the participants’
issues. The interviews were conducted using an interview guide that included questions regarding students’
perspectives about influencing factors.
Data Collection Procedure
A writing assignment involving paragraph writing was administered to the participants to collect the data.
In week 02 of the academic calendar, a sheet with the topic was handed over to the participants. They had
30-40 minutes to produce a paragraph of 120 to 150 words on the given topic. For data analysis of the writing
samples, the current study used classification by Liu and Wang (2011), which states the following:
Errors in Unity of Paragraph
The errors belonging to this category are related to students’ inability to demonstrate a clear controlling
idea or the presence of many controlling ideas, and the presence of the topic sentence which does not
encompass all the ideas mentioned in the paragraph.
compound and complex phrases (Schleppegrell, 2003). Resultantly, guidelines for producing a well-structured
paragraph are ignored by these lecturers.
The methods for teaching pupils to write a paragraph should provide adequate time to encourage them
to think freely and generate suggestions for the topic (Wu & Garza, 2014). Following that, they should be
taught how to organize their thoughts in a logical and effective manner. Additionally, instructors should teach
students how to come up with a clear controlling idea focusing one thing in a paragraph. They should provide
students pertinent ideas to expand on the subject and teach them how to change tenses and grammatical
structures correctly within a paragraph. According to earlier research by Liu and Wang (2011), the errors were
mostly found in paragraph development and lesser in paragraph coherence and paragraph unity. In fact, a
few students provided correct topic sentences, but were unable to expand on them or support them with
additional ideas, facts, or examples.
IMPLICATIONS
The study findings will have some educational implications. For starters, making mistakes is a regular part of
the language development process, thus students’ mistakes can be a valuable resource for improving teaching
and learning. Students should not be labelled by their teachers based on their writing faults. Teachers should
appreciate students’ efforts and encourage them to write for varied purposes in order to learn language in a
variety of situations. In the classroom, authentic sources such as newspapers, journals, websites, and printed
reading materials can be used. We believe that encouraging future instructors and students through positive
corrective feedback, real target language input, and interactive teaching and learning can help them improve
their language abilities by triggering their motivation and awareness.
Competing Interest
The authors have declared no competing interest.
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