Liceo

Journal
of Higher
Research
Vol. 6 No.
1 December
2009Education
ISSN: 2094-1064

CHED Accredited Research Journal, Category B

Liceo Journal of Higher Education Research

Social Science Section

Analysis of Errors in the Essays Written by

Math, Science and Engineering Faculty
Salvador dela Pea, MA
vadz_2000@yahoo.com
Liceo de Cagayan University
Date Submitted: September 27, 2008
Final Revision Accepted: December 14, 2008

Abstract - This study analyzed the errors in writing frequently

committed by the math, science, and engineering regular faculty
of the Liceo de Cagayan University. The analysis of the essays was
done by identifying the errors and categorizing them according
to the grammar items and writing mechanics. The distribution
of frequency and percentage were used to determine the order
of errors. The tabulation included the actual number of usage
and the number of correct and erroneous usage. As found out,
the essays contained errors in grammar and punctuation, though
relatively low. As ranked, the first five frequent errors were in
the use of tenses, preposition, noun inflection, article, subjectverb agreement, and punctuation. Errors in conjunction, verb
form, pronoun, and modifier (descriptive) were less frequent. The
findings make language retooling program and other academicrelated activities necessary in order for the faculty to achieve
accuracy in the use of English.

Keywords: error analysis, faculty essays

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Analysis of Errors in the Essays Written by Math, Science and

Engineering Faculty of Liceo De Cagayan University

S. de la Pea

INTRODUCTION
Communication is defined as the process by which information
is exchanged between individuals through a common system
of symbols, signs, or behaviour (Merriam-Webster Online).
Communicative competence, therefore, means communication in
accordance with the fundamental system of rules a language has.
It further means the extent to which the language user can fulfil
the conditions for a correct composition of sentences in utterances.
A person communicates either orally and/or in writing. This
study focused on the written form. As known so well, writing is
an intricate and complex process, especially among non-native
speakers of the language. The many rules of the language that need
to be applied generally make non-native speakers of the language
prone to committing errors. And these errors, left uncorrected,
will exacerbate the problem of misunderstanding. Taking up this
notion will necessitate the study of common errors committed in
writing among language users, who in this study are the math
and science and engineering faculty, in order to facilitate effective
communication.
Error analysis was conceptualized and applied based on the
behaviourist theory of language learning, which implied that errors
were signs that a language learner had simply not learnt the rules
of the target language effectively (Brown, 1987). Error analysis is
a type of linguistic analysis that focuses on the errors frequently
made by the learners of the target language. The importance of an
error analysis lies on the information it provides for determining
priorities for future efforts aimed at improving the learners
competence in the use of the target language.
English is the principal medium used in classroom instruction
and in all school communications. The competence of the academic
staff in using English for communication influences the quality of
the desired academic output. Undoubtedly, the facultys proficiency
in the use of the language is vital in the promotion of quality
instruction not only because they teach their respective subjects
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in English, but also because they themselves model the language

to their students. Accordingly, the facultys language facility is an
indispensable pedagogical skill. Thus, an effort to strengthen such
facility is necessary.
Further affirming the need for this study is the university
teachers role in academic research. University teachers are to go
beyond the classroom-based provision of general instruction to the
students. They are to undertake research in order to contribute to the
knowledge base of their respective discipline or academic field. Liceo
de Cagayan University has made research and knowledge creation
a very significant part of the schools mission. Faculty members are
aggressively encouraged to engage in research through incentive
package that include research honorarium and academic rank
promotion, among others. However, a lack of writing competence
can become a deterrent for teachers to do research. Teachers may,
out of the need, do research, but come up with a poor paper due to
substandard English. Hence, promoting English proficiency level
among the teachers will equip them better for research projects, the
writing of which requires language accuracy.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Errors in writing are inevitable among non-native speakers of
English. Being so, this study was conducted to examine the errors
frequently committed by science, math, and engineering faculty of
the Liceo de Cagayan University in order to determine the language
areas that need reinforcement through language interventions.
Specifically, the study attempted to do the following:
1. Identify the errors in writing; and
2. Categorize the errors.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is significant in three different ways. First, the
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Analysis of Errors in the Essays Written by Math, Science and

Engineering Faculty of Liceo De Cagayan University

S. de la Pea

science, math, and engineering teachers will come to know what

remains for them to learn, thus encouraging them to consider taking
up retooling program for English proficiency. Second, the study
provides the researcher with evidence of how far the language
is learnt or acquired by teachers, enabling him to identify the
problematic areas of the language use, which will be used as basis
for future intervention designed to promote English proficiency
among the universitys science and engineering faculty. Third, the
study is indispensable to the faculty themselves, because the errors
can serve as a device they can use in order to learn. In other words,
the findings of the study will be their launching pad in mastering
the language.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This study was anchored on the following literature for error
analysis.
James (as cited by Sattayatham and Honsa [Online]) introduced
linguistic category in the study of errors. He specified errors
in terms of linguistic categories and in terms of where the error
is located in the overall system of the target language. Errors are
located in certain level of the language, such as in phonology,
grammar, lexis, text or discourse. If the error is at the grammar
level, the grammatical construction involved is determined, thus
the classification of the error.
On the other hand, the surface structure strategy for describing
errors according to their systematicity was developed by Dulay and
Burt and Krashen as cited by Ahmadvand [Online]. Errors occur
in four ways: omission, in which learners tend to omit function
words; addition, which is the result of all-too-faithful use of certain
rules or application of rules to domains where they do not apply;
misformation, which is the use of the wrong form of a structure or
morpheme; and misordering, in which the learner selects the right
forms to use in the right context, but arranges them in the wrong
order.
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A model for error analysis was also developed by Corder, as

cited by Abisamra [Online]. The model included three stages: data
collection recognition of idiosyncracy; descriprtion accounting
for idiosyncratic dialect; and explanation, which is the ultimate
object of error analysis. The initial step requires the selection of a
corpus of language followed by the identification of errors according
to the different levels of the target language. The errors are then
classified. The next step, after giving a grammatical analysis of each
error, demands an explanation of different types of errors.
McCoy, et al. [Online] came up with taxonomy for errors
responsible for identifying errors in the production of a second
language. The model, which was derived from the analysis of
about 80 samples, included syntactic and/or morphological
manifestations. The error taxonomy covered the following linguistic
aspects: preposition (omitted, inappropriate, extra), conjunction
(omitted, inappropriate, extra) determiners (omitted, inappropriate,
extra), incorrect subject-verb agreement, tense and aspect (dropped
tense, extra auxiliary, missing auxiliary, incorrect modal, missing
modal, extra modal, other tense/aspect problem), adjective and
adverb problems, incorrect number on noun, problems with noun
formation, pronouns (incorrect pronoun choice, inappropriate
pronoun use, lack of pronoun), redundancy problem, run-on
sentences, and other problems related to discourse structuring.
Furthermore, the structure of the language can be studied in a
variety of ways (Structure of English Language, [ONLINE]). For
example, one can study classes of words (parts of speech), meanings
of words (semantics), how words are organized in relation to each
other (syntax), how words are formed (morphology), the sounds
of words (phonology), and how written forms represent these
(lexicography).
METHOD AND MATERIAL
This study was conducted among the college science, math, and
engineering regular faculty of the Liceo de Cagayan University. The
university has 10 science regular teachers, 5 math regular teachers,
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Engineering Faculty of Liceo De Cagayan University

S. de la Pea

and 9 engineering regular teachers. Since the number of faculty is

too small to sample, the entire population was taken in. However,
during the two-week data gathering, few of the target faculty were
either on leave or declined to submit the required essay; hence, the
total number of faculty involved in the study was 21, accounting
for 87.5 percent of the target population. The faculty- respondents
breakdown was as follows: science, 10 (100%); math, 4 (80%); and
engineering, 7 (77.77%).
The teachers were required by their respective deans to write
on provided sheets with instruction an essay on the impact of their
stay in the university on their social, personal, and professional
life. The teachers were given sufficient time to write unsupervised,
seeing to it that their essays were well thought and reflective of their
writing competencies. Some of the essays were retrieved directly
from the respondents by the researcher, while most of the essays
were summarily collected from the offices of the deans.
ANALYSIS
The essays were analyzed to identify the common errors
in writing. The analysis was restricted to the following items:
grammar (determiner, preposition, conjunction, tense, verbsubject agreement, noun, pronoun, and modifier) and mechanics
(punctuation). Three steps were done in analyzing the essays. First,
the errors for each essay were identified. Second, the errors were
described based on the error taxonomy. Third, the percentage and
distribution of frequency were used to determine the order of errors
from the most frequent to the least frequent errors. The following
procedure was used to tabulate the identified errors:
1. Frequency of usage was counted;
2. Frequency of correct attempts was counted from total
usage;
3. Frequency of errors was counted from total usage; and
4. Correct attempts and errors were tallied and converted
into percentages.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The math, science, and engineering facultys errors in writing
were shown in the table that follows.
As revealed, errors in the use of tenses (16%) figured most
prominently. Sentences that should be expressed in the present
perfect, suggesting an action that has started in the past and continues
at the moment of writing/speaking, were frequently expressed
either in the simple present or past tense. Take for example the
sentence, Liceo University is an institution that create a great impact to
my life... The writers continued stay in the university has caused
the impact; thus, it should be stated in the perfect tense: Liceo
University is an institution that has created great impact on my life.
Another example of this type of error is, What I learn as employee
in this school is the attitude... The learning of an attitude has already
taken place prior to writing, thus: As an employee of this school, I
have learned to be [specific attitude]. Errors in the use of tenses were
observed to occur most frequently among the engineering faculty
(23%), but least frequently among the math faculty (10%).
Also figuring prominently were errors in the use of prepositions
(14%), ranked second to errors in tenses. The errors occurred either
by misuse or omission or addition; for example: to excel on [in] my
field (misuse), learn from them on [delete] how to live (addition),
and you need [to] go along with others (omission). Prepositions
were most erroneously used among the engineering faculty (29%),
but least erroneously used among the math faculty (6%).
Ranked third from the most frequent errors were errors in
noun inflection (12%). These errors, which were mostly committed
by a deletion or addition of s, were contained in the following
parts of the actual sentences: ... to understand the students and my
colleague [deletion of s]; ... in this institutions... [addition of s] and ...
some professional organization [deletion of s]. Wrong inflections also
occurred in some instances as in ... the influenced [addition of d] of
the university in my life... and ... by chairing committees and coordinate
[deletion of ing] projects ... Errors in noun inflection were most
pronounced among the essays written by the science faculty (9%),
but least pronounced in the essays of the engineering faculty (3%).
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Analysis of Errors in the Essays Written by Math, Science and

Engineering Faculty of Liceo De Cagayan University

S. de la Pea

The use of articles (11%) also posed a problem in writing

among the faculty, especially among the engineering faculty whose
frequency of errors in article use was the highest (15%). The articles
were either used unnecessarily as in ... these help me acquire the
[unnecessary] professional experiences ... or omitted as in ... the start
of [a is missing] good and happy relationship ... However, these types
of errors were minimal in the essays of the science and math faculty
(9%).
Errors in subject-verb agreement (11%) were also identified in
the writings of the faculty. Examples of these errors are as follow:
This indeed boost [s] my morale, ...various teaching techniques has
[have] helped me ..., and ... conflict and misunderstanding arises [arise]
... The errors in this grammatical item were most evident in the
essays of the engineering faculty (14%), but least evident in the
essays of the math faculty (3%).
Moreover, errors in the use of conjunctions (9%) were spotted.
Conjunction errors were most apparent in the writings of the
science faculty (14%). The writings of the engineering faculty (6%)
contained very minimal errors in conjunctions, while no error was
observed in the writings of the math faculty.
Errors on grammar items as verb form (6%), pronouns (3%),
and modifiers (3%) were relatively very low as compared to the
errors in other grammatical items. Though less frequent, these
errors should still be addressed for accuracy in language usage.
Lastly, punctuating, which was the only part of the writing
mechanics considered in the study, was a prominent problem
observed in almost all write-ups. The essays of the engineering
faculty had the highest frequency of errors (13%) followed by math
facultys essays (12%) and science facultys essays (10%). The errors
in punctuating occurred by omission. Commonly, introductory
word/phrase/clause and non-essential phrase/clause were not set off
by a comma[s] as in All of us [comma] especially the non-mathematics
people [comma] need to ... and However [comma] one may .... Also,
the errors in punctuating were committed by omitting the hyphen
in a phrasal modifier and compound noun as in health [hyphen]
related department and self [hyphen] confidence. An omission of
apostrophe for the possessive case was also observed as in students
characters and institution vision and mission.
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CONCLUSION
The findings reveal that errors in grammatical items and
punctuation marks occurred in the essays written by the math,
science, and engineering faculty. It can be concluded then that
language problems still confront professionals in the academe,
especially among those in the field of science and engineering.
These language problems might have been caused by any of the
factors as inadequate exposure to English, inherent difficulties
of English being a complex language, and mother tongue
interference. Anyhow, the findings call for language interventions
that will minimize, if not completely eliminate, the occurrence
of the identified errors. Indeed, it is essential for the faculty to
value, understand, and practice writing themselves so as to build
effectively the communication skills of the students.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is very important for the teachers who are grappling with
the complexities of English to continually upgrade themselves
professionally so as to become good models of the language they
teach, both in the written and oral forms. Language upgrading may
take place through English retooling sessions that target language
items frequently used erroneously or through a facilitated peer
sessions that encourage intellectual exchanges in the target
language. Moreover, the teachers must get more exposure to the
language by keeping themselves abreast of the current issues by
reading books and journals related to their profession. They should
not just impress upon their students the importance of forming
reading habit; instead, they should form the habit themselves too.
Mastering the language requires constant application. Hence, it
is also suggested that the teachers actively involve themselves in
academic exercises that require communication, either written or
oral. Research, for instance, best provides avenue for scholarly
writing.
For further research along this area of interest, it is recommended
that an analysis of errors in the writings of faculty across all fields
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Engineering Faculty of Liceo De Cagayan University

S. de la Pea

be conducted to facilitate more effectively the university-wide

implementation of the policy on the use of proficient English in all
school communications. Other structures of the language can also
be explored in the analysis of the teachers writings.
LITERATURE CITED
Book
Brown, H.D. (1987). Principles of language learning and teaching.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Online Articles
Abisamra, N. (2003). An analysis of errors in Arabic speakers English
writings.
Available:
http://abisamra03.tripod.com./nada/
languageacq-erroranalysis.html
Ahmadvand, M. Analysing errors of Iranian EFL learners in their
written productions. Available: http://knol.google.com/k/
moslem-ahmadvand/analysing-errors
McCoy, K.F., Pennington, C.A., & Suri, L.Z. English error correction:
a syntactic uses model based on principled mal-rule scoring.
Available:http://www.eecis.udel.edu/research/icicle/pubs/
McPeSu96.pdf
Sattayatham, A. And Hansa, S. Jr. (2007). Medical students most
frequent errors at Mahidol Univesity, Thailand. Available: http://
www.asian-efl-journal.com/June_07_as&sh.ph.p Structure of
English language. Available: http://www.universalteacher.org.
uk/lang/engstruct.htm
.

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