Journal of Social Sciences Review (JSSR) DOI: https://doi.org/10.54183/jssr.v2i2.

33

How to Cite This Article: Hasnain, M., & Farheen. (2022). Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level
in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam. Journal of social Sciences Review, 2(2), 10-21.
https://doi.org/10.54183/jssr.v2i2.33

Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the

Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

1
Muhammad Hasnain 1 National University of Modern Languages Islamabad, Pakistan
2 2
Farheen National University of Modern Languages Islamabad, Pakistan

Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2022) Abstract: The students at Matric level commit certain errors in English writing.
This research was conducted to find out the errors committed by the metric
Pages: 10 – 21
students at Tehsil Rustam. A total of 60 students – top 20 students were selected
ISSN (Print): 2789-441X from the top three schools of Tehsil Rustam. They were given the task to write
on three topics namely “My school”, “My best friend” and “My favourite
ISSN (Online): 2789-4428 teacher”. To analyze the errors of the students, the researcher applied “Darus
et al model of Error analysis theory”. The errors of the students were categorized
and put into bar charts and pie charts. The researcher noted that the errors
Key Words
committed by these students are partly due to the effect of first language (L1) on
English Writing, Error Analysis, second language (L2) and partly due to word by word translation either from
Pakistan, Second Language ( L2) the mother tongue (Pashto) or the national language (Urdu) to English.
Learners, Secondary Class
Students
Corresponding Author:

Muhammad Hasnain

Email: k.hasnain941@gmail.com

Introduction
Error analysis is an important area of applied essays in the exams which are compulsory at
linguistics as well as of second and foreign matric level, students make errors in their
language learning. As a first language learner, a grammar and structure which badly affect their
child faces many morphological, syntactic and results. The errors which occur in their writings
structural errors in his first language learning. are often due to the lack of knowledge about
Similarly, the same is the case of a second English language.
language learner though adult and fully
In the previous matric exam conducted
conscious faces the same problem and goes
at tehsil Rustam, the students faced a lot of
through the same errors. The common errors
difficulties in writing English essays. The results
include morphological, phonological, syntactic,
of their English paper were comparatively less
context errors, problems in conveying meaning
satisfactory than the other subjects. Upon
and influence of First language (L1) on second
finding the reason behind their low marks it was
Language (L2).
found that they had committed certain errors
English being the official language of while attempting the essay in particular and
Pakistan is of vital importance. Students English paper. It was found that they had made
perceiving their education even at matric level certain errors in grammar, structure, spellings
must have proper knowledge to write correct and vocabulary which ultimately led to their bad
English. Since English is a second language of results.
Pakistani students so they commit a lot of errors
in writing English. These Errors range from
grammatical to structural errors. While writing
 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

Statement of the Problem language. Some errors also occur when students
The researcher aims to evaluate the common nourish false assumptions about the
errors of the students at matric level. At matric resemblance of rules between the languages or
level, the students perform many common the students are unaware of the limitations of
errors in their class work and their annual exam the rules. In addition, Brown (1980) provides
which create problems for the teacher in class two main reasons behind errors: lack of
and the checker in exam to interpret the familiarity with the background of Language
meaning. The evaluation of such errors would transfer and faulty strategies of speech acts in
help the students to grasp over the common the target language.
problems of writing. At the same time, by A transfer is of two types: positive and
analyzing and pointing out these errors the negative. The transfer may prove to be justified
student would not only be able to convey their because the structure of the two languages is
message precisely in just English Subject but in similar – this case is called 'positive transfer' or
all other subjects taught in English. Through 'facilitation', or it may prove to be unjustified
this way their result can also be improved. because the structure of the two languages are
different – that case is called 'negative transfer'
Research Questions or 'interference' (Wilkins, 1972).
1. What types of errors do students commit Moreover, Norish (1983,) thinks that
at matric level at Tehsil Rustam, District errors either arises from the ignorance in the
Mardan? target language, first language interference, or
2. What are the reasons for committing due to the habit of translation. While studying
errors in English writing? the difficulties faced by Saudi students, Erdogan
3. What is the solution to avoid these errors (2005) concluded that students commit errors
in future? due to generalization because of their limited
knowledge of the native language.
Literature Review
As the definition and reasons of the error
This section of the research comprises two are clear enough, error analysis should also be
subsections; the first section throws light on the defined. According to James (1988), Error
contour of the theory related to the topic, in Analysis is the theory that points out the
order to avoid getting confused with other mistakes of second language learners.
theories and the domain of the theory while the Furthermore, he adds that it only studies
second subsection deals with the past work done ignorance induce mistakes. Adding to the
in the same field. subject of Error Analysis, Keshavarz (2008) says
According to Brown (1980), there are two that it should comprise all kinds of errors.
types of errors which can be classified as Brown definition of error analysis is
Interlingual and intralingual errors. Interlingual most appropriate, he defined Error analysis as
errors occur due to the interference of L1 (first "the process to observe, analyze, and classify
Language) with L2 (second language). This the deviations from the rules of the second
means that during second language acquisition language and then to reveal the systems
the learner often does the exact translation of operated by the learner"(Ridha, 2012, p.25). As
his mother tongue to L2 which often goes stated by Abi Samara (2003), Error Analysis can
wrong. While the intralingual errors is a type of be viewed as "A type of linguistic analysis that
error which occurs when a learner uses a focuses on Errors committed by
particular rule of the target language learners"."(Ridha, 2012, p.25)
incorrectly.
Now as the importance of the theory is
Errors occur due to certain causes. considered, Corder (1967) states that it has
Richard (1974) thinks that Errors are due to the multiple benefits like the teacher gets to know
generalization between the native and target about the level of the students and the efficiency

Journal of Social Sciences Review | Vol. 2 no. 2 (2022) | p-ISSN: 2789-441X | e-ISSN: 2789-4428 11
Muhammad Hasnain & Farheen

of his strategy. Similarly, the researcher gets to English language learning matric level
benefit from observing the process of the particularly at tehsil, Rustam which is of utmost
language while the students realize their importance because English carries utmost
strengths and weaknesses. Elaborating the importance here in Pakistan. This study has
applications of the theory Corder (1967) filled the gap left by previous researchers.
suggests three steps i.e. to collect data, describe
and explain it according to the theory. When the Methodology
researcher finds errors in his data, Corder (1967) In this chapter, the researcher has explained the
suggests to recognize them, put them in order design of research, the methodology of the
like subject-verb agreement, find out the research, data collection from the concerned
number of errors in the data, explain the causes colleges, theoretical framework and sampling
of the errors and finally correct them while conducting research.
accordingly.

Weireesh (1991) views learners’ errors to Theoretical Framework

be of particular importance because making In order to carry out this study the theoretical
errors is a device learners use in order to learn. framework of error analysis introduced by the
According to him, EA is a valuable aid to identify group of authors named ; “Saadiyah Darus”,
and explain difficulties faced by learners. He is “Tg Nor Rizan Tg Mohd Maasum”, “Siti Hamin
of the view that EA is the only means for L2
Stapa, Nazlia Oomar” and ”Mohd
learners to gain fluency.
Juzaiddin Ab Aziz” is applied on the selected
Darus and Subramanian (2009), using three schools’ students of district Mardan. So to
Corder's (1967) model on error analysis, identify the errors in English language learning
examined errors in a corpus of 72 essays written at matric level the Darus et al (2007) model was
by 72 Malay students. They found that students' adopted which consists of the 17 types of errors
errors were of six types, which are in as follows: tenses, articles, infinitive, gerunds,
singular/plural form, verb tense, word choice, subject-verb agreement other agreement
preposition, subject-verb agreement and word errors, pronouns, possessive and attributive
order. structures, word order, lexical categories
In addition, Ridha (2012) examined (preposition), other lexical categories,
English writing samples of 80 EFL college mechanics, incomplete structures, negative
students and then categorized the errors constructions, word choice, word form and the
according to the following taxonomy: verb ‘‘to be’’. However, in the this research the
grammatical, lexical/ semantic, mechanics and researcher found just twelve types of error
word order types of errors. The results showed which are categorized as: Word Order,
that most of the students' errors can be due to possessives, shortcut words, gerunds,
L1 transfer. Furthermore, she found that most of prepositions, articles, infinitive, subject-verb
the learners rely on their mother tongue in agreement, spellings, punctuations and
expressing their ideas. She added that although capitalization
the rating processes showed that the The researcher has make use of this
participants' essays included different types of particular model in the evaluation and pointing
errors, the grammatical errors were the most of errors in this research. Alongside, the errors
serious and frequent ones. of the students were analyzed under the above
mentioned framework and to eradicate these
Many researchers have worked upon the errors the researcher has proposed certain
second language acquisition and the errors measures and suggestions.
which the learners commit at university level
internationally. These researches are either Research Design
upon those who seek educational opportunities
The research is designed in quantitative and
in foreign countries or for business purposes.
analytical form. The results of this research are
But no one has focused upon the errors in

12 Journal of Social Sciences Review | Vol. 2 no. 2 (2022) | p-ISSN: 2789-441X | e-ISSN: 2789-4428
 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

provided in numerical form. After a thorough The size of the sample was limited to 60
and careful examination of the data, the result students only. The students of only three
is then shown in the form of tables, charts and institutions: Mars School and College, Sudhum
graphs precisely. Children Academy and Science College Rustam
Mardan and the Rustam Model School were
Research Method selected for this study. Top twenty students
The researcher has used the pretest method for from each institute were tested in this way.
conducting this research. He has visited the
Mars school and college, Sudhum children Results
academy and Science College and The Rustam In the concerned section of the research, data
Model School. The researcher assigned three from the three local institutes named The
topics including “My School”, “My Best Friend” Rustam model school, Sudhum Children
and “My favourite Teacher” to the top 20 Academy and The Mars School System. Tests
students in each institute. The students were were conducted in the above mentioned
asked to write on any one of the mentioned institutes from 60 students in which only 55
topics. He provided a healthy environment for attempted the test. They were given 3 topics
students to test their creative skill and to namely “My favourite Teacher “, “My School”
evaluate the error they commit. and “My best friend” to write an essay of 250 to
300 words on any of the above topics. The
Research Tool allocated time for attempting the essay was 40
The researcher used “Essays” as a tool for the minutes.
research. The researcher provided a question The data of all the 55 students was
paper in relation to the topics, to the students of analyzed statistically through tables, bar graph
the above said institutes in Tehsil Rustam and pie chart. Table 4.1 represents the data
consisting of three topics namely, “MY School”, retrieved from the conducted tests of 55
“My Best Friend”, and “My Favourite Teacher”. students. The given graphs show the percentage
He then examined these essays and pointed out of each category of errors collected from the
the grammatical mistakes committed by the tests. The students are represented through the
students. abbreviations representing their school name
and the sequence of the students like: “RMS1”,
Population “SCA3”, and “TMSS 6”. RMS, SCA, TMSS stands
The population of this research is composed of for the Rustam Model School, Sudhum Children
Matric students at Tehsil Rustam, Mardan. Academy, and The Mars School System
respectively while the number represents the
Sample students.
The participants of the research were matric
students in Tehsil Rustam of Mardan District.

Table 1. Analysis for common errors in Sudhum Childern academy

Capitalization
Prepositions

Punctuation
Participants

Word Order

Incomplete

Agreement
Infinitives
Sentences

Sub-Verb
Possivies

Shortcut

Gerunds

Spelling
Articles
Words

SCA 1 2 4 3 3 1 0 5 0 2 0 2 2
SCA 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 2
SCA 3 4 3 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1
SCA 4 1 5 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1
SCA 5 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

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Muhammad Hasnain & Farheen

SCA 6 0 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 1 1
SCA 7 4 6 1 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 2 0
SCA 8 2 1 2 7 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 0
SCA 9 3 2 2 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 3
SCA 10 5 2 2 2 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 4
SCA 11 3 1 2 4 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 4
SCA 12 0 4 1 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 3
SCA 13 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
SCA 14 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 4
SCA 15 8 5 3 4 1 5 3 0 2 4 3 4
SCA 16 6 7 1 5 2 6 2 1 6 4 2 5
SCA 17 7 6 2 3 0 4 4 2 4 5 4 2
Total 49 55 30 48 13 22 31 12 23 23 23 38

Table 2. Analysis for common errors in the Rustam Model School

Shortcut Words

Capitalization
Prepositions

Punctuation
Participants

Word Order

Incomplete

Agreement
Infinitives
Sentences

Sub-Verb
Possivies

Gerunds

Spelling
Articles

MS 1 3 0 1 0 1 3 3 0 1 1 4 2

RMS2 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1

RMS3 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1

RMS4 1 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 1 0 4 0

RMS5 1 1 1 1 0 4 2 0 0 1 0 1

RMS 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 2

RMS 7 5 1 0 5 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1

RMS8 0 1 2 2 1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0

RMS9 5 2 2 5 3 0 4 1 1 1 1 0

RMS 10 1 3 2 3 0 1 5 1 1 1 1 2

RMS 11 4 3 3 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 2 2

RMS 12 2 4 2 5 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1

RMS 13 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 3 1 0 1

RMS 14 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 4 6

RMS 15 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 1 0 0

RMS 16 2 1 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 6 1

RMS 17 3 0 3 1 2 0 0 3 1 4 2

RMS 18 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 3 1 1

RMS 19 5 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1

Total 38 23 27 37 20 21 32 10 18 18 29 25

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 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

Table 3. Analysis for common errors in the Mars School

Shortcut Words

Capitalization
Prepositions

Punctuation
Participants

Word Order

Incomplete

Agreement
Infinitives
Sentences

Sub-Verb
Possivies

Gerunds

Spelling
Articles
TMSS1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 3
TMSS2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
TMSS3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1
TMSS4 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
TMSS5 2 0 1 0 1 2 2 2 1 4 2 3
TMSS6 0 4 6 2 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 2
TMSS7 0 4 6 1 5 1 2 1 0 5 0 0
TMSS8 3 2 2 1 7 1 1 0 1 1 1 10
TMS9 2 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 40 1
TMSS 10 0 3 2 2 1 5 0 1 1 7 5 1
TMSS 11 3 0 0 1 5 4 1 2 2 4 6 5
TMSS12 4 1 1 0 2 6 2 0 4 5 2 6
TMSS 13 2 2 2 0 3 2 0 3 0 6 5 4
TMSS 14 0 3 1 1 5 4 4 0 1 2 2 2
TMSS 15 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 8 8 5
TMSS 16 4 0 2 0 1 0 3 2 1 1 4 1
TMSS 17 5 1 0 2 5 1 1 0 5 4 2 4
TMSS 18 2 1 0 1 2 2 5 1 2 0 2 2
TMSS 19 3 2 3 1 1 4 1 1 1 5 4 5
Total 36 30 35 16 43 36 27 19 28 60 88 55

Table 4. Total Errors by Category

Capitalization
Prepositions

Punctuation
Categories

Word Order

Incomplete

Agreement
Infinitives
Sentences

Sub-Verb
Possivies

Shortcut

Gerunds

Spelling
Articles
Error

Words

Total

Errors 123 108 92 101 76 79 97 41 69 101 140 118 1144

Percentage 1.14 0.93 0.8 0.87 0.66 0.68 0.84 0.35 0.6 0.87 1.21 1.02

Table 5. Number of students, essays, words and errors

Total students 60
Total essays 55
Total words 11500
Total errors 1144

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Muhammad Hasnain & Farheen

Figure 1: Diffirenet categories of test

Examples of Errors and its Correction to encourage error free writing and to motivate
In this part of the research, the tests conducted the students in acquiring English as a second
from the students were checked thoroughly and language.
the errors noted were classified into different
categories. The following examples have been Word Order
taken from those categories along with the The students committed certain errors
correct structures. During this process the regarding the word order. They often used words
students were guided to remove their in the wrong position. They did not follow the
deficiencies and their teachers were also appropriate syntactic structure. Some of the
instructed to eradicate these mistakes in order examples of such errors are given below:

Table 6. Showing Correct and Incorrect Words

Incorrect word order Correct Words

He will be not joining Army… He will not be joining Army…
He plays often cricket. He often plays cricket.
Still he is single even his age is above 25. He is still single even the age of 25
He is having to do something strange. He is going to do something strange.

I can do not help him. I cannot help him.

While analyzing the tests, the researcher found students have very poor command upon the
123 order errors out of 1144 errors which is 1.14 basic grammar and specially sentence structure.
%. The above examples are few of them for
guiding and instructing the students and Possessives
teachers to avoid such errors in future. In word In the conducted tests the researcher found
order, the errors include incorrect syntactic certain errors regarding the use of possessives.
structure like placing preposition before the These errors in the use of possessive were
verb, and placing double preposition and using mainly of the apostrophe “s”. However they also
incorrect words combination. Finding the cause commit certain errors in the use of possessive
of such errors the researcher concluded that pronouns. Some of the examples are given below
with the correction.

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 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

Table 7. Use of words

Incorrect Use Correct Use
My teacher name is … My teacher’s name is ...
My friend cat is white. My friend’s cat is white.
My teacher checks student notebook …. My teacher checks the student's notebook…
My friend father is politician … My friend’s father is a politician.
This book is him. This is his book.

Out of total errors 92 errors were that of apostrophe in plural nouns and sometimes in
incorrect possessives use. The common errors nouns ending with “s”.
found in using possessives is that of the
apostrophe. However, in some cases the Prepositions
students have used incorrect possessive The researcher found some errors in tests
pronouns, as well. Sometimes the students also conducted from the students which were the
found it difficult to use apostrophe in plural errors of the incorrect use of prepositions.
case. The students find it difficult to use Following are some of the example along with
the correct use of preposition.

Table 8. Use of prepositions

Incorrect Use Correct Use
As the vice principle at the school… As the vice principle of the school….
He comes to school over bicycle. He comes to school on bicycle.
He belongs from decent family. He belongs to a decent family.
We come to school in same time. We come to school at the same time.
He comes to school in the bus. He comes to schools by bus.

The use of prepositions has always remained to improve and avoid the errors in using
difficult for the students even at university level. prepositions is to encourage reading habits. As
The use of preposition is totally dependent upon at matric level, students are not encouraged
the practice and the use of the native speakers enough to read extra books so they find it
of the language. It has no proper rules that difficult to use preposition correctly.
where to apply which prepositions. The only way

Table 9. Use of Articles

Incorrect Use Correct Use
He is the position holder of class. He is the position holder of the class.
My friend’s father is a Army officer. My friend’s father is an Army ofiicer.
The Sudhum children Academy is … Sudhum children Academy is …
officer.
He gets up early in morning. He gets up early in the morning.
My friend is an horse rider. My friend is a horse rider.

The calculated data of the research shows that about the use of definite and indefinite articles.
students had committed 97 errors of articles in Secondly, while using indefinite article it was
the tests which is 0.84 % of the whole writings. found that students get confused in vowels
It is due to the poor guidance from the teacher letters and vowel sounds. The most common

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Muhammad Hasnain & Farheen

error found in articles was like using “an” with Similarly, the 1st person singular “I” is often
all those words starting with a vowel. used as a small letter “i’. Some students were
also found to start the sentence with a small
Capitalization letter of the first word. The analyzed data shows
In capitalization, the prime errors found were that students have committed 118 errors which
due to the reason that the students could not are the second most committed errors found in
differentiate between common and proper the collected data. The following instances show
nouns in certain cases. . In all the tests some of the errors students committed in tests
conducted form the concerned school, students related to capitalization.
even use the first letter of the verb as capital.

Table 10. Capitalization

Incorrect Use Correct Use
He is interested in Biology, Chemistry and He is interested in biology, chemistry and
Physics. physics.
He teaches english Subject. He teaches English Subject.
my school name is Sudhum Children academy. My School name is Sudhum Children
I found a best friend And his name is anees. Academy.
I found a best friend and his name is Anees.
My teacher visited usa previous month. My teacher visited the USA previous month.

Table 11. Correct use of spelling

Incorrect Use Correct Use
My friend is very intilliegent and prosporus My friend is very intelligent and prosperous.
My faverite teacher name is Amjad Ali. My favourite teacher's name is Amjad Ali.
Every student has his own choise. Every student has his own choice.
We contact on massinger with each other. We contact on messenger with each other.
He teachs us grammar. He teaches us grammar.

Spellings as a main error even found in the vowels. It can be improved if teachers highlight
writings of university level students, which them again and correct them for students. The
depends upon the cognitive ability of the research on the cognitive ability of students
student. Out of 1144 errors, 101 errors were that shows that the first impression of things has a
of the spelling errors which is 0.8 % of the total 90% effect upon the mind. If the teachers
writings. The spelling errors when analyzed encourage them by finding spelling mistakes
were found that it occurs often in long words, with keen eyes, it can be improved.
similar pronunciation and consecutive use of

Table 12. Subject-verb agreement

Incorrect Use Correct Use
He pray his prayers five time a day. He offers his prayers five times a day.
He want to become a doctor. He wants to become a doctor.
He respect all his teacher. He respects all his teachers.
He have a wonderful car. He has a wonderful car.
He come late to school. He comes late to school.

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 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

The subject-verb agreement errors found in the plural and which with singular nouns. The most
writings of the students were mainly due to the common errors in subject-verb agreement was
use of incorrect auxiliaries. They found it that of omission of ‘s’ while using third person
difficult to decide which auxiliary fits with the pronouns in the present simple tense.

Table 13. Use of punctuation

Incorrect Use Correct Use

He comes regular to school. And never do He comes to school regularly and never does
absenentees. absentee.

As far as I know he is the most educated … As far as I know, he is the most educated …

Once he said to me “you are my best friend.” Once he said to me, “you are my best friend”.

My friend has a white small dog. My friend has a small, white dog.

I like him because, he is punctual. I like him because he is punctual.

In the analyzed data it is found out that Infinitives

punctuation errors are the most common and Some of the students committed errors in the
most committed errors. The researcher also use of infinitives. In the given examples it can be
found that it is due to less attention towards it seen that they didn’t use the word ‘to’ with the
both from the students and teachers. In the tests first form of the verb. According to the rule, a
conducted, the data revealed that the students preposition is always followed by a gerund
have committed instead of the infinitive but they are often
confused between the use of infinitive and
140 errors which is 1.21% of the total
gerund. Following are some of the errors which
writings. The common errors found in
the students committed in the tests regarding
punctuations were that of the incorrect use of
the use of infinitives.
full stop and comma. These errors usually occur
due to lack of awareness of the type of
sentences.

Table 14. Use of infinitives

Incorrect Use Correct Use

He goes to shop every Sunday. He goes for shopping every Sunday.

He always motivates us work hard. He always motivates us to work hard.

I like play video games with my best friend… I like to play video games with my best friend...

Gerunds
The students committed various errors in the use of gerunds. They often used infinitives instead of
gerunds for example:

Table 15. Use of gerunds

Incorrect Use Correct Use
After every exam, he regret not to study before After every exams, he regret not studying before
exams. exams.

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Muhammad Hasnain & Farheen

He is afraid of to ride motorcycle. He is afraid of riding motorcycle.

He quit to smoke. He quit smoking.

Table 16. Use of shortcut words

Incorrect Use Correct Use
His cmz from herwand. He comes from Herawand.

Whenever we r given a task… Whenever we are given a task…

We both r from RTM. We both are from Rustam.

Incomplete sentences the main verb in the sentences. In the conducted

The participants committed certain errors while tests it was also noted that sometime they had
writing a complete sentence. They often missed omitted the auxiliary verbs as well. The
following are some of the examples:

Table 17. Incomplete sentenses

Incorrect Use Correct Use
His favorite is English. His favorite subject is English.
We often to Islamabad. We often visit to Islamabad.
Whenever we plan a trip he first to cancel. Whenever we plan a trip, he is always the first
one to cancel it.

Conclusion and Recommendations The researcher concluded that all these

The objective of the research was to analyze the errors in the writings is not only on the part of
errors committed by the students at matric students but also teachers and concerned
level, in three different private schools, tehsil; institutes priorities. The reasons behind these
Rustam and District Mardan. The research errors is due sometimes due to non-qualified
helped to bring the common for granted errors staff and medium of education. The medium of
to the limelight in order to remove the errors instruction followed here is mainly Urdu and
and improve the writing skills of the students. Pashto and less attention is given to English
The researcher focused on the three top which give room to these errors.
level schools of tehsil; Rustam, namely, Sudhum Another factor is the sociolinguistic
Children Academy (SCA), The Rustam Model factor: As English is the secondary language of
School (RMS) and The Mars School System these students, students while writing in
(TMSS) in which tests were conducted form English often translate from their first acquired
students in which 55 attempted the test. The language i.e. Pashto, to Urdu and then English.
researcher analyzed twelve types of most As it is a linguistic fact that the syntactic
common errors in the tests conducted and structure of one language does not always fit on
categorized them as Word Order, possessives, another language syntactic structure. Similarly,
shortcut words, gerunds, prepositions, articles, here the students were trying to fit the syntactic
infinitive, subject-verb agreement, spellings, structure of Pashto and Urdu on English which
punctuations and capitalization. The researcher made them commit certain errors.
analyzed 55 tests having round about 11500
At the end the researcher recommended
words in which the researcher found 1144 errors.
the teachers and students to overcome these
Each category error count and percentage out of
errors with practical measures. The measures
total words is represented through table, bar
include choosing standard books for grammar
graph and pie chart in the article.
and to practice it on a daily basis. The teacher
should guide the students that along with the

20 Journal of Social Sciences Review | Vol. 2 no. 2 (2022) | p-ISSN: 2789-441X | e-ISSN: 2789-4428
 Error Analysis in English Writing at Matric Level in the Secondary Schools of Tehsil Rustam

content, the grammatical structure of a Darus, S., Tg Mohd Massum, T.N.R., Stapa,
sentence is paramount in a secondary language S.H., Omar, N., & Aziz, M.J. (2007).
used for academic purpose. The researcher also Developing an error analysis marking
suggested teachers to conduct monthly tests tool for ESL learners. Venice, Italy, 21 -
and to give special attention to the students’ 23. Retrieved from
grammatical errors to overcome these errors in http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm
future.
Erdogan, V. (2005). Contribution of error
analysis to foreign language teaching.
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