ABSTRACT
The topic of this study is common errors in composition writing of J.S.S.II students with special reference to Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The purpose of this study is to find out the common errors in composition writing of J.S.S II students with special reference to Isi- Uzo local Government Area of Enugu state.
This research is a descriptor research. The researcher made use of simple random sampling technique in the study .The subject for the study includes the teachers, students and schools administrators. The population for the study is about 200 subjects was randomly selected for study.
Questionnaires were the instrument used. The instrument has face validity with reliability value of mean deviation was used for data analysis.
The researchers made the following findings .
1 That significant and appropriate qualifications of English teachers have helped in common errors in composition writing of J.S.S II students.
2 The punctuation mistake is common errors in the composition writing.
3 That students encounters problems mostly in the area of sentence constructions.
On this note, the researchers recommend that there should be adequate training and retraining of English teachers to enhance their efficiency in the area of composition.
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE: ………………………………………………...……….….i
APPROVAL PAGE: ……………………………………………………..ii
DEDICATION: …………………………………….…………………....iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:……….………………………..…….....…....iv
ABSTRACT: ……………………………………………………………..v
TABLE OF CONTENT: ……………………………………………......vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION: ………………………………………………..1
1.1 BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: …………2
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: …..…………………………………5
1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY: …………....……6
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION: ………………………………………..6
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 ERRORS IN COMPOSITION WRITING: …...….……………….7
2.2 THE MEANING OF ERROR: ……………………………………7
2.3 DEFINITION OF AN ESSAY OR COMPOSITION ……………..7
2.4 POOR PERFORMANCE IN STUDENTS COMPOSITION
WRITING: ………………………………………..………………….22
2.5 ELEMENTS OR QUALITIES OF A GOOD WRITING: ………25
2.6 DEAR- WOOD OR CLICHÉ HARCKNEYED: ………………..30
2.7 THE PROSPECTS OF COMPOSITION OR ESSEY WRITING…………....31
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH METHOD: …………………………………….......33
3.1 RESEARCH SURVEY METHOD:…..…………………………..33
3.2 AREA OF STUDY: ……………………………………………...33
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY: ………………….………..….33
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TEACHNIQUE: ………………….34
3.5 INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION: ………………..…34
3.6 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION: ……………………….…34
3.7 INSTRUMENT VALIDATION: ………..……………………….35
3.8 DATA ANALYSIS:………………………………………………35
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT: …………………………….36
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION: …………………………41
5.1 DISCUSSION OF FINDING: …………………………………...41
5.2 DATA FINDING: ………………………………………………..42
5.3 IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY: ……………………………...43
5.4 CONCLUSION: ………………………………………………….43
5.5 RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTHER RESEARCH: …………55
REFERENCES
APPENDIX ONE
CHAPTER ONE
THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS
1.0 INTRODUCTION:
Firstly, many pupils fail some examination in English language due to their attitude toward English language and English lessons. Effective use of English language greatly depends on the attitude one posses toward English. They cannot say or put down their intentions.
The standard of English language in secondary school in Isi –Uzo local government Enugu state seems to be deteriorating; because of the way it is being taught which is not encourage able and uninteresting. Therefore, no way to draw the learner’s interest and attention towards the lesson.
Some problems affecting the qualities of composition writing in J. S. S III students are as follows.
Inadequate manpower, increasing population in schools, overloading of teachers, expression and mechanical accuracy and finally the method used in teaching composition writing.
Inadequate manpower which embraces not having enough professionally qualified teachers and teaching aids. There are not enough buildings to accommodate the increasing population in schools. More so, many of teachers are not well effective in skill of oracy through which they should impact into the pupil the knowledge of the lessons, to be the pupils understanding.
To be sincere that they are not qualified to, for instance, some teachers who have their certificate in government teach commence, thinking that the subject (commerce) is easy to understand where they lack the method used in teaching a particular lesson, importantly composition writing has a method of teaching it, and when the teacher lacks it the teaching became a different thing all together. The case of insufficient qualified teacher has resulted too what we know as overloading of teachers.
1.1 BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS.
Composition writing is a very important aspect of English language. It is an essential medium of written communication in Nigeria secondary schools. According to the oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary (1995), composition is defined as a short piece of writing done as school or collage exercises, an essay”.
In composition the writer or speaker does not stop to think of each part/unit. The writer or speaker just says or writes what is on the mind or in the head. The utterance may represent a story or anything.
In whatever situation we employ composition writing (English language) it is a vehicle for thinking, for effective language (expression)
Therefore, good composition writing shows free flow and mastery of English language.
Since English is an important tool of expression in all fields of study, it has become necessary to look into the problems posed in teaching composition writing in our students to overcome these problems.
The teachers of composition writing need a sort of guideline that will help them improve their methods of teaching the topics to J.SS.III students. On this issue of writing problems,
This attitude is not only prevalent among secondary school students but also among the masses. It is appalling that many people who have gone to school, even to the university level who can speak English reasonably well and read it fluently are incapable of putting on paper a respectable English sentence. We find shed writing in our newspapers, our government reports, our school bulletins and even our journals. What of our school teachers? It is said that. “One cannot give what he/she do not have”, which is a true word. Some of our secondary school teachers do not know the correct use of English Language, even to high level of Education.
The standard of education has drastically deteriorated if compared with the time of our colonial master. When there are great pioneers of English language
Writing is an art and like other are forms such as printing, sculpturing or music requires necessary skills to attain some excellence. Writing also need correct and effective expression, well constructed expressions to add beauty to ones own work and total effort. Many students believe that they are so poor in their use of English language, that they will never be able to write well. This view is wrong because even the native speakers of English language are not all excellent essayists be able to write well, therefore, one needs to apply oneself to some of the techniques of writing well, and also constantly review of various writing. It will help them to identify different ways of writing.
Every one thinks because he can talk, that he can therefore talk about language, and it is certainly true that most people hold divided opinions about language in general and about their native language in particular.
This is understandable enough, so far as we have all learnt to speak our own native language fluently and this alone has provided us with words and expressions.
Furthermore, most of us have learnt to read and write, linguistic skills which carry with them terminologies like letter, spelling, prefix, and sentence. Some form of traditional grammar at school has got quite used to looking at language apart, using a variety of technical labels.
Examples: verb, clause, infinitive and we may have learnt to apply these labels to foreign language as well as our own, so altogether we apparently have some ground for regarding ourselves as entitled to talk about language.
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The Objective of this study is to find out the common errors in composition writing of students of J.SS.II with special reference to lsi-Uzo local government area of Enugu state.
The objective is also to find out the followings.
1. If relevant and adequate qualifications of English teachers help in promoting composition writing in lsi-Uzo local government area of Enugu state
2. If student of English language in lsi-Uzo local government area have been encountering problems about composition writing.
3. If indiscriminate and over bearing of work load on the teachers affects composition writing.
4. Whether the school has been any recommended method of teaching composition writing in lsi-Uzo local government area.
5. Whether the school library is of any relevant in reducing common errors in composition writing.
6. If there have been any recommended method of teaching composition in lsi-Uzo local government area, have there been in used?
1.3. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY.
The scope of this study is to find out the common errors in teaching of composition writing in lsi-Uzo local government area of Enugu state.
This study emphasized that bad method of teaching and lack/ inadequate teaching aids results to the low academic achievement in English language in secondary schools.
1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The researchers formulated the following questions to guide their study.
(i) Do relevant and adequate qualifications of English teachers help in promoting composition writing in lsi-Uzo local government area of Enugu state?
(ii) Is indiscriminate and over bearing of work load on teacher’s affects composition writing?
(iii) Have the students of English language in lsi-Uzo local government area have been encountering problems about composition writing?
(iv) Is the school library of any relevance in reducing common errors in composition writing?
(v) Has there been any recommended method of teaching composition writing in lsi-Uzo local government area?
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