HA NOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0 FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY ====== NGUYEN THI THU HA COMMON ERRORS IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS MADE BY THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0.2 AND SUGGESTED SOLUTION TO OVERCOME THEM (submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English) SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN VAN DEN, M.A Ha Noi, May 2016 Ha noi, May 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: COMMON ERRORS IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS MADE BY THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0.2 AND SUGGESTED SOLUTION TO OVERCOME THEM I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without the proper acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisors Date submitted: May 2016 Student Supervisor Nguyen Thi Thu Ha Mr Nguyen Van Den i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who made it possible for me complete this thesis for graduation First and foremost, I want to send the deepest appreciation to my supervisor: Mr Nguyen Van Den and Mr William Salazar at Hanoi Pedagogical University N0 for their insightful advice and suggestions and kind encouragement Without his help and guidance, I would not have been able to complete my research work Without his help, I would not have been able to complete this thesis I want to express my sincere gratitude to the committee members for their advice and invaluable feedback with their assistance I would able to complete this thesis In addition, I also wish to thank my classmates and students who participant to the survey, at Hanoi Pedagogical University N0 for their support, advise and encouragement ii ABSTRACT Writing is one of the productive skills and it is required in every important English tests Among writing, reading, speaking and listening in English, writing is a complex aspect but it is a crucial skill for students to learn In order to address this issue, many authors have documented different management methods to improve the writing skill especially writing essay However, the writing skill referred to in some books before have not been deal with in full and sometimes cause confusion to learners of English Actually, students of English often make errors in writing essay Therefore, a research with eighty-eight second-year students of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English at Hanoi Pedagogical University N0.2 (HPU2) was carried out The data was collected by using questionnaires which were designed to map out errors in writing argumentative essay The research work entails studying the writing skill and conducting a survey for difficulty analysis Based on the results of the pre-survey, the writing habit of HPU2 student, the types of common errors and causes have been found, and solutions to the problems have been suggested Based on the results of the post-survey, the solutions and interventions by the teacher in correcting writing errors were demonstrated that they were effective in eliminating the most common writing errors in writing argumentative essays iii LIST OR ABBREVIATIONS HPU2 Hanoi Pedagogical University N0.2 L2 Second language ESL English as a Second Language EFL English as a Foreign Language iv LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Common errors essay writing made by the students 27 Chart 2: The common grammar errors in the students’ essay writing 28 Chart 3: Student’s difficulties with their vocabulary 35 Chart 4: Result of the survey on common errors in students’ essay writing 45 v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i LIST OR ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF CHARTS v PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION III RESEARCH OBJECTIVE IV RESEARCH SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF STUDY V RESEARCH TASKS VI RESEARCH METHODOLOGY VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORICAL BACKGROUND I.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF I.2 OVERVIEW OF WRITING ESSAY I.2.1 WRITING ESSAYS RULES IN GENERAL I.2.1.1 Definition of the essay I.2.1.2 The structure of an essay vi I.2.1.2.1 Introduction 11 I.2.1.2.1.1 General statement 11 I.2.1.2.1.2 Thesis statement 11 I.2.1.2.2 Body paragraph 11 I.2.1.2.3 Concluding paragraph 12 I.2.1.3 Writing essay stages 12 I.2.1.3.1 Choose a topic 12 I.2.1.3.1.1.Topic has been assigned 12 I.2.1.3.1.2 Topic has not been assigned 13 I.2.1.3.2 Define the purpose 13 I.2.1.3.3 Brainstorm subject of interest 13 I.2.1.3.4 Organize the ideas 13 I.2.1.3.4.1 Outline 13 I.2.1.3.4.2 Compose the thesis statement 14 I.2.1.3.5 Writing the body paragraph 15 I.2.1.3.6 Write the introduction and the conclusion 15 I.2.1.3.6.1 Introduction 16 I.2.1.3.6.2 Conclusion 16 I.2.1.3.7 Check your writing 17 I.2.2 ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 18 I.2.2.1 Definition 18 I.2.2.2 Organization of an argumentative essay 18 I.2.2.3 Characteristic of a good argumentative essay 19 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY II.1 Survey questionnaires (Appendix A and B) 21 vii II.1.1 Rationale behind the use of survey questionnaire 22 II.1.2 Population of the survey 22 II.1.3 Construction of the survey 23 II.1.3.1 Pre-survey questionnaire 23 II.1.3.2 Post-survey questionnaire 23 II.1.4 Administration of the try-out 24 II.1.4.1 Preparation of the try-out 24 II.1.4.2 Try-out 24 II.1.5 Methods of data analysis 25 CHAPTER THREE THE RESULTS III.1 THE RESULT OF THE SURVEY 26 III.1.1 Result of the pre- survey 26 III.1.1.1 The common errors in essay writing made by the 2nd students of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English at HPU2 27 III.1.1.1.1 Errors in format 27 III.1.1.1.2 Errors in grammar 28 III.1.1.1.2.1 Subject/verb disagreement 29 III.1.1.1.2.2 Vague pronoun reference 30 III.1.1.1.2.3 Wrong preposition 30 III.1.1.1.2.4 Fragment 31 III.1.1.1.2.5 Confused words 31 III.1.1.1.2.6 Wrong verb form 32 III.1.1.1.2.7 Nonstandard vocabulary 32 III.1.1.1.2.8 Parallel structure 32 III.1.1.1.2.9 Punctuation 33 viii III.1.1.1.2.10 Capitalization 33 III.1.1.1.3 Error in content 34 III.1.2 The reasons of making errors in writing argumentative essay 34 III.1.2.1 Limitation of vocabulary 34 III.1.2.2 Writing habits 36 III.1.2.2.1 Planning essay 36 III.1.2.2.2.Writing frequency 36 III.1.2.2.3 The influence of using Vietnamese in writing 37 III.1.3.SUGGESTED SOLUTION 38 III.1.3.1 Teacher’s correction and responding to students’ writings 38 III.1.3.1.1.Teacher’s correction 38 III.1.3.1.2.Teacher’s responding to students’ writing 40 III.1.3.2 Self correction and peer – correction 41 III.1.4 Results of the post -survey 45 PART THREE CONCLUSION REFERENCE 49 APPENDIX A: PRE-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 52 APPENDIX B: POST-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 57 KEYS OF APPENDIX A 60 KEYS OF APPENDIX B: 62 ix Kane, Thomas S (2000).The Oxford Essential Guide To Writing New York: Berkley publishing group Lane, J & Lange, E Writing Clearly Boston: Heinle & Heinl, 1993 Lataiwish, Muftah (2001).Elements of Writing from Sentence to Essay Benghazi: University of Garyounis Louw, H 2006 Standardising Written Feedback on L2 student writing Unpublished master’s dissertation Potchefstroom: North-West University Makino,T (1993) Learner Self-Correction in EFL Written Compositions ELT Journal, 47 (4), 337-338 Rivers, W (1981) Teaching Foreign Language Skills Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Sullivan, Kathleen (1984).Paragraph and the Short Composition London: Collier Macmillan publishers Sultana, A (2009) Peer Correction in ESL Classrooms BRAC University Journal, 6(1), 11-19 Truscott, J 1996 The Case against Grammar Correction in L2 writing classes Language Learning, 46:327–369 Truscott, J 1999 The Case for “The Case against Grammar Correction in L2 writing classes”: A Response to Ferris Journal of Second Language Writing, 8:111–122 Urquhart, V, Mclver, M (2005) Teaching Writing in the Content Areas Alexandria, VA: ASCD Valli Rao, Kate Chanock, Lakshmi Krishnan (2007) Essay Writing Visual Guide Sydney: Association for Academic Language & Learning (AALL) Van Rooy, B 2006 The Extension of the Progressive Aspect in Black South African English World Englishes, 25(1):37–64 Wenden, A (1998) Learner Strategies for Learner Autonomy New York: Prentice Hall Europe 50 Zemach D.E., Rumisek L.A (2005) Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay Oxford: Macmillan 51 APPENDIX A: PRE-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for the second-year English majors, Foreign Languages Faculty, Ha Noi Pedagogical University N0 Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can Part 1: Circle the best answer: In your opinion, how important is writing in English? A very B quite C a little D not How often you write? A once a week B twice a week C 3-4 times a week Is your writing often a good writing? (base on your scores you often get) A yes B.no C not sure How often you plan the essay before writing? A always B often C seldom D never Do you often check your essay after writing? A yes B.no C not sure How important is grammar in your writing? A very B quite C a little D not Do you often organize your essay before writing? A yes B.no C not sure Do your essays often have enough parts: Introduction, Body, Conclusion? A yes B.no C not sure Do you have variety supporting ideas in your writing? A yes B.no C not sure 10 Do you have difficulty in expressing your ideas? A yes 11 B.no C not sure Do you have difficulty with your vocabulary? A yes B.no C not much 12 Do you often use punctuation in your writing? 52 A yes B.no C not much Part 2: Tick the underlined word or phrase in each sentences that need correcting or deleting: 13 The point of these lectures are to improve your scores on essays 14 The embargo shut down shops, raised inflation, and bankrupted businesses This damaged the king’s reputation 15 George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in the stage at Virginia 16 Its not a problem that concerns me 17 The aristocrats’ purchase of more and more elaborate clothing had the affect of increasing social divisions 18 The painter apply the techniques she learned in Venice 19 They don’t wanna go to work on Saturday 20 Lets take care of our planet in which we live and love 21 The Nile which is the longest river in the world 22 To be an effective president, one needs intelligence, an ability to decide, and humility Part 3: Study the following parts of pros What problem does each have? 23 There is no doubt that the economic situation of blacks in South Africa is improving According to statistics recently released by the South African Interior Ministry, black income has climbed by percent and black unemployment has de-creased by 22 percent Problem: 24 Treating teeth with fluoride cause cancer A recent research study, which tracked children who had had their teeth treated with fluoride, found that at age sixty, percent of them had gotten cancer Problem: 53 25 The voting age in the United States should be lowered from eighteen to seventeen At age seventeen, young people are allowed to drive unrestrictedly in twenty-five states and even to drink alcohol in one (Arizona) If they drive and can drink alcohol, seventeen-year-olds should surely be able to vote Problem: 54 Part 4: Mark before the sentences that need line feed 26 Gender issues have been increasing in importance through the centuries In almost every sphere of human activity, there has been a movement towards greater equality between men and women Although I agree that universities should open their doors to all students alike, in my view, they need not set a fixed limit on the number of men and women they accept in each subject The bases for my views are psychological and personal Psychologically-speaking, men and women are simply different, though they have the same potential for greatness For example, women tend to be more intuitive, sensitive to others and caring This means they may feel drawn, on the basis of their personalities, to certain kinds of professions such as teaching, nursing, or psychology, even if all fields are open to them In such a context, it is best for universities to choose the best applicants, regardless of gender Personally, students need to discover their true calling This is an individual matter and is not influenced by the universities reserving seats for men or women For example, if the majority of women shy away from math or engineering, perhaps it has to with their upbringing, which has influenced their interests The universities will not be able to reverse this trend, though they should always look out for the most qualified candidates In conclusion, equality cannot be forced upon people – not in the area of education, employment or family life Equality is about having choices and those who prove themselves capable will qualify for university, regardless of gender It is only right that universities reflect and respect these free and natural choices being exercised by their students Part 5: Punctuate and capitalize as appropriate: 27 Good essay writing skills are important for achieving good academic results they are easy to develop 28 The ideas are important for a successful essay yet they can be totally destroyed if the grammar is poor 55 29 gautama Siddhartha the Buddha lived in india from 563- 483 bc 30 my favorite musical group is the style council because of the singers sexy nice voices and their songs the style council members are british musicians the lead singer belonged to the famous group jam before he formed the style council first when he sings his voice is wonderful a little husky and sexy for me the voices of the other group members complement the leaders voice very smoothly not only are their voice nice but also their songs are excellent their songs make me romantic because they dont have a strong sound ans in some way they are old fashioned the type of sound that popular in the 1940s and 1950s 56 APPENDIX B: POST-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for the second-year English majors, Foreign Languages Faculty, Ha Noi Pedagogical University N0 Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can Part 1:Tick the underlined word or phrase in each sentences that need correcting or deleting: A large number were killed in a car accident The whole family loves to go sailing on the springtime The dog buried it’s bone behind the auger After you hear the beep, please recorded your message To study languages, riding horse, and going to movies were his favorite activities I’m not gonna tell you about my family We should encourage all countries to except English as a second language We could’nt get there on time Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of overcoming the problem of scarce airwaves and limiting how they are used Part 2: Study the following parts of pros What problem does each have? Historically, there’s been a correlation between majoring in a quantitative subject and making more money Examining the table in a blog post by Bryan Caplan reveals that the common majors that are most strongly associated with high earnings are electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, finance, economics, accounting, and mathematics, each of which is a quantitative major Problem:…………………………………………………………………… Outside of medicine, law, and management, the most salient jobs that offer the high earnings are finance and software engineering, both of which 57 require quantitative skills Majoring in a quantitative major builds quantitative skills, and so qualifies one for these jobs Problem:…………………………………………………………………… It is claimed by some people that severe illness is caused by depression and anger After all, people who are severely ill are very often depressed and angry Thus, it follows that the cause of severe illness actually is the depression and anger So, a good and cheerful attitude is key to staying healthy Problem:…………………………………………………………………… Part 3: Mark before the sentences that need line feed In some advanced countries, it is not unusual for more than 50% of young adults to attend college or university Critics, however, claim that many university courses are worthless and young people would be better off gaining skills in the workplace In this essay, I will examine both sides of this argument and try to reach a conclusion There are several reasons why young people today believe they have the right to a university education First, growing prosperity in many parts of the world has increased the number of families with money to invest in their children’s future At the same time, falling birthrates mean that one- or two-child families have become common, increasing the level of investment in each child It is hardly surprising, therefore, that young people are willing to let their families support them until the age of 21 or 22 Furthermore, millions of new jobs have been created in knowledge industries, and these jobs are typically open only to university graduates However, it often appears that graduates end up in occupations unrelated to their university studies It is not uncommon for an English literature major to end up working in sales, or an engineering graduate to retrain as a teacher, for example Some critics have suggested that young people are just delaying their entry into the workplace, rather than developing professional skills A more serious problem is that the high cost of a university education will mean that many families are reluctant to 58 have more than one child, exacerbating the falling birthrates in certain countries In conclusion, while it can be argued that too much emphasis is placed on a university education, my own opinion is that the university years are a crucial time for personal development If people enter the workplace aged 18, their future options may be severely restricted Attending university allows them time to learn more about themselves and make a more appropriate choice of career Part 4: Punctuate and capitalize as appropriate the $284,000 three year research project found normal levels of cancer in residents of glen avon the community beside the toxic dump The average chemist at the university of california davis makes $50,000 a year many miles beyond rome there was a famous country which we call greece the people of greece were not united like the romans but instead there were several states each of which had its own rulers some of the people in the southern part of the country were called Spartans and they were noted for their simple habits and their bravery the name of their land was laconia, and so they were sometimes called lacons one of the strange rules which the spartans had was that they should speak briefly and never use more words than were needed and so a short answer is often spoken of as being laconic that is as being such an answer as a lacon would be likely to give 59 KEYS OF APPENDIX A Part 2: 13 B (are 14 D (This is) These events) 15 D (at of ) 16 A (Its It’s) 17 C (affect effect) 18 B (apply applied) 19 A (wanna want to) 20 A (Lets 21 A (which Let’s) 0) 22 C ( an ability to decision decisiveness) Part 3: 23 Problem: biased evidence (Can we believe the Serbian Interior Ministry?) 24 Problem: misplaced effects There is no direct connection (The individuals could have gotten cancer from eating to much burned bacon) 25 Problem: A false conclusion The evidence does not support the conclusion Part 4: 26.Gender issues have been increasing in importance through the centuries In almost every sphere of human activity, there has been a movement towards greater equality between men and women Although I agree that universities should open their doors to all students alike, in my view, they need not set a fixed limit on the number of men and women they accept in each subject The bases for my views are psychological and personal Psychologically-speaking, men and women are simply different, though they have the same potential for greatness For example, women tend to be more intuitive, sensitive to others and caring This means they may feel drawn, on the 60 basis of their personalities, to certain kinds of professions such as teaching, nursing, or psychology, even if all fields are open to them In such a context, it is best for universities to choose the best applicants, regardless of gender Personally, students need to discover their true calling This is an individual matter and is not influenced by the universities reserving seats for men or women For example, if the majority of women shy away from math or engineering, perhaps it has to with their upbringing, which has influenced their interests The universities will not be able to reverse this trend, though they should always look out for the most qualified candidates In conclusion, equality cannot be forced upon people – not in the area of education, employment or family life Equality is about having choices and those who prove themselves capable will qualify for university, regardless of gender It is only right that universities reflect and respect these free and natural choices being exercised by their students Part 5: 27 Good essay writing skills are important for achieving good academic results They are easy to develop 28 The ideas are important for a successful essay, yet they can be totally destroyed if the grammar is poor 29 Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, lived in India from 563- 483 BC 30 My favorite musical group is the Style Council because of the singers sexy nice voices and their songs The Style Council members are British musicians the lead singer belonged to the famous group jam before he formed the Style Council First, when he sings, his voice is wonderful, a little husky and sexy for me the voices of the other group members complement the leaders voice very smoothly Not only are their voice nice, but also their songs are excellent Their songs make me romantic because they dont have a strong sound, and in some way they are old fashioned - the type of sound that popular in the 1940s and 1950s 61 KEYS OF APPENDIX B: POST-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for the second-year English majors, Foreign Languages Faculty, Ha Noi Pedagogical University N0 Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can Part 1:Choose the underlined word or phrase (A, B, C or D) in each sentences that need correcting or deleting: 10 were was 11 on in 12 it’s its 13 recorded 14 To study languages 15 gonna going 16 except accept 17 could’nt 18 they record studying language couldn’t the air waves Part 2: Study the following parts of pros What problem does each have? Historically, there’s been a correlation between majoring in a quantitative subject and making more money Examining the table in a blog post by Bryan Caplan reveals that the common majors that are most strongly associated with high earnings are electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, finance, economics, accounting, and mathematics, each of which is a quantitative major Problem: biased evidence Can we believe in a blog post by Bryan Caplan? Outside of medicine, law, and management, the most salient jobs that offer the high earnings are finance and software engineering, both of which require quantitative skills Majoring in a quantitative major builds quantitative skills, and so qualifies one for these jobs 62 Problem: Misplaced effects There is no direct connection It could be that one only needs to have high school level quantitative knowledge in order to succeed in these jobs It is claimed by some people that severe illness is caused by depression and anger After all, people who are severely ill are very often depressed and angry Thus, it follows that the cause of severe illness actually is the depression and anger So, a good and cheerful attitude is key to staying healthy Problem: a false conclusion The evidence does not support the conclusion Part 3: Mark before the sentences that need line feed In some advanced countries, it is not unusual for more than 50% of young adults to attend college or university Critics, however, claim that many university courses are worthless and young people would be better off gaining skills in the workplace In this essay, I will examine both sides of this argument and try to reach a conclusion There are several reasons why young people today believe they have the right to a university education First, growing prosperity in many parts of the world has increased the number of families with money to invest in their children’s future At the same time, falling birthrates mean that one- or twochild families have become common, increasing the level of investment in each child It is hardly surprising, therefore, that young people are willing to let their families support them until the age of 21 or 22 Furthermore, millions of new jobs have been created in knowledge industries, and these jobs are typically open only to university graduates However, it often appears that graduates end up in occupations unrelated to their university studies It is not uncommon for an English literature major to end up working in sales, or an engineering graduate to retrain as a teacher, for example Some critics have suggested that young people are just delaying their entry into the workplace, rather than developing professional skills A more 63 serious problem is that the high cost of a university education will mean that many families are reluctant to have more than one child, exacerbating the falling birthrates in certain countries In conclusion, while it can be argued that too much emphasis is placed on a university education, my own opinion is that the university years are a crucial time for personal development If people enter the workplace aged 18, their future options may be severely restricted Attending university allows them time to learn more about themselves and make a more appropriate choice of career Part 4: Punctuate and capitalize as appropriate The $284000, three year research project found normal levels of cancer in residents of Glen Avon, the community beside the toxic dump The average chemist at the University of California, Davis, makes $50,000 a year Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country which we call Greece The people of Greece were not united like the Romans but instead there were several states, each of which had its own rulers Some of the people in the southern part of the country were called Spartans, and they were noted for their simple habits and their bravery The name of their land was Laconia, and so they were sometimes called Lacons One of the strange rules which the Spartans had, was that they should speak briefly, and never use more words than were needed And so a short answer is often spoken of as being laconic; that is, as being such an answer as a Lacon would be likely to give 64 ...STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: COMMON ERRORS IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS MADE BY THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0. 2 AND SUGGESTED SOLUTION. .. year of 20 15 -20 16 To find out the causes of those errors in writing argumentative essays that the second year students of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English at HPU2 often commit in the academic year. .. writing can incorporate to help second year students of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English at HPU2 to correct the most common errors in writing argumentative essays, in the academic year of 20 15 -20 16?