Analysis of Common Grammatical Errors in Written Paragraphs of First Year Students of Wolaita Sodo University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the common grammatical errors in the written paragraphs of the first year students of Wolaita Sodo University (WSU) by the academic year 2015/16. The subjects used for this study were 400 written paragraphs of students as written documents. These paragraphs were written by the sample of 400 students who were selected from 3,320 first year regular students of WSU by the academic year 2015/16 using systematic random sampling. The descriptive research design was used for collecting and interpreting the quantitative and qualitative data via document analysis. The analysis was made using the eclectic approach of data analysis. The result indicated that first year students of WSU make different grammatical errors in their written paragraphs: Tense errors, voice errors, preposition errors, article errors and errors in the usage of adjectives and adverbs. Based on these findings, therefore, the following recommendations are forwarded. First year students of WSU should give adequate attention to grammaticality when they develop their paragraphs and the teachers should provide pertinent emphasis to grammaticality when they teach their students paragraph writing and when they give feedback on their students’ written paragraphs.