Some common errors of english-majored freshmen at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City in writing paragraphs :Graduation Thesis - Faculty of Foreign Languages

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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GRADUATION THESIS

SOME COMMON ERRORS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY IN WRITING

PARAGRAPHS

STUDENT : NGUYỄN TUYẾT NGÂN

ID NUMBER : 17029081

CLASS : DHAV13C

COURSE : 2017-2021

SUPERVISOR : PHAN THI BICH NGOC, M.A.

HCMC, 06/2021

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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Student’s name : NGUYỄN TUYẾT NGÂN

Student’s ID : 17029081

Class : DHAV13C

Course : 2017 -2021

Supervisor : PHAN THỊ BÍCH NGỌC, M.A.

Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not

involve in plagiarism or collusion. It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to

another purpose else where. I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism.

Date submitted : June 20th, 2021

Signed : ……………………..

Word length : 14973

SOME COMMON ERRORS OF

ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO

CHI MINH CITY IN WRITING

PARAGRAPHS

ABSTRACT

Writing is considered one of the four indispensable skills in learning English or any other language

in the world. Writing is an important skill but it is also a complicated one compared to other skills

because it requires learners have not only a thorough understanding of background knowledge

(Grammar and Vocabulary) but also skills to write. Thus, writing is regarded as a difficult skill for

students in learning English. The research was entitled “Some common errors of English-majored

freshmen at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City in writing paragraphs” to figure out common

errors and the causes of the errors in writing paragraphs for improving students’ writing skills. The

participants for the research were English-majored freshmen from the Faculty of Foreign Language

at IUH. The survey was administered by means of using a questionnaire to collect data from 211

students. The research was divided into five chapters consisting of Introduction, Literature Review,

Research Design, Findings and Discussion, and Conclusion. To be more specific, in chapter I, the

content included the aim of the study, research objectives, research questions and scope of the

study. Chapter II contained the two main items of definitions of key terms including (1) definitions

of writing, (2) definitions of academic writing, (3) definitions of paragraph, (4) definitions of errors

and (5) types of error in paragraph writing and another one was theoretical framework involved (1)

relevance of errors and (2) errors in writing paragraphs. Chapter III covered (1) research setting,

(2) participants, (3) research methodology and research methods, (4) Procedures and (5) Data

analysis. Chapter IV presented the results of students’ responses to the questionnaire and the

discussion of the findings. Lastly, chapter V stated the conclusion of the research, suggested some

recommendations and assessed limitations of the research. The objectives of the research were to

figure out popular errors and the causes of the errors that students often have trouble in writing

paragraphs. Additionally, the researcher also offered some solutions through the findings to help

students improve their writing skills for better in the future.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the period of internship, I received a plenty of enthusiastic help and support that guide and

encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish this hard but meaningful time. Firstly, I would

like to express thanks to the School Board of Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the

Faculty of Foreign Languages creating favorable conditions for me to complete my thesis.

Secondly, I sincerely thank to Ms. Phan Thi Bich Ngoc, my supervisor who gave me useful

guidance and advice that help me to finish my graduation thesis successfully. She also gave me

professional guidance and insightful comments that considerably help me gain a lot of experiences

in the period of writing my thesis. From these advices, I can improve my English skills and

strategies greatly. Thirdly, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to teachers who

taught Writing I subject gave me chances to collect data from their classes. Furthermore, I would

like to thank my group member, Pham Thi Thao Nguyen who often shared my difficulties and gave

me timely advice during the process of writing graduation thesis. Last but not least, I am grateful

to all of lovely students of Writing I classes who contributed to help me complete the questionnaire.

In short, I really thank to all people helping me to finish this graduation thesis.

Keywords: Common errors, IUH, English-majored freshmen, paragraphs, writing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................1

1.1. Rationale ............................................................................................................................... 2

1.2. Research Objectives.............................................................................................................. 3

1.3. Research Questions............................................................................................................... 3

1.4. Scope of the study................................................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................4

2.1. Definitions of key terms ....................................................................................................... 5

2.1.1. Definitions of writing..................................................................................................... 5

2.1.2. Definitions of academic writing..................................................................................... 5

2.1.3. Definitions of paragraphs............................................................................................... 6

2.1.4. Definitions of errors....................................................................................................... 7

2.1.5. Types of error in paragraph writing ............................................................................... 8

2.2. Theoretical Framework....................................................................................................... 11

2.2.1. Relevance of Errors...................................................................................................... 11

2.2.2. Errors in writing paragraphs......................................................................................... 12

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN .....................................................................................14

3.1. Research setting .................................................................................................................. 15

3.2. Participants.......................................................................................................................... 15

3.3. Research methodology and research methods.................................................................... 16

3.3.1. Research methodology ................................................................................................. 16

3.3.2. Research methods......................................................................................................... 16

3.4. Procedures........................................................................................................................... 17

3.5. Data analysis....................................................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .....................................................................19

4.1. Student’s responses to the Questionnaire ........................................................................... 20

4.1.1. Student’s attitude towards their writing skills.............................................................. 20

4.1.2. The common errors that students face difficulty in writing paragraphs ...................... 22

4.1.3. The causes of the common errors................................................................................. 29

4.2. Discussion........................................................................................................................... 33

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................35

5.1. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 36

5.2. Recommendations............................................................................................................... 37

5.3. Limitations.......................................................................................................................... 38

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................40

APPENDICES..............................................................................................................................42