An Error Analysis Of the Writing of Tanzanian University Students

Abstract

This paper examines the general patterns of errors made by university students in their essays. The study involved a group of first year students from the University of Dar as Salaam, who wrote essays about their linguistic backgrounds. The errors made by the students were then classified into a number of classes. The results indicate that the highest per cents of errors were in the over-elaboration, verbal and nominal classes. Specifically, a good number of students made many errors relating to over-elaboration,
which is caused by over-emphasis on formal structure in the teaching of English. The paper recommends that error analysis studies pay attention to both the structure of the language and the discussion of language functions and the context within which the text to be analysed is produced.