SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND POOR USE OF LANGUAGE MECHANICS IN ESSAY WRITING: THE CASE OF WINNEBA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN THE EFFUTU MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

This Research Work focused on the tense errors in the English essays of Secondary Schools Student Senior High School students and poor use of language mechanics in essay writing: The case of Winneba Senior High School in the Effutu municipality. Thirty (30) students from the aforementioned school contributed essays for the research. The study of the writings exposed several of the Students’ shortcomings in using English tense. For instance, while using the present tense, students found it more challenging than when using other tenses. Additionally, it has been noted that pupils make similar mistakes as a result of interference from their mother tongue. Additionally, it was discovered that the mistakes were the result of ineffective teaching strategies, inadequate textbooks, and unqualified English teachers. We recommend that the government hire experienced English teachers and supply sufficient grammar texts in order to reduce these issues. Therefore, it is important for students in lower courses to be exposed to the many contexts in which different tenses should be employed..

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

Writing plays a crucial role in human civilization, especially in the educational field, as writing is an essential component of the human communication system. According to Elashri (2013), writing is essential because it preserves knowledge and makes it portable, and writing is connected to learning in numerous ways. He goes on to say that writing affects thinking, fosters creativity, and aids in the development of one’s thoughts. Writing makes it possible to communicate across enormous distances and to leave behind records of one’s accomplishments for future generations.

Given what has been said thus far, Pak-TaoNg, as cited in Ghabool, Mariadass, and Kashef (2012), envisions writing as a requirement for course work. The majority of tasks, especially academic ones, are successfully completed by various styles of writing in the English language, according to this view of writing. English has a significant impact on education in modern society. For instance, textbooks, handouts, exams, and other materials are all written in English. Writing involves many different actions, such as thinking about the subject, taking notes, and obtaining data, according to Pak-TaoNg, who was referenced in Ghabool, Mariadass, and Kashef (2012). These writing processes provide comprehension. In addition to these tasks, English language writers must also pay attention to paragraphing, organization, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, and other elements. For academic writers, especially those who write in English as a second language, these writing activities make writing a time-consuming and difficult task.

Most researchers refer to writing in a second or foreign language as a “Gordian knot” (Tangpermpoon, 2008; Negari, 2011; Al Seyabi & Tuzlukova, 2014). According to Negari (2011), writing in a second or foreign language appears to be the language ability that language learners find the most challenging to pick up in academic situations. Most L2 students, especially Ghanaian pupils, have horrifying and destructive written English because of the language’s intricacies and writing challenges. In light of this, it is puzzling that despite the English language’s numerous benefits and importance to Ghanaian social, political, and academic life including its role in promoting socioeconomic mobility and serving as the lingua franca and official language for interethnic communication its proficient use in academic writing still poses a challenge.

Statement of the problem

The numerous complaints about the deteriorating English language proficiency at all levels of education in Ghana appear to be explained by the difficulties involved with writing. Numerous studies have proposed reasons for Ghana’s poor English language proficiency (Amua-Sekyi, 2010; Akampirige and Apam, 2014; Chief Examiner’s report, 2018). While there seem to be innumerable examples of students’ writing issues in literature involving grammar, it seems that students’ writing issues involving punctuation marks are understudied. Based on this background the researcher wants to investigate senior high school students and poor use of language mechanics in essay writing. The case of Winneba Senior High School in the Effutu municipality

Objective of the study

The objective of the study is to ascertain the senior high school students and poor use of language mechanics in essay writing. The specific objectives of the study are;

1. To ascertain the errors students made in essay writing in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality
2. To ascertain are the types of errors made in essay writing in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality
3. To find out the causes of the errors in essay writing in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality
4. To find out possible solutions to these errors in essay writing in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality

Research question

The following research questions were formulated;

1. What are the errors students made in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipalit ?
2. What are the types of errors in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality?
3. What are the causes of the errors in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality?
4. What are the possible solutions to these errors in winneba senior high school in Effutu Municipality?

Significance of the study

Teachers, especially English language teachers who are concerned in imparting quality knowledge to the learning population, will find the findings of this study, which identify the challenges with essay-writing among senior high school students, to be both theoretically and practically significant..

The school administration, school inspectors, and the nation’s minister of education will all find it to be of considerable importance. Theoretically, it will help to advance our understanding of how secondary school kids perform when writing essays. The results will assist the ministry of education in realizing that the availability of appropriate and qualified English language teachers is a requirement or precondition for students’ successful completion of the subject. Once more, the results will assist English language instructors in continually reevaluating their methods of instruction and making the subject more engaging in order to encourage and stimulate students’ interest in the subject.

Scope of the study

The scope of the study covers Senior High School students and poor use of language mechanics in essay writing. Study will be limited Winneba Senior High School in the Effutu municipality.

Limitation of the study

It will be of more importance to highlight certain militating factors that tend to narrow or limit my scope of study. This project research would have been easier if not for these limitating factors:

1. Time factor:time was not on the researchers to consult various sectors of the economy to review employees or given out questionnaire to various institutions on the effect of government revenue policies.
   As we all know, time is never our friend. The time scheduled for the completion of this research thesis was too short. As a result, generating information/data was strenuous as it coincides with final year examination period, which needed attention.
2. Finance:this is another barrier that limited the researcher’s work.
3. Available resources:was unavailable for the research work.

Definition of terms

Language mechanics: Language mechanics incorporate the proper use of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and other factors deemed necessary for high-quality captioned media. Rules included in these guidelines are primarily those which are unique to captioning and speech-to-text

Essay: An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author’s own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story

Writing: Writing is a medium of human communication that involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols

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