Jennifer Payot and Maico Demi Aperocho
College of Arts and Sciences Education, University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines
DOI: doi.org/10.55990/umimrj.v7i1.701
Abstract
The use of written English is essential in criminology. This can be proven by its purpose when writing technical documents such as police blotter reports, among others. The researchers explored the textual errors in this paper’s Criminology students’ essays. Further, it seeks to identify the reasons behind the commission of these errors by the students. Using a qualitative approach and error analysis, the researchers asked twenty-five students to undergo the data-gathering phase. Also, key informants were interviewed to deepen the findings of the study. After a series of writing stages and checking, it is identified that students’ common writing errors are in the observance of subject-verb agreement and the use of commas and conjunctions. The researchers also unraveled that the incomprehensibility of grammar rules is why students encounter writing difficulties. This study recommends that a module be developed and implemented in an academic setting to improve students’ writing skills in the English language.
Keywords: error analysis, linguistic errors, criminology, academic writing, college
