An analysis of Iraqi EFL learners’ errors in paragraph writing

Abstract EN

A paragraph is the basic unit or building block of extended pieces of writing.

It is a series of sentences that are organized and related to a single topic.

Any piece of writing( whether a composition, an essay, or a paper) should be written into paragraphs which help to break a large body of text into smaller units so that it is easier to read and understand.

Without paragraphs, a piece of writing does not provide pauses for the reader to take in the points being made.

They show a reader where the subdivisions of any piece of writing begin and end; thus, they help him see the organization of it and understand its main idea.

EFL learners must have the ability to communicate their thoughts clearly in writing throughout their academic careers and their practical life, and to do so, they need to practise and master the aspects necessary to write effectively for many different purposes.

Knowing how to shape words on paper and how to convey ideas in a coherent and compelling manner provides students with a powerful tool towards becoming lifelong learners.

Learners can have fantastic ideas but if those ideas are not presented in an organized fashion, they will fail to achieve their goals in writing.

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The present study investigates the errors of Iraqi EFL learners in paragraph writing since most of them do not know the effective way of writing a powerful and coherent paragraph.

Therefore, a test has been prepared to examine twenty four Iraqi EFL learners in writing only one paragraph at three levels of difficulty (simple , intermediate, and advanced) in three parts respectively.

The learners' responses have been analysed and the results have shown that they commit different errors in writing paragraphs in the three parts, the highest frequency rates of errors committed have been found in the use of tenses and coherence in parts no.(2) and no.(3); conversely, the lowest rates are in the use of singular nouns, consistency in tense, pronoun, and vocabulary, and in the use of inflectional 'S' in parts no.

(1),(2),&(3) respectively.

Reasons behind such rates have been illustrated and different suggestions have been given to be useful for both teachers and students as well.