Ecuadorian public high school students errors in EFL writing skill

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of the present research investigation titled Ecuadorian Public High School Students Errors in EFL Writing Skill is to study and analyze students errors in writing in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a total of 66 students from three second year senior high school classes and five English teachers in the Baccalaureate section of a public high school in Cuenca, Ecuador. The data included written text samples of the students and a questionnaire aimed at discovering the students perceptions of their writing skills. A similar questionnaire surveyed the attitudes of the teachers, including the amount of time they spend on writing tasks in class and their perceptions of giving feedback and explanations regarding the grammar, content and mechanics of drafting paragraphs. The findings of this research reveal that subject omission is the most frequent type of error in EFL writing, followed by incorrect organization of ideas in the paragraph and incorrect punctuation.