Punctuation Mark Errors in English Majors’ Writing

趙曉穎++李小容

【Abstract】Punctuation marks， closely related to the contents of the article， play an irreplaceable role in the articles. In modern times， most researches only focus on the functions and regularities of punctuation mark development， while a few researches are about the punctuation mark errors， especially punctuation mark errors in English majors writing. This thesis chooses English majors in USST （University of Shanghai for Science and Technology） as research subjects， investigates and analyzes the reasons for the punctuation mark errors， in an attempt to seek for implications to students learning and English teaching.

【Key words】punctuation mark； error analysis； English major

As language learners， English major students not only need to master the knowledge of vocabulary and grammar， but also are required to grasp all aspects of professional knowledge. However， punctuation marks dont get deserved attention， on the contrary， are neglected. Researchers who study the punctuation errors in EFL learners writing only regard middle school students or college English learners as subjects （Lv Yan， 2006）. A fact exists that various punctuation mark errors can be seen in the writing of English majors， so it is imperative to find factors of punctuation mark.

1. The design of the research and methodology

In order to reveal the status quo of the punctuation mark use of English majors， error analysis is employed.

Research questions：

（1） What are the punctuation mark errors that English majors make？

（2） What is the frequency of each kind of error？

（3） What are possible reasons for the errors？

Data collection

The research employs corpus-based approach and develops with the aid of antconc.exe corpus analysis software. Corpus is set up by collecting compositions of English majors from Class 2010， Class 2011 and Class 2012. Five hundred and nine compositions （the total number of words is 152， 291） written by English majors in English writing course and integrated English course are collected. All of the selected compositions are scored and scores take up 30% of the final grades. Students attach much importance to these compositions. After studying the selected compositions， it shows that punctuation mark errors of overuse， absence and misuse all appear in the writing of students.

1.1 Punctuation overuse

Punctuation overuse refers to an error that learners put a punctuation mark in the place where it is unnecessary， mainly covering the following errors.

The punctuation error occurred in the compositions is marked as sn1.

（1） Two punctuation marks are used together， one of which is unnecessary， for example：

“The standards may be changed，.[sn1]”

（2） In the “only” inverted sentence， quite a few students are inclined to add a punctuation mark before the auxiliary verbs， for example：

“Only by doing so， [sn1] can you enjoy your online shopping.”

（3） Learners overuse a punctuation mark between the subject and the predicate， for instance：

“The first reason， [sn1]is that smoking is not good for humans health.”

1.2 Punctuation absence

Another punctuation error occurring in the compositions is marked as sn2， standing for absence error， which refers to an error that learners dont put a punctuation mark in the place where it is necessary. Following errors are included in absence errors.

（1） According to COCA （Corpus of Contemporary American English） corpus， when adverbs， such as however， therefore， besides， occur at the beginning of a sentence， usually a comma should be employed after them， for example：

“However[sn2] if they are unluckily， they failed in war，[sn3] what waiting for them is darkness.”

“Third[sn2] we can know more experiences that we have never experience.”

With the help of relevant books such as punctuation marks usage （1995）， A Guide to English Punctuation Marks （2004）， all errors are identified. So it is easy to discover that many punctuation mark errors exist in the English majors compositions due to various causes， of which comma overuse errors ranks the first， up to 630 times； absence error the second， amounting to 441 times； These errors not only reflect the language level of students， more importantly， inspire us to think over all possible reasons and find out the source of errors. Finding out all possible reasons for the punctuation mark errors occurring in the writing not only does good to the progress of students writing skill but also plays a key role in the improvement of teaching. What reasons on earth cause these errors？

2. Reasons for punctuation errors

Different reasons contribute to punctuation mark errors. Different reasons contribute to punctuation mark errors. Corder （1981） mentioned， “Errors are predicted to be the result of the persistence of existing mother tongue habits in the new language. Most errors are ascribed to interference.” Most errors are ascribed to interference. Therefore， In order to make the terrible situation of punctuation mark use in writing of English majors improved， both subjective and objective factors should be taken into account.

Carelessness is one of the factors. It is probably because of the students carelessness that they make the most intolerable punctuation mark error in their writing， that is， full stop in Chinese form is employed. Another factor is that students master a feeble basis of grammar knowledge. In all punctuation errors marked out， it is likely that the errors caused by feeble grammar basis occupy a substantial proportion， such as “only” inverted sentence. Apart from this， non-restrictive attributive clause， fused sentence， punctuation mark absence， etc. are associated with the weakness of grammar knowledge. Whats more， some students finished compositions in order to fulfill the task. After compositions checked by teachers are handed out， most students just put away and let it aside. Errors are not corrected in time.

Apart from subjective factors， some objective reasons are also supposed to be considered. On my own experience， whether in integrated English course or in English writing course， teachers pay little attention to punctuation marks. The processes of teaching seldom specially involve the knowledge of punctuation. At some times， for the errors occurring in the students composition， teachers have no time to point out and correct， letting alone specially instruct punctuation mark knowledge， thus leading students to stumble again and again. Interference of mother tongue is a vital factor causing punctuation errors. The usages of some punctuation marks， like comma， have essential distinctions. In Chinese， a comma can be used for separate several independent sentences， while in English， it is not allowed， otherwise causing run-on sentence. Among all marked out errors in compositions， the most serious error run-on sentence is ascribed to interference of mother tongue. Therefore， teachers and students have to attach more importance to the knowledge of punctuation marks.

3. Conclusions and Implications

Throughout current researches， punctuation errors among English majors in writing are seldom stressed. Comparing with the researches that Huang Manli （2006） and Fu Linyan （2007） do， similarly who take English majors as research subjects on punctuation mark errors. One conclusion can be drawn that the interference of mother tongue and the neglect of students and teachers take much responsibility for punctuation mark errors. Therefore， for the better situation on punctuation mark use， actions have to be taken in time.

Firstly， from the aspect of teaching， teachers are supposed to shed light on the punctuation marks and instruct the punctuation mark knowledge， especially the punctuation marks which have different usages in Chinese and English， clearly telling about the difference of punctuation marks in both languages. Once an error is found， teachers have to correct without delay.

Secondly， in terms of learning， students must strengthen the basis of grammar. When faced with problems of punctuation marks， students should ask teachers for help immediately. As for the punctuation errors pointed out by teachers in the compositions， a summary is needed. Continuous accumulation of punctuation mark knowledge can lessen the possibility of carelessness. Only through the joint efforts of students and teachers can ameliorate the status quo of punctuation mark use.

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