Error Analysis Of Punctuation In Middle School Students’ English Writings

Since the 1960s, the theory of error analysis has developed rapidly as an importantbranch of applied linguistics. In the error analysis, a lot of researches are on the learners’writing problems. According to Corder (1981), different levels and types of errors arereflected in the writing practice of Chinese learners. Therefore, most of the studiesconcern a particular error, and analyze to identify the source of the problem, and thenpropose some appropriate solutions.Past researches in this field have yielded fruitful results, but they still have somelimitations. First, the researchers only concerned with the textual errors, while ignoringthe punctuation error. Second, most of the subjects were college students, while ignoringthe high school students. Third, the statistical data as an example are seldom presented inthe conclusion of studies.In English writing, punctuation marks are closely related with the article content,rather than the useless decoration. The rules of combination of the punctuation system arenot meaningless, but a set of logical system that are easy to neglect and misuse. Studentsin middle school are learning to write, and this stage is a critical period for the students todevelop good writing habits. Therefore, this essay takes the students in the second grade ofjunior, and those high school first grade and third grade students as the subjects, and theircomposition as research tool. On the basis of qualitative analysis and data, it tries toanalyze the situation of punctuation errors in the students’ writing compositions and thecauses of the error. The conclusions are as following:The main types of punctuation errors in the compositions of high school students liein commas, periods, question marks, colons, quotation marks, and exclamation point. InGrade two, the punctuation error of the highest frequency is comma, followed by period,colon, quotation marks, question marks and exclamation point. In grade one on senior high school, the highest frequency of punctuation mark is colon, followed by comma, questionmark, with the period the lowest frequency. In grade three, the error sequence from high tolow is colon, quotation marks, periods, commas, question marks and exclamation point.Through ANOVA, the three stages of punctuation errors make a comparison. Theresults indicate that with the improvement of English proficiency, punctuation usagecommitted no significant differences.Both subjective and objective factors are responsible for the punctuation errors.They include the negative transfer of the native language, being lack of punctuationknowledge, as well as deficiencies in the way of thinking. In addition, throughquestionnaires, the attitude of teachers and students are taken into consideration.Finally, this research proposes a series of solutions on the basis of the causes of theerrors. An Empirical Study of the punctuation helps us understand the status of thestudents using punctuation marks and pay special attention to their errors, thus to improvethe students’ writing skills.