AN INVESTIGATION INTO COMMON TYPES AND CAUSES OF ESSAY WRITING ERRORS AMONG SECOND-YEAR AND THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT DONG A UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study investigates common types and causes of essay writing errors among second-year (K24) and third-year (K23) English majors at Dong A University, Da Nang, Vietnam. Employing a mixed-methods Error Analysis (EA) approach, data were collected from 60 students’ mid-term examination essays and 50 valid questionnaire responses. Errors were classified according to James (1998) four-category taxonomy: grammatical, mechanical, lexical, and organizational. Results reveal that grammatical errors are the predominant challenge across both cohorts, while mechanical errors decline significantly with academic progression. A cross-cohort comparison highlights a developmental shift in error gravity - from surface-level orthographic errors in second-year students toward complex syntactic and lexical errors in third-year students - alongside evidence of “fossilization” of basic grammatical and spelling patterns. Three underlying causes are identified: (1) interlingual transfer from Vietnamese L1; (2) cognitive constraints in idea generation and AI tool overdependence defined by Yan (2023) as the habitual use of AI tools to perform core composing tasks including generating ideas, drafting, or organizing essays rather than using AI solely for post-draft revision; and (3) pedagogical and environmental shortcomings including insufficient corrective feedback and limited supervised writing practice. The study offers targeted implications for students, writing instructors, and curriculum designers at Dong A University.