An investigation into the errors in email writing of first-year undergraduates

Abstract

Email communication has gained vital importance in daily communication in the 21st century, regardless of the field in which it is used. In the context of tertiary-level education, email communication also plays a significant role. Likewise, Error Analysis (EA) is also important in writing skills. Most of the EA research in Sri Lanka has focused more on broader areas like essay writing, grammar, or speaking skills, rather than on genre-specific writing like email. The current study addresses the gap in EA research by investigating the errors in email writing by first-year undergraduates at a Sri Lankan university. Thus, a mixed methods approach was employed, combining pre-and post-tests and questionnaires. Fifty first-year undergraduates of the Department of Commerce and Financial Management, University of Kelaniya, were taken as the sample. The required data were collected through administration, pretest, posttest, and questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the error analytical framework of Corder and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The findings indicated that though the learners claimed they were aware of the formal email writing conventions, their emails showed that they were unaware of those conventions. Most students committed spelling errors, verb-related errors and punctuation errors, while, lack of knowledge of the target language elements was the primary reason beyond those errors. Hence, the study indicates that teachers and learners should be aware of the norms and errors in email writing. Providing one-to-one or constructive feedback is crucial for enhancing email writing skills and including the lessons related to the proper email communication required to be included in their syllabus.