Improving grade 10 student’s writing skill through error correction

THANH HOA SERVICE OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING TRIEU SON No2 UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE IMPROVING GRATE 10 STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL THROUGH ERROR CORRECTION AT TRIEU SON No2 UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL Researcher: Nguyễn Thị Hà Post: Teacher Field: English THANH HÓA, NĂM 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.INTRODUCTION 1.1.Rationale………… ……………………… ………………………….… 1.2 Aim of the study…………………………………………………………….2 1.3 Scope of the study………………………………… ….………………… 1.4 Method of study…………………………………………………………… 2.CONTENTS 2.1 Theoretical and practical background………………………….…… ……4 2.1.1 Writing…………………………………………………….………………4 2.1.1.1 The concept of "writing" in the theory of language 2.1.1.2 Writing process 2.1.2 The concept of " errors " and "correction"…………………….……… 2.1.2.1 An overview of errors 2.1.2.1.1 Concept:………………………………………………………………… ………….6 2.1.2.1.2 Classify errors………………………………………………………………… ……7 2.1.2.2 An overview of the correction 2.1.2.2.1 Error correction…………………… ……….……………………….8 2.1.2.2.2 Some basic methods of error correction for students…………………8 2.1.3 The relationship between the errors, the correction and the process of teaching and learning writing skill 2.2 The state of the problem ………………… ………………….… ….… 10 2.3 Solutions:…… … …………………….……… ……….………… … 11 2.3.1 Teachers 11 2.3.1.1 The steps in the evaluation process of students’ writing…….… ….11 2.3.1.1.1 Identify "What errors need be corrected……………………….… 11 2.3.1.1.2 Determine "how many errors should be corrected……………….… 11 2.3.1.1.3 Form methods of correction…………….… ………………… 11 2.3.1.2 The steps after evaluating students’ writing……….… …… ……….13 2.3.1.2.1 Organize general comments after marking ………… ………………13 2.3.1.2.2 Provide students with the basic principles of writing and exercises involving errors which students often make………………………….…………13 2.3.2 Students .13 2.3.2.1 Change the attitudes of students towards the correction 13 2.3.2.2 Emphasize the importance of reviewing and correction 13 2.3.2.3 Instruct students how to find and point out errors 14 2.3.2.4 Apply repeatedly drafting 15 2.4 The effectiveness of the experience 15 3.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……… ………….…………….18 REFERENCES…………….………………………….………… ………….…20 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study Being an international language, English is used in all aspects such as science, technology, communication, business and so on This is the reason why it has become a compulsory subject in most of Vietnamese schools In order to reach the goals of the subject, not only teachers but also students have been looking for the best teaching and learning approaches After graduating from educational universities, we have been working as teachers of English at Triệu Sơn No2 upper secondary school Our school is located in a countryside area, so we meet lots of difficulties in teaching and learning, especially in English subject It can be seen from the result of entrance examinations that most of the students in our school are not good at English This makes us try our best to find and apply suitable ways to improve their English The English group of our school has six members, who all graduated from universities of education As young teachers, we always work hard with great enthusiasm Annually, we manage time as much as possible to observe the lectures of our colleagues, then we hold the meetings to share experiences and give supporting ideas to make the following lectures more successful When studying a foreign language, we must pay attention to many factors, for example vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation, grammar, etc Among them, writing is considered as one of the most important skills, which a learner has to master if he really wants to acquire language competence Learning English is not an exception, especially in time of international economic integration, when most information sources are written in English, it requires writing skill Therefore, The Ministry of Education and Training has long chosen English a compulsory subject in the GCSE In the 2014 GCSE exam, twenty five percent of the exam’s content was comprised by writing In the 2015 combined exam ( GCSE and university entrance), writing also accounts for 20 percent of the exam’s content This is more evidence of writing skill’s importance in learning English For students, they have ever done and will have to approach many forms of writing forms to achieve their language competence However, according to Nunan ( the Professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), producing a coherent, fluent and extended piece of writing is probably the most difficult thing to In the process of learning foreign languages, making errors is an inevitable thing, especially while learning writing, students have difficulties writing texts because they require consistency and coherence Pointing out basic errors as well as instructing students to correct is one of the best ways to help them improve their writing skill Analyzing situations in which students often make errors also helps to improve writing skill For teachers who bear the primary responsibility for helping students achieve this skill, the effectiveness of teaching depends mostly on what kinds of errors need correcting and on the ways to correct From errors, students themselves can realize whether they meet writing requirements or not This enables teachers to assess students' achievement Then, “How are errors corrected appropriately?”, “Whether or not error correction will ever help improve students’writing skill? “What are the best methods to apply ?” These are the questions which have always emerged to me in my teaching period With the experience through the process of teaching writing skill for students in grade 10, I would like to submit the topic: "“Improving grade 10 student’s writing skill through error correction” to make a small contribution to the education renovation Hoping that with this experience, we will make lessons more logical and interesting when applying it into our teaching approach 1.2 Aims of the study For the reasons given above, this article may give a clue about the high temperature and wind speed in Britain, especially the English 10 Small plates: - Give to one more comprehensive English 10 - Provide a few basic facts about the role of the lagoon operation - Recognize the impact of climate change on public health •To investigate students’ attitudes towards writing skill through error correction in English 10 and the difficulties they face • To study whether the modified writing skill could help students improve their writing skill 1.3 Scope of the study Suggested writing skill from unit to unit 16 Due to the limited knowledge, energy and time, the researcher was unable to carry out the investigation on a large scale This action research was only conducted for only weeks with the four writing lessons and in the context of 40 tenth-grade students at Trieu Son No2 High School in the academic year 2017-2018 only Hence, the results of the study is only limited to the above teaching context and participants Methods of the study The author has applied the following methods in this study: Data collection results from interviews (for questionnaires (for students) and class observations teachers), survey Data analysis is done through coding, classifying, and reporting the information - The consultant must prepare a plan for the project to be implemented, in a timely manner,in a coherent manner - Activities must be short, simple - Actions should be consistent - Actions should be based on students’ strengths - The activities in the project should be a long-term, sustainable solution for students CONTENTS 2.1 Theoretical and practical background: 2.1.1 Writing 2.1.1.1 The concept of "writing" in the theory of language To have access to teaching writing skill appropriately and effectively, understanding the concept of "writing" in term of language is necessary There are many definitions of "writing" Each linguists have their own definitions, which depends on the criteria that they consider important As Byrne (1979) wrote that " a series of icons arranged by convention to form words and words are arranged into sentences" In this view, we can notice any activity that makes up the words / sentences, whether it means or not, is considered to be "writing" Writing, in terms of theoretical subject, is not as simple as the concept that Byrne gave It is a complex process, according to Lannon (1989) ,"the process converting the material discovered by inspiration, random, trials and errors, or anything in the message with full of meaning - Writing is a process of careful decisions "(page 9) By this definition, writing skill must contain the meaningful message This definition is more perfect than that of Byrne (1979) because it tends to write on purpose with clear orientation In the process of teaching and learning, writing is considered as “a language skill" (Tribble, 1996, p.3) It is not only the language presented in the form of texts but also the development and presentation of ideas in a logical and structural way It is" a process that occurs over a period of time, especially when we take the time to think before writing a first outline "(Harris, 1993, Page 10) Compared with the concept coming up previously, this concept is the most satisfactory because it covers all aspects of writing skill: form (texts), purpose (expressing the idea) , and texture (texture) When writing, we know that a written document is the product of an individual for the purpose of communication with other people indirectly That means the recipients not stand in front of the writer to hear from the writer Thus the writer has to make sure that his text is not only accurate but also understandable to readers Some factors need to be considered when writing in Raimes (1983) SYNTAX CONTENT Sentence structure Relevance, clarity, logic, etc… etc… GRAMMAR PROCEDURE WRITING Tense rules, writings, ideas, drafts, recheck, etc… pronouns, etc… clear and effective FORM ideas hand writting, pronounce, OBJECT OF RECEIPT punctuation, etc readers TEXTURE PURPOSE theme, coherence, unity, passages CHOICE reason for writing Vocabulary, idioms, expressions 2.1.1.2 Writing process According to Tribble (1996), the process consists of four steps: Before writing: This is the step the writer conducts before drafting, including the selection of themes, thoughts, notes, discussions, arranging ideas, outline, gathering information (examples, interviews, searching information, data processing) Writing drafts: Writing drafts is the procedure the writer put ideas into sentences, paragraphs, concentrating on explanation, clarifying ideas and linking ideas Reviewing: This is the an important step to have a complete text The writer will think about what the readers expect, the readers are the center for the text to orient For instance, the writer will refine texture, link ideas or add conjunctions Editorial: The writer will review the form of the writing, such as spelling, grammar, punctuation As we can see from the above point of view, writing is a one-way process, not relating to the reader Reid (1993) also made the same point but added three more steps of the writing process: feedback, assessment and after writing This makes the process of Reid’s writing more satisfactory Briefly, the steps of the writing process according to Reid (1993) may be illustrated in the diagram below: PRE WRITING DRAFFTING FEEDBACK REVISING EDITORIAL ASSESSMENT AFTER WRITING In short, writing is an exercise form that two persons not exercise and in such a way However, there are basic steps that the writer must also perform when writing Researchers have different ways to illustrate the process of writing, but all agree that writing is a process under the rule of "recursion", requiring a major effort from the writer 2.1 The concept of " errors " and "correction": 2.1.2.1 An overview of errors: 2.1.2.1.1 Concept: There were many definitions of errors given by famous researchers such as Abbort (1981), the Edge (1989), McKay (1989), Goldstein (1990), Hubbard (1991), Klassen (1993), Crosling (1996) etc Although they expressed in different ways but the concepts had the common points of the nature and function of the errors Goldstein (1990) defined the errors as "an action due to ignorance, shortcomings, or accidental distraction, straying away from the original direction or not achieve the purpose" Klassen (1993) gave a more simple definition about errors According to Klassen, an error is "a form or the structure that is not acceptable to the natives because of the inappropriate use " Meanwhile, Crosling (1996) gave his views respectfully towards the criteria "Any deviation about method compared with the regular method is considered as an error " Referring to errors, some researchers have the same opinion that not only language learners make errors but natives also make errors The natives often make errors on two levels " pattern error " and "expression error " The second error is the common one with a higher frequency (McKay, 1984) Thus, the errors should be considered unconventional and inappropriate We can see that errors occur in all language levels from pattern one to expression one 2.1.2.1.2 Classify errors Lippman, J (2003) classified errors into two categories: "general errors " (coverage errors) and "specific errors " Classify General problems include: General errors Specific errors Thesis The whole sentence the elements of the Structure is not exact: sentences are not exact, Basis word order, tenses, writings Compatibility and conjunction auxiliary verbs â â Result Result communication communication unsuccessful unintelligible consistency The Suitability with the object and purpose Specific problems include: Spelling Syntax Grammar Punctuation 10 (Quote according to Lippman (2003)) There are many error classifications, depending on the purpose of researchers in the analysis and conformity with fact conditions of teaching and learning languages 2.1.2.2 An overview of the correction: 2.1.2.2.1 Error correction: When evaluating an writing we have the concept of "feedback", in which two elements must be distinguished: "assessment" and "correction" On evaluation, learners have been identified as performing well or not in the writing On correction, students receive detailed information about the writing such as explanation, providing a better alternative spelling As a rule, correction can and should provide information that the writer wrote correctly or wrongly and why, but generally both teachers and learners must see this concept as to correct errors 2.1.2.2.2 Some basic methods of error correction for students In the general teaching process, teachers often have to resolve issues such as "what errors to correct " and " how to correct effectively" Gower and Walter (1983) offered issues for language teachers to solve errors in the writing process, which is " what to correct, when to correct, how to correct and how much to correct" Meanwhile, Raimes (1983) gave seven basic principles for correcting errors in the teaching process in the classroom: For the students’ writing, the teacher does not need to mark the errors but still need to identify errors Identify errors carefully and find the cause Find more parts the student has successfully completed Collect errors students have committed Establish an error symbol table clearly and understandably Regularly give reasons or error correction and remove carefully Finally, handle errors carefully, and make it a habit for students To solve problems " what to correct, when to correct", the researchers often suggest that teachers should choose immediate correction or to wait until there is an other similar error in the lesson To make the matter " how many errors to correct " is clearer, Gower and Walter offered a few suggestions: • Attract students to the process of the correction 11 • Spend less time on correcting individual students, but focusing on common errors • Indicate the errors students has often make • Point out the location of the errors • Specify the type of errors • Give students opportunities for self-correction • If the learner can not self – correct, ask other students to help • If the above steps fail, the teacher corrects Edge (1989) gave three basic steps following correction: Self-correction –: Teachers indicates errors for students correct themselves because sometimes students need help for identify errors before self-correction Peer correction –: Learners work in pairs or in groups to find and correct errors in the other's writing This attracts all the students in the process of correction, makes students active, less dependent on the teacher Teacher correction : Teachers find the the writer’s meaning by the wrong sentence and guide students how to express exactly 2.1.3 The relationship between the errors, the correction and the process of teaching and learning writing skill Making errors is inevitable in the process of learning, in this way students make important characteristics, which is necessary for learning the language Making errors is a way for learners to consolidate the knowledge they have learned, thereby grasping the language For teachers, that the students make errors in the process of learning helps them assess the level of students’ knowledge and consider what they need to learn to perfect The correction also have a positive impact on this process of teaching and learning languages Students through self-correction, peer correction and the teacher correction may progress more rapidly Especially writing skill requires high precision of words and expressions 2.2 The state of the problem: 12 From the analysis of the survey data, reading and gathering errors in students’ writings during the teaching process, I have grasped some of the status of issues raised in the initiative experience as follows: + Both teachers and students have a positive attitude with the correction, and are considered correction as an essential part of the learning process and an important factor in improving student’s ability to write + Although the correction plays an important role in writing skill and although both teachers and students have tried, student's writing skill has not been improved much The reason is that many errors have not been indicated and corrected thoroughly after making overall assessment of the student's writing, so whether to have reviewed, students can not understand where they were wrong + There are errors that both teachers and students find it difficult to detect such as logical errors, errors of expression, or word errors For example: The right sentence : I like visiting historical places The wrong sentence: I like visiting historic places (Unit 16 Tieng Anh 10) (Adjective "historic" - the famous, important belonging to history) in history and "historical" - Students and teachers often only pay attention to spelling, grammar or structure when assessing the writing + In correction methods, both teachers and students agree that teachers correct students’ errors , students correct for each other and self-correction are the main ways Students are usually passive during the correction In general, there are still many problems in correcting students’ writing, especially tenth grade students just get accustomed to writing forms in the curriculum as all writing letters, invitations, reports Therefore, to improve the quality of teaching and learning in general, as well as enhance the efficiency of the correction in the learning process to write, the introduction of effective and appropriate correction methods must be explored and applied 2.3 Solutions 2.3.1 Teachers 2.3.1.1 The steps in the evaluation process of students’ writing 2.3.1.1.1 Identify "What errors need be corrected" Correcting all the errors in the students’ writing is not really necessary Teachers should choose the important points - this depends on the language target that the 13 lesson forward This requires teachers to identify the errors in the writing under the major errors or minor errors and guide students Once students grasp types of common errors, they will identify what type of errors in their writing Students are more likely to discover grammatical errors than semantic errors, word using errors than logical errors 2.3.1.1.2 Determine "how many errors should be corrected" Teachers can decide to just correct the basic and serious errors for students not to feel depressed because of too many errors in their writing However, how many errors should be corrected also depends on the category of students Because some students are ashamed of getting too many errors while others are not satisfied if if they get their writing back only with general comments like "good work" 2.3.1.1.3 Form methods of correction - Use symbols when correcting: This method has been proved to be convenient because teacher does not have to write the words and phrases fully in students’ writing, especially when the number is great Symbols and meanings: GR: Grammar Voc: Vocabulary Sp Spelling error P Punctuation error V Verb tenses error W.O Wrong word order W.W Wrong word used Agr Agreement – Y upside down ! word missing Careless error Good, well done ? I don’t understand Prep Preposition ü Good point Cap Capitalizing this word 14 () Unnecessary word Φ Omitting this word - Give feedback cautiously: Giving feedback plays an important role in encouraging students to review their writings and involving them in the learning process Besides pointing out errors , the teacher should also encourage, praise what the students try to express in their writing - Use correcting pens in different color: Teachers often use red pens when correcting, which makes students easy to see their errors But if teachers use red pens to underline any errors in the writing , students will feel so down and ashamed when getting their writing back This makes students think they can not write well and they not want to get such writings As a result, they not want to write anymore The correction is not merely pointing out right and wrong, but encouraging students to express and self - correct Teachers should use a different pen or use a pencil to correct to help students understand that teachers are making hints - Tick at the sidelines of the writing for students easy to find their errors: This method is applied when students are accustomed to the error symbols Students can find errors in the line or sentence symbols 2.3.1.2 The steps after evaluating students’ writing 2.3.1.2.1 Organize general comments after marking Students will learn more if teachers spend a period of time correcting on the spot Students can avoid similar errors in their writing when getting comments on others’ writings There are errors of expression that teacher can not comment, but in the process of direct correction, students will understand more clearly 2.3.1.2.2 Provide students with the basic principles of writing and exercises involving errors which students often make Teachers can provide short memos For example, teachers give structures to write a letter of direction ( Test yourself C ), how to write a letter of invitation ( Unit 10 Writing – Tieng Anh 10) or exercises of finding errors for students to practice 2.3.2 Students 3.2.1 Change the attitudes of students towards the correction: Previously, many teachers thought that making errors is not a good thing For them, it indicated that the student is stupid or lazy, and in some cases, 15 teachers blamed students for not paying attention or not doing homework carefully Teachers could only say, "Sit down" and did not pay attention to the student as if the student might have done anything wrong However, according to new approaches, that students make errors means they are trying to find a new way of expression, they learn to combine theory with practice Writing is a process, not requiring students right from the start Make sure that students can consider correction as one way to help them improve, it is an important, useful part in the learning process This gives students more confidence and psychological balance before writing 2.3.2.2 Emphasize the importance of reviewing and correction Correction is necessary It's not a problem Students need to see it as a necessity while learning to write Correcting when students try their best to write often discourages students The appropriate solution is to turn the correction into a classroom activity so that students can participate actively in the process of completing his writing It is also a method to encourage students to use English, less worrying about making errors Raising the awareness of students about reviewing and correction helps them focus on correcting their writing and others’ To this, the teacher should also be aware properly and give some rules when discussing He can add points to students who make comments exactly on other’s writing in the correction process in the classroom 2.3.2.3 Instruct students how to find and point out errors Using the symbol system to correct is really effective It encourages students in self- correction and peer –correction Teachers should make clear instructions and a sign system at the start of teaching writing • Example: Find all and point out errors in the writing about the biography of Van Cao ( Unit 12 Music (Writing)) 16 The writing correction : Van Cao was born in Nam Dinh on November 15, 1923 , into a poor workers’ family He started composing music when he was very young He wrote the first song in 1939 and then quickly became famous Tien Quan Ca, the National Anthem of Vietnam was written by Van Cao in 1944 Van Cao not only wrote songs and poems but also drew paintings He died on July 10, 1995 when he was 72 years old Van Cao is known as a very talented musician and highly apprepriated by the Vietnamese people 2.3.2.4 Apply repeatedly drafting Drafting many times is also considered as an effective way to correct This method promotes students to involve in the process of correction To perform this activity, it is necessary to follow some steps: + Instruct students to find errors in every draft: 17 In this activity, students are asked to write three versions, in which the last one can complete as much as possible For each time, students should note the types of errors in the following table: 2nd version 1st version 3rd version Errors to Check the structure and Focus on the word Find all the errors notice the logic of the writing use, grammar, as possible form + Give more points to students who have the ability to find and point out errors in the writing Points can encourage students to participate in activities to help you perfect fix writing + Evaluate student’s progress through each version: Teachers can also notice the student's progress through each version , and also can give extra points to students who have made significant progress 2.4 The effectiveness of the experience This initiative experience has been made to point out and analyze some common errors for grade 10 students when learning writing, as well as provide some effective correction methods for teachers to teach writing From the reality of teaching in the academic year 2017 -2018, I carried out a survey of writing skill’s progress of the students in grade 10A6 in the second term compared to the first term In the first term, I made a twenty minute test of writing skill after learning Pre and While – writing : Unit A day in the life of… – Use the prompts to build up a narrative about a hotel fire (Text book Tieng Anh 10- page 18) The results of analysis of the errors that students made as follows: The total of students: 35 Errors Grammar Vocabulary Spelling 0-4 errors students students students 5-8 errors students students students 9-12 errors 12 students students 10 students 12 students 13 students More errors than 12 15 students 18 The data analysis tells that , at the beginning of the school year, the student's writing skill was too weak with more than 70 percents of students who made errors in their writing Particularly , in the results of the test, there was only 25 percent of students who achieved on an average result After giving students in class 10 A6 a fifteen minute test of “ Error Identifitaction” with 15 students at different levels , the result is as follows: Students Find 1-4 errors Find 5-8 errors Find 9-10 errors weak 5/5 sts 0/5 sts 0/5 sts satisfactory 3/5 sts 2/5 sts 0/5 sts good/excellent 2/5 sts 3/5 sts /5 sts Through tests, we find that the skill “Error Identifitaction “does not totally depend on the basis of grammar and vocabulary, but on students’ ability to use that language in practice In the next writing lessons of the first semester and the second semester, after applying the methods mentioned in section of the experience, I find that the ability to find and correct errors has been significantly improved through each test during the study process The test “Error Identifitaction” conducted in 42 students shows that more than 70 percents of students can find more than half of the errors in the test For writing skill through peer correction, 50 percents of students in the group are capable of correcting the group’s writing in the discussion The result of the written test after writing lessons of five any students in the second term as follows: Errors Grammar Vocabulary Spelling 0-4 errors 16 students 15 students 12 students 5-8 errors 10 students 10 students students 9-12 errors students students 10 students students students students More errors than 12 19 In comparisons with the result at the beginning of the school year, the above result shows that students’ writing skill has been increased sharply It is because students have become more excited when learning writing lessons This result once again makes sure that proper correction have advantages and effectiveness in improving students’ writing skill 20 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 Conclusions Writing is one of the important language skills for English language learners To master this skill, it requires a lot of time and efforts The problem for both teachers and students in teaching and learning process is to find the most effective approaching methods On the other hand, it is noticeable that making errors is inevitable and important in language learning Errors in the learning process are considered as a positive step so that students have more experience, awareness and certain achieved progress From my teaching experience, I come up with a number of effective error correction methods for grade 10 students With over 13 years of teaching at Quy Hop high school, I find that my experience has motivated both me and my colleagues more actively creative in teaching Because teaching writing skill is not a simple job, requiring a lot of effort and patience, the result can not be seen in a short time but need a relatively long time 3.2 Recommendations The scope of application of this teaching experience may be extended to all students in all grades because writing skill and error correction are in all units in textbooks as well as tests in the GCSE and university entrance exams To be successful in helping students correct in writing skill, it is indispensable of teachers’ enthusiasm, love for teaching career and qualifications Besides, there should be timely support, encouragement, concern direction of the leaders’ school In the next school year, I have aspirations to put some more writing skill practice into the optional curriculum so that teach writing activities more enrich The above is all that I have made and collected through my own teaching experience However, the subject can not avoid these restrictions need to be supplemented I look forward to the comments of colleagues for my writing to be more effective! 21 XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hóa, ngày 25 tháng năm 2018 CAM KẾT KHÔNG COPY Người viết sáng kiến Nguyễn Thị Hà 22 REFERENCE Academic writing – Oxford Press Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th edition) ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING – STUDY BOOKLET (English Teacher Workshop & Refresment Courses) By Overseas Services Bureau & Vietnam Minishtry of Eduacation,1992 Chuẩn kiến thức kỹ môn Tiếng Anh 10, 11, 12 – (Tái lần thứ nhất) NXB Giáo dục Việt Nam 2010 Thiết kế hoạt động dạy học Tiếng Anh 10, tập II, NXB Giáo dục Hà Nội http://www.teachingenglish.edu.vn http://www.violet.vn 23 ... the experience through the process of teaching writing skill for students in grade 10, I would like to submit the topic: " Improving grade 10 student’s writing skill through error correction to... attitudes towards writing skill through error correction in English 10 and the difficulties they face • To study whether the modified writing skill could help students improve their writing skill 1.3... identify the errors in the writing under the major errors or minor errors and guide students Once students grasp types of common errors, they will identify what type of errors in their writing Students