ERRORS IN FORMAL LETTER WRITING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Writing a good formal letter is a skill that must be mastered. This study aims to find out the errors that undergraduate students make in writing a formal letter when no guidance is given. Thirty undergraduate English language proficiency course students from the University of Malaya were given an assignment to write a formal letter. The letters were marked using a writing evaluation criteria table which was designed based on marking written work for over 15 years. In the letter format, around 30% performed poorly while 43% performed averagely. Overall, their organisation of their letters was good. Most of them chose the modified block style with indented paragraphs. Their grammar performance was average with the highest number of errors made in the omission of auxiliary verbs and articles, and the second highest in the wrong use of verb forms. For mechanics, the highest number of errors was in spelling followed by capitalisation. Overall, their use of vocabulary was good as they were able to use the correct choice of words to express their ideas. For students to excel in formal writing, proper guidance and practice must be given in class.