Understanding the Challenges of English Essay Writing: A Case Study of a Maritime Student

This case study investigated the types of writing errors and their underlying influences in the English essays of a second-year maritime student at the University of Cebu – Maritime Education and Training Center during the 2023-2024 academic year. The participant was strategically selected for this investigation. Information from the written compositions and semi-structured interviews was the source of data used. The analysis of these data revealed the presence of several categories of writing errors, including issues about grammatical accuracy, syntactic structure, orthography, and clarity of expression. Further analysis identified ten (10) emergent themes related to the influences on these errors, such as limited familial proficiency and support, dialect interference, socioeconomic barriers, cultural challenges, instructor factors, anxiety, limited exposure to reading materials, social interactions, time constraints, and disruptions due to COVID-19. There were also four (4) emergent themes for possible interventions that were categorized to address these challenges, including enhancing language development through environmental exposure, promoting awareness of the importance of English language proficiency, implementing personalized learning strategies, and strengthening instructor influence on learner motivation. Therefore, these writing challenges require holistic interventions to improve academic success among maritime students.