An Exploratory Approach to the Description of First-Year Criminology Students’ Writing Problems in English

This study explored and analyzed errors in descriptive essays written by one hundred (100) first-year students enrolled in the course Purposive Communication. The respondents, comprising both male and female students from two sections of the Criminology Department, were selected from Tuesday and Thursday class schedules. Data were gathered through students’ written English essays, supplemented by recorded feedback from interviews and focus group discussions. Identified errors were examined and classified into grammatical and cognitive categories. Findings revealed thirteen recurring error types: improper capitalization, incorrect verb tense, missing or incorrect punctuation, inappropriate word choice, spelling errors, missing or incorrect prepositions, sentence fragments, faulty parallelism, missing or incorrect conjunctions, pronoun errors, spacing issues, use of shortcuts, and incorrect article usage. From the students’ perspectives, three major factors contributed to these writing difficulties: incomplete application of grammar rules, lack of motivation, and limited exposure to the English language. Overall, the results indicate that first-year criminology students experience challenges in both the structural and cognitive aspects of academic writing, with the community language environment emerging as a significant influencing factor. The study recommends further research to identify effective instructional strategies and to examine the relationship between degree programs and learners’ interest in language learning.