The problem of dangling modifiers and sentence fragments in the writing of students, a case study in Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the problem of dangling modifiers and sentence fragments in the writing of students. Bolgatanga Senior High School was used as a case study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population was students and teachers of the school. A sample of 188 students and 2 teachers of English were purposely selected for the study. Essay test and Questionnaires were used in data collection. The findings of the study revealed that sentence fragment errors were the most committed errors. Furthermore, students’ language background, motivation, and attitude, failure to practice writing, poor vocabulary and grammar knowledge, complex nature of the rules of the English language, environmental factors, and inadequate skill of writing were the main sources of students' poor performance in writing. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends that teachers should give due attention to the errors their students made and lessen those areas accordingly. Similarly, students should shape their learning strategies to benefit a lot from writing activities and assignments by considering the long-term benefits of the English language in general and writing skills in particular. Furthermore writing tutorial classes should be arranged to help students develop their writing skills.