Common errors in graduate Iranian EFL students academic writing: Implications for practitioners

This study examined frequent errors in graduate Iranian EFL students’ academic writing to find the strategies and techniques which would help them overcome such errors. Employing a descriptive, non-experimental research design, the researchers analyzed 40 term papers collected from 40 graduate students studying TEFL at IAU, Isfahan Branch. To determine to what extent the participants were familiar with the identified errors in their academic writings, the researchers also conducted semi-structured interview sessions with volunteer candidates. The findings showed various problems in content, format, and mechanics of their writing. Lack of attention, careless manuscript preparation, vagueness, imperfect and untidy literature, lack of clarity, sloppy presentation, and weak recommendations were the most frequent errors. It was concluded that through careful attention to the errors identified, writing instructors could help graduate students to maximize their chances of getting published by avoiding these errors.