Abstract:
A general concern with the quality of graduates leaving the university today has been expressed
by employers at both national and international levels. It has been claimed that graduates have
been found to lack in some of the key skills that are required at the workplace. One such skill is
communication; this in spite of the fact that communication skills have been rated as some of the
most sought-after qualities by employers internationally. This paper focuses on the writing
aspect of communication, specifically examining the nature of errors found in writings by
university students in English and Communication courses at Kenyan universities. These could
range from wrong spellings to a wrong choice of words, to wrong punctuation among others.
English being a second language to most students in Kenya also means that there is a high
likelihood of first language influence and interference on their English language, which could
interfere with their proficiency in writing. Based on the analysis of the errors collected, the
author makes some recommendations that would be useful to both learners and teachers of
language and communication skills courses at all levels of learning. The research entailed a
document analysis of written assignments and final examination scripts of students in selected
English and Communication Skills courses at one private university in Nairobi County. This
research was considered a significant step towards understanding the nature of writing errors that
university students in Kenya make. Subsequently, a set of recommendations were suggested.
