A Glimps at thier Raiting: Target Inconsistencies found in the University of Technology, Jamaica Students' Academic Writing Papers.

This study investigated target inconsistencies that are evident in the argumentative academic writing essay scripts of 30 students at the University of Technology, Jamaica. In Jamaica, studies have been conducted about the language challenges students encounter at the tertiary level when taking proficiency tests and when they enrol in remedial English courses; however, no study has documented the challenges students encounter beyond these situations. This study, therefore, identified the types and frequency of target inconsistencies found in students' argumentative essay scripts and patterns of the target inconsistencies that were found. Target inconsistencies are deviations in the production of a target language by a learner (Rizzi, 2005). In this quantitative study, the data were collected from the 30 students' argumentative scripts chosen using the stratified sampling technique. The types of target inconsistencies were identified using the description of the Error Analysis framework, which led to the determination of four types of inconsistencies-grammatical, lexical, discourse and mechanical. Additionally, frequency was determined by quantifying each target inconsistency once it occurred in different situations in the scripts; the results showed that the total number of inconsistencies quantified was 311. The patterns of inconsistencies are referred to as the observable sequence in which target inconsistencies were made. The results revealed that deviations were made in specific contexts which provided precise information on the areas of challenge for students so that they can be properly addressed at the tertiary level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]