ABSTRACT

This
study is on effects of concord errors in the essays of SS II students
in selected secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis. One hundred and
twenty scripts ranging from tests and assignments were collected from
Government Girls Secondary School Kawo, Government College Kurmin Mashi
(boys), Rimi College Tafawa Balewa (boys), Government Secondary School
Narayi (mixed), Queen Amina College (girls) and Government Secondary
School Sabon Tasha. Thirty concord errors were analysed using the
structuralist paradigms of SVCOA. Students' good and bad usage of
concord were highlighted and discussed. The research revealed that
students have difficulties in subject verb concord, tense concord,
pronoun antecedent, subject object concord, complementation,
prepositions, comparisons etc. especially as they narrate or report
events in sequence and time. It is also evident that students try to
avoid making complex or compound complex sentences even in the simple
sentences, they have faulty concord. The study finally recommends
methods and approaches that could be adopted by teachers and learners to
ameliorate the prevalence of such concord error. One of these methods
is to expose students to a lot of writing drills.