Research Report: Lunsford/Lunsford Article

TITLE: “Mistakes Are a Fact of Life: A National Comparative Study”

AUTHOR: Andrea A. Lunsford and Karen J. Lunsford 

SOURCE: CCC 59;4/June 2008: 781-806

RESEARCH QUESTIONS(S): The main research questions in this study is how many errors, and what types of errors do college students make in their writing, most often, compared to the Connors and Lunsford study done in 1984 and what are some of the factors that contribute to these errors?

ANSWER TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Compared to the previous study, this study found that students are making about the same number of errors in their writings but they are making different types of errors than those that were found in the original Connors and Lunsford study done in 1984. (See RESULTS for further explanation)

RESEARCH DESIGN: Lunsford and Lunsford used random, anonymous, stratified samples of student paper that were submitted from various teachers at various colleges nationwide. Each paper was assigned a number to indicate the type of school and the region where it derived from. Volunteer, namely, other teacher and graduate students were trained to use a coding rubric, twenty-five errors were then listed in a spreadsheet and analyzed.

KEY RELATED STUDIES: The study that Lunsford and Lunsford referred to most in their research is the study done by Connors and Lunsford as mentioned above. Some of the other studies that relate to theirs are: Hodges, 1938-39; Johnson, 1917; Witty and Green, 1930; Sloan, 1990; Lunsford, 1987; Haswell, 1988; Desmet and Balthazor; Fulkerson; Yancey.

SUBJECTS (INCLUDING HOW SELECTED): The papers used for the study were those of first-year writing course students, nationwide, with levels of skill ranging from basic to advanced. The papers were written near the end of the semester and they included teachers comments and suggestions.

MEASUREMENT OR ANALYTIC METHODS: Lunsford and Lunsford created a coding rubric for the volunteer reader to use as a means for scoring the papers. (See Research design above)

RESULTS: The Connors/Lunsford study done in 1984 focused on student writing that was in the form of narrative writing. In this comparative study, Lunsford and Lunsford determined that the type of writing/genre of writing has shifted over the past twenty years. The papers for this study were more research and analytically based papers. They found that one of the biggest problems that students have in writing research papers is their inability to use and cite sources accurately in their writing. They also found that the papers were considerably longer, and typed rather than written, in the later study; on average 2 ½ pages longer than those in the Connors and Lunsford study.

Changes in technology, particularly the advent of the word processor also posed new types of error issues. The most commonly used word processor, Microsoft Word, automatically corrects what are deemed to be errors. For example, the first letter of each word after a period is automatically capitalized, as is the first word on the left margin in certain cases. Students who do not do a thorough proofreading of their papers often do not catch these types of errors.

Lunsford and Lunsford also ran into the problem of obtaining the necessary papers for their study in a timely manner. Due to vast changes in institutional practices that didn’t exist in 1984, Lunsford and Lunsford had to maneuver their way through the red tape now required by the institutional review board. Finding volunteers willing to read the vast number of papers required also became a challenge. As a result of these issues, the study took them longer than they had anticipated.

CONCLUSIONS: Lunsford and Lunsford were disappointed that they did not receive the large number of papers that they had hoped for. As mentioned above, the papers were significantly longer than those of the Connors/Lunsford study. However, they did find that the number of errors has not risen much between 1984 and 2008. They did find that the types of mistakes is the main finding of this study. Advancement in technology, rising student enrollment, increased length of papers, and the shift from narrative writing to mostly expository writing did not increase the number of mistakes, just the types of mistakes. 

IMPLICATIONS: Lunsford and Lunsford suggest that administrators step up and recognize the importance of college writing courses. They also proposed that teachers, teaching all subject matter, collaborate with English departments to promote an agenda that focuses on teaching students proper writing skills in all of their courses. In regards to the problems they had with the IRB, Lunsford and Lunsford suggest that if research was done by districts or locale, who then submit their findings in a central database, the research results would be far more accurate and extensive than a nationwide study done by a small group such as themselves.