Error Analysis of Written English Essays of Pakistani University Students in a Digital Contest in COVID-19

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the lexical and grammatical errors enacted by the University students of Pakistan in a digital contest in COVID-19. The study was also to describe and explain the identified errors and; to compare the error frequency of male students with female students. The gender has not been specified as both male and female students participated in the digital competition. The students from 21 Pakistani Universities participated in this digital competition. The sample comprised of 21 essays, 9 essays of male and 12 essays of female students were taken to analyze statistically through Coder’s Model of Error Analysis. The findings show that there is a significant difference in committing of errors between male and female university students of Pakistani universities. The research concludes that female students are more erroneous while writing since they committed errors more frequently in comparison to male students. Based on the findings, it is recommended that global and sentential errors correction must be the priority during second language teaching and be figured out consistently. Moreover, the computer applications should be used as an aid to identify errors in the compositions which is helpful to avoid slips of pen specifically in COVID-19 pandemic eras. Reading the piece of writings in target language is also suggested to enhance creative ability while the basic tenets of the English Grammar can also be improved through comparative study of the grammatical concepts. Key Words: Error Analysis, Error, Mistake, ESL learners, Digital Contest, COVID-19