Word Choice Errors in Chinese Students' English Writing and How Online Writing Center Tutors Respond to Them

Abstract

Examining 200 word choice errors from Chinese students' drafts sub- mitted to a writing center's online asynchronous tutoring program, the present study demonstrates that second language writers need help with word choice. Word choice problems, a natural part of second language learning, can negatively affect rhetorical effectiveness and readers' com- prehension and evaluation. The study showed that 11% of online tutors' marginal comments related to word choice problems, among which 18% were due to translation. (Other error types were Wrong Context, Syn- form, Idiomaticity, Precision, and Register.) Direct corrections were the most common type of tutor comments - 35%. (Other comment types were Explanation, Options, and Questions.) These numbers show that word choice errors are indeed critical, that even experienced writers rely on their first language, and tutors need more knowledge about word choice issues and how to provide instruction and feedback on them.