Error Analysis – Types and Causes of Errors in English Writing among Chinese Students

This article analyzes errors with regard to the types and causes of errors commonly committed by Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. It covers the concepts and theories concerning error analysis, synthesizes previous research, as well as identifies the flaws and gaps found in those literatures. This article provides several teaching suggestions based on previous analyses, which have found that the misuse of verbs and articles are the most common errors in English writing among Chinese students. Based on this, most studies attributed those errors to the negative transfer of Chinese due to the thought patterns and disparities between Chinese and English.