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350

Which Types of Errors Are the Most Bothersome?

Introduction
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7 While editing written material, a copt_;ditor must be aware of an assortment of�

errors, especially the most frequent ones. Naturally, some mistakes are more common than

others, and different categories of error incite varying reactions among readers. This perception

of error often leads the reader to lower their opinion ofthe author of the piece, be it a book,
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�" advertisement, article, or a post on social media. Learning how people react to these errors
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-f\.OY provides �incentive for editors to focus on the�perceived as most bothersome-as-a.
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�U� incentive for writers to proofread their work to avoid such errors.
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In 2001, Larry Beason performed a study measuring which type of grammatical error was

the most bothersome in the realm of business writing. Based on his results, he asserted that

perception of error is "a matter of interpretation that can vary greatly from reader to reader," but

certain "patterns of agreement" can be found (Beason 35). Recognizing and beeem:ing aware of:}_

these patterns can be helpful to writers and editors as they become aware of which errors are

more likely to generate a�negative response from the reader.

Research Question

) Like Beason, I am curious about how certain types of errors affect the audience's reaction to the

text. For my research question, I wanted to know how college students respond to varying

categories of mistakes in a text. Are specific errors � likely to annoy or frustrate a student
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m than others? If there are any patterns established based on this study, they could serve to assist
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 JTo conduct this study, I created a questionnaire similar to the one Beason used as deserib�

his article. The questionnaire had five sections, one for each category of error (fragments,

misspellings, fused sentences, unnecessary question marks, and word-ending errors). Each

section contained a definition of the error and four sentences with the error bolded. After reading

the sentences, the subjects were asked to rank all twenty errors on a scale from one to four, with

one meaning not bothersome and four signifying extremely bothersome. The full questionnaire

can be found in the ,{ppendix.

The subjects were students attending Brigham Young University, five males and five

females. This was a convenience sample because of limited access to resources that would allow
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me to create a random sample� time constraints on the assignment.

After administering the survey to all ten participants, I analyzed the results by finding the

average ranking of each item in the questionnaire and then the average for each separate

category. With these averages, I then compared the scores of each category and determined
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which bothered the subjects the most.

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References

Beason, Larry. "Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors." College Composition

and Communication 53, no. 1 (2001): 33-64. Accessed February 9, 2020.

doi: 10.2307/359061.

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