DOI: 10.21276/sjahss.2016.4.9.2 Available Online: http://saspjournals.com/sjahss 992 Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 2347-5374 (Online) Sch. J. Arts Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2016; 4(9A):992-1000 ISSN 2347-9493 (Print) ©Scholars Academic and Scientific Publishers (SAS Publishers) (An International Publisher for Academic and Scientific Resources) Sentence Fragmentation in the Writing of Senior Secondary School Students of Gwale, Kano, Nigeria Ibrahim Bashir, Normah Binti Yusof, Nasiru Ahmad Sadiq, Sharifah Nor Madiah binti Syed Omar Centre of English Language Studies, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia *Corresponding Author: Ibrahim Bashir Email: bashelkalil@yahoo.ca Abstract: It is conventionally agreed that the effectiveness of written English depends on the grammatical correctness. This study empirically investigated the sentence fragments from the compositions of senior secondary students. It aimed to identify fragments, its frequency and to explore on what causes the fragments. The study employed a mixed method approach in which an embedded design was adopted to guide the collection and analysis of the data. The subjects of the study comprised 30 students purposively selected from secondary schools of Gwale Local Government Area, Kano Nigeria. Achievement Test is used to collect the data. Markin software version 4.222 is used to speed up the process of data analysis. The result of the study revealed that sentence fragments ware frequently found in the participants compositions. Meanwhile, the main causes of fragments were attributed to intra-lingual sources. The study will help teachers to gain insight into the persistent difficulties students are facing in their writing. Keywords: Sentence Fragment, Error Analysis, ESL, Written Language, Grammar. INTRODUCTION The attainment of accuracy and competency in writing is not an easy task to master, due to its intricate and complex nature that requires rigorous practices that can be learned explicitly through experiences. It is crucial for students, especially L2 learners to learn how to write accurately, especially for academic purposes. The status of English in Nigeria cannot be underestimated; as the official language as well as the language of instruction used at almost all phases of education: primary, secondary and tertiary institution. Thus, it is the second language and the lingua franca of the nation. Despite the pivotal roles played by English in Nigeria, there is still a regression in the standard of education and the falling standard of education becomes apparent in the students‟ performances in their final examination of “Ordinary level” at senior secondary school phase of education. In fact, most of the students are failing to score 5 credits in the major subjects including English and mathematics in either WAEC or NECO- as it‟s required for them to get admission into the universities. The mass failure of students in the final examination and lack of competence in the English language aroused a lot of frustrations among students and teachers. Moreover, the incompetency in the English language leads to a limitation in students' understanding and ability to grasp curriculum content which impacts overall academic achievement of the students [1]. Therefore, students are required to have a good mastery of English writing skills to pass at credit level in West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination council (NECO) as well as terminal Examinations. To stress on the issue, WAEC and NECO annual reports –„2004‟ to „2013‟- [2] show a consistent decline of students‟ performance as exemplified in the various errors found in their written compositions. As a result, the students‟ essay writing skill continually falls below expectations [3]. The chief examiner for May/June WAEC 2007 [4] reported that the poor performance of students in The English language is as a result of deficiencies in weakness in skills of writing, construction of loose sentences, transliteration from the mother tongue and abuse of the basic rules of grammar. In point of fact, Akinwamide [5] asserts that Most of the complaints about poor performance of students in SSCE are as a result of students‟ poor writing skills [6] and [7]. The problem of sentence fragment is not given much attention in previous research viewed in the literature, as it covers only part of the different errors analysed in one research. This gives the present study a very practical objective to be conducted. The general objective of this study is to find out the level of students‟ composing competence in written English during their last year of senior secondary school phase. It sought to achieve two fold of objectives: first, is to