Effects of Instruction in Mechanical Accuracy on Correct Spelling and Use of Comma in Composition Writing by Students in College of Education, Billiri, Gombe State

This research centered on effects of instruction in mechanical accuracy on correct spelling and the use of comma in composition writing by students in College of Education Billiri. It was geared towards improving students’ performance in essay writing. A quasi experimental research design was adopted. The population was NCE I students of College of Education Billiri, Gombe State. A sample of 112 NCE 1 students selected purposively was used. Two intact classes of NCE I students, one as the control and the other as experimental group were used. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The 2018 WASSCE questions were adapted and used to collect data, and the data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t-test statistics. The results showed a significant difference between students who received treatment on mechanical accuracy as they achieved higher than those who did not. The study concluded that instruction in mechanical accuracy improves students’ correct spelling and use of comma in composition writing. Based on these findings, a number of recommendations were made, major among is that teachers of English composition writing should teach mechanical accuracy separately for the learners to apply the rules while composing essays.