Morphological and Syntactical Errors in Essay Writing Among Senior Secondary School Students in Okehi Local Government Area, Kogi State

_ABSTRACT_ _This research study examined “Morphological and Syntactical Errors in essay writing among Senior Secondary School Students in Okehi Local Government Area, Kogi State”. Five (5) research questions were raised to guide the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. One hundred (100) teachers from 5 randomly selected secondary schools were drawn as sample used for the study. The data for the study was collected using a well – structured questionnaire. The data obtained through the procedure was analyzed using statistical tools like frequency and percentage. The finding shows that mother tongue significantly hinders the acquisition of English morphology, as students tend to apply the grammatical rules of their native language to English. It also reveals that prepositional errors are common among secondary school students, highlighting the need for targeted instruction in this area. It was also discovered that the differences in the syntactic structures of Ebira and English languages can lead to significant difficulties for students, as they often apply their native language rules to English. The findings also reveals that error analysis is a way to look at the mistakes that students make when learning a new language and also emphasizes that students often transfer structures from their L1 into their L2 writing, leading to both morphological and syntactical errors. In the view of the findings, the study recommends implementing professional development programs to equip teachers with strategies for addressing common language errors and managing the influence of mother tongue interference. The English language curriculum should be designed to include exercise and activities that specifically target grammatical errors, ensuring frequent practice and reinforcement. Additionally, parental and community involvement should be encouraged to support students’ language learning by promoting reading habits and providing access to English language resources._