An Assessment of the Methods of Development in the Essays of Business Students in Ghanaian Private Universities: A Case Study

Abstract

The study is an attempt to assess the methods of development in the compositions of students who are reading various business-oriented courses in private universities in Ghana. This area has received little attention from researchers in Ghana. Two private universities—Christian Service and Ghana Baptist University College—were the two selected cases. Prior investigations exposed students’ writing flaws in the form of wrong usage of the features of a particular method of development when writing es- says. Therefore, the literature reviewed was mostly based on these gaps indicated. The primary data collected from the field were from texts (classroom-based and take-home-based texts). Basically, probability sampling techniques were employed to sample the population of the cases selected. All the data gathered were descriptively analysed. The findings showed that students have problems composing descriptive and comparison and contrast paragraphs or essays. But, the study brought to light that students handled narrative, argumentative, and cause and effect essays know- ledgeably. It was recommended that enough attention should be given to the teach- ing and learning of descriptive and comparison and contrast essays. It is our expecta- tion that the findings and recommendations of the work would influence the deci- sions of policy makers in the field of English language.