A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree "Licencié en Pédagogie Appliquée, Agrégé d'Enseignement Secondaire en Anglais".

Résumé,

This study investigated the causes of pupils' failure in the use of punctuation in the writing skill. It was based on the following three hypotheses : (1) First Form Arts learners neglect the use of punctuation marks in their writing ; (2) most common errors made by First Form Arts Learners in writing are related to punctuation ; (3) in teaching or learning, punctuation should be given as much importance as ideas, grammar and vocabulary.
To carry out this study, data were collected through research instruments namely : classroom observation, a written questionnaire and a written test. The researcher randomly selected a population sample composed of sixty-one First Form Arts learners and five teachers of English in five schools with First Form Arts class in Gitega Town.

These data were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. The findings highlighted the following : (1) lessons about punctuation are not organized within the writing skill ; (2) there is a lack of teaching and learning materials about punctuation in both teachers and learners' books ; (3) the writing skill in which punctuation is introduced, is often neglected in Burundi education system writing to the insufficience of curriculum content and a shortage of textbooks. This study concluded by giving some recommendations to stakeholders in education, i.e., teachers, learners and future researchers in order to emphasize on the teaching and learning of writing skill in general and of punctuation in particular.