Punctuation marks have important duties in preserving the structure and semantic
features of the language and ensuring its functioning. In other words, punctuation marks make
the text easier to write and understand more clearly. In this context, it is an issue that should be
given importance in both mother tongue teaching and foreign language teaching.
The aim of this study is to investigate the punctuation errors frequently made by Turkic
origin students learning Turkish in the preparatory classes of Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas
University in their written expression skills, to examine the causes of these errors and to offer
solutions for eliminating these errors. 96 students of Turkic origin, whose mother tongue is
Kyrgyz and Russian at B1 level, participated in the research. The data source of the research
consists of the texts that these students produced in the activity of writing the continuation of a
tale, which was predetermined and given an introductory paragraph. In the research, the
document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used and the mistakes
that the students made about punctuation marks in these texts were determined. Later, these
errors were classified under sub-headings and their reasons were interpreted. As a result of the
research, it was seen that the errors detected were mostly caused by the influence of the
students' mother tongues, Kyrgyz and Russian, and the lack of knowledge about the use of
punctuation marks. The evaluations and suggestions made based on the findings and results of
the research are important in terms of showing the points that should be considered especially in
the use of punctuation marks in teaching Turkish to the Turkic origin students and revealing the
responsibilities of the instructors in this regard
