DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF GRAMMATICAL

ERRORS IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY AMONG

THE 8th GRADE STUDENTS IN MTS AMAL SHOLEH
SUMOGAWE, GETASAN, SEMARANG REGENCY IN
THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2012/2013
A Graduating Paper
Submitted to the Board of Examiners in Partial Fulfillments of the
Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan Islam (S.Pd.I) in
English Education Department

By:

By:

Indah Sri Purwanti

11308156

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FACULTY

STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES (STAIN)
SALATIGA
2013

MOTTO

I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you said I couldn't.
Anonymous (Taken from Mockingjay, the 3rd book of The Hunger Games Trilogy)

DEDICATION

This graduation paper is wholeheartedly dedicated to:

1. My father and mother who have raised me; and whole my families, youre
such the sweetest things to be grown up with.
2. My indeed friends.
3. I my self, always keep it worth.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful, The Lord of
Universe. Because of Him, the writer could finish this thesis as one of the
requirement for Sarjana Pendidikan in English Department of Educational Faculty of
State Institute of Islamic Studies (STAIN) Salatiga in 2013.
Secondly, peace and salutation always be given to our prophet Muhammad
SAW who has guided us from the darkness to the lightness.
However, this success would not be achieved without those supports,
guidance, advice, help, and encouragement from individual and institution, and I
somehow realize that an appropriate moment for me to deepest gratitude for:
1. Dr. Imam Sutomo, M.Ag, the rector of State Institute of Islamic Studies
(STAIN) Salatiga.
2. Maslihatul Umami, S.Pdi MA, as the Chief of English Department of State
Institute of Islamic Studies (STAIN) Salatiga.
3. Setia Rini, M.Pd, as the writers counselor who has educated, supported,
directed and given the writer advices, suggestions, and recommendations for
this thesis from beginning until the end.
4. All the lecturers in English Department of State Institute of Islamic Studies
(STAIN) Salatiga.
5. All the staff that have helped the writer in processing of thesis administration.

Finally this thesis is expected to be able to provide useful knowledge and

information to the readers. The writer is pleased to accept more suggestion and
contribution from the readers for the improvement of the thesis.

Salatiga, August 12, 2013

The writer

Indah Sri Purwanti

11308156

ABSTRACT

Purwanti, Indah Sri. 2013. Descriptive Analysis Of Grammatical Errors In Writing

Descriptive Essay Among The 8th Grade Students In MTs Amal Sholeh
Sumogawe, Getasan, Semarang Regency In The Academic Year of
2012/2013, Counselor: Setia Rini, M.Pd
Keywords: descriptive analysis, grammatical errors, intralingual, interlingual,
addition, omission, malformation, misordering
This research is conducted to (1) describe the common errors in descriptive
writing made by the eighth grade student of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan,
and (2) describe the causes of errors.
The population of this research is all of the eighth grade students of MTs
Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan. The samples are students of class VIII consisting
of 30 students. In this research, the researcher used Purposive Sampling Technique.
In order to get data needed, the researcher asked them to describe a picture in
descriptive text.
In describing the types of errors, it can be inferred that there are 201 items of
errors, which occur in the students sentences. They are analyzed based of the surface
strategy taxonomy, it is found that 39 items or 39.4% errors are omission errors, 7
items or 7.2% errors are addition errors, 39 items or 39.4% errors are malformation
errors, and 14 items or 14.1% errors are disordering errors. In describing the possible
causes of errors, based on the comparative strategy taxonomy, it is found that 187
items or 93% errors is intralingual errors and 14 items or 7% errors is interlingual
errors. So, it can be inferred that errors occurs in the students sentences is caused by
lacks of grammatical understanding, and students more likely translate Bahasa
Indonesia pattern into English without taking notice of grammar. So it is mostly
caused by intralingual factor which is grammar and structure, and the appliance of
Bahasa Indonesia pattern into English which make it interlingual errors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...............................................................................................

ATTENTIVE COUNSELOR ......................................................................

ii

CERTIFICATION PAGE ............................................................................

iii

DECLARATION .........................................................................................

iv

MOTTO........................................................................................................

DEDICATION .............................................................................................

vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...........................................................................

vii

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

INTRODUCTION
A. Background of The Study ................................................

B. Identification of The Problem .........................................

C. Limitation of the Problem ................................................

D. Formulation of The Problem ............................................

E. Objectives of The Research ............................................

F. Significance of The Research ..........................................

G. Paper Organization ..........................................................

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1. Theoretical Framework .........................................................

A. Second Language Acquisition ........................................

B. Interlanguage ..................................................................

11

C. Error Analysis ..................................................................

12

D. Types and Causes of Errors .............................................

13

E. Writing .............................................................................

17

2. Conceptual Framework .........................................................

CHAPTER III

20

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Place and Time of Research ...........................................

22

B. Type of Research .............................................................

24

C. Population and Sample ....................................................

24

a) Population .................................................................

24

b) Sampling ...................................................................

25

c) Sampling Technique .................................................

26

D. Technique of Data Collection ..........................................

27

E. Procedures of Data Collection .........................................

27

F. Technique of Data Analysis .............................................

28

G. Procedures of Data Analysis ............................................

28

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDING

A. Data Presentation ............................................................

30

1. Subjects Name ...........................................................

30

2. Analysis .....................................................................

31

B. Description of Errors .......................................................

44

1. The Types of Errors and Their Frequency .................

44

2. The Causes of Errors and Their Frequency ...............

46

3. Data Analysis of The Causes of Errors......................

47

CHAPTER V

CLOSURE
A. Conclusion ......................................................................

52

B. Suggestion .......................................................................

53

REFERENCES
CURRICULUM VITAE
APPENDIXES

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

People are more aware of how important the language is. Language is
means of communication, which helps people to interact, express, and
communicate their ideas. The use of language can not be separated from human
life because it is a tool that is used by people in speaking or writing. Corder
(1962: 20) states that language is an object like a tool, which we can pick up, use
for some purposes, and put down again. By using language, we can ask other
people to do something, exchange our ideas, and can communicate each other
about our plans in the future or experiences.
English is an international language and it has an important role for
communication in the world.. In Indonesia, English is the first foreign language
and it is taught as a compulsory subject in Junior and Senior High Schools. Even,
in the recent years, many elementary school students have had English classes.
Since English is foreign language, it is realized that most Indonesian
students generally get some difficulties in learning it. The difficulties occur when
they lack of knowledge about vocabulary and grammar. In fact, they have to
master the language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing
because the goal of learning English is to use it in spoken and written
communication.

Writing is a basic and very important language skill because it is integral

to the learning process and it can improve the students academic performances
but it cant be learned in a short time. According to Vallete (1985: 81), writing
skill requires more capabilities than other language skills and need special
preparation. It requires the students to understand the spelling and punctuation,
the sentence structures, the vocabulary, and the paragraph development. Because
of that, writing is one of the four skills which have a high status as a part of the
culture of society or institution. It means that writing is one of the communication
means by which the students can communicate their ideas and messages. It
involves composing which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of
information in the form of narration, description, or transform information into
texts.
According to Miles (1982: 4), writing process is easier than speaking
process because people who write something have time to think the idea and find
out the right words then expressed it into writing. It means that the students
should choose suitable words to be arranged into sentences and determine the
right verb that is suitable to the tense. It also means that the students have time to
prepare their writing such as the topic that they are going to write, to revise and
rearrange into a good composition. Although it is easier than speaking but the
students still say that writing is difficult because the English rules are very
complicated and they differ from their native language. They often make incorrect
construction of structures or break the language rules. They still use Indonesian

English in their sentences. In fact, a wrong sentence can disturb the meaning of
the sentence. Michael Braganza (1998: 14) says that by breaking the fundamental
rules and grammar, our ideas become wrong, the sentences become erroneous and
we stand self-condemned.
The difficulties in applying the rules of the language in writing cause the
students to make errors. According to Fries and Lado, error is a failure to respond
a particular stimulus automatically. It occurs when the features of the eighth
language is different from the learners native language. The students errors can
be classified into linguistic errors. Dulay (1982: 146) states that there are four
taxonomies that are important to consider, namely the linguistic category
taxonomy, the surface strategy taxonomy, the comparative analysis taxonomy,
and the communicative taxonomy. While Richards (1974) concludes that writing
errors made by the students are caused by two factors, they are interlingua and
intralingua. Interlingua factor occurs when they make deviant sentences from
mother tongue. Intralingua occurs when they lack grammatical knowledge in the
target language. He also points out that complex rule learning is typically
characterized by overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restriction, incomplete
application of rules and false concept hypothesized.
From the explanation above, the researcher is interested in analyzing
grammatical error in writing descriptive essay among the 8th grade students in
MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan, Semarang Regency.

B. Identification of the Problem

Junior High School students still make errors in their writing, especially
the students who have a lot of ideas but not have enough knowledge of language
to express what they want to write. They find it difficult to make English writing
that are grammatically correct and acceptable. The main cause is that foreign
language writing is linguistically different in many ways from native language
writing. Besides, writing skill also cant be acquired in a short time. It requires the
students to understand the spelling and punctuation, a sentence structures,
vocabulary, and paragraph development. Because of that, they still make errors
when they have to express or describe something in English, especially about the
structure construction.
Errors play an important role in learning a foreign language. From the
errors that students make, one can determine their level of mastery of language
system and discover what they still have to learn. Foreign language teachers
should realize errors made by the students.
In an errors analysis, there should be at least two stages of activities that
should be carried out. The first is identifying and describing errors based on the
type of errors. There are four types of errors; they are addition, omission,
malformation, and disordering.
The table shows the examples of type of errors
Erroneous

Reconstructed

Type of errors

sentences
My

sentences

add

omis

misfor

misorder

friend My friend usually

usually call me calls me Esti

Esti
I am very love I love her very
her and she love much
us too

and

she

loves us, too

The second is interpreting the causes or the sources of errors. There are at least
two sources of errors. The first is the influence of the students native language
which is called Interlingua errors. The second is interference within the target
language that is called intralingua errors.
The table shows the examples of the causes of errors
Erroneous sentences

Reconstructed

Causes of errors

sentences
My friend usually My friend usually

call me Esti

The verb call should be

calls me Esti

Intralingual error

calls because the verb is

singular and the sentence
is present
I am very love her I love her very much

and she love us too

Intralingual error

and she loves us, too

Interlingual and

The verb should be love

without am. The order

is like Indonesian rule.

The verb love should be
loves because the verb
is

singular

and

the

sentence is present.

In classifying linguistic errors, there are four taxonomies namely:

linguistic category taxonomy, surface strategy taxonomy, comparative taxonomy,
and communicative effect taxonomy (Dulay, 1982: 146)

C. Limitation of the Problem

The students usually make errors in their writing, especially related to the
structure construction; namely grammatical errors. In this study the researcher
will focus on grammatical errors found in the students writing.
The researchers will only take descriptive text writing since the eighth
grade of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe has descriptive materials in the curricula.
The analysis will focus on four types of errors; they are addition,
omission, malformation, and disordering.

D. Formulation of the Problem

The problems of the research can be formulated as follows:
1. What are common grammatical errors made by the eighth grade students of
MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan in the academic year of 2012/2013?

2. What are the possible causes of grammatical errors is writing made by the
eighth grade student of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan in the
academic year of 2012/2013?

E. Objectives of the Research

Based on the problem formulation, the objectives of the study are as
follows:
1. To describe the common errors made by the eighth grade students of
MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan.
2. To describe the possible causes of grammatical errors is writing made
by the eighth grade student of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan
in the academic year of 2012/2013

F.

Significance of the Research

Findings of this research are expected to be useful for both students and
teachers.
1. To the students
This research is expected to help the students to be aware of the errors that
they make and the causes of the errors. It is also expected that they will find
the correct construction in grammar and they use the language correctly
especially in writing. So they dont make the same errors in the future.
2. To the teachers

It can help the teacher to prepare the English writing material and can be used
to give more attention to errors made by the students in learning writing. Then
the teacher will explain the grammar comprehensively and find the best
method in teaching writing.
G. Paper Organization
As a guidance of writing the graduating paper, the writer will convey its
chapters as follows:
Chapters 1 presents introduction, it explains background of study, the
statement of problem, the objective of study, significance of the study, limitation
of the study, definition of key term, review of related literature, hypothesis and
research paper organization.
Chapter II describes theoretical framework related to the research, about
error analysis, writing, and descriptive texts.
Chapter III shows methodology of research, it discusses approach and type
of research, the setting of research, procedure of research, technique of collecting
data and technique of analysis data and the general situation of MTs Amal
Sholeh Sumogawe.
Chapter IV is the research finding, its consist of the error analysis and its
causes.
Chapter V as the last part of this outline consists of closure which will be
divided into two part, conclusion and suggestion. For the attachment there are
appendixes and bibliography

CHAPTER II
THEORITICAL REVIEW

1) Theoretical Framework
In this part, the researcher will present some theories related to the
research. Following is further discussion of the theories.
A. Second Language Acquisition
Second language acquisition stands in contrast to first language
acquisition. It is the study of how learners learn an additional language after they
have acquired their mother tongue. In other side, second language acquisition is
not intended to contrast with foreign language acquisition. SLA is used as general
term that embraces both untutored (and naturalistic) acquisition and tutored (or
classroom acquisition). Second language acquisition is sometimes contrasted
with second language learning on the assumption that these are different process.
The term acquisition is used to refer picking up a second language through
exposure, whereas the term learning is used to refer the conscious study of a
second language.
To summarize, the term second language acquisition refers to
subconscious or conscious processes by which language other than the mother

tongue is learnt in natural or tutored setting. It covers the development of

phonology, lexis, grammar, and pragmatic knowledge. It means that second
language acquisition refers to all aspects of language that the language learners
need to master.
In this case, grammar takes precedence over other aspects of language
such as pronunciation or vocabulary in the early stages. However, second
language learners usually have some difficulties in acquiring grammatical rules.
In facet, acquiring a second language has meant acquiring the grammar of the
second language. Grammar consists of the ways those languages form words,
which is called morphology: and the ways that languages combine words to
make sentences, which is called syntax. When someone learns a second
language, the goal is that grammatical system of the language become
internalized. That is, the learners brain correctly or at least and subconsciously
forms words and combines those words into sentences as they quickly rush out of
the learners mouth.
According to Nemser (1971), there are factors that may influence the
second language system, in this case about grammar. They are:
a) Language transfer
Sentences in the target language may exhibit interference from mother
tongue. It means that the second language learners are strongly influenced by
the learners first language.
Example : She eat rice yesterday should be She ate rice yesterday

(Bahasa Indonesia does not have Past Structure)

b) Intralingual interference
Sentences in the target language do not reflect the structure of mother
tongue, but generalization based on partial exposure to the target language.
Example : he drink a coffee it should be he drinks a coffee
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that grammar has an
important role in learning the second language acquisition. Without correct
grammar, the learners will produce errors and mistakes in their learning.
B. Interlanguage
Process of language learning, of course, through stages. All stages can be
considered as interlanguage. Interlanguage is the type of language produced by
second and foreign language learners in the process of mastering the
language,thus called interlanguage. In interlanguage sytem, the difference
(between L1 and TL system) is often reffered to error. According to Ghozali
(2006), error is different from mistake in that is reflects learners competence,
while mistakes occur because of some other causes such as falls start, fatigue,
short memory or other physical and emotional conditions. Then, based on Corder
in the second language ruler, performance errors are called mistakes while the
systematic deviations which are caused by the learners still developing

knowledge of the second language rule system are called error (Corder, 1974).
Errors are grammatical levels that include morphology and syntax.
Norrish (1983: 7) states that error is a systematic deviation when a learner
has not learnt something an consistently get it wrong. In acquiring his own
language sometimes a child consistently makes the same errors. In the same way,
when a learner of English as second language or foreign language makes an errors
systematically because he has not learnt the correct form. Error in using language
are due to various factors like limitation of memory, sudden changes of discourse,
etc. Learners show what is in the learners mind as competence. Besides,
Ramelan (1992 : 62) says that competence refers to a persons knowledge of his
language or the mastery of the system of rules of his language. Meanwhile, a
mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a slip, in
that it is a failure to utilize a system correctly.
In this context, error can be used a measurement to reveal the degrees of
mastery of second language. Therefore, to reveal learners language mastery
linguists devise error analysis study, which tires to reveal what system a learner
has mastered and which are still in the process of learning.
C. Error Analysis
Error is defined as an act involving an unintentional deviation from truth
or accuracy. It is different from mistake, which defined as to misunderstand the
meaning or intention. Error is more unintentional than mistake, which can be
made on purpose.

Longman dictionary of Linguistic (1985 : 96) defines errors analysis as

the study and analysis errors made by the second and foreign language. Ellis
(1985 ; 296) defines it as working procedure used by researchers and language
teacher to collect, identify, explain, classify, and evaluate errors.
Brown (2000 : 1) states that researchers and teacher of second languages
come to realize that the mistakes a person made in this process of constructing a
new system of language needed to be analyzed carefully, for the possibly held in
some of the keys to the understanding of the process of second language
acquisition.
Richards (1974 : 1) states that errors analysis the study and analysis of
errors made by the second or foreign language learners. Based on the definition, it
is known that errors analysis is necessary to conduct only for the errors made by
learner in learning second or foreign language.
Form the statements above, it can be summarized that by describing and
classifying learners errors, the teacher can know how far the learners have
learned or understood the lesson and what items remain for them. Therefore, it is
clear that an errors analysis is needed in the process of language learning.
D. Types and Causes of Errors
In the stage of identifying and describing the errors in this research, the
researcher will use the surface strategy taxonomy (Dulay, Burt, Krashen, 1982).
Based on the taxonomy, errors are classified this taxonomy into four
categories:

a) Omission
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must
appear in a well formed phrases or sentence. Any morpheme or word in a
sentence is a potential candidate for omission. However, between content
words and function words, the letters are more frequently omitted by language
learners.
Examples :
1. He sitting *)
He is sitting.
2. English use as second language *)
English is used as second language.
b) Addition
Addition errors are opposite of omission. They are characterized by
the presence of an item, which does not appear in a well-formed utterance.
Examples :
1. She is eats banana *)
She eats banana.
2. It is on a picture of elephant *)
It is a picture of elephant
c) Misformation

Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong form or

morpheme of structure. While in omission error, the item is not supplied at all.
In the misformation errors the learner supplies something, although it is
incorrect.
Examples :
1. Ali eat a pineapple *)
Ali eats a pineapple
2. It is the tiger*)
It is a tiger.
d) Misrodering
It is characterized by the incorrect placement of one or more elements
in a phrase or sentence. The errors may be made by L1 and L2 learners when
they have acquired certain simple patterns.
Examples :
1. Elephant has a nose long*)
Elephant has a long nose.
2. Zebra the colours is black and white*)
Zebras colours is black and white.
This taxonomy is used because it is expected to give much promise to the
researcher for identifying cognitive process that underlies the learners
construction of the language. The taxonomy also makes use aware that the
learners errors are based on logic. They are not result of laziness or sloppy

thinking, but of the learners use of interim principle to produce a new language
(Dulay, 1982 : 150).
In this stage of interpreting the causes or sources of errors, the researcher
makes use of the comparative taxonomy based on comparisons between the
constructions of L2 errors and certain other types of construction. Considering
this taxonomy, interlingual errors are caused by negative transfer or interference
from the learners mother tongue. Transfer is one of the learning strategies in
which the learners use their previous knowledge and experience of the mother
tongue as a means of acquiring the target language, when certain system of
learners native language are similar to that the target language. However, when
they are different and the learner use transfer, they will produce errors that are
called interlingual errors. Based on the opinion above, we can take an implication
that one of the characteristics of interlingual errors is that errors reflect the
learners first language structure.
The second type of errors is intralingual or developmental errors. These
errors are caused by interference within the target language it self. According to
Richard (1974: 74), there are four types of intralingual or developmental errors,
they are:
1. Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization is defined as the use of the previously available
strategies in a new situation. Learners make a new deviant structure on the
basis on their experience of their structures in target language. They make

errors, as the want to reduce their linguistic burden in using the language. The
kinds of errors occur when the learners are given different kind of sentence
patterns and rules but sometimes she or he uses them in different situation, in
which particular generalization doesnt apply.
2. Ignorance of the rule restriction
Ignorance of rule restriction related to generalization. Learners make
errors because they fail to observe the restriction of existing structures. They
apply the rules in a new situation where if should not be applied.
3. Incomplete application of rules
Learners make errors because they are more interested in
communication, so they think that there is no need for mastering the rules of
the language.
4. False hypothesized concepts
The errors are caused by the poor gradation of the teaching items. It is
derived from a faulty comprehension or distinction in the target language.
E. Writing
Writing is an important skill in language learning. For a learner, writing is
also an opportunity to convey something, to communicate ideas to people beyond
their immediate vicinity, to learn something that they do not know yet, and to
reach other purposes.
According to Hornby (1955: 83), there area several definitions of writing,
they are:

1. a. The activity or occupation of writing, e.g. stories or article

b. Books, stories, articles
c. The literary style of such material
2. written works, e.g. books or essays
3. the general activity or skill of writing
4. written or printed words
5. they way in which person make letters when writing
Based on the opinion above, it can be stated that writing skill is an ability
to express an idea, opinion, feeling, or experience that somebody has heard in
written form. It can begin from a simple piece of writing to a more advanced
level.
Troika (1987 : 2) states that writing is a way of thinking and learning. It
gives someone opportunities to explore his ideas and acquire information. Writing
is also a technique for discovering whether his language is understandable or not.
It makes unexpected connections among ideas and language. Educated people,
therefore, need to master good writing ability in order to express themselves well.
The skill of writing is often considered to be reflecting the level of their
education. It means that writing can help the students increase their vocabulary,
improve their knowledge of grammar, develop their understanding of how ideas
and opinions are expressed and how well their messages are understood by the
reader.

According to Harris (1969:68,69) there are five general components to be

recognized in writing process, they are:
1. Content

: the substance of the writing; the idea expressed

2. Form

: the organization of the content

3. Grammar

: the employment of grammatical forms and syntactic patterns.

4. Style : the choice of structure and lexical items to give particular tone on
flavor to the writing.
5. Mechanism

: the use of graphic conventions of the language.

Meanwhile if we want to make good writing, we have to know some

criteria of good writing. According to Guth (1969 : 1), the criteria of good work
of writing are as follows :
a. It is authentic. It proceeds from accurate observation and careful study of
audience. It doesnt merely repeat second hand idea.
b. It is thoughtful. It reflects the writers desire to think about certain things as a
topic.
c. It is organized. It shows the writers ability to express his ideas, to select what
is important, and to present it in possible order.
d. It is effective. It shows that the writer is aware of his audience and that he
respects their standard expectation or needs.
e. It is well written. It shows the authors respect for language and his sense of
his power, riches and varieties. It provides pleasure when people read it.

There are various ways to express ideas in written forms. Based on the
ideas written in composition, writing can be classified into four, namely narration,
description, exposition, and argumentation.
According to George and Julia (1980 : 383), there are four types of
writing, they are :
a. Description
The purpose of description is to present the characteristics of object, persons,
places, and sensations the learners presents. The thing that the learner has to
do in writing description is to show the readers, not to tell them. She has to try
to make the readers see what she sees, smells or tastes what she smells or
tastes. Description attempts to give feeling to the readers. The writing in this
form should be written or described as really as possible.
b. Narration
Narration is a form of writing, which relates the story to act of events. The
series of events are arranged in chronological order of time. The example of
these types are short stories, novels, and new stories.
c. Exposition
It explains something an explanatory paper tells what thing it is, how it works,
how it is made, how it is like or unlike something else or how something a
caused.
d. Argumentation/Persuasion

This technique is used in persuading and convincing someone about

something. George (1980: 384) said that it is used to persuade the readers to
follow the writers ideas, make a case, prove or disprove a statement.

2) Conceptual Framework
The understanding or grammar is very important in making a good
writing. Errors in writing will happen if the writer has not enough knowledge or
grammar.
Mistakes and errors often happen is learning foreign language. It is
difficult to see the differences between errors and mistakes, especially in written
form. The writer agrees with Corder (in Richards, 1974 : 25) who states that
problem of determining what learners mistakes and what learners errors is one of
same difficulties and involve a much more sophisticated study and analysis of
errors. Because of that reason, in this research the presence of mistakes is omitted.
Corder (in Richards 1974: 20) also says that human learning is
fundamentally a process that involves the making of mistakes. The learner has
already acquired his or her mother tongue. The mastery of mother tongue, in fact,
has great influence on the process of learning a second or foreign language. The
learners still luse their native language form and meaning in learning a foreign
language. It influences the process of mastering

foreign language. Because of

that reason, the researcher considers that the mistakes and errors in the research
are the problems in writing for the learners.

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Place and Time of Research

a) Place of Research
The study took place at MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan,
Semarang Regency.
a. Profile of MTs Amal Sholeh

Name of The School

MTs. AMAL SHOLEH

Addres

Jl. Salatiga-Kopeng Km. 4

Telp.

(0298)7186332/ 081325701805

NSM

121233220001

Level of Accreditation

b. Staff and Teachers Data

No

Name

Position

H. Sokhibul Mamun, S.Ag., M.Pd.I.

Principal

Habib Syamsul Ch

Teacher

Dra. Umi Nuryanah

Headmaster

Sumadi, S.Pd.

Teacher

Nur Hasanah, S.Ag.

Teacher

Yarmi, S.Ag.

Teacher

Jumar, S.Pd.I.

Teacher

Aminatun

Teacher

Sri Nuryati, S.Pd.I.

Teacher

10

Retno Nursanti

Teacher

11

Slamet Widodo

Staff

c. Organizational Structure of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe

Supervisor

: Chief of Desa Sumogawe

Kec. Getasan Kab. Semarang

Advisor

: - KH. Drs. Uzaer Kholil

- KH. Drs. Zaenal Musthofa
- KH. Drs. Ashuri Tahrir
- K. Muhammad Munir

Head

: - Ust. K. Habib Syamsul Ch.

: - H. Subijanto HS.
: - Ust. H. Sokhibul Mamun, S.Ag.,M.Pd.I.

Secretary

- Ir. Lukman Wibisono

Treasurer

: - KH. Drs. Abdul Qodir

II

: - Hj. S.P. Subijanto

III

: - H. M. Darmin

Departements

1. Education

: - Dra. Umi Nuryanah

- Sumadi, A.Md.

2. Social

: - Hj. Imam Soeparjo

- Nur Hasanah, S.Ag.

3. Developments

: - Sunarto
- Suroto

4. Public Relations

: - Suprayitno
- Salimin

b) Time of research
The study have carried out from January 2013 up to March 2013.

B. Type of Research
The type of the research is descriptive qualitative research. The
researcher applied this type in her paper because it was the appropriate approach
to describe the result of research. According to Selinger and Shohamy (1989:
117), the descriptive qualitative research is a type or category of research refers
to investigation, which utilizes already exiting data or on experimental research.

Based on this view, this type of the study was used to describe the errors made
by the students in writing.
In line with the description above, the descriptive qualitative research
was used in this research because the researcher wanted to describe the errors in
the students; writing, especially the types of error and causes of errors. Those
errors will be described in details in this research based on the result of the
students writing. It was the application of descriptive qualitative research.

C. Population and Sample

a)

Population
Population is all subject quantities which are being observed. In
encyclopaedia of educational evaluation, it is said that population is set of
all elements possessing one or more attribute of interest (Suharsimi, 1992:
90).
The population of this research is all the eighth grade students of
MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan in the academic year of 2012/2013.

b) Sample
Sampling is the process of selecting individuals for a study in such a
way that individual represents the larger group from which they are selected.
The researcher chose the eighth grade students because the students had
studied English for five years; the topic of investigation was taken from
previous year, they were supposed to be familiar with the topic. The

researcher was not allowed to take the ninth year students as the objects of
the study because they were preparing themselves to face the national
examination.
The researcher used a purposive sampling technique in choosing the
sample study. In this research, the researcher was advised by the eighth
grade English teacher of MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe, Getasan to take the
data in the VIII A class. Based on the teacher recommendation, that class
could describe the eighth grade students ability in English.
To make the process of analyzing data easier, the researcher decided
to take all of the total number of VIII A class as the sample of the research.
It means the samples involved 30 students.
c)

Sampling Technique
In this research, writer used purposive sampling. Purposive
sampling, also known as judgmental, selective or subjective sampling, is a
type of non-probability sampling technique. Non-probability sampling
focuses on sampling techniques where the units that are investigated are
based on the judgement of the researcher. (Merriam, 2009: 78)
The main goal of purposive sampling is to focus on particular
characteristics of a population that are of interest, which will best enable to
answer research questions. The sample being studied is not representative of
the population, but for researchers pursuing qualitative or mixed methods
research designs, this is not considered to be a weakness. Rather, it is a

choice, the purpose of which varies depending on the type of purposive

sampling technique that is used. For example, in homogeneous sampling,
units are selected based on their having similar characteristics because such
characteristics are of particular interested to the researcher. By contrast,
critical case sampling is frequently used in exploratory, qualitative
research in order to assess whether the phenomenon of interest even exists
(amongst other reasons). (Merriam, 2009: 79)

D. Technique of Data Collection

To collect the data, the researcher used a writing test as the technique of
data collection. The tests is making descriptive based on the pictures. The
students can choose one of two pictures which would be given. The first picture
is a giraffe and the second picture is about the class situation. The researcher will
use a writing test because it will be used to know the students ability in writing
English and the errors which they make in their writing.

E. Procedures of Data Collection

The first step is preparing the research instrument. The second step is
implementing the test. In this step; the researcher asked the students to make

descriptive texts. In this case, the researcher used pictures to help and make them
easier in writing texts.
Here are the pictures

Then, the researcher collected the tests that are done by the students. The
researcher analyzed the students writing in order that she could see what the
students made in their writing, focusing in grammar

F.

Technique of Data Analysis

The technique used in this research is descriptive analysis. Descriptive
analysis functions as a technique used to describe something in details. It means
that the data were analyzed and described in details to know the grammatical
errors made by the students in their writing English. In this research, the
researcher tries to list, identify, and describe them. It is descriptive since the
errors will be identified and described in the form of category, in this case the
type of errors, and the causes of errors.

G. Procedures of Data Analysis

The main steps in analyzing the data are as follows:
1.

Identifying of the errors

The researcher identified errors that are made by the students. In this
case is reading every the students sentences carefully and marked each
grammatical error.

2.

Presenting the description of the errors

The errors are classified into categories. In classifying errors, the
researcher used the surface strategy taxonomy that related to the grammar.
The description of the data is presented including the examples of the errors
taken from the data as sample of each category of errors.
Example:
They students*
This sentence is not grammatically correct. Based on Surface Strategy
Taxonomy, it is included omission error, in which be is omitted in this
sentence. In English, noun (students) cannot stand by itself without be. So
it should be added are.

3.

Interpreting the errors

The researcher interprets the errors based on the data of errors
analysis from each error.
Examples :
They students*

The students* reconstructed for They are students.

4.

Finding the cause errors

The researcher found the causes of the errors based on the
comparative category taxonomy.
Examples :
They students*
This sentence is interlingua errors. Since the learners native language
interfere it. In Indonesian, if we want to say Mereka adalah siswa we do
not need be. But in English, the construction of a sentence is Subject +
Predicate at least. If the predicate is not verb, it needs to be. In the
sentence above, students, is noun, so if it is applied in a sentence, it needs.

CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDING

A. Data Presentations
1. Subject Name
Table 4.1 Students Name
No.

Students Number

Name

1.

0440

Wadiono

2.

0441

Abdul Jalil

3.

0442

Nor Yanto

4.

0443

Nur Aziz

5.

0444

Wahyu Edi Saputro

6.

0445

Susanti

7.

0447

Jumanto

8.

0448

Slamet Riadi

9.

0450

Vina

10.

0451

Rini Susilowati

11.

0452

Ismiyati

12.

0456

Muhashonah

13.

0457

Siti Roisah

14.

0458

Alfiatul Rofiah

15.

0459

Latifatul Fadliyah

16.

0460

Angga Saputra

17.

0412

Muhammad Choirudin

18.

0409

Irfan Nawawi

19.

0432

Triyadi

No.

Students Number

20.

0430

Suprih Slamet Santoso

21.

0462

Sunarti

22.

0463

Indah D Hariningsih

23.

0465

Siti Fatimah

24.

0466

Siti Muntiah

25.

0467

Jarwo

26.

0468

Maratus Solikhah

27.

0469

Muhamad Foudzi

28.

0470

Edi Triyono

29.

0471

Muhammad Hafidz

30.

0472

Supratno

Name

2. Analysis
In order to avoid subjectivity, the students name are coded (i.e student
1 are coded as S1) and kept anonymous. The error sentence is coded ES
(Erroneous Sentence) and the reconstructed sentence are coded RS.
S1

: Giraffe is an unique animal. It is have skin brown and black dot. It is

very tall. It live in Africa and Madagaskar. It eat grass and leaves. It
has one tail and four legs. I like giraffe because it is cute.

Analysis: There are four errors found in the S1s descriptive writing. The
underlined clauses are the errors made by the students. First ES
giraffe is an unique animal is reconstructed to be giraffe is a
unique animal. This error is caused by malformation of article a.

Students are told that article a is followed by vowels. U is vowel but

considered as consonant in the word unique. The next errors are
caused by addition and omission of to be. It is have should be it
has, it is live should be it lives and it eat grass should be it
eats grass.
S2

: Giraffe is animal in Africa. I see it in the zoo. It is have four legs like
sheep. It also have tail. It eat grass and tree. It have tongue very long
to clean ear. It can run very fast.

Analysis: There are four errors found in the paragraph. The first ES It is
have should be reconstructed to be it has. This error is caused by
the addition of auxiliary verb to be is. While the next ES it also
have, it eat grass, and it has are caused by the same cause, that
is the omission of s/es as marker of third pronouns of Simple Present
Tense. It should be reconstructed to be it also has, it eats grass
and it has tongue.
S3

: Giraffe is animal very tall. It high is 3 meters. Giraffe food is foliage.

It has eyes very big and neck very long. It has short two horns. It can
run fast with it long foot.

Analysis: There are six errors found in the paragraph. The first ES giraffe is
animal very tall is caused by disordering of adjective. It may be
caused by the interlingua factors. The adjective order of Bahasa
Indonesia is placed after the noun, while in English it is placed before

noun. The error also found in the using of article. In English, a singular
indefinite noun must be given article. It should be reconstructed to be
giraffe is a very tall animal. The third ES It has eyes very big and
neck very long has the same cause of error, it should be reconstructed
to be it has very big eyes and a very long neck. The second giraffe
food is foliage and the third ES it long foot has same cause of
errors, which is the omission of possessive marker (s). It should be
reconstructed to be giraffes food is foliage and its long foot. The
third ES It has short two horns is caused by disorder of adjective. It
should be reconstructed to be it has two short horns.
S4

: Giraffe is very cute animal. It has big eye and long neck. It has very
long lashes for protect. It eat young leaves in the tall tree with its long
neck.

Analysis: There are two errors found in the paragraph. The first ES It has
very long lashes for protect are caused by malformation of noun. The
sentence should be reconstructed to be It has very long lashes for
protection. The second ES It eat young leaves is caused by
omission of s/es as marker of third pronouns of Simple Present
Tense. It should be reconstructed to be It eats young leaves.
S5

: Giraffe is animal come from Africa. It skin is brown and black. It has
horns. It feet is long too. It has tail. It is not good for eat.

Analysis: There are three errors found in the paragraph. The first ES It skin
is brown and the second one it feet is long is caused by the same
problems, which is the omission of third singular possessive pronoun
(s). They should be reconstructed to be its skin is brown and its
feet are long. The ES It is not good for eat is caused by
malformation of noun. The word following preposition for should be
noun, so eat reconstructed to be gerund form. The sentence should
be reconstructed to be it is not good for eating or it is not good to
be eaten.
S6

: Giraffe is come from Madagascar. It is yellow and black. Its food is

foliage. It is have tooth like sheep. It has very long neck. It eyes are
very big. The foot is very long but it is very thin.

Analysis: There are three errors found in the paragraph. The first ES Its food
is foliage and the third ES It eyes are very big are caused by
omission of possessive marker (apostrophe ()) and third singular
possessive marker (-s). It should be its food is foliage and Its eyes
are very big. The second ES It is have tooth like sheep should be
reconstructed to be it has. This error is caused by the addition of
auxiliary verb (is).
S7

: The classroom is big. It is square. It has picture of president and

wakil president of the Indonesia in the front. The door is brown. It has

21 table and 35 chair. The wall is white. The blackboard is not black
but white.
Analysis: There are 3 errors found in the paragraph. The first ES ...of the
Indonesia is an error because addition of article (the). The word
Indonesia is already a definite noun, adding article (the) is not
necessarily needed. It should be reconstructed into of Indonesia.
The second and the third errors are caused by the omission of plural
marker (s/es). It should be 21 tables and 35 chairs.
S8

: Giraffe is animal very tall. It is come from Madagascar. It skin is

brown. The neck is very long. It is eat grass and leaves in the tall tree.
It is have long foot and long neck and long tongue and long tail.

Analysis: There are four errors found in the paragraph. The first ES animal
very tall is caused by malformation of adjective. As explained above
in analysis S3, it is caused by the effect of translation from Bahasa
Indonesia. It should be reconstructed into a very tall animal. The
second and third ES is caused by addition of auxiliary verb (is), it
should be reconstructed into It comes from Madagascar and it eats
grass.It is eating grass is grammatically correct but not suitable
for descriptive writings which should use present tense. The third ES
is caused by the omission of possessive marker (-s) and the addition of
auxiliary verbs (is). The reconstructed sentences are it is brown
skinned or it has brown skin. It can be also caused by the disordering

of adjective and noun. The RS should be its skin is brown. The

fourth ES It is have long foot and long neck and long tongue and long
tail is caused by addition of auxiliary verb (is), and also it lacks of
efficiency because the repetition of adjective long and conjunction
and. It should be reconstructed into it has long feet, neck and
tongue.
S9

: Giraffe is animal very tall. It is come from Madagascar. It skin is

brown. The neck is very long. It is eat grass and leaves in the tall tree.
It is have long foot and long neck and long tongue and long tail.

Analysis: No explanation is necessary. The paragraph is exactly same with

previous paragraph (S8).
S10

: Giraffe is rare animal. It is live in Africa. It skin is brown. It has very

long foot. It eats leaves. It is mammalia. It is herbivore.

Analysis: There are three errors found in the paragraph. The first ES It skin
is brown is caused by omission of possessive marker (apostrophe ())
and third singular possessive marker (-s); it should be its skin is
brown. The second ES It is mammalia is caused by malformation
of adjective. Mammalian is an adjective, so it need a noun to be paired
with. It should be It is mammal. This wrong translation is may be
caused by transliteration of mammal into Bahasa Indonesia. In Bahasa
Indonesia, mammalia is a noun not and adjective.

S11

: Giraffe is animal very tall. It is live in Madagascar. It is eat foliage.

It is rare. It can run very fast with its long foot. It is have two horns
like goat. It fur is brown.

Analysis: There are four errors found in the paragraph. The first ES Giraffe
is animal very tall is caused by malformation of adjective. As
explained above in analysis S3, it is caused by the effect of translation
from Bahasa Indonesia. It should be reconstructed into a very tall
animal. The second ES It is eat and the third ES It is have are
caused by addition of auxiliary verb (is); and omission of third singular
pronoun marker of Present Tense (s/es), it should be reconstructed into
it eats and it has. The next ER is caused by the omission of
possessive marker (-s). It should be its fur is brown.
S12

: My classroom is very beautiful. It is square. The wall is white. There

is whiteboard. There are chairs and windows and tables and flower
vas. There are students studying.

Analysis: There is an error in this paragraph. The ES There are chairs and
windows and tables and flower vas are grammatically correct but it
lacks of efficiency because of the repetition of conjunction (and), it
should be there are chairs, windows, tables and flower vas.
S13

: The animal tall is giraffe. Giraffe have brown fur. Giraffe eating leaf
in the tree. Giraffe living in the Madagascar. Giraffe is cute. Giraffe is
not to eat.

Analysis: The first erroneous sentence in this paragraph is caused by disorder

of adjective. It should be The tall animal. The second ES Giraffe
eating leaf in the tree is caused by the omission of auxiliary verb (is).
Giraffe is eating leaf in the tree is grammatically correct, but it does
not suit the paragraph. Giraffe eat leaves is suit best. This problem
also happens in the next ES Giraffe living in the Madagascar. The
omission of auxiliary verb (is) is the cause of error. But again, Giraffe
is living in the Madagascar is not make sense in the paragraph.
Giraffe live in the Madagascar is the best reconstructed sentence.
The next ES Giraffe is not to eat is caused by omission of auxiliary
verb (be) and malformation of pas participle as marker to passive
voice. It should be giraffe is not to be eaten.
S14

: Giraffe is very big and tall. Giraffe eating is foliage. Giraffe is brown
skin and very small foot but long. The tail is not long but the neck is
very long.

Analysis: The ES Giraffe eating is foliage, is caused by the omission of

possessive marker (-s). It should be giraffes eating is foliage. The
issue is the same with the next ESs. It should be giraffe has brown
skin and very small feet.
S15

: Giraffe is animal from Madagascar. It is eating foliage. It is brown

and long foot. It is mammalian and have big eyes. The baby giraffe is
very cute.

Analysis: The ES in the paragraph has same issue with ES in previous

paragraph (S13 and S14). They should be reconstructed into It eats
foliage; long feet and has big eyes.
S16

: Giraffe is animal from Madagascar. It is brown. It is tall. It is have

long neck and long foot and long tail. It is running very fast.

Analysis: The ES in this sentence is caused by the addition of auxiliary verb

(is); the repetition of conjunction (and) and adjective long; and the use
of irregular plural form of foot. It should be reconstructed intoit has
long neck, feet and tail.
S17

: That animal is giraffe. Giraffe is come from Madagascar. Giraffe is

eating foliage. Giraffe is running very fast because giraffe is having
long foot.

Analysis: The error found in this paragraph is caused by the addition of

auxiliary verb (is). As explained above (in S13) Giraffe is coming
from
S18

: Giraffe is very big and tall animal. Giraffe is live in Madagascar.

Giraffe is eat foliage. Giraffe is skin brown. Giraffe foot is very long.
Giraffe tail is very long too.

Analysis: The first ES Giraffe is live, the second ES Giraffe is eat and
the third ES Giraffe is skin brown Is caused by the addition of
auxiliary verb (is). The third ER is also caused by the omission of third

pronoun possessive marker (s) They should be reconstructed into

Giraffe eat; giraffe live, giraffes skin.
S19

: Giraffe is four legged animal. High body, long neck. These animals
like to eat the leaves. Neck function to take leaves from high trees.

Analysis: The error in the paragraph is caused by the omission of possessive

marker (-s). But the form Necks function to take leaves is not
correct either. Noun (Necks function) cannot be followed by infinitive
(to take), it should be separated by auxiliary verb (is). Then it should
be reconstructed Necks function is to take leaves
S20

: Giraffe is tall animal. Giraffe use neck to take leaves from tall tree.
Giraffe have long feet to run fast. Giraffe is not dangerous.

Analysis: No grammatical error necessary.

S21

: Giraffe is animal live in Madagascar Africa. Giraffe eat leaves. It is

run fast. It is brown skin. It is mammalian.

Analysis: The error in this paragraph is caused by the omission of possessive

marker (-s) and the addition of auxiliary verbs (is). The reconstructed
sentences are it is brown skinned or it has brown skin. It can be also
caused by the disordering of adjective and noun. The RS should be its
skin is brown
S22

: Giraffe is animal very tall. It is come from Madagascar. It skin is

brown. The neck is very long. It is eat grass and leaves in the tall tree.
It is have long foot and long neck and long tongue and long tail.

Analysis: No explanation necessary. The paragraph is exactly the same with

previous paragraph (S8 and S9)
S23

: The classroom is beautiful. It is clean and tidy. It is white wall and

whiteboard. It is VIII classroom. There students study. In the wall it is
picture of hero national.

Analysis: The first ES is caused by the omission of possessive marker (-s) and
the addition of auxiliary verbs (is). The reconstructed sentences are it
is white walled or it has white wall. It can be also caused by the
disordering of adjective and noun. The RS should be its wall is
white. The next ES of hero national is caused by disordering of
adjective. The RS should be of national hero.
S24

: Animal tall is giraffe. Giraffe is animal brown eat leaves. Giraffe

from Africa. Giraffe tall body is to take leaves from tall tree. Giraffe
long foot is to run fast.

Analysis: The first ES Animal tall is giraffe in the paragraph

is caused by disordering of adjectives and nouns and omission of
article (the). Animal tall should be tall animal. It is caused by
effect of adjective order in Bahasa Indonesia. The sentence needs
definite subject, so it misses an article (the). Then, the RS should be
the tall animal is giraffe.

S25

: Giraffe is very tall animal. Giraffe is like to eat foliage. It is

mammalian and herbivore. It is brown and has four legs. The tail is
long too. The feet is very strong and long. Giraffe can run very fast.

Analysis: The first ES in the sentence is caused by the addition of auxiliary

verbs (is). Actually it is grammatically correct, but it gets the sense
wrong. If the sense is preference, it should be Giraffe like to eat
foliage. The next ES is caused by malformation of auxiliary verb (is).
Plural subject should use are instead of is.
S26

: Giraffe is the tallest animal I see in zoo. It is have very long neck and
foot. They eat foliage. The long neck is used to take leaves from tall
tree. But in the zoo, the officer is give giraffe leaves.

Analysis: The ES It is have very long neck is caused by the addition of

auxiliary verb (is) and omission of third singular marker for Simple
Present Tense (s/es). It should be reconstructed to it has very long
neck. The second ES the officer is give giraffe is caused by the
same issues. It should be reconstructed to the officer gives giraffe
leaves or the officer is giving giraffe leaves although the form
Simple Present Progressive is not suitable with the descriptive text; but
it is grammatically correct.
S27

: Giraffe is very tall animal. This animal is eat foliage. Giraffe come
from Madagascar. This animal is brown skin and long feet. It have
short two horns for protect itself from predator.

Analysis: The first ES is caused by the addition of auxiliary verb (is) or

omission of present progressive marker (-ing). If the auxiliary (is) is
omitted, then it should use It should be reconstructed to this animal is
eating foliage or this animal eats foliage. The next error in this
paragraph is caused by the omission of possessive marker (-s) and the
addition of auxiliary verbs (is). The reconstructed sentences are it is
brown skinned or it has brown skin. It can be also caused by the
disordering of adjective and noun. The RS should be its skin is
brown
S28

: Giraffe is very tall animal. Giraffe is like to eat foliage. It is

mammalian and herbivore. It is brown and has four legs. The tail is
long too. The feet is very strong and long. Giraffe can run very fast.

Analysis: The first ES in the paragraph is caused by the same problem

explained in S25. Actually it is grammatically correct, but it gets the
sense wrong. If the sense is preference, it should be Giraffe like to eat
foliage. The next ES is caused by malformation of auxiliary verb (is).
Plural subject should use are instead of is.
S29

: Giraffe is animal from Africa. Giraffe is brown and eat foliage as

food. Giraffe is very tall and have long feet. Giraffe has tail and horn
because giraffe is mammal.

Analysis: No grammatical error found in the paragraph.

S30

: The animal is giraffe. It is tall. It is brown skin. It is eat leaves. It is

have horn. It is mammal. It is very rare. It is not live in the Indonesia
but in Africa.

Analysis: There are four errors found in the paragraph. The first ES It is
brown skin the second ES It is eat leaves and the third ES It is have
horn are errors caused by addition of auxiliary verb (is). Then it
should be reconstructed into it has brown skin or other form it is
brown skinned. The second and the third ES are reconstructed into it
eats leaves and it has horn.
B. Description of Errors
Based on the writing test of the students, it could be observed that there
are 30 students writing, from which the researcher found errors, in punctuation,
spelling, word choices, and grammar. In this case, the researcher only focused on
grammatical errors made by the students.
1. The Types of Errors and Their Frequency
The data of the research are collected from descriptive writings made
by second grade of MTS Amal Sholeh Sumogawe. As stated in the previous
chapter, the researcher used the Surface Strategy Taxonomy for analyzing the
data. Therefore, the grammatical errors which occurs in the students
sentences, are grouped into four types, they are:
1) addition error,
2) omission error,

3) disordering error,
4) malformation error
In this case, the four categories are classified into 13 subcategories.
After analyzing the data, the researcher found 99 grammatical errors in the
students descriptive writings.
The Table below shows The Types Common of Grammatical Errors
Table 4.2 Errors and their Percentages
Types of Errors
No

Subcategories

Omission
total

percent

1.

Adjective

2.

Adverb

3.

Verb

4.

Infinitive

2.1%

5.

Pronoun

6.

Noun

15

15.2%

7.

Uncountable Noun

8.

Definite Article

9.

Indefinite Article

1%

10.

Auxiliary

21

21.2%

11.

Linking Verb

12.

Preposition

13.

Conjunction

Total

Addition
total

percent

2.1%

1%

4.0%

39

39.4%

7.2%

Malformation

Disordering

total

percent

total

percent

4.0%

14

14.1%

14

14.1%

21

21.2%

39

39.4%

14

14.1%

In tabulating the percentages above, the researcher uses the formula as

follows:

THE NUMBER OF SUBCATEGORY ERROR

X 100%
THE NUMBER OF ALL GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
The chart bellow clarifies the frequency of types of errors
Figure 1. The Type of Error Frequency Chart

Disordering
Omission
Malformation
Addition

2. The Causes of Errors and Their Frequency

The table below shows the causes of Errors and their Frequency
THE NUMBER OF SUBCATEGORY ERROR
X 100%
THE NUMBER OF ALL GRAMMAITCAL ERRORS
The chart bellow clarifies the frequency of Causes of errors
Figure 1. The Causes of Error Frequency Chart

Interlingual
Intralingual

1) Data Analysis of The Causes of Errors

The researcher take 8 from 201 sentences as the sample of errors in
students writing to find out the causes of errors based on comparative
category Taxonomy. The researcher took sample because explaining each
cause of errors in all sentences would take many sheets, efforts and much
time. So the researcher take the most common errors in the sentences as
sample.
They are as follows:
1) Intralingual errors
No
1

Erroneous errors
It is have four legs.

Causes of Errors

Intralingual
The addition of to be is indicates that

No

Erroneous errors

Causes of Errors
the students lack of grammatical
competence. Auxiliary is should be
followed by adjective, adverb, or ing
form. For third singular pronoun, verb
should be added s / es.

It is also have one tail.

Intralingual
It is caused by lack of grammatical
competence.
(be is not followed by verb)
(have should be has)

A giraffe is an unique

Intralingual

animal.

It is caused by lack of grammatical

competence.
(Article an is used for noun whose
letter is vowel. The article an in this
sentences should be a)

There two students.

Intralingual
The omission of to be are indicates
that students are lack of grammatical
competence.

2) Interlingual errors
No
1

Erroneous errors

Causes of Errors

The giraffe has two

Interlingual

eyes big.

The adjective big which modifies

noun

eyes

should

precede

the

modified word. This case is the

influence of Indonesian rule which
place the modifier after modified word.
2

A giraffe has colors

Interlingual

brown and white on

The object should be brown and white

the skin.

colors
The formation of modifier and noun of
this error is Indonesian influence.

It has eyebrow to

Interlingual

protect eyes its.

It is caused by lack of grammatical

competence.
The

possessive

determiner

should

precede the noun modified.

4

It can fast run with its

Interlingual

long feet

The verb is ordered like Indonesian

No

Erroneous errors

Causes of Errors
structure. It should be It can run fast.

2) The Interpretation of Causes of Errors

The researcher found two general causes of errors in analyzing the
errors in students sentences. The first is interlingual errors. It is caused by the
differences between the English and Indonesian rules or the influences from
the learner. It makes difficulties to the students and they tend to produce
negative transfer form Indonesian into English. In fact, the rules of English
and Indonesian are different. The students usually transfer Indonesia into
English. As the result, they produce errors.
a) The giraffe has short two horns on the head
This error belongs to disorder (number determiner). The correct
sentence is:
The giraffe has two short horns on the head*)
This disorder of number determiner is the influence of students L1.
It indicates that the students are lack grammatical competence.
The second is intralingual errors. It is known that many
intralingual errors occur in students sentences. The errors are particularly
in the area of grammar or structure. The students usually face difficulties
when they apply the rule of English grammar in their sentences.
b) It is have long foot.

The errors belong to malformation (to be and plural countable

noun). The correct sentence is:
It has long feet*)
The malformation of plural form of foot. Although it does not mentioned
how many foot does giraffe have, but it is common knowledge that it has
four feet.

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGESSTION

Having described the research findings and discussion in Chapter IV, the
research would like to give the conclusion and discussion based on the research
findings, which related to the research result.
A. Conclusion
1. In describing the types of errors, it can be inferred that there are 201 items of
errors, which occur in the students sentences. They are analyzed based of the
surface strategy taxonomy, it is found that 39 items or 39.4% errors are
omission errors, 7 items or 7.2% errors are addition errors, 39 items or 39.4%
errors are malformation errors, and 14 items or 14.1% errors are disordering
errors. After the four categories are classified into 11 subcategories, it can be
known that the omission of auxiliary (to be) has the highest frequency; while
in the subcategory of addition errors, the addition of conjunction has the
highest frequency. In the subcategory of disordering, the disordering of
adjective has the highest frequency. In the subcategory of malformation
errors, the malformation of verbs has the highest frequency.
2. Meanwhile, in describing the possible causes of errors, based on the
comparative strategy taxonomy, it is found that 187 items or 93% errors is
intralingual errors and 14 items or 7% errors is interlingual errors. So, it can
be inferred that errors occurs in the students sentences is caused by lacks of

grammatical understanding, and students more likely translate Bahasa

Indonesia pattern into English without taking notice of grammar. So it is
mostly caused by intralingual factor which is grammar and structure, and the
appliance of Bahasa Indonesia pattern into English which make it interlingual
errors.
B. Suggestion
Based on the conclusion, the researcher would like to propose some
suggestion, which would be useful for the students, English teacher and other
researcher.
1. Based on the conclusion, it can be found that the students must learn more in
plural countable noun because it is the highest errors. It is expected that the
students write more often. By doing so, the students writing skill will be
better.
2. Based on the observation, the researcher concludes that the errors occur
because the students consider that English is very difficult. It is very
important for the English teachers to be able to present grammatical items in a
communicative and interesting way, such as using games, picture, English
songs etc. in order to make grammar interesting. English teacher must be
creative, and in this way the errors can be reduced or minimized.
3. The researcher realized that there are many weakness in this research, so it is
expected to other researcher to do further investigations, so that they can find
other research findings related to this problem.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

Name

: Indah SP

Nick Name

: Inez

Place, Date of Birth : Semarang, January, 11th 1990

Contact Address

: Jl. Mawar Pabelan RT 03/01 Salatiga

Sex

: Female

Nationality

: Indonesian

Education

:
SDN Sumogawe 04

Lulus

2001

MTs Amal Sholeh Sumogawe

Lulus

2004

MAN 1 Salatiga

Lulus

2007