An Analysis On Students’ Errors In Descriptive Writing (A Case Study At The First Grade Of Sma Negeri 37 Jakarta)

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(A Case Study at the First Grade of SMA Negeri 37 Jakarta)

By Rita Komalasari NIM. 107014001000

ENGLISH EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING

‘SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH’ STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA

2013

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All Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Who has given the writer His love and compassion to finish the last assignment in her study. Peace and salutation be upon to the prophet Muhammad SAW., his family, his companion, and his adherents.

On this opportunity, the writer would like to express her greatest honor to her beloved family; her parents, (Mr. Djuhri and Mrs. Sulastri), who give their support and moral encouragement in finishing her study. Also, she would like to address her greatest thanks to her academic advisor Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, M.Pd. for his time, guidance, valuable helps, correction and suggestion during completing this “skripsi”.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help and contribution to all of lecturers, institution, family and friends who have contributed in different ways hence this “skripsi” is processed until it becomes a complete writing which will be presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of S.Pd. (S-1) in English Language Education.

The writer realized that without support and motivation from people around her, she could not finish this “skripsi.” Therefore, she would like to give her deepest appreciation for:

1. All lecturers in English Education Departmentwho have taught the writer

useful knowledge and skills.

2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd., as the Head of English Department.

3. NenengSunengsih, M.Pd., as the Secretary of English Department.

4. Prof. Dr. H. Rif’at Syauqi Nawawi, M.A., the Dean of the Faculty of Tarbiyah

and Teachers’ Training Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.

5. Drs. H. Sugiharto., the Principle of SMAN 37, for giving permission to the

writer to do observation and conduct the research.

6. All of the English teachers in SMAN 37 Jakarta, for giving permission to the

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Finally, the writer gives her best gratitude for challenges which she faced in writing and finishing this “skripsi”, the wonderful experience came to her life and made her more mature to face any challenges.

Jakarta, January 2013

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DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (A Case Study at the First Grade of SMA Negeri 37 Jakarta), Skripsi, English Education Department, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.

Advisor:Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, M.Pd.

Keywords: Analysis on Students’ Errors, Writing Descriptive, SMA Negeri 37 Jakarta

This study is aimed to find out the types and causes of errors did students’ make in descriptive writing. The subject research was 30 students in the first grade students of SMAN 37 Jakarta. In doing this research, the writer used descriptive analysis based on qualitative and quantitative. The instrument of this research is an essay test. The students were asked to write a descriptive text with the topic has given. In this research, the writer used classification of errors based on Heidi Dullay’s book to know the types of errors students’ made in descriptive writing and to know the causes of errors according to Hubbard. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the types of errors did the students’ make in descriptive writing are omission (40.21%), addition (22.98%), misformation (33.42%) and misordering (3.39%). In the meantime, this occurred because of mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization and errors encouraged by teaching material or method.

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DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (A Case Study at the First Grade of SMA Negeri 37 Jakarta), Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

Pembimbing:Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, M.Pd.

Kata Kunci: Analisa kesalahan siswa, Menulis Deskriptif, SMAN 37 Jakarta

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui tipe dan penyebab kesalahan yang di buat oleh siswa dalam penulisan deskriptif. Subjek penelitian adalah 30 orang siswa kelas sepuluh di SMAN 37 Jakarta. Dalam penelitian ini penulis menggunakan analisis deskriptif berdasarkan kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian adalah sebuah tes essai. Siswa diminta untuk menulis sebuah teks deskriptif dengan topik yang telah diberikan. Dalam penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan klasifikasi kesalahan berdasarkan teori Heidi Dullay untuk mengetahui tipe kesalahan yang di buat siswa dalam menulis deskriptif dan untuk mengetahui penyebab kesalahan menurut Hubbard. Berdasarkan hasil penemuan penelitian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa jenis kesalahan yang di buat siswa dalam penulisan deskriptif mencakup: omission (40.21%), addition (22.98%), misformation (33.42%) dan misordering (3.39%). Sementara itu, penyebab kesalahan mencakup pengaruh bahasa ibu, generalisasi yang berlebihan, kesalahan terjadi karena materi atau metode yang digunakan oleh guru.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... i

ABSTRACT ... iii

ABSTRAK ... iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... v

LIST OF TABLES ... vii

LIST OF APPENDICES ... viii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Limitation of the Study ... 3

C. Research Question ... 3

D. Significance of the Study ... 3

E. Organization of the Study ... 4

CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 5

A. Writing English ... 5

1. Definition of Writing ... 5

2. Stages Process in Writing ... 7

3. Form of Writing ... 9

4. Purpose of Writing ... 11

B. Descriptive Writing ... 12

1. Definition of Descriptive Text ... 12

2. Organization of Descriptive ... 13

3. Structure of Descriptive ... 15

4. Strategies to Write Descriptive ... 17

5. Ways to Increase Powers of Description ... 19

C. Error Analysis ... 20

1. Definition of Error ... 21

2. Distinction between Errors and Mistakes ... 21

3. Step of Error Analysis ... 22

4. Types of Error ... 24

5. Causes of Error ... 26

6. Goal of Error Analysis ... 28

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 30

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E. Technique of Data Analysis ... 31

CHAPTER IV. FINDING AND INTERPRETATION ... 33

A. Finding ... 33

1. Types of Error ... 33

2. Cause of Error ... 35

B. Interpretation ... 36

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 38

A. Conclusion ... 38

B. Suggestion ... 38

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 40

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Table 2.2 List of Descriptive Words. ... 13 Table 2.3 Spatial Orders ... 15 Table 4.1 The Recapitulation of the students’ error in descriptive writings 33 Table 4.2 Percentage of Types of Error ... 35

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Table 1.1 Procedure of Classification Errors ... 43 Table 1.2 The Causes of Students’ error in descriptive writing ... 65

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1 A. Background of the Study

English is one of the international languages in the world. In Indonesia, it is not the second language but it is the foreign language. English has been an important part of education system in most countries includes Indonesia. English is taught from elementary until university in Indonesia (based on the curriculum). The ministry of National Education has adopted English as the foreign language in Indonesia. It means English become a compulsory subject in the national curriculum. It is taught from elementary school up to university level. The final goal of the teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia is that learners can use English to master and develop science, technology and arts, and contribute to strengthening the international relations which will help promote the national development.

In learning English, the learners should master the four language skills. Learning English in the class includes the language skills which are divided into two kinds, namely receptive and productive skills. The receptive skills are listening and reading. Therefore, the productive skills are speaking and writing. Besides that, as both productive skills, the language speech is different from the written language. Writing is not easy to learn. According to James C. Raymond in his book, “Writing is not easy”. An experienced writer will often labor over a single paragraph for more than an hour – not counting the thought and research

that went on before the actual writing.”1 When students write, they write their

ideas into words, sentences, and paragraphs. It needs hard thinking to produce it at

the same time. James C. Raymond said “In writing, however, you need other ways

to signal your meaning: punctuation, attention to word order, even the use of

blank space.”2 Therefore, the students need hard thinking and some knowledge if

1 James C. Raymond, Writing is an Unnatural Act, (New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1980), p. 2.

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they want to write something because writing is a specific skill. It needs practices to make it good and students have to get interested in reading because both writing and reading are related to each other. Writing is a more complicated skill than reading, listening and speaking. Robert M. Gorrel and Charlton Laird agree as they state that:

“Writing requires thinking, and thinking is always complicated and hard. Writing is complicated also because the writer needs to do everything at once, and the student of writing needs to study everything at once. A writer produces words, sentences, paragraphs, and extended composition all the same time; words must be spelled, sentences punctuated, and

paragraph unified.3

There are three forms of English writing: description, narration and exposition. Description is writing about person, animal, thing or place appear. By reading descriptive text the reader can hear, smell, touch, taste and see what the writer describe. Donald Hall has opinion about it.

“In description we gather sensouse detail. Description by itself evoke

place, scene, or time of day; we feel that we are there …. The accurate description has modifier that comes from observation, not from the worn track: at fingers, frog leg position, massively swollen; it has statements of

fact and measurement, ….”4

Writing is one of the skills in English. Writing English for a foreign learner is difficult even for college students. In speaking they can ignore the grammatical aspects, but not in writing, they must select the appropriate grammar and vocabulary to arrange the words. Some of the problems faced by the students are that they are still confused in using the grammar because there is less systematic rule in Indonesian Language writing. For example, “She is name Eriza Humairo and I have twin sister” it should be “Her name is Eriza Humairo and I have twin sisters”. It happened because they did not understand the grammar well and Indonesian language does not have the structure.

3 Robert M. Gorrel and Charlton Laird, Modern English Handbook, (New Jersey: Eaglewood Cliffs N.J., 1962), p. 1.

4 Donald Hall, Writing Well, Second Edition, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977), p. 243.

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In the process of learning English students often do some errors. Errors can give advantageous information for learning process. Therefore, an error analysis has an important role to know what kinds of error that the students mostly do in writing and the causes of the error they make. The writer would like to do the research under the title “An Analysis on Students’ Errors in A Descriptive Writing”.

B. Limitation of the Study

In writing this paper, the writer focuses her study only on the errors in a descriptive writing which are made by the first grade, second semester students of SMAN 37 Jakarta school years 2011/2012.

C. Research Question

Based on the background presented above, the writer will do an analysis on students’ errors in a descriptive writing. The formulations of the problems are stated as follows:

1. What types of errors did students’ make in descriptive writing?

2. What causes did the students make errors in descriptive writing?

D. Significance of the Study

By analyzing the students’ error in descriptive writing, the result of this study will give some advantages go to:

 For English teachers, this study may give information to know the causes of

errors in writing especially in descriptive writing and know how far the students comprehend in writing descriptive writing.

 For the students, hopefully they can understand how far the level of

understanding in writing descriptive writing and they will have a better improvement in writing descriptive text.

 The writer expects that the research will be useful for the writer herself, so it

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E. Organization of the Study

This writing is divided into five chapters. The first chapter explains the introduction, which contains background of the study, limitation of the study, research question, significance of the study, and organization of the study.

The second chapter is divided into three chapters. The first sub-chapter is Writing English that consists of the definition of writing, the stages process in writing, the form of writing and the purpose of writing. The second subchapter is descriptive writing that consists of the definition of descriptive, the organization of descriptive, the structure of descriptive, the strategies to write descriptive and the ways to increase powers of descriptive. The third sub-chapter is Error Analysis that consists of the definition of error, the distinction between errors and mistakes, the step of error analysis, the types of error, the cause of error and the goal of error analysis.

The third chapter is research methodology explains of place and time of the research, method of the research, data and data source, technique of data collecting, and technique of data analysis

The fourth chapter is finding and interpretation.

Finally, the fifth chapter is conclusion and suggestion. In this chapter, the writer describes some conclusion and suggestion. The writer also encloses bibliography and appendices completing her research paper.

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This chapter will explain about the theoretical framework, which consists of writing English, descriptive writing and error analysis.

A. Writing English

Writing is one of the language skills. In writing, the students produce some words, sentences, and paragraphs at the same time. The students need knowledge to write. The students have to master all aspects about writing and do more practices if they want to be good writers.

1. The Definition of writing

There are some definitions about writing. Penny Ur tells us in her book, A course in Language Teaching, “Writing is widely used within foreign language courses as a convenient means for engaging with aspects of language other than writing itself. For example: Learners note down vocabulary copy out the grammar

rules and do written test.”1

Ken Hyland defines writing “as a way of sharing personal meanings and writing courses emphasize the power of the individual to construct his or her own

views on a topic”.2

Berthoff has defined writing as an act of the mind by which writers create meaning. Writing is the creating of meaning from one’s own intellectual and linguistic resources and activity, rather than copying of someone else’s text, or the

use of prepared lists of words to create sentences or stories.3

James C. Raymond said in his book Writing is an Unnatural stated:

“Writing is more than a medium communication. It is a way of remembering and a way of remembering and a way of thinking as well …, writing has a private importance as a tool for clear thinking, for sharpening

1 Penny Ur, A Course in Language, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 162. 2 Ken Hyland, Second Language Writing, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 9.

3 Sarah Hudelson, Write On Children Writing in ESL, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1989), p. 5.

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our awareness of the realities around us, for solving problems and shaping arguments … Writing is also a way of finding out what we know and what

we need to learn.”4

Sylvan Barnet and Marcia Stubbs on their book; Practical Guide to

Writing also said that, “Writing is a physical act. It requires materials and energy. And like most physical acts, to be performed skillfully, to bring pleasure to both

performer and audience, it requires practice.5 We can learn to write for all

practical purposes including pleasure.

Furthermore, “Writing makes a special contribution to the way people think. When we write, we compose meanings, we put together facts and ideas and

make something new …”6When students write, they create a complex web of

meaning in which sentences have different relationships to each other.

Moreover, “Writing also contributes uniquely to the way we learn.”7 When

the students take notes during lecturers or as they read, writing enables them to store new information in memory. Writing also makes another important contribution to learning. Because it is always a composing a new meaning, writing enables them to find and establish our own connections and networks of information and ideas. It enables them to clarify and deepen our understanding of a new concept and to find ways to connect it to other ideas within a discipline.

Based on the explanation above it can be concluded that writing is widely used within foreign language courses, a way of sharing personal meanings, as an act of mind, more than a medium communication, a physical act, a special contribution to the way people think, contributes uniquely to the way we learn which enables them to store new information in memory.

4 James C. Raymond, Loc. Cit., p. 2.

5 Sylvan Barnet and Marcia Stubbs, Barnet and Stubbs’s Practical Guide to Writing, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1974), p. 3.

6 Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper, The ST. Martin’s Guide to Writing, (New York: St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, 1985), p. 2.

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2. Stages Process in Writing

An emphasis on language structure as a basis for writing teaching is typically a four-stage process; they are familiarization, controlled writing, guided

writing and free writing:8

a. Familiarization

Learners are taught certain grammar and vocabulary, usually through a text.9

Table 2.1 Substitution patterns

Types : A, B, and C. hThere are Kinds . These are A, B and C. Y Classes of X are A, B and C.

hThe Categories

Consists of categories

Y classes. These are A, B and C. Can be divided kinds : A, B and C.

into types classes

, A, B and C are kinds of X types

categories

b. Controlled Writing

Controlled writing is learners manipulate fixed patterns, often from

substitution tables.10 The similar opinion came from Lois Robinson that

“Controlled writing is all the writing for which a great deal of the content and/or form is supplied.”11 In controlled writing students are given tasks an outline to

8 Ken Hyland, Op. Cit., p. 3. 9Ibid., p. 4.

10Ibid., p. 4.

11 Ann Raimes, Technique in Teaching Writing, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), p. 95.

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complete, a paragraph to manipulate, a model to follow, or a passage to continue. Controlled writing tasks give students focused practice in getting words down on paper and in concentrating on one or two problems at a time; they are thus spared from tackling the full range of complexity that free writing entails.

It means that controlled writing is to control learners in writing with the fixed pattern or content has given on the tasks make the learners keep focus in writing.

c. Guided Writing

Guided writing is learners imitate model texts.12 According to Lois

Robinson, “Guided writing is writing in which one cannot make a serious error so

song as he follow that directions.13 It means that if the students follow the

instructions which are given by the teachers, they will not make a serious error. Guided writing is less control than controlled writing. In using this kind of writing, the students are given a first sentence, a last sentence, an outline to fill out, a series of questions to respond to, or information to include in their piece of writing. Students should be able to discuss, make notes, share findings, and plan

strategies together before they begin to write.14

The significance of guided writing is the learners follow the guideline and clue or copy the sample text.

d. Free Writing

Free writing is learners use the patterns they have developed to write an essay, letter, and so forth.15 John Langan said that “Free writing is just sitting

down and writing whatever comes into your mind about a topic.”16 Write without

stopping and without worrying at all about spelling, grammar or the like. Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff said “Free writing also means writing privately and

12Ken Hyland, Loc. Cit., p. 4.

13 Lois Robinson, Guided writing & Free Writing A Text in Composition for English as Second Language, (New York: HARPER & Row Publishers, 1967), p. 2.

14 Ann Raimes, Op. Cit., p. 103.

15Ken Hyland, Loc. Cit., p. 4.

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writing without stopping, just write whatever words come to your mind or whatever you want to explore at this moment.”17 It means students just write on the paper and follow their minds or the words wherever they want to go or write about how you feel at the moment or keep repeating the last word or the last sentence. Students do free writing in ten minutes without stopping. If they cannot think or get stuck they just write everything that comes to mind and repeat what

they wrote before.

3. Form of Writing

Forms of writing are required for different purpose. In general, writing can be divided into three forms: description, narration and exposition. Here are the definitions about those types of writings.

a. Description

Description is writing about the way persons, animals, or things appear.18

It explains in words from our sensory impression we caught in a moment. Descriptive language appeals to the senses of see, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Descriptive Paragraph Model:

Paris

Paris is the capital city of France. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also one of the world’s most crowded cities. Lovely gardens and parks are found throughout Paris. At night, many places and statues are lit up. For

this reason, Paris is often called the City of Light.

Every year, millions of people visit Paris. The most popular place to visit is the Eiffel Tower. This huge structure has become the symbol of Paris. The Louvre, one of the world’s largest art museums, draws many visitors. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, a famous church, is another favourite place to visit.

Taken from the World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, 200619

17 Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff, A Community of Writers: A Workshop Course in Writing 3rd ed, (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000), p. 6.

18 James A. W. Heffernan and John E. Lincoln, Writing A College Handbook, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1986), p. 83.

19 Achmad Doddy, et al., Developing English Competencies for Senior High School Grade X, (Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008), p. 126.

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b.Narration

Narration or storytelling is writing about a succession of events. The events are ordered not random. Sequence always engages an arrangement in time. A directly movement make from the first to the last become simple chronological. Sometimes chronology is complicated by presenting the events in another order: the story may move backward to explain the cause of events or jump forward to identify its effect.20

Narrative Paragraph Model:

The Kite

The sun shone brightly and the west breeze blew. The kite was flying this way and that way tied to her string. Suddenly the string snapped. The kite was free. She soared high in the air until she could she far, far away. The kite followed some parrots who took her to see the rainforests. The air was cool and the kite got wet. The kite followed some crocodiles who took her to see the rivers. The air was misty and the kite was caught a fish. The kite followed some wallabies who took her to see deserts. The air was hot and the kite got tired. So, the kite followed the

sun who took her back home, right to her string.21

c. Exposition

Exposition is writing with a referential aim. It seeks to explain someone or something in the world outside the writer.22 Expository writing explains. It does not argue – though exposition can form part of an argument. It does not tell a

story-though it might explain something essential to telling a story.23

Exposition Paragraph Model:

20 James A. W. Heffernan and John E. Lincoln, Op. Cit., p. 86.

21 http://understandingtext.blogspot.com/2009/08/kites-tale-as-example-of-narrative.html?m=1 on February 25 2012.

22 James A. W. Heffernan and John E. Lincoln, Op. Cit., p. 89. 23 Donald Hall, Op. Cit., p. 223.

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Skateboarding in the suburbs

Anybody over the age of six knows that there is nowhere safe for skateboarders to skate. This prevents young people from enjoying an active, energetic and adventurous pastime.

Just watch a local street for a short while and note the steady stream of skaters speeding up and down the footpaths. Toddlers can be trampled on and little old ladies can be knocked down as they struggle home carrying their cat food from Coles. Thunderous rattles are heard on our main roads each night as skaters travel without lights and without warning in the paths of oncoming cars.

Skateboarding is a serious sport that improves young people’s health. It increases fitness, improves balance and strengthens the joints in knees and ankles. Although it appears to be a solo sport, when groups practice together and compete to perform stunts or runs they form firm friendships.

Young people should be prevented from becoming over weight couch potatoes. If they are actively involved in skating, they are not smoking, taking drugs or breaking other laws for fun.

Kids will always seek thrills and excitement. They need to practice their 180s, 360s and Ollies free from restrictions. We must build skate parks in the suburbs so that streets are safe for small children and senior citizens and so that

skaters have spaces where they can race, chase, speed, and soar towards the sun.24

4. Purpose of Writing

There seem to be many different kinds of writing: novels, poems, short stories, script, letters, essays, reports, reviews, instructions all quite different. But they’re all writing. They all have the basic aim of getting ideas from one brain into another. There are three common purposes in writing:

24 Printed from the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Guide http://www.ltag.education.tas.gov.au/ (www.illawarrasouthcoast.sreg.education.nsw.gov.au/.../...) on February 25, 2012.

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a. Writing to entertain

Entertain does not necessarily make the reader laugh but it at least engages their feelings in some way. People who read imaginative writing can be entertained (emotionally gripped) by something very serious, even sad, as well as by something funny. An exciting plot can involve the emotions. Writing that involves emotions can also be reflective or contemplative. The examples are novels, stories, poems etc.

b. Writing to inform

Inform tells the reader about something. It can also be entertaining but that is just a bonus is not the main purpose. The examples are newspaper articles, scientific or report business etc.

c. Writing to persuade

Persuade tries to convince the reader of something. It includes the opinions but as part of logical case backed up with the evidence. The examples are

advertisement, some newspaper and magazine articles etc.25

B. Descriptive Writing 1. Definition of Descriptive

Description is about sensory experience-how something looks, sounds,

tastes.26 There are so many things in life that can be described, objects exist by the

trillion; people by billion; views are infinitely available. So the obvious place to begin is with us. Besides, description gives sense impression. The feel, sound, taste, smell and look of things. Emotion maybe described too, feelings such as happiness, fear, loneliness, gloom and joy. Description helps the reader, through his/her imagination, to visualize a scene or a person, or to understand a sensation

or an emotion.27

25 Kate Grenville, Writing from Start to finish a six step guide, (Australia: ALLEN&UNWIN, 2001), pp. 1 – 2.

26 Thomas S. Kane, The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing, (New York: The Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 351.

27 George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English. (New York: Litton Educational Publishing, 1980), p. 128.

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2. Organization of Descriptive

Descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something sight, sound, smell, touch, and/or taste. Most descriptive writing depends on visual details-what what the writer has seen and wants to the readers to visualize in their minds. The following list contents descriptive words for each of the five senses.

Note that some of the words are more specific than others from the table below.28

Table 2.2

List of Descriptive Words.

Sight Sound Smell Touch Taste

Light Noise Musty Soft Salty

Glare Bang Fresh Velvety Sweet

Moonlight Tinkle Rain Washed Sharp Sour

Based on the table above, it can convey the essence of the subject by using sensory details to appeal to our reader’s imagination. As much as possible, we should try to evoke all five senses.

Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper also give the similar sense in using

sensory to describe, there are:29

a. The sense of sight.

When people describe what they see, they identify the objects in their field vision.

b. The sense of hearing.

In reporting auditory impressions, writers seldom name the objects from which the sounds come without also naming the sensation: the murmur of a voice, the rustle of the wind, the squeak of a hinge, the sputter of an engine. Onomatopoeia is the term for names of sounds that echo the sounds themselves: squeak, murmur, hiss, boom, tinkle, twang, jangle, rasp. Sometimes writers make

28George Braine, Writing From Sources, (USA: May field Publishing Company, 1996), p. 98.

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up words like plink, chirr, sweesh-crack-boom, and cara-wong to imitiate sounds they wish to describe.

c. The sense of smell.

The English language has a meager stock of words to express the sense of

smell. In addition to the word smell, only about ten commonly used nouns

describe the sensation, odor, scent, vapor, aroma, fragrance, perfume, bouquet,

stench, stink. Few verbs describe receiving or sending odors- smell, sniff, waft-

but a fair number of detailing adjectives are available: redolent, pungent,

aromatic, perfumed, stinking, musty, rancid, putrid, rank, foul, noisome, acrid, sweet, and cloying.

d. The sense of touch.

The sense of touch tend not to name the sensation directly or even to report the act feeling. Probably this omission occurs because so few nouns and

verbs describe tactile sensations besides words like touch, feeling, tickle, itch, and

tingle. Nevertheless, a large stock of words describe temperature (hot, warm, mild, tepid, cold, arctic), moisture content (wet, dry, sticky, oily, greasy, moist, parched), texture (gritty, silky, smooth, crinkled, coarse, rough, soft, sharp), and

weight (heavy, light, ponderous, buoyant, feathery).

e. The sense of taste.

Other than taste, savor, and flavor, few words name the gustatory

sensations directly. Certain words do distinguish among the four types of

taste-sweet (saccharine, sugary, cloying); sour (acidic, tart); bitter (acrid, biting); salty

(briny, brackish), while several other words describe specific tastes (piquant, spicy, pungent, peppery, savory, and toothsome).

Spatial order is the arrangement of items in order by space.30 In a

description, writers often use spatial order to organize their ideas. Just as there are words and phrases to show time order and to show spatial organization. They are

30 Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing 2nd ed., (New York: Longman, 1997), pp. 50—53.

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often prepositional phrases of location or position. In a description, writers often use spatial order to organize their ideas.

Table 2.3 Spatial Orders

at the top of In front of Between In the back of

in the center of In the front of Behind Inside

On the left Next to In back of Across from

The Present continuous tense is used to describe actions that are actually taking place at the present time and temporary. The present continuous tense is

not possible with certain verbs. These verbs include:31

1. Verbs of emotional states : admire, dislike, envy, hate, like, love

2. Verbs of mental states: believe, doubt, forget, know, need, prefer,

remember, think, understand, want, wonder

3. Verbs of the senses: feel, hear, smell, taste

4. Verbs of existing states: appear, be, exist, look, like, seem

3. Structure of Descriptive

The structure of descriptive text is divided into two parts: Identification and Description. The identification part is the part where writers of descriptive text identifies phenomenon to be described. The description part described parts, qualities, and characteristics. Description text focuses on specific participants. It

normally uses simple present tense.32 The example is given below:

Gua Labuhan Is a Lively Unique Cave

In the cave, Nyi (Mrs) Kamiyem and Ki (Mr) Padmo sit on a big stone. Nyi Kamiyem will sing a song and Ki Padmo

31 Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Op. Cit., p. 55. 32 Achmad Doddy, et al., Op. Cit., p. 115.

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will beat the drum. Joining them are people called wiyogo which are drummers and other gamelan musicians.

What make this unique is that they mix gamelan with the sounds the nature. The visitors dance, forgetting all problems.

Many tourists go to this cave. Maybe you are interested in going there too but you don’t know where it is. Gua Labuan is located near Pacitan in East Java. It is situated in a lime hill called Tapan, in Tabuhan, Wareng village. The route is easy. Along the road there is beautiful tropical scenery to enjoy rice fields, coconut-palms and birds.

East of the cave peddlers sell souvenirs. The drink and food peddlers are on the north side. People sell agates on the cave terraces. Somehow, it is like a fair.

It is said that the cave is the only place where nature produce sounds like the music of gamelan. Nyi Kamiyem, a

well-known pesinden (tradisional Javanese singer) from the

village of Gabuhan, who often sings in the cave, does not doubt anything.

Gua Tabuhan did not use to welcome visitors. According to Kartowiryo (90), village elder, Gua Tabuhan used to be a hiding place for robbers. It was believed to be a sacred place. No

one dared go inside. However, Wedana (chief of a district)

Kertodiprojo, went to the cave to find out what was wrong. He found out that the cave was inhabited by the annoying evil spirits. The people chased the spirits away.

The cave is dark, so people need lights, and a local guide will lead the way. Sometimes the visitors bump their heads against the sharp rocks and the ceiling.

Inside the cave there is plane big stone which is believed to be the prayer mat of Pangeran Diponegoro, one of the Indonesians heroes who fought against the Dutch. It is said that

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Pangeran Diponegoro used to seclude himself in the cave. Some people now use the place for meditation.

There is the stream in the cave, in the east corner, which can only be seen outside. However, it can be heard from inside.

Besides the cave, Watukarang, a beach nearby, is good to visit. By the way, do you want different souvenirs? You can find them in Donorodjo village where agate craftsman work. So,

have a nice journey.33

4. Strategies to Write Descriptive

Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper in his book The St. Martin’s

Guide to Writing involves three basic strategies are:34

a. Naming

To describe, writers point to and name objects of features of their subjects. In the following passage, Annie Dillard identifies the face, chin, fur underside,

and eyes of a weasel she once encountered in the woods:35

He was ten inches long, thin as a curve, a muscled ribbon, brown as fruitwood, soft-furred, alert. His face was fierce, small and pointed as a lizard’s; he would have made a good arrowhead. There was just a dot of chin, maybe two brown hairs’ worth, and then the pure white fur began that spread down his underside. He had two black eyes I didn’t see, any more than you see a window.

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk.

In looking for the right word to name something, writers can usually choose from a variety of words. Some words may be concrete (referring to tangible objects or actual instances), while others are abstract (referring to tangible objects or actual instances), while others are abstract (referring to ideas or qualities). Nose, tooth, and foot are concrete words, whereas love, faith and justice are abstract.

33 Achmad Doddy, et al., Op. Cit., pp. 116—117.

34 Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper, Op. Cit., p. 368. 35Ibid., pp. 368—369.

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b. Detailing

Although noun can be quiete specific, detailing is a way of adding more specify to them, thus making description even more particular and precise. Naming answers the questions. “What is it?” and “What are its parts of features?”. To add details to names, writers add modifiers – adjectives and adverbs, phrases and clauses. Modifiers make nouns more specify by supplying additional information about them. In the following passage below is an example about a weasel, Annie Dillard provides many modifying details. She indicates size, shape,

color, texture, value, and amount.36

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk

c. Comparing

Whereas naming and detailing call on the power of observation, comparing brings the imagination into play. Comparison makes language even more precise more evocative. This passage below is an example to see how Annie

Dillard uses comparison:37

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk

36 Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper, Op. Cit., pp. 370— 371. 37 Ibid., pp. 371—373.

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Comparing enhances a description by showing readers the thing being described in a surprising new way that can be suggestive and revealing. Although this strategy is called comparing, it includes both comparing and contrasting because differences can be as illuminating as likenesses.

5. Ways to Increase powers of Description

The description usually describes people, place or thing, there are: a. Description of People

People are different, and writing descriptions of people is different. You’re probably already aware of some of the complications because you’ve often been asked, “What’s so-and-so like?” In replying, you might resort to an identification,

an impression, or a character sketch, depending on the situation.38

 Identification

Although you might provide an identification, you’d probably want to go further than that. Used mainly in official records and documents, identifications consist only of certain statistical information (height, weight, age), visible characteristics (color of hair, skin and eyes), and recognizable marks (scars,

birthmarks).39

 Impression

Unlike the identification, the impression may not identify a person, but it does convey an overall idea of him or her. Many details may be missing, yet the writer does provide in a few broad strokes a general feeling about the subject. The impressions do provide some factual details (curiously, both mention hair color), but they are more concerned with creating an idea of people than providing

a means of identifying them.40

 Character Sketch

More complete descriptions of people are usually called character sketch; they may also be referred to as profiles, literary portraits, and biographical

38 Michael E. Adelstein and Jean G. Pival, The Writing Commitment, (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1976), p. 149.

39Ibid., pp. 149—150. 40Ibid., p. 150.

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sketches. As its name indicates, a character sketch delineates the character of a person, or at least his or her main personality traits. In the process, it may include

an identification and an impression, but it will do more than tell what people look

or seem like: it will show what they are like. A character sketch may be about a

type rather than an individual, revealing the characteristics common to the members of a group, such as campus jocks, cheerleaders, art students, religious

fanatics, television devotes.41

b. Description of Places and Things

To make the subjects as interesting and as vivid to readers as they are the writer it needs two techniques: using proper nouns and effective verbs.

 Using Proper Nouns

In addition to filling the writing with concrete details and figures of speech, the writer might also want to include a number of proper nouns, which as the writer know are the names of particular persons, places and things. Here are some examples: Arizona, University of Tennessee, Lake Michigan, Farmers and Merchants’ Savings and Loan, Spanish, Chinese, Belmont Avenue, etc. Including proper nouns that readers recognize easily can make what the writer is describing

more familiar to them.42

 Using Effective Verbs

Writers use verbs to make descriptions, more specific, accurate and interesting. For instance, “the wind had chiseled deep grooves into the sides of the

cliffs” is more specific than “the wind had made deep grooves.” The verb chiseled

also gives the reader a more accurate picture of the wind’s action than made

does.43

C. Error Analysis

Error is natural in language learning. It is unavoidable during the learning process. Learning the foreign language is a process unlike the mother language.

41 Michael E. Adelstein and Jean G. Pival, Op. Cit., pp. 150—152.

42 Santi V. Buscemi, A Reader for Developing Writers, (Boston: McGrawHill, 2002), p. 267. 43Ibid., pp. 267—268.

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James pointed out, “Error Analysis is the process of determining the incidence,

nature, causes and consequences of unsuccessful language.44No one learner ever

makes some errors in language learning process. It will always occur although best effort has been done. Errors made by students do not mean a failure or inadequacy but they can be viewed as important evidence of strategies or procedure employed by the students in learning a target language.

1. Definition of Error

Errors are the flawed side of learner speech or writing.45

According to “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current

English”, Error is something done wrong; or a mistake.46

According to S. Pit Corder, has another opinion concerning error, “Error are a result of partial knowledge because the teaching – learning process extends

over time”.47

2. Distinction between Errors and Mistakes

In the study of error analysis, some linguists distinguish error and mistake. Hubbard et al in their book make a distinction between error and mistake. “Errors caused by lack of knowledge about the target language (English) or by the incorrect hypothesis about it; and unfortunate mistakes are caused by temporary

lapses of memory, confusion, slips of the tongue and so on.48

Rod Ellis pointed out, “Errors reflect gaps in a learner’s knowledge; they occur because the learner does not know what is correct. Mistakes reflect occasional lapses in performance; they occur because in particular instance, the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows.”49 In other words, error is a

44 Carl James, Errorin Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis, (New York: Longman, 1988), p. 1.

45 Heidi Dulay, et al., Language Two, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 138.

46 A S Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), p. 138.

47 S. Pit Corder, Introducing Applied Linguistic, (New York: Penguin Books, 1973), p. 283. 48_{Hubbard, et al.,}_{A Training Cause for TEFL}_{, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), p.}

134.

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lack of knowledge and mistake is the students possess knowledge of the correct form and are just slipping up.

Brown also gives the similar opinion about error and mistake. According to him, an error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflects the competence of the learner. And a mistake is a “slip” a failure

to utilize a known system correctly, and mistakes can be self-corrected.50

According to Jacek Fisiak, “Mistakes are deviations due to performance factors such as memory limitations, spelling pronunciations, fatigue, emotional strain, etc. Errors, on the other hand, are systematic, consistent deviances

characteristic of the learner’s linguistic system at a given stage of learning.51

Then the writer concluded that students made error because lack of knowledge, assert learners’ competence, and consistent deviances characteristic. It cannot be self corrected. The students do not know what is the correct while mistakes happen because lapses of memory, slip of tongue and memory limitations. It can be self corrected.

3. Step of Error Analysis

Error analysis has methodology involving some procedures to do. There are number of steps taken in concluding an error analysis.

a. Collect data.

Although this is typically done with written data, oral data can also serve as a base.

b. Identify errors.

What is the error (e.g., incorrect sequence of tenses, wrong verb, or singular verb form with plural subject)?

c. Classify errors.

Is it an error of omission? Is it an error in addition?

50 H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, fourth edition, (New York: Longman, 2000), p. 21.

51 Jacek Fisiak, Contrastive Linguistics and the Language Teacher, (New York: Pergamon Press, 1981), p. 224.

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d. Quantity errors.

How many errors of omission occur? How many errors of addition? e. Analyze source.

Interlingual or intralingual transfer. f. Remediate.

Based on the kind and frequency of an error type, pedagogical intervention is carried out.52

Rod Ellis suggests the following procedures for analyzing learners errors are:53

a. Identifying errors.

The first step in analyzing learner errors is to identify them. To identify errors we have to compare the sentences learners produce with what seem to be normal or ‘correct’ sentences in the target language which correspond with them. b. Describing errors.

Once all the errors have been identified, they can be described and classified into types. There are several ways of doing this. One way is to classify errors into grammatical categories. We could gather all the errors relating to verbs and then identify the different kinds of verb errors. Another way might be to try to identify general ways in which the learners’ utterances differ from the reconstructed target-language utterances.

c. Explaining errors.

The identification and description of errors are preliminaries to the much more interesting task of trying to explain why they occur. Errors are, to a large extent, systematic and, to a certain extent, predictable.

Errors are not only systematic; many of them are also universal. In fact, most, if not all learners go through a stage of learning where they substitute the simple from of the verb for the past tense from.

52 Susan M. Gass and Larry Selingker, Second Language Acquisition (An Introductory Course), 3rd ., (New York and London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008), p. 103.

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Of course, not all errors are universal. Some errors are common anly to learners who share the same mother tongue or whose mother tongues manifest the same linguistic property.

Errors then can have different sources. Some errors seem to be universal, reflecting learners’ attempts to make the task of learning and using the 1.2

simpler. I carners commit errors of omission.

d. Error evaluation.

Some errors can be considered more serious than others because they are more likely to interfere with the intelligibility of what someone says. Some errors, known as global errors, violate the overall structure of a sentence. Other errors, known as local errors, affect only a single constituent in the sentence (for example, the verb) and are, perhaps, less likely to create any processing problems.

4.Types of Error a. Omission

Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance. Content morphemes carry the bulk of the referential meaning of a sentence: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. For example, in the sentence

Mary is the president of the new company.

The words, Mary, president, new and company are the content morphemes that carry the burden of meaning. If one heard

Mary president new company.

One could deduce a meaningful sentence, while if one heard is the of the

One couldn’t even begin to guess what the speaker might have had in mind. Language learners omit grammatical morphemes much more frequently than content words. Omission errors are found in greater abundance and across a

greater variety of morphemes during the early stages of L2 acquisition.54

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b. Additions

Addition errors are the opposite of omissions. They are characterized by the presence of an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. Addition errors usually occur in the later stages of L2 acquisition, when the

learner has already acquired some target language rules.55 According to Dulay,

Burt and Krashen suggest this manifestation of error is the ‘result of all-too-faithful use of certain rules and they suggest there are subtypes. First, regularization, which involves overlooking exceptions and spreading rules to

domains where they do not apply, for example producing the regular *buyed for

bought. As one might expect, omission, being the mirror image of overinclusion,

tends to result from the converse, irregularization. This occurs when a

productive process such as affixation is not applied, but instead the form is wrongly assumed to be an exception to the general rule:*dove for the preterite

form √dived. A second subtype of oversuppliance is double marking, defined as

‘failure to delete certain items which are required in some linguistic constructions

but not in others’. Here is an example: He doesn’t know*s me contains a

redundant third person –s on the main verb know, redundant because the auxiliary

do already carries the marker.56

c. Misformation

Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong form of the morpheme or structure. In misformation errors the learner supplies something, although it is incorrect. For example:

The dog eated the chicken.

Dulay, Burt and Krashen also give the example: I *seen her yesterday.

55 Heidi Dulay, et al., Loc. Cit., pp. 154—163. 56 Carl James, Op. Cit., pp. 107—108.

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It is indeed clear that seen for saw is use of the wrong form. What the learner who produced this error has done is not misform but misselect and should

be called misselection errors.57

A past tense marker was supplied by the learner; it was just not the right one. As in the case of additions, misformations are usually not random. Thus far, three types of misformations have been frequently reported in the literature: (1) regularizations which involves overlooking exceptions and spreading rules to

domains where they do not apply; (2) archi-forms which define as the selection

of one member of a class of forms to represent others in the class. For example,

out of the set this/that/those/these are the learner might use only one: that; and (3)

alternating forms define as fairly free alternation of various members of a class with each other.

d. Misordering

Misordering errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an utterance. For example:

He is all the time late. All the time is misordered.

Misordering errors occur systematically for both L2 and L1 learners in constructions that have already been acquired, specifically simple (direct) and embedded (indirect) questions. Students have made written misordering errors

that are word-for-word translations of native language surface structures.58

5. Causes of Error

Errors in learning foreign language are inevitable, because the rules of learners’ mother tongue are very different from the rules of learners’ foreign

57 Carl James, Op. Cit., pp. 108—110. 58 Heidi Dulay, et al., Loc. Cit., pp. 154—163.

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language. To find out why certain errors are made, we must know about sources of error that learners made.

Douglas Brown distinguishes the sources of errors into three sources, they are: interlingual transfer, intralingual transfer, and context of learning.

a. Interlingual Transfer

Interlingual transfer happened when the beginning stages of learning a second language are influenced from the native language or interference. In these early stages, before the system of the second language is familiar, the native language is the only previous linguistic system upon which the learner can draw. b. Intralingual transfer

Intralingual transfer causes within the target language itself. Researchers have found that the early stages of language learning are characterized by predominance of interference (interlingual transfer), but once learners have begun to acquire parts of the new system, more and more intralingual transfer – generalization within the target language – is manifested. As learners progress in the second language, their previous experience and their existing subsumers begin to include structures within the target language itself.

c. Context of Learning

“Context” refers, for example, to the classroom with its teacher and its materials in the case of the case of school learning or the social situation in the case of untutored second language learning. In a classroom context the teacher or the textbook can lead the learner to make faulty hypotheses about the language. Students often make errors because of a misleading explanation from the teacher, faulty presentation of a structure or word in a textbook, or even because of a

pattern that was rotely memorized in a drill but improperly contextualized.59

The similar opinion came from Peter Hubbard. He distinguishes the source of error into three parts:

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a. Mother-tongue Interference

The sound system (phonology) and the grammar of the first language assert themselves on the new language and this leads to a ‘foreign’ pronunciation, faulty grammatical patterns and, occasionally, to the wrong selection of vocabulary.

b. Overgeneralization

The mentalist theory claims that errors are inevitable because they reflect various stages in the language development of the learner. It claims that the learner processes new language data in his mind and produces rules for its production, based on the proof.

c. Errors encouraged by teaching material or method

Errors appear to be caused by the teaching process. According to those who support the behaviorist theory, error is evidence of failure, of ineffective teaching or lack of control. If material is well chosen, graded and presented with

meticulous care, there should never be any error.60

6. Goal of Error Analysis

One of the goals of error analysis is to provide the feedback value for the teacher. Sridhar said:

“The goals of the traditional error analysis were purely pragmatics-error analysis, was conceive and performed for its ‘feedback’ value designing pedagogical materials and strategies. It was believed that error analysis by identifying the areas of difficulty for the learner, could help in (i) determining the sequence of presentation of target items in textbooks and classroom with the difficulty items following the easier ones; (ii) deciding the relative degree of emphasis explanation and practice required in putting across various items in the

60 Peter Hubbard, et al., A Training Course for TEFL, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 134.

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target language (iii) devising remedial lesson and exercise is finally; (iv) selecting

items for testing learner’s proficiency.61

In addition, Dullay stated that studying learners’ errors serves two major purposes.

a. It provides data from which interferences about the nature of the language

learning process can be made; and

b. It indicates to the teachers and curriculum developers, which part of the target

language students have most difficulty producing correctly and which error

types detract most from learners’ ability to communicate effectively.62

61 Jacek Fisiak, Loc. Cit., pp. 221—222. 62 Heidi Dullay, Op. Cit., p. 138.

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In this chapter, research methodology consists of place and time of the research, method of the research, data and data source, technique of data collecting, and technique of data analysis.

A. Place and Time of the Research

The research was held at SMAN 37 Jakarta located on Jalan Kebon Baru, Tebet Jakarta the time of the research was conducted since March to April 2012.

B. Method of the research

The writer used the descriptive analysis based on quantitative and used the procedures of error analysis itself. The method is purposed to analyze problem or case happened at present. At first, she focused on the problem. Then she collected the data by giving the first grade students of SMAN 37 Jakarta an essay test and analyzed them through classifying their errors in English writing into four variables as: omission, addition, misformation and misordering. Moreover, she interpreted the data about what kind of error that mostly students made by making the percentage. The final step, the writer concluded the result of research.

C. Data and Data Source

The data source of this research is the first grade students of SMAN 37 Jakarta. There are 280-first year students from seven classes of SMAN 37 Jakarta. Then she only took X-2 class as the data source of the research based on the advice had given by vice headmaster. The class consists of 40 students. But only took 30 students who did the test. Because three were sick and seven were following the contest.

The data of the research is the students’ essay test. The students should make descriptive writing that were related to the topic given. The topic is about

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person, place or thing. The students are given ninety minutes to write descriptive

writing. (See appendix)

D. Technique of Data Collecting

To collect the data, the writer applied an essay test. The writer gives essay test to the first grade of SMAN 37 Jakarta. The students had to write a descriptive writing about the topic has been given. The procedures of the research are:

1) Firstly, she met the headmaster to get his permission to make a research in his

school.

2) One week after that she came to the vice headmaster asked about the class as a

sample that she could use it.

3) The next day, she came to the field and gave the students X-2 the essay test.

She also gave an instruction and some guidelines how to write descriptive. And the students were given the topic in that paper test.

4) Then, the students did the test in the classroom for 90 minutes.

5) Next, she collected their essay test.

6) After that, she analyzed their works in order to find the error that made by

students. Those are omission, addition, misformation and misordering.

7) Finally, she counted total error and made the percentage of error.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

The techniques of data analysis consist of:

1. Classification. After the essay test was collected. The students’ errors made

were classified based on the types of error and causes of error.

2. Coding. After classified the errors were given the code based on the types of

error and causes of error.

3. Tabulating. After the errors were given the code. The results of types of error

and causes of error were tabulated into their descriptions.

4. Calculating. After that, the results of types of error and causes of error were calculated.

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5. Percentaging. Finally, the results of calculation were used descriptive analysis technique (percentage), with the percentage from the frequency of information

and divided with number of cases. The formula is:1

P = X 100% N

Notes : P = Percentage

F = Frequency of wrong answer N = Number of sample

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33 A. Findings

1. Types of Error

The students were given the essay test to get the valid data. They were asked to write descriptive writing about people, things or place on students’ worksheet. The students’ worksheets were taken in order to get the analysis of students’ errors in their writing. Moreover, to know its result, the data analysis is taken to make the table of students’ errors. The table below is the types of students’ error in descriptive writing that is classified based on the types of error, which are made by the students.

Table 4.1

The Types of Students’ Error in Descriptive Writing Students'

Number Omission Addition Misformation Misordering Total

1 5 1 3 - 9

2 7 1 3 - 11

3 6 7 3 2 18

4 9 2 7 1 19

5 3 1 8 - 12

6 6 - 4 - 10

7 7 5 9 - 21

8 6 8 12 - 26

9 8 5 2 - 15

10 4 7 1 - 12

11 5 2 4 1 12

12 4 2 1 - 7

13 6 2 6 - 14

14 3 - 1 - 4

15 9 3 7 4 23

16 2 5 1 - 8

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Students'

Number Omission Addition Misformation Misordering Total

18 5 4 1 - 10

19 9 8 13 1 31

20 2 4 3 - 9

21 5 1 6 1 13

22 5 5 2 - 12

23 2 2 6 - 10

24 6 - 4 - 10

25 5 1 1 - 7

26 10 3 7 - 20

27 1 2 2 - 5

28 1 1 3 1 6

29 6 - 3 - 9

30 4 5 3 2 14

154 88 128 13 383

Based on the table above, it will be analyzed the errors that students made as follow:

a. Omission

Omission is the absence of an item that must be appear in a well-formed utterance. The students omit a word that should be written. The example of

student’s error in this case is “I want _ describe about my mom.” The students

omit a word, they did not write preposition. It should be “I want to describe about

my mom.” Besides, the students omit –s third singular person. For example “He often wear the glasses in the class”. It should be “He often wears the glasses in the class.”

b. Addition

Another error that students do is addition. Addition is the presence of an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. The students add a word that should not be written. The example of student’s error in this case is “He has a beautiful eyes.” They wrote an article. It should be “He has beautiful eyes.”

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Besides, the students add –ed in to infinitive. For example “And he is so glad to

followed his tour.” It should be And he is so glad to follow his tour.

c. Misformation

In students’ writing, it also found errors in misformation. Misformation is wrong form of a structure or morpheme. The students used the wrong form. The example of student’s error in this case is “Greyson has a album with the tittle "Hold on ‘til the night.” The students do misform in an article. It should be “Greyson has an album with the tittle "Hold on ‘til the night.”.” Besides, the students misselect the word. For example “Greyson is a people who has a nice smile.” It should be Greyson is a person who has a nice smile.

d. Misordering

Misordering is the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an utterance. The example is “also He has a pointed nose.” It should be “He also has a pointed nose.”

The table below is the percentage of types of students’ errors made. Table 4.2

Percentage of Types of Error

No Category Frequency of Error Percentage

1 Omission 154 40.21%

2 Addition 88 22.98%

3 Misformation 128 33.42%

4 Misordering 13 3.39%

Total N= 383 100%

The frequency of the students’ error in omission is 154 error or 40.21% The frequency of the students’ error in addition is 88 error or 22.98% The frequency of the students’ error in misformation is 128 error or 33.42% The frequency of the students’ error in misordering is 13 error or 3.39%

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2. Causes of Error

Causes of error based on Peter Hubbard, they are mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization, and errors encouraged by teaching material or method.

a. Mother-tongue interference.

The sound system (phonology) and the grammar of the first language assert themselves on the new language and this leads to a’foreign’ pronunciation, faulty grammatical patterns and to the wrong selection of vocabulary. The example is”He always sleep.” It should be “He always sleeps.” It is caused mother-tongue interference.

b. Overgeneralization.

The learner processes new language data in his mind and produces rules for its production. The example is “and my favorite things to do is touching its nose.” It should be “and my favorite thing to do is touching its nose.” And the other example is”I very very much love that song.” It should be “ I love very much that song.”

c. Errors encouraged by teaching material or method.

Errors appear to be caused by the teaching process. The example is “He is shortest than me”. It should be “He is shorter than me”.

B. Interpretation

After analyzing the data and the result, the errors that students made would be interpreted among types and causes are as followings:

There are four types of error; they are omission, addition, misformation and misordering.

Omission was the highest frequency than other types of errors because students had less vocabulary and students did not comprehend in grammar. Meanwhile, the percentage of omission is 40.21%. It means that there are 154 errors students made in descriptive writing.

Addition was the third rate in percentage of types of error. It happened because the mix of two languages in writing. Meanwhile, the percentage of

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addition is 22.98%. It means that there are 88 errors students made in descriptive writing.

Misformation is the second rate in percentage of types of error. It was caused foreign language was less used in Indonesia and sample is not taken from bilingual school. Meanwhile, the percentage of misformation is 33.42%. It means that there are 128 errors students made in descriptive writing.

Misordering is the last rate. It was caused in curriculum the grammar is not taught just the organization in descriptive text and the low attention in English language. Meanwhile, the percentage of misordering is 3.39%. It means that there are 13 errors students made in descriptive writing.

There are three causes of error; they are mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization and errors encouraged by teaching material or method.

Mother-tongue interference was the highest causes of error in descriptive writing. Students were still using Indonesian pattern and they thought in Indonesian way when they wrote in English.

Overgeneralization was the second rate. Students liked to write over generalized about their foreign language rules when they processed the new language data in their mind.

Errors encouraged by teaching material or method. Students were less given more examples about materials from teacher and less interaction between teacher and students there was not active learning.

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This chapter presents conclusion and suggestion based on the findings and interpretation.

A. Conclusion

Based on the results and interpretation, it can be concluded that the types of students’ errors in descriptive writing cover: (1) omission (40.21%), is the highest error rate; (2) misformation (33.42%) is the second highest error; (3) addition (22.98%) is the third highest error, while the least error rate made by the students in descriptive writing is misordering (3.39%). Looking at these such errors indicate that the students’ errors average of each error type is 25%. In other words, it can be concluded that the students’ ability in descriptive writing is at average level.

For the second answer on the research question which was posed in the previous chapter is that of about the causes of error in students’ descriptive writing. Now, the answer shows that mother-tongue interference (49.35%) is the highest, the second is overgeneralization (30.55%), and the last is error encouraged by teaching material or method (20.10%). Looking at various cause and the percentage of cause frequency in the students’ descriptive writing, it can be concluded that in descriptive writing, the students of SMA Negeri 37 Jakarta is highly affected by mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization, and method of teaching.

B. Suggestion

Based on the conclusion of this study, it can be delivered some suggestions go to:

 The English Teacher

 Teachers should give feedback to students after correcting and analyzing

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 Teachers should reinforce the requirements needed in writing.

 Teachers should motivate their students to keep learning and writing

though they found difficulties during the process of learning writing.

 Teachers should choose the effective way which relate to the materials.

 Teachers should give more practices to the students in learning

descriptive writing to decrease errors because students need more exercises to write in descriptive writing.

 Students

 Students should learn the grammar well.

 Students should learn the structure in descriptive writing.

 Students should practice to write in descriptive writing.

 Students should be more motivated in learning English.

 Students should focus when the teacher gives the material.

 Researchers

 Researcher can do the same research with reorder the planning better than

before to get the best result.

 Researcher can do the research further, deeper and more comprehensive in

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An Analysis On Students’ Errors In Descriptive Writing (A Case Study At The First Grade Of Sma Negeri 37 Jakarta)

ENGLISH EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING

‘SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH’ STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA

2013

Number

Classification

1

My Best Friend

I have a friend. His name is M. Zulfikri.

His eye

colour is Dark brown. His nose is

pointed. His

chair mate is Adil R.F. He is a

online game _

.

He _

shortest

than me. He can play Futsal very

well and he

can play guitar very well too. He

often wear

the

glasses in the class. His

memolize

is strong. He can

play chess like a

professional. He always sleep

1. Omission = 5

2. Addition = 1

3.Misformation= 3

My Best Friend

I have a friend. His name is M.

Zulfikri. His eyes colour is dark brown. His

nose is pointed. His chairmate is Adil R.F. He

is an online game player. He is shorter than

me. He can play futsal very well and he can

play guitar very well too. He often wears

glasses in the class. His memory is strong. He

can play chess like a professional. He always

sleeps.

2

My Best Friend

I have a friend, his name is Zulfikri. He is

my best Classmate because he is a funny boy. His

chairmate is adil Rosa Fadhilah. He is taller than

me. His hair is very smooth like a girl

hair. He

often wear

the

glasses in the class. He can play

Futsal very well. He have

_

good skill at Futsal

1. Omission = 7

2. Addition = 1

3.Misformation= 3

My Best Friend

I have a friend, his name is Zulfikri.

He is my best classmate because he is a funny

boy. His chairmate is Adil Rosa Fadhilah.

Zulfikri is taller than me. His hair is very

smooth like a girl’s hair. He often wears

glasses in the class. He can play futsal very

playing data game. He have

a good memorize

because he can lern Al Qur'an very well. He can

memorize 1 juz just _

I week. He often sleep

in

the class.

because he always spends the holiday for

playing data game. He has a good memory

because he can learn Al Qur'an very well. He

can memorize 1 juz just for I week. He often

sleeps in the class.

3

My Mom