AN ANALYSIS OF GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN WRITING RECOUNT TEXT BASED ON SURFACE STRATEGY TAXONOMY AT THE FIRST YEAR OF SMA YP UNILA BANDAR LAMPUNG

ABSTRACT
AN ANALYSIS OF GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN WRITING

RECOUNT TEXT BASED ON SURFACE STRATEGY
TAXONOMY AT THE FIRST YEAR OF SMA YP UNILA
BANDAR LAMPUNG
By
Bulqis Jolay Waway
In composing a good writing, we should notice some aspects. Grammar is
important aspect that should be mastered in order to make a well-structured
writing. In learning process, the students still made errors and mistakes, so it is
important to analyze their errors and diagnose the difficulty of the study in the
classroom.
In reference to that matter there seems to be need to analyze what are the
frequencies of the students’ grammatical errors that is the objective of this
research are to identify the frequencies of occurances of the students’ grammatical
errors based on surface strategy taxonomy that is found in their recount text.
This research applied descriptive qualitative method, where the researcher
gathered the data from the students recount text writing. The data gained were
further based on the surface strategy taxonomy in order to draw the conclusion.
Having analyzed the data, it was found that the first grade students of first

semester at SMA YP UNILA Bandar Lampung, committed four types of errors
based on surface strategy taxonomy. The highest frequency of errors based on
surface strategy taxonomy is misformation 81 items of errors or 46.7%. The
highest students’ errors frequency of each error type is misformation of verb
which is 43 errors or 53%, the second is omission of verb which is 14 errors or
20.6%, then the third is addition of preposition which is 10 errors or 59%, and the
last is misordering of phrase which is 9 errors or 100%.
Most of the students’ of class X.2 of SMA YP UNILA Bandar Lampung
committed all types errors of surface strategy taxonomy. It means that although
the students have been taught English 4 hours a week, they still have problem
with English grammar. In other words, they still commit many errors in terms of
English grammar. Therefore, English teacher should not ignore the errors
committed by the students. The teacher can give remedial teaching for the
students to improve students’ mastery in writing skill

Writing is the most difficult skill for students even though they have learnt
English for years. This can be caused by the differences between Indonesian and
English grammar. In writing recount text, the students often commit errors in
using tenses, especially past tense and also part of speech.
In reference to that matter there seems to be need to analyze what are the

frequencies of the students’ grammatical errors and what are the main resources
that may cause the errors that is the objectives of this research are to identify the
frequencies of occurances of the students’ grammatical errors based on surface
strategy taxonomy and developmental category that are found in their recount text
and to find out the possible sources of the errors. This research was conducted at
the first grade of SMA N 13 Bandar Lampung, at second semester, during
2011/2012 school year.
This research applied descriptive qualitative method, where the researcher
gathered the data from the students recount text writing and interview. The data
gained were further based on the surface strategy taxonomy and developmental
category in order to draw the conclusion.
Having analyzed the data, it is found that the first grade students of second
semester at SMA Negeri 13 Bandar Lampung, committed four types of errors
based on surface strategy taxonomy and developmental category, the highest
frequency of error types based on surface strategy taxonomy is misformation error
with 45.65% followed by ommision errors (26.23 %), addition errors (22.31%)
and misordering errors (5.79%). While based on the developmental category are:
pre-systematic stage (49.74%), systematic stage (28.62%) and post-systematic
stage (21.63%).
As for result, it can be found that the highest number of errors occurred in

misformation errors. This might show that students have more serious problems in
using tenses and part of speech and they have not comprehended the linguistic
system used in the sentences. They might also be influenced by Indonesian
grammar. And based on the developmental category the most frequent errors
occurred in pre-systematic stage. This might due to the students’ lack of
knowledge about grammar. The errors students’ produced were possibly caused
by some factors, such as; insufficient vocabulary and grammar mastery, lack of
knowledge of tenses and parts of speech, and lack of attention. In line with the
result, it is suggested that the English teachers should not ignore the errors made
by the students. The teachers can give remedial teaching for the students and
provide some tasks or exercises which enable the students to practice using tenses
and part of speech.

AN ANALYSIS OF GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN WRITING
RECOUNT TEXT BASED ON SURFACE STRATEGY
TAXONOMY AT THE FIRST YEAR OF SMA YP UNILA
BANDAR LAMPUNG

BULQIS JOLAY WAWAY
0853042006

Advisors:
1. Drs. Huzairin, M.Pd.
2. Budi Kadaryanto, S.Pd.,M.A

LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
LAMPUNG UNIVERSITY
2013

CURRICULUM VITAE
The writer’s name is Bulqis Jolay Waway. She was born in Yogyakarta on
September 4th 1989. She is the second child of a harmonious couple, Mr. Cholidi,
Sh.CN and Mrs.Devita Astra. She has two sisters, Helen Radiolen Waway and
Aida Elfira Waway.

She joined Cindrawasih kindergarten in 1995 when she was 6 years old. Then she
continued her school at state elementary school of Sawah Lama and graduated in
2002. She pursued her study at state junior high school number four Bandar
Lampung and graduated in 2005. Then she continued her school at state senior

high school number ten Bandar Lampung and graduated in 2008. In 2008, she was
accepted in Lampung University as a student of English Department at Teacher
Training and Education Faculty through Mandiri program. She accomplished her
teaching practice program (PPL) at SMAN 1 Tulang Bawang Tengah from July to
September 2011.

DEDICATION

This paper is dedicated to:
My great father Cholidi and my gorgeous mother Devita Astra.
My lovely sisters (Helen and Aida).
All my friends with whom I shared the university life with its lights and shadows (English
Dept 2008)
My beloved friends who always support me (Inggar, Desti, and Nadya)
My beloved lecturers who have given knowledge to me.
My beloved Almamater

TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

Title................................................................................................................... i
Abstract............................................................................................................. ii
Curiculum Vitae................................................................................................ iii
Acknowledgements........................................................................................... iv
Motto................................................................................................................. vi
Dedication......................................................................................................... vii
Table of Content............................................................................................... viii
List of Figure..................................................................................................... x
List of Appendices............................................................................................ xi
I . INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Problem..................................................................
1.2 Formulation of the Problems................................................................
1.3 Objectives of the Research.…………….............…….......……..........
1.4 Uses of the Research.……...................…………………………........
1.5 Scope of the Research..........................................................................
1.6 Definition of the Terms........................................................................

3
3
3

4
5

II . FRAME OF THEORIES
2.1 Concept of Writing...............................................................................
2.2 Concept of Writing Skill......................................................................
2.3 Concept of Grammar........……………….....………………………...
2.4 Concept of Error.…………..................................................................
2.5 Concept of Grammatical Errors.……………….….....……….............
2.6 Types of Errors.....................................................................................
2.7 Error Analysis.......................................................................................
2.8 Methodology of Error Analysis.………………………………...........
2.9 Concept of Recount Text……...………………………………...........

6
8
10
12
14
15

19
21
22

III . RESEARCH METHODS
3.1 Research design ...................................................................................

26

3.2 Case of Study of the Research..............................................................
3.3 Data Collecting Technique...................................................................
3.4 Research Procedure..............................................................................
3.5 Data Analysis.......................................................................................

27
27
28
28

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Results ................................................................................................
4.2 Types of Errors....................................................................................
4.3 Disscussion of Finding.........................................................................

33
34
44

V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 49
5.2 Suggestions .......................................................................................... 50
REFFERENCES
APPENDICES

1

I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
There are four basic abilities that are learned in studying English, they are

listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is one of the skills that must be
learned by the students. In writing, the learners must apply five general
components of the writing process; they are content, form, grammar, style and
mechanic. The writer thought that the composition was important for the learners
to develop their imagination in written English. Corder (1981:6) says that human
lives in imperfect world; consequently, errors will occur in spite of their best
effort. This wrong thing can also be met in learning a language. People often
produce utterances that are incorrect. Brown (1980: 15) names the learning
condition above as error. In learning English, it is common that students make
mistake or errors both in spoken or written form. According to Corder (1973),
error that students make when they learn a language is very common. It signals
the students are on stage of internalizing the rule of the language.
Lado (1981) states that the students who come into contact with a foreign
language will find some features of it quite easy and others extremely difficult.
The elements that are similar to his native language will be simple for the students
while those elements that are different will be difficult. Based on the statements
above, the students frequently got some difficulties. In other world, the students

2

sometimes made grammatical errors; in this case, they were very likely to make
errors probably because of the language habit in their mother tongue that was
sometimes slightly or absolutely different from English. 2
In composing a good writing, we should notice some aspects. Grammar is one of
important aspects that should be mastered in order to make a well-structured
writing. In learning process, the students still made errors and mistakes, so it is
important to analyze their errors and diagnose the difficulty of the study in the
classroom. Therefore, the writer used error analysis to detect the students’ errors.
It was needed because the result of the analysis would give some contributions in
attempting to decrease errors done by the students in learning English especially
in SMA YP UNILA. The title of this research is The Analysis of Grammatical
Errors in Students’ Writing Recount at SMA YP UNILA at The First Year
Students of SMA YP UNILA in year 2012/2013.
According to Sujoko (1989: 5), an error is a noticeable deviation from the adult
grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the
learner. In order to analyze the students’ error, it is crucial to make an error
analysis. By errors analysis, the students would get the correction on grammar in
their writing, so they can master English well.
In this research, the writer analyzed the students’ errors on grammar by asking
them to make recount paragraph writing. The writer wanted to know what errors
were mostly made by the students on grammar. The writer observed An Analysis
of Grammatical Errors in the Students’ Writing Recount Text of the First Year
Students of SMA YP UNILA in year 2012/2013, because in that year they had
studied about writing in English especially writing a recount text in Junior High

3

School. So, it was very important to know how many kinds of errors in writing to
help them understand writing skill well.

1.2 Formulation of the Problem
Based on the background previously presented, the writer formulated the problem
in the following question:
What errors are mostly made by the second year students of SMA YP UNILA in
writing recount text on grammar based on surface strategy taxonomy?

1.3 Objective of the Research
According to the problem formulated above, the research was conducted to find
ou grammatical errors mostly made by the students of SMA YP UNILA in writing
recount text based on surface strategy taxonomy.

1.4 Uses of the Research
This result is expected that the result of this research can have the following uses:
1. Practical Uses
a. The writer hopes that the result can be a reference for the reader or teacher, so that the
errors can be minimized.
b. The result of this study can provide information and evaluation for the students,
so they will try to avoid the same errors next time.
c. It can be useful for the teacher to improve the students’ writing skill by
analyzing the mastery of recount text.

4

d. The finding of this research by the other research to conduct farther analyzing
dealing with errors in the second language learning.
2. Theoretical Uses
The theoretical benefits of this study is to inform the student’s errors in writing
the recount text in teaching learning process.

1.5 Scope of the Research
This qualitative research focused on “the analysis of students’ grammatical errors
in their recount text writing on surface strategy taxonomy. The surface strategy
taxonomy divids into four categories; namely omission, addition, misordering,
and misformation. This research conducted at the first grade students of first
semester at SMA YP UNILA Bandar Lampung, during 2012/2013 school year.
This choice was due to the fact that English grammar had already been taught in
the previous grade.
This research was focused on analyzing and clasifying students’ errors based on
surface strategy taxonomy. The students were asked to make recount text based
on the three topics that the writer prepared; they would be asked to choose one of
them. It was conducted to know the students’ grammatical errors in writing
recount text.

5

1.6 Definition of Terms

In the effort of avoiding misunderstanding, there were some terms used in this
research which were defined here:
1.

Writing is a process of expressing ideas, feelings and thought through written
forms by arranging words, sentences and paragraph, and reinforcing the use
of structure and vocabulary that have been learned.

2.

Grammatical errors is any deviation from a selected norm of language
performance, no matter what the causes or characteristics are, the deviation
might be consideration as an error. The research purpose is to anlayze
students’ grammatical errors in recount text writing, the grammatical errors
defined as any errors appear in the students’ recount text writing.

3.

Error analysis is a technique of analyzing, classifying and describing the
noticeable errors made by the students in learning process. The analysis is
undertaken by a) Identification of the errors, b) Classification of the errors
into categories based on surface strategy taxonomy c) Calculation of the
frequency of each type of error.

4.

Recount text is the text that shares a story of what happened in the past. With
this text, a writer wants to tell the readers what (s) he or someone else
experienced. The text structure of a recount is orientation (tells the readers the
main idea and setting of the story), series of events (story develops based on
the sequence of the events) and re-orientation (summarizes the story and tells
the writer impression).

6

II.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Concept of Writing
Hartley (1962: 66) stated that “writing might, that is to say, be regarded as a form of artificial
memory, whose development should be accompanied by a deeper knowledge of the past and,
therefore, by a greater ability to organize the present and the future.”
In fact, there are some acts of writing which can be used as the basis for conceiving the meaning
of writing. Those acts of writing are in line with the development of learning to write through
which a student should pass.
According to Harmer (2004: 2), writing involves more than just producing words and sentences.
To be able to produce a piece of writing, we should be able to write a connected series of words
and sentences which are grammatically and logically linked, so that the purpose we have in our
mind suit the intended readers. In this way, it is meant that the style of language used in a piece
of writing designed for layman and people living in the village, for example should be different
from the one designed for educated people such as students, teachers, doctors, professors, etc.
Therefore, in presenting a piece of discourse we should consider the correctness of form, the
appropriateness of style, and the unity of topic.

7
Whereas discourse, as explained by Candlin (1997: viii) is a means of talking and writing about
and acting upon worlds, a means which both constructs and is constructed by asset of social
practices within these worlds, and in so doing both reproduces and constructs afresh particular
social-discursive practices, constrained or encouraged by more macro movements in the
overarching social formation. Whether style is feature of literary composition, which belongs to
form and expression rather than to the substance of the thought or matter expressed and also a
manner of discourse or tone of speaking, adopted in addressing others or in ordinary
conversation.
Writing should be done with the understanding from the past time in order to inform and express
what had happened. It should be well-organized in order to be understandable for the readers
(Harmer, 2004: 3). Just like speaking, writing is a way of communicating a message with an
intended audience. It is a means of expressing thoughts, ideas, and feelings. By writing, we may
flow out a burden occupying our mind offer our ideas and concepts to others, and share our
knowledge and experiences.
Writing is more than just public communication; it is also a way of thinking. Writing involves a
range of writer’s consciousness. When we sit down, holding a pen and facing a piece of paper
ready to write, apparently we are engaging in more than just one act of consciousness, such as
the contents of thoughts, the style of thoughts, the organization of thoughts, the purpose of
thought, and so on. These acts lead us to create a good and careful thinking, which is strongly
needed when we want to produce a good writing.

8
2.2 Concept of Writing Skill

Writing as one of the four language skills in real world contexts. It is not an activity in its own
right but one, which serves the other skills. Therefore, writing has a relation with grammar,
reading, listening, and speaking. Most students found foreign language writing are difficult; they
rarely needed to write in adult life, so they decreased the amount of writing. Swarbick (1994:
142) describes five stages of development that students need to go through in acquiring
competence in writing, i.e.: copying, reproduction, recombination, guided writing, and free
writing.
We should also consider the writing process. It is influenced by the content and the medium of
the writing. The processes are planning, drafting, editing, and final draft (Harmer, 2004: 4-6).
They are the steps if we want to compose a good writing. Before writing, we should plan what
we are going to write about and the purposes of the writing. After that, we can start to write. We
may produce a number of writing (draft) and editing in order to get the good writing – that is the
final draft.
Writing involves some activities before, when we write, and after writing. The activities before
we write include exploring ideas which could be building vocabulary, interviewing someone,
discussion, etc; and organizing ideas which could be ordering information in a paragraph, writing
topic sentences, limiting information, using a time sequence, making an idea map, categorizing
and making outline, summarizing ideas, writing titles, etc. When we write, we should develop
cohesion and style which includes connecting ideas, adding details, selecting the correct verb
tense, selecting the correct tense, and writing the first draft.

9
This is not the end of writing. After we write the first draft, we should edit and revise it. It could
be the content, form, organization, cohesion and style, and grammar. In order to produce a good
writing we should write more than just one draft. A good writing could be the fourth or fifth draft
or even more.
Hayes (1981: 368) state that in order to built a “write” or theoretical system that would reflect
the process of writing, you need to at least three things :
1.

First, you need to define the major elements or sub-processes that make up the larger

process of writing. Such sub-processes would include planning, retrieving information from long
term memory, reviewing and so on
2.

Second, you want to show how the process interact in the total process of writing. For

example, how is “knowledge” about the audience actually integrated into the moment-to-moment
act of composing?
3.

And finally, since a model is primarily tool for thinking with, you want your model to

speak to critical questions in the discipline. It should help you see things you didn’t see before.
Traditional conceptions of writing expertise are based on the view that good writing is
regardless of audience, purpose or context (Hyland, 2002: 59)
While according Brown (2001: 346) , But as you contemplate devising a technique that has a
writing goal in it, consider the various things that efficient writers do, and see if your technique
includes some of these practices. For example, good writers
a.

Focus on a goal or main idea in writing.

10
b.

Perceptively gauge their audience.

c.

Spend some time (but not too much!) planning to write.

d.

Easily let their first ideas flow onto the paper

e.

Follow a general organizational plan as they write

f.

Solicit and utilize feedback on their writing

g.

Are not wedded to certain surface structures

h.

Revise their work willingly and efficiently

i.

Patiently make as many revisions as needed.

2.3 Concept of Grammar
Trask (1999:110) mentioned that grammar is the rules for constructing words and sentence in a
particular language, or the branch of linguistics studying this. Then, Brown (2001: 362)
illustrates grammar as the system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and
relationship of words in a sentence.
The cited definitions above basically have the same meaning that grammar is defined as a system of rules
that covers morphology, syntax phonology, and semantic, for example she like swimming. This sentence
is ungrammatical because the verb must be likes. It should have morpheme –s because the sentence is in
form of the simple present tense. So morphology is very important here.

11
Every language has a grammar; indeed, every language has a lot of grammatical rules. The
function of the grammar of a language is to specify which word sequences are, and which are
not, in the infinite set of its sentences. The ideal
envisioned here is that grammar is the description of a language by means of a general definition
of ‘sentence’ in that language (Burton-Robert, 1999: 295-296).
In relation with students ‘grammatical errors, Hendrikson (1979 : 7-8) suggested that errors
involving general grammatical rules are more deserving of attention than errors involving
lexical exceptions. It is because the errors in general grammatical rules more often create
misperception than the second one.
Literally, grammar is defined as a part of language which deals with the forms and structure of
words (morphology) with their customary arrangement in phrases and sentences (syntax), and
now often with language sounds (phonology) and word meanings (semantics). In this research
the writer focuses in syntax. Based on Chomsky (1986: 27) , Syntax deals with the relation of
words to each other as component parts of a sentence, and with their proper arrangement to
express clearly the intended meaning.
Syntax looks at the rules of a language, particularly how the various parts of sentences go
together. While similar to morphology, which looks at how the smallest meaningful linguistic
units, called morphemes, are formed into complete words, syntax examines how fully formed
words fit together to create complete and understandable sentences. Understanding a language's
syntax is important for understanding what makes a sentence grammatically correct. It may be
suggested to the student that the only way to acquire correctness is to watch good usage
everywhere, and imitate it.

12
Syntax deals with a number of elements, all of which help to facilitate being understood through language.
Without rules, there would be no foundation from which to discern meaning from a bunch of words strung
together; whereas these rules allow for a virtually infinite number of sentences. Perhaps the most
important aspect of syntax is how the various parts of speech connect together. Another aspect of syntax
covers the various parts of speech that a language uses and separates the words of the language into these
groups. Each part of speech in turn has various rules that may be applied to it, and other rules that dictate
when it cannot be used. Understanding linguistic rules allows speakers and writers to effectively
communicate ideas to others.
However, the writer just focused on surface strategy taxonomy, because the writer would like to
see the errors with more highlight on the ways surface structures are altered in systematic and
specific ways.
Based on the concept above, it is clear that grammar is very essential to support the students to
know the rules, word changes and to improve English skills. It can be assumed that every
language has its own structure which is different so the sound system and how to combine words
or phrases of any language will not be the same as other language in the world. It is clear that our
aim in teaching grammar should be to ensure that students are communicatively efficient with
the grammar they have at their level. Since knowledge of grammar is essential for competent
users of language, it is clearly necessary for the students.

2.4 Concept of Error

Error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of native speaker, reflecting the inter
language competence of the learner (Sujoko, 1989: 5). The fact that the learners do make errors

13
and that these errors can be observed, analyzed, and classified to reveal something of the system
operating within the learners, led to a surge of study of learners’ errors, called error analysis,
(Sujoko, 1989: 6).
From the all explanation above, the writer concludes that errors analysis is a type a linguistic
analysis that focuses on the process of identifying, and describing the learner’s error in target
language learning.
Corder (1973) said that errors that students make when they learn language are very common.
Further, according to Dulay (1982: 138), people cannot learn without first systematically
commiting errors. By making errors, students know the correct one, and those errors can
motivate students to learn. We also have to realize that students‘ errors are the process of
learning, the students can learn from their errors. So almost all students must make errors when
they are learning English because it is difficult to separate errors in the process of learning
English.
Errors are deviation from something that has been true that can influence the understanding and
delivering message. The teacher should not see them negatively as a sign of failure but see them
positively as an indication learning happen. So, if the teacher tries to prevent students‘ errorss,
he/she never finds out what they do not know. Dullay (1982: 139) stated that an errors is caused
by the lack of knowledge of the language rules, while a mistake is the result of imperfection in
producting speech due to fatigue, inattention and slip factors. In other word, it can be said that
errors is ungrammatical utterance which refers to the language performance.
Errors are typically produced by people who do not yet fully command some institutionalized
language system (Corder, 1974: 29). The errors themselves are competence errors. According to

14
Corder, true errors are marker of the learners’ competence (Richards, 1974). Errors are caused by
deficiency in competence and a short coming in the knowledge of language learners make errors
when they have not learnt something correctly.
From the linguists’ opinion above, the writer concluded that mistake refers to the failures to use
the language system correctly caused by some factors such as carelessness, memory lapses, and
physical condition. While error, refers to the failure to use the system correctly caused by the
lack of the learners’ competence.

2.5 Concept of Grammatical Errors
James (1998: 255) states that students’ erroneous output – their composition errors in particular –
are not one remove, but two removes from the native speaker’s version. We are not only
correcting the errors into what learners want say but also correcting the errors into what the
native speakers would have said or write.
He thus challenges Corder’s claim that the data of error analysis are ‘two sentences: the
idiosyncratic sentence [produced by the learner] and a well-formed sentence [that which the
native would have produced]’. These two sentences would then be compared. This is not the
case, however. The data of error analysis comprise not two but three sentences: (i) what learner
said; (ii) what they were attempting to say; and (iii) what the NSs would have said (or written)
(James, 1998: 255).
Moreover Fotos (1993) did an experiment involving noticing. She hypothesized that noticing
would be induced to different degrees by two sorts of teaching: teacher-formed formal
instruction, and doing grammar tasks in groups. So she gave two matched groups of learners

15
grammar-noticing opportunities under these two conditions in order to find out which way is the
more effective (James, 1998: 257).
This is why analyzing learner’s grammatical errors in learning other language would be
interesting. Learning other language became difficult since the target language had different
system from the native language. This difference sometimes made the learners (in this case – the
students) make errors especially in applying the grammar.

2.6

Types of Errors

There are four most useful and commonly used bases for the descriptive classification of errors.
They are (1) linguistic based category, (2) surface strategy, (3) comparative analysis, and (4)
communicate effect. From these four taxonomies, the writer takes surface strategy taxonomy in
classifying error made by students in analysis students’ grammatical errors in writing recount
text.
According to Dullay, Burt, Krashen (1982: 155) that surface strategy taxonomy highlights the
way surface structures are altered. The learners may omit necessary items or add unnecessary
ones; they may misform items or misorder items. Analyzing errors from surface strategy
perspective holds much promise for writers concerned with identifying cognitive process that
underline that learner’s reconstruction of the language. It is appropriate to be used in analyzing
the learner’s process ion reconstructing or arranging new language.
According to Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982: 155), there are four types of errors based on the
surface strategy taxonomy, omission, addition, misformation and misordering.
a.

Omission

16
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of items that must be present in a well-formed
utterance.
Example:
1.

He is good student.

1.

She is best teacher in my school.
In utterance the students omits an indefinite article 1 for He is good student, while in

utterance 2 a definite article the is omitted for She is best teacher in my school.
b.

Addition

Addition errors are the opposite of omission errors. They are characterized by the presence of an
item which must not be present in a well-formed utterance. Dullay, Burt and Krashen, (1982:
156) they divide addition error into three types, they are as follows:
1.

Double Marking
Many addition errors are more accurately described as the failure to delete certain items

which are required in some linguistics construction, but not in others.
Example:
a. They didn’t went here.
b. I did not arrived on time.
In utterance, two items rather than one are marked for the same feature (tense in these
examples).
2.

Regularization

17
Regularization error refers to an error having exceptional items of the given class that do
not take a marker’s form.
For example:
Incorrect

correct

- Mans

: Men (plural from man)

- Buyed

: Bought (past tense from buy)

- Childs

: Children (plural from child)

The examples above are regularization errors, in which the regular plural noun and tense
markers respectively have been added to items which do not take marker.
3.

Simple Addition
Errors of simple addition refer to the addition of one element to the correct utterance.

Example:
1.

I am is a student.

2.

You can to swim in the swimming pool anytime.

In the utterance 1 the sentence I am a student incorrect sentence because add with word is.
Therefore, the correct sentence is I am a student. Moreover, in the utterance 2 the sentence You
can to swim in the swimming pool anytime is incorrect sentence because add with word to.
Therefore, the correct sentence is You can swim in the swimming pool anytime.
c.

Misformation

Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the unacceptable forms of the morpheme or
structure. While in omission errors the item is not supplied at all, in misformation errors the

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learner supplies something, although it is incorrect. There are three subtypes of misformation
errors, they are as follows:
1) Regularization Errors
Regularization errors are errors in which regular marker are used in place of irregular ones, as in
runned for ran or sheeps for sheep.
2) Archi-forms
The selection of marker of one member of a class of forms to represent other in the class is a
common characteristic of all stages of second language acquisition. The form selected by the
learner is called archi-forms.
The following examples are dealing with the use of demonstrative adjective this, that, these, and
those.
Example:
1. That cats.
2. This students.
3. These book.
4. Those table.
This type of misformation errors has been called archi- form. That should be followed by
singular forms, while these should be followed by the plural forms, and the correct form of the
examples above are as follows:
1. That cat.
2. This student.

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3. These books.
4. Those tables.
3) Alternating Form
As learner’s vocabulary and grammar grow, the use of archi-form often gives away to the
apparently free alternation of various member of class with each other.
a.

She seen her yesterday.

b.

He would have saw them.

The utterances above have incorrect verbs seen and saw instead of saw and seen respectively.
d.

Misordering Errors

The incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an utterance characterized
misordering error. Examples:
1.

I don’t know who is he.

2.

What you are thinking about?

Taking a look at both sentences above have incorrect placement of is and are. Grammatically, the
utterance should be written as follows:
1.

I don’t know who he is.

2.

What are you thinking about?

In addition to these creative misordering errors, the students have made written misordering
errors that are word-for-word translation of native language surface structure.

2.7 Error Analysis

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According to James (1998: 1), error analysis is the process of determining the incidence, nature,
causes and consequences of unsuccessful language.
As a learner, making errors in language process is very common. It
involves the making of mistakes and errors. Errors help the learners to establish
the closer and closer approximations to the system of the target language. Brown
(1980: 163) stated, “….by gradual process of trial and error and hypothesis testing, the learner
slowly and tediously succeeds in establishing closer and closer approximation to the system used
by native speakers of the language.”
The students get problems in learning English because there are many differences between
Indonesian and English in terms of grammar, vocabulary, etc.
1.

The Practical Uses of Error Analysis
Studying learner’s errors serve some benefit, particularly for the teacher. Sujoko (1989:

48) suggests the practical use of error analysis is to the teacher, they are as follows:
a.

Errors provide feedback; they tell the teacher something about the effectiveness of his

teaching materials and his teaching techniques.
b.

They show him what parts of the syllabus he has been following have been inadequately

learned or taught and need further attention.
c.

They enable him to decide whether he must devote more time to the item he has been

working on. This is the day- to- day valve of errors. But in term of broader planning and with
new group of learners.

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d.

They provide the information for designing a remedial syllabus or a program of re-

teaching.
As mentioned above, the practical use of error analysis was very significant both to the teacher
and the learner. The significance of the practical uses of error analysis was to the teacher. It
meant that he analyzed the learner’s error and corrected the error that made by the learners. For
the learners the practical uses of error analysis could facilitate them in improving the English
mastery.

2.8 Methodology of Error Analysis
Methodology is procedures in carrying out the research dealing with the technique of
collecting and analyzing the data. The writer realized that writing such kind of paper had to use
methodology.
The Methodology of Error Analysis according to S.N Sridhar (1985: 222) The first is
collecting of the data (either from a free composition by students on given theme or from
examination answer). The second is dentifying of errors (Labeling with varying degrees of
precision depending on the linguistic sophistication brought to bear on the task, with respect to
the exact nature of the deviation, dangling preposition, anomalous sequence of the tense, etc).
The third is classifying into errors types. The fourth is stating of relative frequency of errors
types. The fifth is identifying of the area of difficulty in the target language. The last is therapy
(remedial drill, lesson, etc)
The data of error analysis was taken from students’ writing of recount text. After collecting the
data, the writer and the teacher identified them in what part of errors the data belong to. In the

22
process of identifying, the writer and the teacher used the rules of English as a target language to
be the norm followed in determining the kinds of errors by the students.
Then the writer classified the errors of students’ writing based on surface strategy taxonomy. The
next step done by the writer was counting the errors, frequencies, deciding the lace of errors,
making the percentages of the errors made by the students and finding the best terrify. After that,
the writer gave the evaluation of errors that done by students and the final, the writer and the
teacher corrected the data.

2.9 Concept of Recount Text
Recount text is one of the texts that recalls and reconstructs events, experiences, and achivement
from the past in logical sequence. Some recounts are purely informative, while others aim to both
inform and entertain.
All recounts recontruct the past, but the purpose, audience and focus are according to the form
used. Many relucant readers or writers find this text type accessible and manageable because it is
generally based on fact rather than fiction.
Recounts generally follow similiar structure, but the students should be guided by the purpose for
an audience of their text in their use of the following stucture.

1. Orientation
The orientation provides all the necessary background information to enable the audience to
make sense of the text. To ensure that orientation is detailed and thorough, use the words (who,

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what, when, where, and why). The speaker needs to give information about what happend, who
or what was involved, when and where the events occured and why. An awareness of audience
and purpose will assist the author in selecting the amount of detailed needed.
2. Series of events
In series of events, the speaker tells the events chronologically. In begins from the first event,
followed by the second event. The sum of events depend on the creativity of the speaker.
Events should be selected carefully to add to the audience’s undestanding of the topic. Students
should be prepared to dicard events and details that are unimportant or uninteresting. A recount,
in most cases, is more than ‘shpping list‘ of every possible detail. Students should be guided to
select only those events that are relevant and that can be expanded through the inclusion of
specific details.
3. Re-orientation (optional)
The final section concludes the recount by summarizing outcomes or result, evaluating the
topic’s importance or offering personal comment or opinion. It can also look to the future by
speculating about what might happen next. But, not all recount closed by re-orientation. It is
optional.
According to Darewianka (1992), there are five types of recount text, they are
1. Personal Recount
2. Factual Recount
3. Imaginative Recount
4. Procedural Recount
5. Biographical Recount

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In this research, the topics of recount text were unforgettable experience, last holiday,
unforgettable birthday, so the type that was used is personal recount, because in that topic of the
their own experience, the students could express their ideas, opinions, desires, emotions, and
feelings more easily.
The definition of personal recount text according to Darewianka (1992), it tells about activities
whereas the writer or speaker involves or do by her or himself (e.g. oral anecdote, diary entry)
use first pronouns (I,we). Personal responses to the events can be included, particularly at the
end. Details are often chosen to add or humor.

Language Features that are used in Recount Text are:

1.

Simple past tense is used in most recounts, but present tense may be used to create

immediacy. For example in dairy or journal. Future tense is sometimes used in conclusion of an
immaginative or biographical recount to predict what might happen in the future, for example,“
This great tennis player will no doubt win many more tournaments“.
2.

Subject –specific terms (larvae,topography) are used to record facts and events

accurately. They also add authenticity and credibility to the tone making a recount.
3.

A range of conjunctions (because, although, while) is used to link causes within

sentences.

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4.

Time connectives (firstly, secondly, next, finally) are used to separate events into a

cohesive whole text.
5.

Adverbs (yesterday, ouside) and advarbial phrases. For example,‘In 2011, in top of

hotel‘, are used to indicate specific times and places.
6.

Specific participants (nouns and pronouns), such as Sandy Pricillia, a Beach provide

detail and credibility.

Here is the example of recount text:

Our trip to the Blue Mountain
On Friday, we went to the Blue Mountain. We stayed at David and Della’s house. It has a big
garden with lots of colorful flowers and tennis court. On Saturday, we saw the Three Sisters and
we went on the scenic railway. It was scary. Then, Mom and I went shopping with Della. We
went to some antique shops and I tried on some old hats.
On Sunday, we went on the scenic Skyway and it rocked. We saw cockatoos having shower. In
the afternoon, we went home

Here is the organization of recount text:

Our trip to the Blue Mountain
Orientation
On Friday we went to the Blue Mountains. We stayed at David and Della’s house. It has a big
garden with lots of colourful flowers and a tennis court.

26
Event 1
On Saturday we saw the Three Sisters and went on the scenic railway. It was scary. Then,
Mummy and I went shopping with Della. We went to some antique shops and I tried on some old
hats.
Event 2
On Sunday we went on the Scenic Skyway and it rocked. We saw cockatoos having a shower.
Reorientation
the afternoon we went home.

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III. RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Research Design
The strategy used in this research was descriptive qualitative. This strategy tried
to solve the problem nowadays, which had actual characteristic. Because of this
characteristic, the writer did not use the hypothesis as temporary answer to solve
the problem. The work way of descriptive qualitative was collecting the data,
arranging the data and interpreting the data. Qualitative research was concerned
with description.
According to Hornby (1995: 734) method means way of doing something.
Meanwhile, research is investigation undertaken to discover new fact, get
additional information, etc.
Based on the definition above, the meaning of research method in this study was
the way to discover new fact, get additional information. Every research had its
own method which depended on the aim of the research and the nature of the
topic.
The writer identified and classified the students’ errors based on the surface
strategy taxonomy in order to conclude it. The description in this research was
about the students’ grammatical errors in writing recount text. The analysis was
based on the data taken from the students’ writing.

3.2 The subject of the Research

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The subject of this research were the students of the first semester in the first year
of learning year 2012/2013 of SMA YP UNILA Bandar Lampung. From the
eleven classes of class X the writer only used one class, Class X2. The class
consisted of 33 students. The class was selected based on the English teacher’s
recomendation that the class had relatively low ability in English. The teacher had
also said that the students frequently made numerous grammatical errors in their
writing. Therefore the class was suitable for the purpose of this research.
The classification of this research was on surface strategy taxonomy.
3.3 Data Collecting Technique
In collecting the data, the writer had applied one instrument to elicit students’
grammatical errors. The instrument was writing test. The reason why the writer
used writing test as the instrument was that through writing the students created
their sentences and really put their knowledge of structures in their writing.
Therefore, it would be easier for the writer to analyze and classify the data. The
students had been assigned to write a recount text. The instrument was expected in
line with the scope and function.
1.

Writing test

The test was used to gather the data accurately on students’ writing. In this case
the writer gave a writing test to the students by giving three topics to be chosen,
they are: (1) Unforgettable Experience, (2) Last Holiday, (3) Unforgettable
Birthday They had to make a composition in the form of recount text writing. The
students were assigned to write a recount text that should contain approximately
100 - 200 words or around three paragraphs with at least five to seven sentences
in each paragraph, in 90 minutes. Their writing was analyzed for errors on the
basis of surface strategy taxonomy.

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3.4 Data Collecting Technique
1. Determining the subject of the research
The subject of this research was the first year students’ of SMA YP UNILA
Bandar Lampung, but the writer took only one class. Class X 2, was taken as
the subject. The class consisted of 33 students.
2. Conducting the test
The test was conducted in order to get the data of students’ grammatical errors
that were further analyzed based on the Surface Strategy Taxonomy.
3. Analyzing the data
In analyzing the data, the writer went through some important steps, namely:
recognizing errors, classifying errors, and calculating the percentage, as
described in the next point.

3.5 Data Analysis