A study on the use of articles in students` written projects of critical reading and writing i class.

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ABSTRACT
Sari, Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana. (2015). A Study on the Use of Articles in
Students’ Written Projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Writing is one of the important skills in learning English. Through writing,
students learn to make good sentences with correct English grammar. It is common to
see grammatical errors in writing because grammar has many parts that the students
must understand and master. The use of articles in English grammar seems simple but
complicated because of the various kinds of nouns following the article itself. Nonnative speakers of English must be consistent whether to use a or an and the in their
writings.
Based on this issue, the researcher focused on analyzing the errors in the use
of articles made by 10 students in Critical Reading and Writing I Class E academic
year 2014/2015 in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University. There are two research problems in this research: (a) What errors in the

use of articles are found in students’ written projects of Critical Reading and Writing
I Class? (b) What are the causes of errors in the use of articles in students’ written
projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class? This research has two objectives: (a)
to find out what errors in the use of articles found in students’ written projects of
Critical Reading and Writing I Class are, (b) to find out the causes of errors in the use
of articles in students’ written projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class are.
Document analysis was the method in this research. There were three
instruments: human, document, and interview. Human instrument was the primary
instrument, document was the second instrument and interview was the third
instrument. The errors found in students’ written projects were classified into four
types of error by Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982): omission of a or an (62 times,
52.10 %) followed by the omission of the (26 times, 21.84 %), the addition of the (16
times, 13.44 %), the addition of a or an (10 times, 8.40 %), misformation of a or an
(4 times, 3.36 %), misformation of the (1 time, 0.84 %) and misordering of a, an, and
the (0 time, 0 %). The researcher used the theory from Brown (2000), who classified
context of learning and Norrish (1983), who classified carelessness, first language
interference, translation, and error as a part of creativity as the causes of errors.
The researcher gives recommendations for English teachers, students, and
future researchers. For English teachers, it is better to give brief and detail
explanation about the use of articles to the students. For students, it is better to

deepen their understanding about the basic rules of articles and practice themselves a
lot. For future researchers, it is better to classify the causes of errors deeper based on
the types of errors and modify the instruments or the participants.
Keywords: writing, article errors, students’ written projects.

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ABSTRAK
Sari, Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana. (2015). A Study on the Use of Articles in
Students’ Written Projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Menulis adalah salah satu kemampuan penting dalam Bahasa Inggris.
Menulis memberi kesempatan bagi penulis untuk menerapkan struktur bahasa
dengan tepat. Eror dalam menulis sering ditemukan karena penulis harus
mempelajari dan menguasai struktur Bahasa Inggris. Penggunaan articles dalam

Bahasa Inggris terlihat mudah namun rumit karena terdapat banyak bentuk kata
benda yang mengikuti articles tersebut. Penutur bahasa selain Bahasa Inggris harus
konsisten dalam menggunakan a atau an dan the dalam tulisan mereka.
Menanggapi hal tesebut, peneliti menganalisis eror pada penggunaan articles
oleh 10 mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading and Writing I. Terdapat dua
permasalahan dalam penelitian ini: (a) Apa saja eror pada penggunaan articles yang
ditemukan dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading and Writing I? (b) Apa
penyebab eror pada penggunaan articles dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical
Reading and Writing I? Penelitian ini memiliki dua tujuan: (a) Untuk mengetahui
apa saja eror pada penggunaan articles yang ditemukan dalam tulisan mahasiswa di
kelas Critical Reading and Writing I, (b) Untuk mengetahui penyebab terjadinya
eror pada penggunaan articles dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading
and Writing I.
Document analysis merupakan metode dalam penelitian ini. Terdapat tiga
instrumen dalam metode ini: human, document, dan interview. Human sebagai
instrument utama, document sebagai instrument kedua, dan interview sebagai
instrument ketiga. Eror yang ditemukan dalam penelitian ini dibagi menjadi empat
tipe sesuai dengan teori yang dikemukakan oleh Dulay, Burt dan Krashen (1982): the
omission of a or an (62 kali, 52.10 %), diikuti the omission of the (26 kali, 21.84%),
the addition of the (16 kali, 13.44 %), the addition of a or an (10 kali, 8.40 %),

misformation of a or an (4 kali, 3.36 %), misformation of the (1 kali, 0.84 %), dan
misodering of a,an dan the (0 kali, 0 %). Untuk menjawab permasalahan kedua,
peneliti menggunakan teori yang dikemukakan oleh Brown (2000) tentang context of
learning dan Norrish (1983) tentang carelessness, error as a part of creativity, first
language interference, dan translation sebagai faktor-faktor penyebab eror.
Peneliti memberi rekomendasi bagi para guru Bahasa Inggris, para
mahasiswa, dan para peneliti selanjutnya. Para guru Bahasa Inggris menjelaskan
dengan rinci penggunaan articles kepada mahasiswa. Para mahasiswa lebih
memahami penggunaan articles dan banyak berlatih. Para peneliti selanjutnya
mengklasifikasi penyebab eror sesuai dengan tipe eror yang ditemukan. dan
memodifikasi instrument atau subjek yang dipilih.
Kata kunci: writing, article errors, students’ written projects.

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A STUDY ON THE USE OF ARTICLES
IN STUDENTS’ WRITTEN PROJECTS OF
CRITICAL READING AND WRITING I CLASS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana Sari
Student Number: 101214046

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015

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A STUDY ON THE USE OF ARTICLES
IN STUDENTS’ WRITTEN PROJECTS OF
CRITICAL READING AND WRITING I CLASS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana Sari
Student Number: 101214046

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
 

i
 

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ASarjana pendidikan Thesis on

A STUI}Y ON I'HE USE OF'ARTICLES
IN STUDENTS'WRITTEN PROJI,CTS OF'

CRITICAL READING AND WRITING I CLASS

tff
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P
lrilt
Ft

Is

t#

ffiq

ffi
X*d
Approved by

Advisor

Drs. Barli Bram,

.Ed., Ph.D.

January 5,2014

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A Sarjun* Pendidikan Thesis on

A STUI}Y ON THE USE OF ARTICLES
IN STUDENTS'WRITTE1Y PROJECTS OF
CRITICAL READIT{G AND WRITI}{G I CLASS

By

Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana Sari
Student Number: 1Al.214046
Defended before the Board of Examiners
on January 21,2015
and Declared Acceptable

Board of Examiners
Chairperson

: P. Kuswandono, PII.D.

Secretary

:Drs. Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D"

Mernber

: Drs.

Member

: Ch. Lhaksrnita Anandari, S.Pd., Ed.M.

Member

: Drs.

Y. B. Gunawan, M.A.

Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D.

ffi
W

Yogyakarta, January 21, 701 5
./

.{{r'rif

$i mx

Dharma University

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FIND YOUR PASSION,
AND LIVE IT!

This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved parents, Bapak Marianus Mochtar Modesir and
Ibu Wellybrorda N. Lawalu
My beloved brother, Ch. Gloria Lefriana C. Agung Modesir
 

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STATEMENT OF WORI('S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or
parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, January 21, 2074
The Writer

Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana Sari
101214046

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama

: Vinencia

Lefrianita Cendana Sari

NomorMahasiswa :101214046
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ihniah saya yang berjudul:

A STUDY ON THE USE OF ARTICLES
IN STUDENTS' WRITTEN PROJECTS OF
CRTTICAL READING AND WRITING I CLASS
besefia perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan

dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media
lain untuk keperluan akademis tanpa perlu meminta Ljin dari saya maupun
memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai
penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tangg al 2l I anuai 201 5
Yang menyatakan

(Vinencia Lefri anita Cendana S ari)

VI

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ABSTRACT
Sari, Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana. (2015). A Study on the Use of Articles in
Students’ Written Projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Writing is one of the important skills in learning English. Through writing,
students learn to make good sentences with correct English grammar. It is common to
see grammatical errors in writing because grammar has many parts that the students
must understand and master. The use of articles in English grammar seems simple but
complicated because of the various kinds of nouns following the article itself. Nonnative speakers of English must be consistent whether to use a or an and the in their
writings.
Based on this issue, the researcher focused on analyzing the errors in the use
of articles made by 10 students in Critical Reading and Writing I Class E academic
year 2014/2015 in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University. There are two research problems in this research: (a) What errors in the
use of articles are found in students’ written projects of Critical Reading and Writing
I Class? (b) What are the causes of errors in the use of articles in students’ written
projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class? This research has two objectives: (a)
to find out what errors in the use of articles found in students’ written projects of
Critical Reading and Writing I Class are, (b) to find out the causes of errors in the use
of articles in students’ written projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class are.
Document analysis was the method in this research. There were three
instruments: human, document, and interview. Human instrument was the primary
instrument, document was the second instrument and interview was the third
instrument. The errors found in students’ written projects were classified into four
types of error by Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982): omission of a or an (62 times,
52.10 %) followed by the omission of the (26 times, 21.84 %), the addition of the (16
times, 13.44 %), the addition of a or an (10 times, 8.40 %), misformation of a or an
(4 times, 3.36 %), misformation of the (1 time, 0.84 %) and misordering of a, an, and
the (0 time, 0 %). The researcher used the theory from Brown (2000), who classified
context of learning and Norrish (1983), who classified carelessness, first language
interference, translation, and error as a part of creativity as the causes of errors.
The researcher gives recommendations for English teachers, students, and
future researchers. For English teachers, it is better to give brief and detail
explanation about the use of articles to the students. For students, it is better to
deepen their understanding about the basic rules of articles and practice themselves a
lot. For future researchers, it is better to classify the causes of errors deeper based on
the types of errors and modify the instruments or the participants.
Keywords: writing, article errors, students’ written projects.
vii
 

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ABSTRAK
Sari, Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana. (2015). A Study on the Use of Articles in
Students’ Written Projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class. Yogyakarta:
English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Menulis adalah salah satu kemampuan penting dalam Bahasa Inggris.
Menulis memberi kesempatan bagi penulis untuk menerapkan struktur bahasa
dengan tepat. Eror dalam menulis sering ditemukan karena penulis harus
mempelajari dan menguasai struktur Bahasa Inggris. Penggunaan articles dalam
Bahasa Inggris terlihat mudah namun rumit karena terdapat banyak bentuk kata
benda yang mengikuti articles tersebut. Penutur bahasa selain Bahasa Inggris harus
konsisten dalam menggunakan a atau an dan the dalam tulisan mereka.
Menanggapi hal tesebut, peneliti menganalisis eror pada penggunaan articles
oleh 10 mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading and Writing I. Terdapat dua
permasalahan dalam penelitian ini: (a) Apa saja eror pada penggunaan articles yang
ditemukan dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading and Writing I? (b) Apa
penyebab eror pada penggunaan articles dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical
Reading and Writing I? Penelitian ini memiliki dua tujuan: (a) Untuk mengetahui
apa saja eror pada penggunaan articles yang ditemukan dalam tulisan mahasiswa di
kelas Critical Reading and Writing I, (b) Untuk mengetahui penyebab terjadinya
eror pada penggunaan articles dalam tulisan mahasiswa di kelas Critical Reading
and Writing I.
Document analysis merupakan metode dalam penelitian ini. Terdapat tiga
instrumen dalam metode ini: human, document, dan interview. Human sebagai
instrument utama, document sebagai instrument kedua, dan interview sebagai
instrument ketiga. Eror yang ditemukan dalam penelitian ini dibagi menjadi empat
tipe sesuai dengan teori yang dikemukakan oleh Dulay, Burt dan Krashen (1982): the
omission of a or an (62 kali, 52.10 %), diikuti the omission of the (26 kali, 21.84%),
the addition of the (16 kali, 13.44 %), the addition of a or an (10 kali, 8.40 %),
misformation of a or an (4 kali, 3.36 %), misformation of the (1 kali, 0.84 %), dan
misodering of a,an dan the (0 kali, 0 %). Untuk menjawab permasalahan kedua,
peneliti menggunakan teori yang dikemukakan oleh Brown (2000) tentang context of
learning dan Norrish (1983) tentang carelessness, error as a part of creativity, first
language interference, dan translation sebagai faktor-faktor penyebab eror.
Peneliti memberi rekomendasi bagi para guru Bahasa Inggris, para
mahasiswa, dan para peneliti selanjutnya. Para guru Bahasa Inggris menjelaskan
dengan rinci penggunaan articles kepada mahasiswa. Para mahasiswa lebih
memahami penggunaan articles dan banyak berlatih. Para peneliti selanjutnya
mengklasifikasi penyebab eror sesuai dengan tipe eror yang ditemukan. dan
memodifikasi instrument atau subjek yang dipilih.
Kata kunci: writing, article errors, students’ written projects.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks be to God, who always gives His blessings in my life so that I could
still be alive and be healthy in finishing my thesis writing. He guides me through all
of learning processes, happiness, sadness, experiences, and precious time I have got
in PBI Sanata Dharma. I also thank Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, who are always
with me whenever and wherever I am.
My deepest gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Drs. Barli Bram, M.Ed.,
Ph.D., for giving his time, advice, guidance, correction, and support so that I could
finish my thesis writing well. I would like to thank Caecilia Tutyandari M.Pd., as
my academic advisor and Truly Almendo Pasaribu, S.S., M.A., who allowed me to
use her class as the subject of this research. I would also like to thank the third
semester students in Critical Reading and Writing I Class E academic year
2014/2015, who contributed their writing as my thesis data and participated during
the interview process.
My biggest thankfulness is addressed to my beloved parents Drs. Marianus
Mochtar Modesir, M.M. and Wellybrorda N. Lawalu Amd.Kep for their love,
prayers and support up to this time. I thank my parents for giving me a lot of lessons
in my life, and for being parents, friends, and teachers for me. I would also like to
thank my brother Ch. Gloria Lefriana C. A. M., S.Pd., who always supports and
loves me.
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My special gratitude goes to PSM Cantus Firmus, especially my lovely
coach, brother, and friend, Pak Pancasona Adji (Pak Mbong), who trusts me to be
one of the members in PSM Cantus Firmus. I am grateful for the lessons, the
precious opportunities and the unforgettable experiences so that I could express my
self, increase my ability, and become a better person. I am also grateful for the
support, suggestions, and love from my brothers and sisters in PSM Cantus Firmus
especially Uli, Detha, Ria, Laras, There, Ully, Fanny, Vera, Arta, Mbak Ichan,
Mbak Lintang, Mas Yogis, Mas Louis, Adit, and Paul. I am really happy and proud
to be a part of this family. I would also like to thank my new friends from UKM
Grisadha especially Witta, Riri, and Resa, who have been supporting me until now.
My best gratitude belongs to my best friends, Lina, Nova, Regita, Memei,
Wara, and Okis, who always support and be with me until I finish my study in PBI. I
am grateful for all the togetherness, happiness, sadness, love, and unforgettable
experiences that I had during my study in this study program. Finally, I thank all
people and friends whom I cannot mention here one by one. Their support, love and
prayers help me finishing my study. God always bless them all.

Vinencia Lefrianita Cendana Sari

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………………...

i

APPROVAL PAGES ………………………………………………………...

ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ………………………………

v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ................................................

vi

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

vii

ABSTRAK ........................................................................................................

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................

ix

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

xi

LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................

xv

LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................

xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background ………………………………...

1

B. Research Problems…………………………...……….

5

C. Problem Limitation …………………………………..

5

D. Research Objectives ………………………………….

5

E. Research Benefits …………………………………….

6

F. Definition of Terms …………………………………..

7

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Description ……………………………...

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1. English Grammar Theories…………………………….

9

a. Theory of Count- Non-count Nouns ………………..

10

1) Count Nouns …………………………………….

11

2) Non-count Nouns ………………….....................

11

2. Theory of Articles …………………………..…………

12

a. The Origin of Articles ................................................

12

b. The Types of Articles ................................................

13

1) A ............................................................................

13

2) An ..........................................................................

15

3) The ........................................................................

16

4) Zero Article or ∅ .…...…………..……….……..

17

3. Theory of Errors …………………………....……....….

18

a. Definition of Errors and Mistakes ...............……......

18

b. Error Analysis ...........................................................

19

b. Types of Errors ..........................................................

20

1) A Linguistic Taxonomy ………............................

20

2) A Surface Taxonomy ............................................

22

c. Causes of Errors ……………………………….........

24

1) Context of Learning……………..….……………

24

2) Carelessness..........................................................

24

3) First Language Interference ………..……………

25

4) Translation ………………………………………

25

5) Error as a Part of Language Creativity .....………

26

B. Theoretical Framework ………………………………

26

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CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Method …………………………………….

29

B. Research Setting ……………………………………..

30

C. Research Participants ………………………………...

30

D. Instrument and Data Gathering ………………………

31

1. Human Instrument …………………………..…...

31

2. Document ……………………………….………..

31

3. Interview ………....................................................

32

E. Data Analysis Technique …………………………….

32

F. Research Procedure …………………………………..

33

1. Preparation .............................................................

34

2. Data Gathering .......................................................

34

3. Data Analysis .........................................................

35

4. Report of The Analysis ..........................................

35

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Students’ Errors ….…………………………………...

36

1. The Omission of A or An …………………………

39

2. The Omission of The ……………………………..

43

3. The Addition of A or An ………………………….

45

4. The Addition of The ……………………………...

48

5. Misformation of A or An………………………….

50

6. Misformation of The ……………………………...

53

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B. The Causes of Errors ………………………...……….

54

1. Data Presentation of the Causes of Errors in the
Use of Articles ....…….…………………….…….

55

2. Discussion of the Causes of Errors in the Use of
Articles ………………...…………………………

55

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Conclusions…………………………………………...

62

B. Recommendations …………………………………....

64

REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………

67

APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………….

69

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LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table 2.1 Table 2.1 Four Groups of Non-count Nouns ……………………...

11

Table 2.2 The Use of A ………………………………………………………

14

Table 2.3 The Use of An ……………………………………………………..

15

Table 2.4 The Use of The ……………………………………………………

16

Table 2.5 Exceptions on the Use of The …………………………………….

17

Table 2.6 The Use of ∅ ……………………………………………………...

17

Table 2.7 A Sample Linguistic Category Taxonomy ………………………..

21

Table 2.8 The Classification of Errors ………………..……………………...

22

Table 3.1 The Types of Errors and Their Examples (blank) ………………...

33

Table 4.1 The Types of Errors ………………………………………..……...

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page
Appendix A: Surat Ijin Penelitian …………………………………..….…..

69

Appendix B: Students’ Written Projects ……………………………………

70

Appendix C: The Interview Blue Print ……………….………………….…

84

Appendix D: The Interview Guideline …….………………………………..

85

Appendix E: Summary of Interview Results …………………………….….

87

Appendix F: The Interview Transcripts ……….……………………………

89

Appendix G: The Types of Errors and Their Examples ……..…………...…

101

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, there are six main sections, namely the research
background, research problems, problem limitation, research objectives, research
benefits and definition of terms. The research background deals with the reason
chosen with the topic. The research problem describes the problems to be
analyzed in this study. The problem limitation focuses on the limitation or the
problem in this research. The research objectives deal with the aims of the
research. The research benefits describe the benefits of conducting the research
for the researcher, students, English teachers, and also further studies. Finally, the
definition of terms explains several terms that are important for this research.

A. Research Background
Nowadays, English is viewed as one of the important languages in the
world. It is because English is used by almost all of the people as the international
language. In English there are four skills to be learnt: listening, speaking, reading
and writing. One of them is writing skill. In writing, students express themselves
and share what they think. According to Tiedt (1989: 2), writing is one way of
expressing what we think. We can express and deliver all of our thoughts through
writing. Therefore, writing skills should grow along with learning and thinking in
the classroom (1989: 3). Tiedt (1989: 6) also states that writing is not easy. In
writing something, the ideas are generated. This part becomes difficult because we
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need to think harder to deliver our thoughts. The problems appeared when writing
are facing the spelling, mechanics, and the time needed to write each word (Tiedt,
1989: 6).
The students of Critical Reading and Writing I Class in the English
Language Education Study Program are prepared to their next writing classes;
Critical Reading and Writing II, Academic Essay Writing and Thesis Writing
subjects in the fourth, fifth and eighth semester. Because of that, they have to take
Critical Reading and Writing I course first. Based on Panduan Akademik Program
Studi Bahasa Inggris (2011) Critical Reading and Writing I course as a projectbased class is designed to give students practice to write responses critically based
on the given texts or passages. As a critical class, the students of this class have to
write responses critically by using good English grammar. Good English grammar
will lead them to the success of this class instead of having good and critical
responses to the passages given.
In this class, they have to explore their ideas well in order to become a
good writer. Dawe and Dornan (1984: 9) say that one of the secrets of becoming a
good writer is to discover the personal method of nudging and teasing experience
and ideas into words. In other words, to become good writers the students have to
use their own way to express their ideas. In order to write correctly, students need
to become familiar with basic grammatical patterns of English (McKAY, 1985:
xviii). Based on the researcher’s experiences in previous writing classes, the use
of good English grammar was really needed. When the researcher had to write

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some written projects, the researcher needed carefulness. The researcher realized
that she made a lot of errors in her writing especially in using articles in English.
It is often difficult to decide whether an English noun needs an article
before it, and, if so, which article (a or an or the) to use. The main things to
consider when choosing an article are whether or not the noun is countable, and
whether it is definite (Writing Centre Learning Guide The University of Adelaide,
2014). After studying articles for years, many non-native speakers of English find
it challenging to use articles, especially in formal academic writing in English.
This kind of writing in general uses more nouns than other types of writing, and
every noun requires a decision about articles (Biber, Conrad, & Leech, 2002).
Learners nowadays still have problems in using a or an and the.
According to Sharpling in the University of Warwick (2013), articles a or an and
the are difficult to use because sometimes language do not have the same concept
of ‘countable’ and ‘uncountable’ nouns as in English; there is a tendency to add
articles in English where they are not required. For example, the is often used
wrongly when the noun has the general reference. It is also difficult because some
people regard the rules of article use as virtually ‘unteachable’; using articles is
such a subtle process that only native speakers can fully grasp how articles
operate. This means that even expert speakers will still make mistakes with
articles.
Non-native speakers of English must constantly think about whether to use
a or an, the, or . Making an appropriate choice—that is, a choice that does not
violate English grammar rules and delivers the writer’s intended meaning—can be

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complicated (Center for Writing University of Minnesota, 2014). It is simple to
use an article, what makes it complicated for learners is the various kind of nouns
following the article. The examples are:
(1) He killed a woman.
(2) He killed the woman.
Two examples above show different conditions. In example (1), someone
killed a woman who is not recognized by the readers. A woman in example (1)
may refer to any woman in the world. Both the speaker and the listener do not
know who exactly that woman is. Besides, in example (2), someone killed the
woman. The speaker uses the because the listener knows which specific woman
the speaker is talking about. Therefore, article the is used when both the speaker
and the listener are thinking about the same specific thing (Azar, 2009: 118).
Because the problem in the use of articles still exists, it is important to
have a research about this issue. The errors made by the third semester students in
Critical Reading and Writing I Class in the use of articles a or an and the can
define the ability of the students whether or not they can make good responses
using good English grammar. Besides, the students of this class will realize and
understand their writing skill in using correct articles.

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B. Research Problems
Considering previous explanation, there are two problems to be solved in
this research:
1. What errors in the use of articles are found in students’ written projects of
Critical Reading and Writing I Class?
2. What are the causes of errors in the use of articles in students’ written projects
of Critical Reading and Writing I Class?

C. Problem Limitation
Considering the limitation of time and resources, the researcher limits to
conduct the research for third semester students who have taken Critical Reading
and Writing I Class in 2014 of the odd semester. The researcher randomly chooses
10 written projects made by 10 students in Critical Reading and Writing I Class E.
This study focuses on the errors in the use of articles a or an and the in students’
written projects so that the researcher does not explain any further analysis on the
other issues.

D. Research Objectives
The study is conducted in order to:
1. Find out what errors in the use of articles found in students’ written projects of
Critical Reading and Writing I Class are.
2. Find out the causes of errors in the use of articles in students’ written projects
of Critical Reading and Writing I Class are.

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E. Research Benefits
This study is expected to bring beneficial results for the researcher,
students, English teachers, and also further studies.

1.

Researcher
It is useful for the researcher to know the article errors in students’ written

projects of Critical Reading and Writing I Class. This study can help the
researcher to deepen the understanding of article errors and the factors causing the
students in making those errors and also to be more careful in using articles.

2.

Students
This research is expected to help students to understand the basic rules of

English articles, to know better the use of articles, to improve their knowledge
about the use of articles and to avoid them in making errors in the use of articles
in the future.

3.

English teachers
The findings of this research can be the references for English teachers to

know the article errors in students written projects. Hopefully, by reading this
study, the English teachers can overcome students’ errors and difficulties in using
articles and find an effective teaching strategy to help the students to avoid
making article errors in their written projects.

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4.

Further Studies
This research is expected to be the references for future researchers in

conducting the relevant studies related to the use of articles in students’ written
projects.

F. Definition of Terms
In this section, the researcher will define the keywords specifically used in
the study. It is used in order to clarify the concepts and avoid misinterpretation.
1. Errors
Errors usually appeared in learning English. According to Dulay, Burt, and
Krashen (1982: 138), errors are the flawed side of learner speech or writing. A
learner may make errors in some parts of conversation in a language. It is because
a learner deviates from the rules of language. Therefore, Dulay, Burt, and Krashen
(1982: 138) state that people cannot learn language without first systematically
committing errors. In writing, students tend to make errors because they assume
that their work is correct. These errors commonly happen when students write
some sentences in the Critical Reading and Writing I Class.
2. Critical Reading and Writing I
Critical Reading and Writing I is the first subject that encourages students
to write critically. Based on Panduan Akademik Program Studi Bahasa Inggris
(2011), Critical Reading and Writing I course is designed as a project-based class
to give students practice to write responses critically based on the given texts or
passages (p. 37).

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In this course, reading and writing skills are integrated. The students are
expected to do the activities well. Students may take this course if they have
passed Basic Reading I, Basic Reading II, Basic Writing, and Paragraph Writing.

3. Articles
Leech and Svartvik (1975: 237) state that the articles are a subclass of the
determiners. Determiners are words which specify the range of reference of a
noun in various ways, e.g. by making it definite (the book), indefinite (a book), or
by indicating quantity (many books) (p. 268). In this case, articles make the
reference of a noun to be definite or indefinite as their name implied.

4. Students’ Written Projects
Students’ written projects are taken from the first written projects in
Critical Reading and Writing I Class. The topic of the students’ written projects is
technology. The written projects tell about comparison and contrast in using
technology. It consists of introduction, two or three main paragraphs, and
conclusion.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the review of the theoretical writing will be presented.
There are two sections in this chapter namely the theoretical description and
theoretical framework. The theoretical description consists of theory explanations
supporting this research. Meanwhile, the theoretical framework synthesizes the
theory explanations in the previous part. The theoretical framework discusses all
theories stated in the theoretical description as the basis to analyze students’
article errors and the causes of errors.

A. Theoretical Description
This section presents some theories related to the research: the English
grammar theories, theory of articles, and theory of errors.
1. English Grammar Theories
Veit (1986: 6) states that grammar is a person’s subconscious language
knowledge. We use our English grammar whenever we speak or write English or
understand someone else’s speech or writing. However, Heffernan and Lincoln
(1990: 6) state that grammar of the language is the set of rules by which its
sentences are made. Discussing grammar will lead us to the structure of the
sentences.
The main reason we study grammar is that we human beings are curious
and want to learn more about ourselves (Veit, 1986: 2). The study of how we
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create language can provide important insights into the nature of our minds and
the way we think. It can help us understand better what it means to be human
(Veit, 1986: 2).
Studying about grammar has practical benefits. Using the conscious
grammatical knowledge can help us to understand what we are doing and allow us
to make some choices. The knowledge of grammar can also give us a tool to
analyze our writing and a vocabulary to discuss it (Veit, 1986: 2). Studying
grammar is valuable and important in writing (Veit, 1986: 254). It is because by
studying grammar help us to understand how we have written, to think critically
about what we have done, and also to consider other choices that might have
presented ourselves. Conscious grammatical knowledge allows us for this analysis
and provides vocabulary for communicating about it (Veit, 1986: 256). Therefore,
this subchapter explains a theory supporting this research: theory of count- non
count nouns.

a. Theory of Count- Non-count Nouns
Azar (2009: 109) mentions two kinds of noun based on the countability of
the nouns: count and non-count nouns. Count noun is divided into two groups:
singular and plural. The examples of singular noun are an apple, a book and a boy.
Besides, examples of plural noun are apples, books, and boys. Thus, non- count
noun is divided into four groups: a group of things e.g. food or furniture,
phenomena of nature e.g. snow, sunshine, wind, or fire, masses of particles e.g.
salt, sugar, or coffee and an abstract concept e.g. fun, honesty, luck, or love.

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Based on their countability, Azar (2009: 109) divides nouns into two
groups: count and non-count nouns.

1) Count Nouns
Azar (2009: 109) states a count noun is an item that can be counted. Count
noun can be still divided into singular if the noun is single or the quantity of the
item is only one. The examples of singular noun are an apple or a boy. The use of
articles a and an here is important because it shows that the item is singular.
Meanwhile, apples and boys are classified into plural nouns. In the plural form,
the items are more than one so that the form takes a final ‘–s’ or ’-es’. Plural
nouns have another form which is called irregular plural form. The examples are
‘child’ becomes ‘children’ or ‘fish’ becomes ‘fish’.

2) Non-count Nouns
Azar (2009: 110) states non-count nouns are nouns that cannot be counted.
The examples of non-count nouns are written in Table 2.1 below.

Table 2.1 Four Groups of Non-count Nouns
Number
1.
2.
3.
4.

Groups
A group of things
Phenomena of nature
Masses of particles
An abstract concept

Examples
Food, furniture
Snow, sunshine, wind, or fire
Salt, sugar, or coffee
Fun, information, advice, or news

In other words, based on their countability, nouns are divided into two
groups: count and non-count nouns. The count noun themselves can still be

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classified as the singular and plural nouns. Meanwhile, non-count nouns are
classified into nouns representing a whole group of thing, phenomena in nature,
whole masses, and abstract concepts.

2. Theory of Articles
According to Azar (2009: 114), there are three types of articles: a, an, and
the. Those three articles are used in different conditions which mainly depend on
the nouns after the articles. Nonetheless, there is also a condition when a noun
does not need any article. Azar (2009: 114) uses the symbol ∅ to help the students
in visualizing such condition. Meanwhile, a, an, the, and ∅ are used in different
conditions. It will be explained on the next subchapters.

a. The Origin of Articles
Articles are important in English. It is stated by Berry (1994: vi) that
articles give structural information. Articles tell that a noun is following in the
sentence. Changing one article for another can often cause misunderstanding. For
example, ‘I like English’ (the language), when someone means ‘I like the English’
(the people).
According to Azar (2009: 114), there are three articles in English: a and an
which are called the indefinite article and the which is called the definite article.
The was developed from a word which has much the same meaning as the
demonstrative that. That is more emphatic in pointing something out and a and an
were developed from a word means one. Hayden, Pilgrim, and Haggard (1961:

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155) give further explanation about one, sometimes when one is in the sense of a
single unit or item one cannot be substituted for the indefinite article without
changing the meaning.
Leech and Svartvik (1975: 237) state that the articles are a subclass of the
determiners. Determiners are words which specify the range of reference of a
noun in various ways, e.g. by making it definite (the book), indefinite (a book), or
by indicating quantity (many books) (p. 268). In this case, articles make the
reference of a noun to be definite or indefinite as their name implied.

b. The Types of Articles
After knowing the origin of articles, it is important to know the differences
among the articles. This subchapter represents four types of articles: a, an, the,
and zero article or ∅.

1) A
Article a is basically used for singular nouns which begin with consonant
sounds. Besides, article an is used if the nouns begin with vowels or diphthong
sounds. The explanation of article an will be presented in the next discussion
while the detailed use of a is provided in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 shows the use of article a before (1) singular generic nouns and
(2) singular indefinite nouns as the examples (3), (4), (5), and (6). Those singular
generic and indefinite nouns are begun with consonant. Azar (2009: 114) uses
generic nouns to make generalizations. A generic noun represents a whole class of

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things. It is not a specific, real, concrete thing, but rather a symbol of a whole
group. Therefore a banana in examples (3) and (5) represent all bananas in the
world, not a specific banana.
Meanwhile, an indefinite noun is an actual thing (not a symbol), but it is
not specifically identified. In example (5), the speaker is simply saying that she or
he ate one banana. The speaker is not referring to ‘this banana’ or ‘that banana’ or
‘the banana you gave me’. The listener does not know which specific banana was
eaten; it was simply one banana out of all bananas. In examples (4) and (6), the
word a university may refer to any university in the world. The speaker knows the
reference, yet the listener does not know clearly which university is.
Thus, article a can be used either singular generic nouns or singular
indefinite nouns started with consonant letter. In example (3) a banana is
obviously started with consonant ‘b’ and it is pronounced /b/ so that the article a is
used. In example (4), although a university is started with a letter u which is
basically spelled as a vowel, its phonetic transcription is started with /ju฀/.
Therefore, article a is needed.

Table 2.2 The Use of A
Articles

Countability

Reference

Generic
A

Singular

Indefinite

Examples
(3) A banana is
yellow
(4) A university is
for undergraduate
and postgraduate
students.
(5) I ate a banana
(6) I study in a
university

Phonetic
Transcription
/ə bə n :nə/

/ə ju:nɪ vɜ:.sɪ.ti/

/ə bə n :nə/

/ə ju:nɪ vɜ:.sɪ.ti/

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2) An
Article an has the same functions with article a, but it is used in the
beginning of nouns which have a special sound. The information related to the use
of article an is provided in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3 The Use of An
Articles

Countability

Reference

Generic
An

Singular
Indefinite

Examples
(7) An apple is red
(8) An hour is sixty
minutes
(9) I ate an apple
(10) It is an honor
for me to stand here

Phonetic
Transcription
/ən æpl/
/ən aʊər/
/ən æpl/
/ən nə/

It has been described before that article a and an have the same functions
to show singular generic nouns or singular indefinite nouns. The difference is on
the beginning sound of the nouns. In example (7) the word apple is started with
vowel sound. Besides, the first letter of the noun is a consonant letter such an
example (8), article an is used since the word hour is read /aʊər/ in which the first
sound is the diphthong /aʊ/.
The examples (7) and (8) represent all apples and the standard of an hour
in the world. Generic noun does not refer to a specific thing, but to a class of
things. Meanwhile, those words in examples (9) and (10) use articles an as the
listener may not share the same reference as that of the speaker.

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3) The
Different from the previous articles, the is not affected by the first sound
of the nouns. The use of the is usually influenced by the reference of the nouns.
The example and the detailed of the is provided in Table 2.4.

Table 2.4 The Use of The
Articles
The

Countability
Singular
Plural
Noun-count

Reference
Definite

Examples
(11) Thank you for the umbrella
(12) Thank you for the bananas
(13) Thank you for the fruit.

Table 2.4 shows that the countability and the first sound of a noun do not
affect the use of the. It is supported in examples (11), (12), and (13). In example
(11) the word umbrella is a singular noun and it is started with vowel sound. On
the other hand, in example (12), the word bananas is plural and started with
consonant sound. All the examples (11), (12), and (13) show that the speaker uses
the in front of the words umbrella, bananas, and fruit. The speaker uses the
because the listener knows which specific umbrella, banana, and fruit the speaker
is talking about. Therefore, article the is used when both the speaker and the
listener are thinking about the same specific thing.
There is also an exception in using the. Azar (2009: 118) states that the is
used for several singular generic count noun such as species of animals,
inventions, and musical instruments. The exceptions in the use of the