An error analysis on the ninth year students` report texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta.

vii

ABSTRACT

Wijaya, Yunita. 2012. An Error Analysis on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta. English Language Education Study

Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Writing is considered among four skills that learners need to develop. In order to enhance the writing skill, Junior high school students should be able to produce several kinds of text that accomplish social purposes as mentioned in the basic competence of writing skill. From several kinds of text, the ninth grade students are expected to produce a text, namely Report text. Obviously, when students write, they will come up with errors. In fact, the errors tells a great deal about evidence of the students’ learning processes.

Considering the phenomenon, the researcher attempts to carry out a study. The research problem of this study is as follows: What are the common errors that ninth year students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta produce in writing Report texts in terms of content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics? The teachers will find it beneficial since they can know the students’ difficulties of learning and improve the methods of teaching. Learning from the research, the researcher as a future English teacher can employ strategies of dealing with errors when assisting students in writing so that they do not become the single focus in students’ pieces of writing.

To answer the research problem, the researcher adapted document analysis. The instrument of the research was a checklist proposed by Tribble (1996), of course, with modification so as to be relevant for this study. The checklist consisted of categories of errors, grouped into the following: content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. Each category had several subdivisions. The students’ documents of Report text became the data collection. Step by step of analysis was described. First, the researcher grouped the errors into categories and subcategorizations. The second step was analyzing the data by calculating the total number of errors commited by all participants in five categories stated previously. Third, drawing a chart was needed to clarify the results. Lastly, the researcher drew conclusion of the common errors from the chart presentation and discussed the kinds of the errors further.

This study finally revealed the findings. It could be inferred that the students made frequent errors mostly in grammar as the first place and organization as the second place since the two had the highest number of errors compared to mechanics, content, and vocabulary. To sum up, both grammar and organization became the most difficult areas of students’ learning in writing report texts.

viii

ABSTRAK

Wijaya, Yunita. 2012. An Error Analysis on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Menulis merupakan salah satu diantara empat keterampilan berbahasa yang perlu dikembangkan oleh siswa. Dalam rangka meningkatkan kemampuan menulis, siswa SMP harus dapat menghasilkan beberapa jenis teks yang memiliki fungsi sosial sebagaimana yang disebutkan dalam kompetensi dasar keterampilan menulis. Dari beberapa jenis teks, siswa kelas sembilan diharapkan mampu menghasilkan sebuah jenis teks yaitu Report text. Tidak dapat dipungkiri, ketika siswa menulis, mereka akan membuat kesalahan. Sesungguhnya, kesalahan tersebut memberitahukan sejauh mana proses belajar siswa.

Mengingat fenomena tersebut, penyusun bermaksud melaksanakan sebuah penelitian yang bertujuan menjawab masalah penelitian sebagai berikut: Apa saja kesalahan yang sering muncul dalam karangan Report text yang ditulis oleh siswa kelas sembilan SMP N 2 Yogyakarta dari segi isi, organisasi, tata bahasa, kosakata, dan mekanika menulis? Dengan adanya penelitian ini, guru dapat mengetahui kesulitan belajar siswa dan meningkatkan metode pengajaran. Peneliti dapat mengambil manfaat dari penelitian ini dimana kelak sebagai calon guru bahasa Inggris dapat mencari strategi dalam membimbing siswa menulis agar kesalahan tersebut tidak menjadi satu-satunya fokus dalam karangan siswa.

Untuk menjawab permasalahan dalam penelitian, penulis mengadaptasi

document analysis. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah checklist yang dirumuskan oleh Tribble (1996), tentu saja, dengan sedikit modifikasi agar relevan dengan penelitian ini. Checklist tersebut berisi kategori kesalahan yang tergolong dalam: isi, organisasi, tata bahasa, kosakata, dan mekanika menulis. Setiap kategori memiliki beberapa subdivisi. Karangan siswa yang berupa Report text merupakan kumpulan data. Langkah analisis sebagai berikut. Pertama, mengelompokkan kesalahan ke dalam kategori dan subkategori. Kedua, menganalisis data dengan menghitung jumlah total kesalahan dalam lima kategori yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya oleh penulis.Ketiga, menggambar diagram untuk menguraikan hasil penghitungan. Terakhir, menarik kesimpulan dari presentasi diagram dan mendiskusikan lebih lanjut jenis Kesalahan yang dibuat siswa dalam karangan.

Penelitian ini akhirnya membuahkan hasil penemuan. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa siswa sering membuat kesalahan terutama dalam tata bahasa pada urutan pertama dan organisasi pada urutan kedua karena keduanya memiliki jumlah kesalahan yang tertinggi dibandingkan dengan kesalahan pada mekanika menulis, isi, dan kosakata. Singkatnya, kesulitan pada tata bahasa dan organisasi sangat dialami siswa dalam menulis karangan Report text.

AN ERROR AN

REPOR

Presente to

ENGLISH L DEPARTME FACULTY O

NALYSIS ON THE NINTH YEAR ST

RT TEXTS OF SMP N 2 YOGYAKAR

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

nted as Partial Fulfillment of the Requiremen to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Yunita Wijaya

Student Number: 081214100

LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROG MENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCA Y OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCA

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2012

STUDENTS’

ARTA

ents

OGRAM CATION CATION

i

AN ERROR ANALYSIS ON THE NINTH YEAR STUDENTS’

REPORT TEXTS OF SMP N 2 YOGYAKARTA

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Yunita Wijaya

Student Number: 081214100

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

vii

ABSTRACT

Wijaya, Yunita. 2012. An Error Analysis on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta. English Language Education Study

Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Writing is considered among four skills that learners need to develop. In order to enhance the writing skill, Junior high school students should be able to produce several kinds of text that accomplish social purposes as mentioned in the basic competence of writing skill. From several kinds of text, the ninth grade students are expected to produce a text, namely Report text. Obviously, when students write, they will come up with errors. In fact, the errors tells a great deal about evidence of the students’ learning processes.

Considering the phenomenon, the researcher attempts to carry out a study. The research problem of this study is as follows: What are the common errors that ninth year students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta produce in writing Report texts in terms of content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics? The teachers will find it beneficial since they can know the students’ difficulties of learning and improve the methods of teaching. Learning from the research, the researcher as a future English teacher can employ strategies of dealing with errors when assisting students in writing so that they do not become the single focus in students’ pieces of writing.

To answer the research problem, the researcher adapted document analysis. The instrument of the research was a checklist proposed by Tribble (1996), of course, with modification so as to be relevant for this study. The checklist consisted of categories of errors, grouped into the following: content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. Each category had several subdivisions. The students’ documents of Report text became the data collection. Step by step of analysis was described. First, the researcher grouped the errors into categories and subcategorizations. The second step was analyzing the data by calculating the total number of errors commited by all participants in five categories stated previously. Third, drawing a chart was needed to clarify the results. Lastly, the researcher drew conclusion of the common errors from the chart presentation and discussed the kinds of the errors further.

This study finally revealed the findings. It could be inferred that the students made frequent errors mostly in grammar as the first place and organization as the second place since the two had the highest number of errors compared to mechanics, content, and vocabulary. To sum up, both grammar and organization became the most difficult areas of students’ learning in writing report texts.

viii

ABSTRAK

Wijaya, Yunita. 2012. An Error Analysis on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Menulis merupakan salah satu diantara empat keterampilan berbahasa yang perlu dikembangkan oleh siswa. Dalam rangka meningkatkan kemampuan menulis, siswa SMP harus dapat menghasilkan beberapa jenis teks yang memiliki fungsi sosial sebagaimana yang disebutkan dalam kompetensi dasar keterampilan menulis. Dari beberapa jenis teks, siswa kelas sembilan diharapkan mampu menghasilkan sebuah jenis teks yaitu Report text. Tidak dapat dipungkiri, ketika siswa menulis, mereka akan membuat kesalahan. Sesungguhnya, kesalahan tersebut memberitahukan sejauh mana proses belajar siswa.

Mengingat fenomena tersebut, penyusun bermaksud melaksanakan sebuah penelitian yang bertujuan menjawab masalah penelitian sebagai berikut: Apa saja kesalahan yang sering muncul dalam karangan Report text yang ditulis oleh siswa kelas sembilan SMP N 2 Yogyakarta dari segi isi, organisasi, tata bahasa, kosakata, dan mekanika menulis? Dengan adanya penelitian ini, guru dapat mengetahui kesulitan belajar siswa dan meningkatkan metode pengajaran. Peneliti dapat mengambil manfaat dari penelitian ini dimana kelak sebagai calon guru bahasa Inggris dapat mencari strategi dalam membimbing siswa menulis agar kesalahan tersebut tidak menjadi satu-satunya fokus dalam karangan siswa.

Untuk menjawab permasalahan dalam penelitian, penulis mengadaptasi

document analysis. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah checklist yang dirumuskan oleh Tribble (1996), tentu saja, dengan sedikit modifikasi agar relevan dengan penelitian ini. Checklist tersebut berisi kategori kesalahan yang tergolong dalam: isi, organisasi, tata bahasa, kosakata, dan mekanika menulis. Setiap kategori memiliki beberapa subdivisi. Karangan siswa yang berupa Report text merupakan kumpulan data. Langkah analisis sebagai berikut. Pertama, mengelompokkan kesalahan ke dalam kategori dan subkategori. Kedua, menganalisis data dengan menghitung jumlah total kesalahan dalam lima kategori yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya oleh penulis.Ketiga, menggambar diagram untuk menguraikan hasil penghitungan. Terakhir, menarik kesimpulan dari presentasi diagram dan mendiskusikan lebih lanjut jenis Kesalahan yang dibuat siswa dalam karangan.

Penelitian ini akhirnya membuahkan hasil penemuan. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa siswa sering membuat kesalahan terutama dalam tata bahasa pada urutan pertama dan organisasi pada urutan kedua karena keduanya memiliki jumlah kesalahan yang tertinggi dibandingkan dengan kesalahan pada mekanika menulis, isi, dan kosakata. Singkatnya, kesulitan pada tata bahasa dan organisasi sangat dialami siswa dalam menulis karangan Report text.

ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to greatly thank the Almighty Jesus, for His

wonderful blessings in my life. His power strenghthen me in troubled times when

dealing with my thesis. I am deeply indebted to Him, who has given me all that I

need through the help given by the people surround me.

I would like to acknowledge the enormous help given to me in writing this

thesis. My greatest gratitude goes to my sponsor, Caecilia Tutyandari, S.Pd.,

M.Pd. for her invaluable assistance, attention, and patience in the preparation of

the various drafts of the thesis. The thesis could not have been completed without

her encouragement. I specially thank Drs. Barli Bram, M. Ed., Ph.D. for his

willingness to check and proofread my thesis. I thank all lecturers of the English

Language Study Program for their valuable lecturing along my study. I would also

express my thanks for the secretariat staff at the English department of Sanata

Dharma and all librarians who have assisted me during the completion of the

thesis.

I would like to address my thanks to my beloved people in my life. My

biggest gratitude goes to my parents, Albertus Murwiyoko and Yohana Sukemi

for their love, support, care, prayer, encouragement, and precious times spent

together. I also thank my big family for their sympathy and prayer. I would like to

mention my boyfriend, Ranggi Radix. I thank him for his love, care, support, and

x

The special thanks I address to all friends in PBI 2008. I thank them for

supporting me with sincere friendship. Several names I would like to single out.

They are Agung, Siska, Enda, Enjel, Vincent, Mas Yoko, Seto, Lia, Rio, Jeni, and

others who I cannot mention one by one. I also express my deepest thanks to Dita,

Grace, Ika, Prisca, Jastia, Dinda, Monik, Diah, Mia, B, and Xenia. I am so grateful

for sharing times and queuing for consultations.

I would like to express gratitude to the big family of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta.

My great appreciation goes to the headmaster and the teachers of of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta who has provided time and place to conduct study there. I would like

to thank the students of the ninth grade of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta, who have been

very helpful in the process of gaining the data for the study.

Lastly, I would like to give my appreciation to those whose names I cannot

mention all. I specially thank for their contribution in helping me write the thesis.

Sincerely,

xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGES ... ii

DEDICATION PAGE ... iv

STATEMENTS OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi

ABSTRACT ... vii

ABSTRAK ... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi

LIST OF TABLES ... xiv

LIST OF FIGURES ... xv

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xvi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. Research Background... 1

B. Research Problems ... 4

C. Problem Limitation ... 4

D. Research Objectives ... 5

E. Research Benefits ... 5

F. Definition of Terms ... 6

xii

A. Theoretical Description ... 9

1. Theories of Error... 9

a. Definitions of Error... 9

b. Levels and Types of Error ... 10

2. Theories of Error Analysis ... 11

3. Theories of of Writing ... 12

a. Definitions of Writing ... 12

b. The Nature of Writing ... 13

c. The Principles of Teaching Writing ... 14

d. Elements of Writing ... 18

4. Report Texts ... 28

B. Theoretical Framework ... 31

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY... 33

A. Research Method ... 33

B. Research Setting ... 34

C. Research Participants ... 34

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ... 35

E. Data Analysis Technique ... 36

F. Research Procedure ... 37

CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ... 39

A. Data Presentation & Discussion of Common Errors on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta... 39

xiii

a. Omission of General Classification ... 42

2. Errors in Organization ... 43

a. Errors in Topic Sentences of Paragraphs ... 45

b. Errors in Supporting Sentences of Paragraphs ... 46

c. Errors in Coherence ... 48

3. Errors in Grammar ... 52

a. Errors in Singular-plural ... 55

b. Errors in Tense ... 59

c. Errors in Word Order ... 60

d. Errors in Article ... 61

e. Errors in Pronoun ... 62

f. Errors in Preposition ... 64

4. Errors in Vocabulary ... 65

a. Errors in Word Choice ... 66

5. Errors in Mechanics ... 67

a. Errors in Spelling ... 67

b. Errors in Punctuation ... 68

c. Errors in Capitalization ... 71

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 72

A. Conclusions ... 72

B. Recommendations ... 73

REFERENCES ... 75

xiv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Errors in Content Found in the Students’ Report Texts ... 42

2. Errors in Organization Found in the Students’ Report Texts ... 43

3. Errors in Grammar Found in the Students’ Report Texts ... 53

4. Errors in Vocabulary Found in the Students’ Report Texts ... 66

xv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. The Chart of the Total Number of Errors on the

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

Appendix A ... 78

Letter of Permission ... 79

Appendix B ... 80

List of Names of the Ninth Grade Students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta ... 81

Appendix C ... 84

Examples of the Ninth Grade Students’ Report Texts ... 85

Appendix D ... 87

A Checklist of Data Gathering ... 88

Appendix E ... 91

Common Errors on the Ninth Year Students’ Report Texts of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta ... 92

Appendix F ... 174

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts ... 175

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter is going to provide the readers with the basic information and

rationale of the research related to the subject matter. It consists of six major

concerns, namely, research background, research problem, problem limitation,

research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms.

A. Research Background

Being a global language, English is compulsory for Indonesian students.

English plays an essential role in educational field that Indonesian government

puts English in the school curriculum as the first foreign language to be taught.

Thus, students are expected to acquire knowledge and participate in the process of

learning English so that they are able to comprehend English well.

The ultimate goal of learning English as a foreign language is to support

students with the English mastery and enable them to participate using English in

academic setting. To achieve the goal of learning English, the students are

required to learn such English elements as grammar, vocabulary, and

pronunciation, and the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

According to Hyland (2003), writing is among the most important skills that

foreign language students need to develop. When dealing with writing, the

students have to make the best use of sentences to express their messages. When

spoken language to communicate, the purpose of writing is also to make readers

understand.

Considering that writing is an important skill, Junior high school students

have to produce pieces of writing. In enhancing writing skill, the students are

expected to be able to produce texts that accomplish social purposes. To do so, the

students should follow certain social conventions to organize messages in order

that the readers can recognize the purpose of writing.

According to the Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Republik Indonesia, number 22, 2006, the basic competence of writing skill of the ninth grade students in the second semester is that the students are able to express

meaning and rhetoric steps on a simple short essay to interact with the

environment nearby. One of the genres that ninth graders must learn is Report

texts. That is why Report texts are chosen to be the object of this study since this

kind of text is firstly introduced to the ninth year students. Learning to write

simple essay, the ninth year students should understand the textual features of

Report texts. In writing Report texts, the students should be able to present factual

information by classifying and describing the subject matter.

Language learning, like children learning to walk, is a process. It is not a

simply instant product. As learners learn English as a foreign language, the junior

high students whose mother tongue is not English, producing good pieces of

writing is sometimes difficult to do since they have to consider many things

3

Due to the students’ difficulty in producing a good writing, students will

come up with errors. Ellis (1997) stated, errors are actually a “conspicuous”

feature of learning (p.17). They exist in almost all language skills including

writing. When breaking the rules, the students will produce unwell-formed

compositions.

Concerning the phenomenon, the researcher proposes a research that deals

with errors. The researcher adapts the categories of writing elements which are

elaborated in checklist, developed by Tribble (1996) as a guidance for specifying

the categorizations of error. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the common

errors of written Report text composed by the ninth grade students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta in terms of content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and

mechanics.

SMP N 2 Yogyakarta was selected since it was the school where the

researcher did teaching practice in seventh semester. The researcher, therefore,

got a big opportunity and an easy access to conduct research there. Since Report

texts are firstly introduced in the third year of Junior high school, the researcher

selected the ninth grade students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta to be the participants of

this research.

The researcher is interested in conducting the research because of the

following reasons. First, finding out the frequent errors of the ninth year students’

Report texts in the categories of content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and

mechanics. It tells a great deal about evidence of the students’ learning processes

language which cause the students’ learning difficulties in writing, especially

writing Report texts and improve the methods of teaching and learning in order to

assist students to achieve successful writing. Furthermore, the researcher can learn

from this research. As a future English teacher, the researcher can devise ways of

dealing with errors so that they do not become the sole focus of the students’

pieces of writing. Errors as signs of learning rather than unforgivable errors.

Being a teacher, the researcher should not search for errors but see the students’

areas of writing to which they need to give special attention.

B. Research Problems

The researcher formulates one research problem in this study. The research

problem is as follows:

What are common errors that ninth year students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta produce

in writing Report texts in terms of content, organization, grammar, vocabulary,

and mechanics?

C. Problem Limitation

This research focuses on writing skill. In creating good compositions of

writing, there are many things to be considered. Due to the students’ difficulty in

producing a good writing, the students will commit errors. Therefore, the research

also focuses on the common errors that ninth grade students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta committed in composing Report texts. The errors are classified into

content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics, adapted from

5

D. Research objectives

In relation to the research problems, the objectives of the research are to

answer the questions formulated in the research problem. Since there is one

research problem, there will be one research objective in this study. It is an

attempt to discover the common errors made by the ninth grade students in

writing Report text by analyzing and classifying the common errors of students’

writing in terms of five categories. They are content, organization, grammar,

vocabulary, and mechanics. Thus, the students’ weaknesses in writing Report can

be seen clearly.

E. Research Benefits

This study is expected to give positive contributions to the ninth year

students, the English teacher of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta, and the researcher. First,

the researcher expects that the errors work for the students in which they can use

their errors as the tool to better themselves in writing Report. By knowing the

students’ common errors in some the features of language, the teacher can give

more emphasis on which. In addition, the teacher can improve the methods of

teaching and learning in order to enhance the students’ writing skill especially in

Report text. On the other hand, the researcher as a future English teacher can

F. Definition of Terms

In this section, the researcher discuss several definition of terms related to

the study. They are errors, writing, report texts, ninth grade students, and SMP N

2 Yogyakarta.

1. Errors

Ellis (1997) differentiated between mistakes and errors. It can be called

mistakes when the students are able to recognize of producing items and

self-correct the items they make if they are pointed to the students. Whereas, errors are

deviant items that are not recognized by the students as errors and may occur

repeatedly in the students’ outcome.

Ellis (1997) stated that errors are actually a “conspicuous” feature of

learning (p.17). The learners commit errors in almost all language skills including

writing. As learners do not know how to correct the errors unaided, they will

produce poor writing.

Here, the researcher focuses on learners’ errors of their report texts

construction which are classified into errors in grammar, sentence organization

and coherence, word choice, and the mechanics.

2. Writing

According to Davies (2003), writing involves cognitive skills. First, it

includes gathering information and ideas relevant to the topic and discarding what

is not relevant. The second one is organizing the information and ideas into

logical sequences. The third one is structuring the sequence into paragraphs. The

7

Whether producing a good pieces writing, those skills are more or less

experienced by th ninth year students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta.

3. Report Text

Provided by Board of Studies (1998), the Information Report or what is

so-called Report text is socially purposed to present factual information about an

entire class of thing or animal (mammals, transport, computers, etc). It starts with

classifying the subject matter and then describing its characteristics. The

organization of a Report starts with general classification. In this part, stating the

classification of general aspects of the things or phenomena will be discussed in

general. The next part is description which elaborates the description of things or

phenomena in detail. The language features of Report are focusing on generic

participants, using simple present tense, and logical connection.

4. The Ninth Grade Students

The ninth grade students refer to the students in the third grade of junior

high school. In this research, the students come from SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. The

age range of the students is about 14-15 years old.

5. SMP N 2 Yogyakarta

SMP N 2 Yogyakarta is a school located in Jalan Senopati No.28 – 30

Yogyakarta. There are seven classes on each grade with the total number of

students up to 215 students. There is also an acceleration class which consists of

twenty-three students. In the acceleration class, the students only need to take two

learning process going efficiently. They are language laboratory, computer media,

9 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Chapter II aims at discussing the theoretical review related to the research

study. The chapter covers both theoretical description and theoretical framework.

The theoretical description presents theories that are fundamental and relevant to

the study. On the other hand, the implementation of the theories in this study is

clarified in the theoretical framework in which the researcher summarizes and

synthesizes all major relevant theories that enable the researcher to answer the

research problems.

A. Theoretical Descriptions

The theoretical description comprises of definitions of errors, theories of

error, theories of error analysis, theories of writing, and report texts.

1. Theories of Error

Since the research deals with errors, it is necessary to review some theories

related to errors the becomes the references for the study. In this section, the

researcher elaborates definitions of error and levels and types of error.

a. Definitions of error

Since errors are parts of the process of the learner’s second language

acquisition, knowing what errors are is important in the study. Therefore, the

researcher refers to some definitions proposed by some linguists.

Errors are different from mistakes. Differentiating between errors and

output that might not be intended by the learners and which can usually be

corrected if they are pointed out to the learners. Errors, in contrast, are deviant

items which were intended by the learners. It is usually difficult for the learners to

correct the errors unaided and may recur in their output. Furthermore, mistakes

are not as significant as errors because mistakes are not persistent in learners

language, while it often takes a long time for the learners to eliminate errors from

their writing.

Ellis (1997) additionally stated, a mistake is just a slip that the learner

forgets the right form and later they can self-correct. Errors, on the other hand, are

what the learners cannot self-correct. They are systematic deviations made by

learners since they do not understand the rule. The presence of errors is the

learners’ lacks of knowledge that occur regularly at certain stages in their learning

development.

Gass and Selinker (1994) noted that errors as “red flags” provide evidence

of the learner’s knowledge of the second language (p.66). Errors tell a great deal

about the students and their learning process. Producing errors infers how much

students have learnt. It therefore can be considered as a tool for learning language

development.

b. Levels and Types of Error

This research deals with categorizing errors into parts. Therefore, it is

necessary for the researcher to review levels and types of error as the reference for

11

Errors in learners’ output can of course occur at all levels of the language

system. Some of the common types of error at each level are substance

(mispronounciations, misspellings, punctuation), text (lack of cohesion),

grammatical (morphology, word order), and discoursal (topical coherence,

structural coherence, pragmatic aspects)

The researcher generalizes on the basic types of problem that can be found

at all of those levels above. They are missing item, over-inclusion, and wrong

choice. The missing item is the type in which an obligatory item is omitted, for

example, a punctuation mark, a phoneme, a letter in a word, an auxiliary verb, or

an element of text structure. Over-inclusion is an item redundant in the context, or

is the result of overgeneralization of rules, for example, repeat again, putted.

Wrong choice is the incorret item selected by the learner, for example, the wrong

word is used, or the wrong auxiliary is used with a main verb.

2. Theories of Error Analysis

This study mainly employed the document analysis as the basic method.

However, this study specifically belongs to error analysis. Therefore, the

researcher considers that it is essential to discuss a bit the theory of error analysis.

According to Ellis (1997), error analysis can be regarded as the fact that

learners make errors and these errors can be identified, described, explained, and

evaluated using systematic procedure and language principles. On the other hand,

Richards, et al. (1992) stated that error analysis is the study analysis of the errors

identify strategies which learners use in language learning and obtain information

on difficulties in language learning as an aid to teaching.

Gass and Selinker (1994) explained that there are several steps in

conducting an error analysis. First, data need to be collected and serve as a base.

Second, identifying what the errors are, for example, incorrect organization of

texts/ideas and sentence structure. The third step is classifying errors or

categorizing errors into their types. The fourth one is quantifying errors or

counting the number of existing errors made by learners. The fifth step is analysis

of error sources. The last step is remediation. Based on the kind and frequency of

an error type, pedagogical intervention is carried out. In this study, however, the

researcher takes the first four steps only, whereas the fifth and six steps are

unnecessary to do.

3. Theories of Writing

Concerning with the course of writing, this study need to have a number of

references related to writing. Therefore, such theories of writing as the definitions

of writing, the nature of writing, the principles of teaching writing, elements of

writing are discussed in this section.

a. Definitions of Writing

According to Nunan 2003), writing can be defined by a series of contrasts.

The first definition is that writing is both a physical and mental act. Second, its

purpose is both express and impress. Lastly, it is both process and product.

At the most basic level, writing is the physical act of conveying words or

13

a mental work of searching for ideas, thinking about how to expresss them, and

even organizing them into statements and paragraphs in order that the readers can

grasp the ideas easily.

In the idea that writing’s purpose is both express and impress, the writers

serve two roles: being writers and readers. As writers, they express ideas or

feeling. On the other hand, being readers, they need to have ideas expressed

effectively in certain ways so that the readers can enjoy reading the compositions.

Concerning that writing is both process and product, the writer do such a

step by step procedure as imagining, organizing, drafting, editing to serve a

product (an essay, letter, or story). It reveals that writing is not only an end result

but also a process that helps the writer to develop ideas. This process of writing is

often cyclical.

b. The Nature of Writing

Having research on writing makes the researcher needs to review the

approaches of teaching writing. It is discussed in one section, namely nature of

writing. The nature of writing is related to product versus process approaches; one

of the most controversial aspects of teaching writing.

Some proponents shared views of a product approach. According to Nunan

(1999), in writing that focuses on the finished product of writing, writing is seen

as the traditional approach in teaching writing. Nunan (1999) added that

comparing to the means, a product approach concentrates on the end product

which is readable, grammatically correct, and obey discourse conventions related

correctness of writing rather than on how the writers create well-formed writing,

the composing processes are ignored.

In contrast to the product-oriented approach, the process approach is seen as

a more effective teaching writing approach. Hyland (2003) stated that this type

emphasizes the writer as an independent producer of texts. This approach focuses

on the steps involved in planning, drafting, and revising; it gives the learners

better control on the content and form of what they write (Hyland, 2003). Nunan

(1999) suggested that this approach focuses less on a perfect final draft. The

writers are encouraged to get their ideas onto composition without being

frightened of formal convention in the beginning stages. They then share their

work with classssmates, getting feedback on the ideas before revising. It could be

inferred that there will never be the perfect text, but that one can get closer to

perfection through the process writing stages.

This research hopefully can be beneficial for the English teacher. It is

expected that the teacher may rely on process approach. Before an effective

product is created, the students can get involve through appropriate stages in the

process of writing. Balancing process and product, the sudents also can not lose

sight of the ultimate goal: a clear, well-organized, effective composition. It will

makes them realize that everything leading up to the final product is worth the

effort.

c. The Principles of Teaching Writing

In teaching writing skill, the teacher is required to understand and

15

writing. In this section, the researcher needs to review some basic ideas in

teaching writing.

As stated by Brown (2007) and Nunan (2003), there are a few principles

that every teacher should consider while planning a writing course. These

principles can be adapted to the many different learning situations. First, the

teacher makes the students understand the reasons for writing. Second, the teacher

connects reading and writing. The third one is providing many opportunities for

students to write. The fourth one is making feedback helpful and meaningful.

Lastly, the teacher frames the techniques in terms of prewriting, drafting, and

revising stages.

First, the beginning stage gets the teacher to make the students understand

the reasons for writing. They identify why they are writing. Here, the teacher

directs the students to focus on the goal or main ifdea of writing.

Second, good writing skills usually develop from extensive reading. The

students learn to write by observing what they are going to write. By reading ad

studying a variety of relevant types of text, the students can gain important

insights or references about how they should write and about the subject matter

that may become the topic of their writing.

Third, the teacher should provide many opportunities for students to write.

Writing almost always improves with a good deal of practice. Therefore, the

teacher should evaluate the lesson plans: how much time is spent for discussing

writing and how much time is spent for writing activity.

Fourth, the teacher should make feedback helpful and meaningful. Here, the

to give feedback on the ideas before revising. After evaluating the students’ pieces

of writing, the teacher should take time to discuss in class about the weaknesses of

the students’ writing.

Lastly, the teacher presents techniques which is a part of what is so-called

process writing. All writers decide on how to begin and organize the

compositions. Students as writers need to know what they first put down on paper

is not necessarily their finished product. They should not expect that the words

they put onto papers are perfect. They get time for process to work.It becomes the

process of discovery new ideas and new language forms to express those ideas.

Process of writing is a valuable learning tool for students. Process writing tends to

be framed in three stages of writing: prewriting, drafting, and revising stages.

As described by Brown (2007), the prewriting stage encourages the

generation of ideas. Generatig ideas is about finding ways to unlock ideas we have

in our minds which can happen in numerous ways, such as reading (extensively)

passages, observing, brainstoarming (approaching a topic with an open mind),

listing, clustering (begining with a key word, then adding other words, and using

free association), discussing, freewriting (initial exploration of ideas without

concern for appropriateness, order, or accuracy)

Brown (2007) found that the drafting and revising stages are the core of

process writing. In the process approach, drafting is viewed as an important and

complex set of strategies, the mastery of which takes time, patience, and trained

instruction. Several strategies and skills apply to the drafting and revising process

17

Brown (2007) suggested that the drafting proces goes to the step of writing

the first draft adapting the freewriting technique. After exploring ideas, students

put the ideas into paragraph form, keep in mind how showing and using facts

makes writing powerful and convincing. Their task here is to discover how they

can best express their ideas in the clearest manner possible so that the readers will

receive the intended message with the same topic.

According to Brown (2007), peer editing is a process of sharing what the

students has written with others as the readers.The peers can respond to ideas,

organization and style, even see if the students writers have been successful in

conveying the intended meaning. This information feedbak is useful to improve

writing.

In the process revising the students go through several steps of revision to

make their compositions the best they can be (Brown, 2007). At this point, they

reconsider what they have composed, learn the classmates feedback they agreed

on, and then make changes. Doing the correction, they can eliminate unnecessary

or irrelevant information, make additions of idea, even change the order of

composition. Once they have made the necessary changes in their paper, they can

rewrite it legibly. After rewriting, they go over the paper carefully to check if the

language sounds correct and if the message seems complete and understandable.

d. Elements of Writing

This study performs error categorization. The researcher needs the theories

related to elements of writing as sources to categorize and analyze the errors on

Report texts produced by the ninth year students of SMP N 2 Yogyakarta.

There are elements that should be considered in writing. Tribble (1996)

divides the elements into five in terms of content, organization, grammar,

vocabulary, and mechanics.

Some experts provide definitions of the five elements of writing. According

to Zimmerman (1992), content displays all the necessary information incorporated

in the writing, whereas, organization refers to the movement of arguments and the

connectedness or ,logical links between the ideas. Stanley (1991) defined that

grammar as a set of rules. It is the structure of our language, a field which merits

study and invites analysis. Bram (1995) stated that vocabulary become the basic

tool for writing. The words carry meaning; wrong words certainly do not get the

writers messages across. An English word often has more than one meaning. The

meaning of a word depends on the context. One reliable source to select the word

choice in context is to consult a comprehensive dictionary that provides a lot of

useful details about words listed alphabetically. Brown (2007) argues if there are

problems in mechanics, such as spelling and punctuation, the readers may not

enjoy reading. The meaning which writers want to convey may be differently

perceived by the readers.

As stated above, Tribble (1996) classified the elements into five which is

19

the researcher to categorize the students’ writing errors into these types. Since,

each element fulfill some criteria. Below is the discussion of the five:

1) Content

the features of chosen genre mostly adhered to. There are variety of ideas.

Content relevant to the topic.

2) Organization

The ideas should be clearly stated and supported. The writers organize texts

or sections appropriately. Logically sequenced. The appropriate connectives

used.

3) Grammar

The writers should poduce hardly any errors of agreement, tense, number,

word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions.

4) Vocabulary

The appropriate word choice should be selected to convey the intended

message contextually.

5) Mechanics

The writers should demonstrate correct spelling, punctuation and

capitalisation to achieve good writing.

The elements of writing actually becomes the core of this study. Therefore, it

is necessary to review further several aspects or terms related to organization,

grammar, and mechanics. The researcher will find it useful for the analysis of this

study since it provides suggestions about the usages. The detailed discussion of

1) Organization

This part mainly discusses some key aspects mentioned in the criteria of

organization element above. They include topic sentence, coherence, and

transitions.

a) Topic sentence

Langan (2010) and Eliis (2003) explained that there are two basic parts of a

paragraph. The point is usually expressed in one sentence called a main idea or

topic sentence. The other sentences in the paragraph contain specific details that

support or develop the main idea sentence.

Since a paragraph should have only one main idea, the topic sentence keeps

the writer on track and helps the readers to focus on what the writers are saying.

We can have a paragraph without a topic sentence but it will be harder to organize

so it is suggested to make a clear topic sentence for a paragraph as the summary of

all information in the paragraph

Bram (1995) noted that there are three positions of topic sentence. They are

the first sentence of a paragraph, the middle sentence, or the last sentence of a

paragraph. He viewed that it may be wiser to place the topic sentence at the

beginning. If the writers do so, they will have good control over the contents. It is

more about what relevant information to include as a guide to finish the the rest of

the paragraph. It also benefits the readers to understand the content more easily

since they can get the key point from the very beginning so that they will know

21

b) Coherence

Bram (1995) considered that a paragraph is coherent when the sentences are

linked together in such a way that the reader can move easily from one sentence to

another and read the paragraph as an integrated whole, rather than as a series of

separate sentences. A paragraph that lacks orderly movement will not be coherent,

because your reader will not see how two sentences are connected one another.

Using transitions leads to coherence (Bram, 1995). As the word implies, a

transition connects ideas. A coherent paragraph consists of interelated sentences

which move in such a way that they smooth the way, one for another. Without

transitions, it is difficult to create a coherent paragraph. However, too many

transitions can make the writing sounds unnatural.

In addition, Langan (2011) argues that coherence plays a crucial role in

making a paragraph read well. Every coherent paragraph contains

smoothly-connected ideas. All the supporting evidence must be organized and smoothly-connected

smoothly from one bit of supporting information to the next. The key technique

for tying together the ideas include transitional words.

c) Transitional words

One of clear explanation about transitions is by Ellis (2003). She views that

transitions signal the direction of a writer’s thought. They are like the road signs

that help us to find way when driving. In writing, the transitions tell the readers

a. Add an idea in addition (to), similarly, also, furthermore, another, moreover

b. Add description (to give details) that, what, whatever, which, who, whom, whose

c. Give an example for example, for instance, such as

d. Show contrast however, in contrast, but, yet, on the other hand, though, eventhough, although, on the contrary, otherwise, not only, unless, while, whether, instead, at the same time

e. Compare ideas (to examine or look for the difference between two or more things)

likewise, as if, in the same way, than

f. Show cause and effect (to show relathionships between ideas)

because, since, hence, if, so, so that, consequently, therefore, thus, as a result

g. Summarize or conclude

(to express important ideas in a short and clear form)

in short, to summarize, to sum up, in conclusion, to conclude.

h. Enumerate (to name things/ideas separately)

first, second

i. Show time (to indicate time order) finally, later, after a while, before, then, next, after that, since, eventually, again, until, when, whenever, while, during

j. Show emphasis (to give more particular importance)

indeed, in fact

: : : : : : : : : :

23

Adding more complete, Langan (2011) classifies transitions into pieces.

According to him, the common transitional signals show addition, comparison or

contrast, illustration, and cause and effect. Below are the examples of transitional

words provided by Langan (2011):

a. Addition :

b. Comparisons :

c. Contrast :

d. Illustration :

e. Causes and effect :

Those common transitons are grouped according to the kind of signal they

give to readers. Addition connectives tell that the writer’s thought is going to

continue in the same direction. The writer is going to add points or details of the

same kind. Comparison connectives tell that the writer is pointing out a similarity

between two subjects. They tell the readers that the second idea is like the first

one in some way. Contrast connectives signal a change in the direction of the

writer’s thought. They tell that the writer is pointing out a difference between two

subjects or statements. Illustration connectives tell that an example will be given and, also, another, finally, first, second, first of

all, lastly, furthermore, in addition, last of all,

moreover, next

like, likewise, just like, alike, as, similarly

but, however, on the contrary, on the other hand,

otherwise, yet

for example, for instance, such as

so, as a result, consequently, so that, since,

to make an idea clear. Cause and effect connectives signal that the writer is going

to describe results and effects.

2) Grammar

Based on the criteria of elements of writing by Tribble (1996), the

grammatical aspects are simplified into concord, tense, adjective, article, pronoun,

preposition, sentence fragment, and run on sentence. The following is the further

discussion about the suggestion of the grammmatical use in those aspects.

a) Subject-Verb-Agreement

Bram (1995) stated that the verbs should agree in person and number with

its subject. The writers should make sure that they use the correct singular and

plural forms for verbs , number, and nouns or pronouns. The words ‘one, a, an,

each, another, and every’ are followed by countable singular nouns. On the other

hand, the words ‘two, three, both, many, some, a few, these, and those’ are

followed by countable plural nouns. A plural noun has a plural verb following it.

The plural nouns usually end in -s or es and the plural verb forms do not end in -s. Whereas, the singular verb forms usually end in -s. When a subject follows a linking verb (be), the verb should agree with the subject.

b) Tense

The verb tense indicates the relationship between an action or state of being

and the passage of time. The present tense indicates that something is taking

place now. It also can be for timeless statements.

c) Word order

Word order is the order of modified words. A modifier is a word or a phrase

25

According to Stanley (1991), the word modifiers are placed before the elements

they modify. Adjective modifiers add to the meaning of nouns and pronouns,

which are usually found as subjects, objects, or complements. It is used before a

noun, for example, ‘heavy bag’; it is modified by an adverb, for example, ‘ a very

heavy bag’.

Stanley (1991) suggested if the writers intend to use more than one adjective

to modify a noun or pronoun, they have to set the adjectives in the correct order.

The following is the common rule to put adjective in order: determiner –

opinion – size/ appearance – weight – age – temperature – humidity – shape –

colour – nationality/origin – material – purpose

d) Article

As noted by Stanley (1991), the articles are a, an, and the. They modify

nouns. A and an are indefinite. The is definite; indicate something specific. The

article a precedes nouns that start with a consonant sound. The article an precedes

nouns that start with a vowel sound.

e) Pronoun

Stanley (1991) proposed that a pronoun substitutes for a noun or a noun

phrase. Pronouns help the writers to sound less repetitious. Pronouns fall into one

of the following categories, such as personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns,

indefinite pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative

pronouns. In this study, personal pronouns and relative pronouns become the

focus. The personal pronouns itself take different forms, depending on whether

other hand, modify noun or adjective clauses, such as who, whom, whose, which,

and that.

f) Preposition

According to Stanley (1991), a preposition links a noun, a pronoun, or a group of

words functioning as a noun to some other word in a sentence. It indicates the

relationship of location and logic between the linked words. Prepositions include

the following: about above across along among apart from around at behind below beneath beside between beyond by down for from in during except

at the back of in case of in front of in place of inside instead of into near of off on onto on top of out out of outside over through throughout toward under underneath until up upon up to with within without 3) Mechanics

Stated before, the mechanical aspects are classified into punctuation and

spelling. Below is the further review about the suggestion of the mechanical use in

the two aspects.

a) Punctuation

There are so many conventions of punctuation. Since the ninth year

students’ compositions are not as complex as the higher education’s, the

researcher focuses the discussion only on the use of period, comma, and

27

i. Period

To make a sentence readable and understandable, a sentence should be

ended. One way to end a sentence is by added a period.

ii. Comma

There are some special effects with comma. First, commas make sense of

lists or series. Any time the writers list three or more items in a sentence, they

have a series of items that needs commas to make sense. The last word in a series

is connected by coordinating conjunctions (but, for, or, nor, so, or yet). Second,

commas connect clauses. The writers can use a comma and a coordinating

conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, or yet) to join complete sentences together

without confusing the reader. If the complete sentences the writers want to

connect are very brief and closely related, they can flow together without a

comma.

iii. Apostrophe

The possesive apostrophe should be used correctly. First, the apostrophe

followed by -s is used to form the possesive case of singular and plural nouns that

do not end in -s , such as, the boy’s dog, the woman’s rights, and children’s

toys. Second, the apostrophe is used to form the possesive case of plural nouns

that end in -s, for example, babies’ cribs, the two boys’ tree house, the Joneses’

b) Spelling

Bram (1995) suggested some guides to follow in order to avoid common

spelling problems. The words there and their, and then and than shoud be used

correctly. When a word ends in p, t, d, m, n, and l and has a short vowel in its final syllable, the consonant should be doubled when the suffixes -able, -ed, and -ing are added. Furthermore, when the final syllable contains a long vowel, the

consonant should not be doubled.

c) Capitalization

According to Stanley (1991), there are some convention related to

capitalization. First, to capitalize a word, the writer must make the first letter of

the word a capital letter. Second, capitalizing the first word of a sentence, for

example, “ She hates to type.” Third, capitalizing proper nouns, such as the names

of specific persons, places, and events.

4. Report Texts

Since Report texts are the major subject of this study, it is important to

describe this kind of text in detail. Below is the discussion of Information Report

provided by Board of Studies (1998).

As the name suggested, the Information Report or what is so-called Report

text is socially purposed to present factual information about an entire class of

thing or animal (mammals, transport, computers, etc). It starts with classifying

the subject matter and then describing its characteristics. The following is the

29

The Information Reports are usually organized into two. The first one is

opening general classification. The second one is sequenced facts about various

aspects of the class of thing or animal such as parts, habitats, or behavior.

The common linguistic patterns in Information Report are various (Board of

Studies, 1998). The first feature is the use of generalised participants to establised

the class of things. The second one is the use of relational processes to describe Lesser Slow Loris

The Lesser Slow Loris is a mammal which can clamp onto branches for long periods of time. To help it do this, the Loris has a network of blood vessels, called rate mirabile in its forearms and shanks.

It is a small mammal which is 7-10 in. long (175-250 mm) and can weigh as much as 12 ounces or 340grams. Being nocturnal the Loris has large round eyes. The Loris has no tail but has broad grasping feet. On its second toe it has a sharp claw. It also has an enlarged thumb and a reduced index finger.

The Lesser Slow Loris is a plump animal with soft, thick fur ranging in colour from light brownish-grey to deep reddish brown with a dark stripe down the back and neck. It has a long snout with comb like front teeth which are used in grooming.

It is found in Southern Asia, Vietnam, Borneo, and Sumatra. As it is tree-living , it is restricted to tropical rain forests. The diet of the Loris is made up of fruit and leaves, tender shoots, insects, birds, small mammals, and reptiles. It is nocturnal and sleeps by day rolled up in a ball.

The Loris a solitary animal which belongs to the family of Lorisidea bush baby and potto. It is very slow but deliberate climber. An interesting fact about the Lesser Slow Loris is that it has a single note whistle.

Generic structure

Definition

Description of physical features

Description of habitat, food, and behavior

Description of interesting features

relationship between aspects of the topic. Third, some use of material processes to

describe behavior. Fourth, timeless present tense is used to indicate usuality.

Fifth, reference chains referring to the topic (e.g.Sharks ... they) are precisely

used. The sixth one is the use of technical terms. Lastly, the paragraphs with topic

sentences are applied to organize information about various aspects.

In addition, Doyle (2004) stated that an information report is a type of

description designed to document, organize, and store factual information. its

social purpose is to to describe flora, fauna, objects and phenomena as objectively

and systematically through facts. The information is presented as clearly as

possible.The text structure of information report are classification and description

of attributes or behaviors or functions,etc

As illustrated by Doyle (2004), the description part of report is typically

divided into paragraphs that each deal with one aspect of phenomena being

described. As an example, an information report about animal would begin by

naming the animal, typically more than one way then classify it according to the

species. The separate paragraphs deal with its appearance, behavior, reproduction,

etc.

The grammatical features of reports are typical. They include third person

pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, verbs in simple present for timeless

statements, adjectives to describe details of lives, habits, events, and nouns to

31

B. Theoretical Framework

In enhancing writing skill, Junior high school students are expected to be

able to produce texts that accomplish social purposes. One of them is report texts.

Provided by Board of Studies (1998), the goal of report texts is presenting factual

information about a class of thing or animal, usually by classifying the subject

matter and then describing their characteristics.

For junior high students whose mother tongue is not English, producing

good pieces of writing is sometimes difficult to do. They have to consider many

things before they compose.

Due to the students’ difficulty in producing a good writing, students will

come up with errors. Considering that the students do make errors in their

writings, the researcher carries out a research which aims to analyze the common

errors of written Report text composed by the ninth grade students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta. The researcher groups the errors by observing and adapting a

checklist proposed by Tribble (1996) in terms of five categories: content,

organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. The researcher determines the

subdivisions of errors by mostly looking at the criteria which are elaborated in

each writing elements proposed by Tribble (1996). The researcher also adapts the

theory of types of errors stated by Doyle (2004) to specify the errors into missing

items, over-inclusion, and wrong choice.

Conducting the research, the researcher adapts error analysis. Gass and

Selinker (1994) proposed a number of steps taken in conducting an error analysis,

quantifying errors, analysis of source, and remediation. In this study, the

researcher takes the first four steps only.

Considering the theory of error analysis proposed by Gass and Selinker

(1994), the researcher frames several steps for dealing with error analysis in this

study. The researcher at first collects the ninth year students’ written works then

read those texts carefully. The researcher identifies the errors. Then, the

researcher categorizes the errors in terms of content, organization, grammar,

vocabulary, and mechanics listed on the checklist proposed by Tribble (1996). For

further analysis, the researcher subcategorizes the errors. The next step is that the

researcher calculates the total of errors of each classification to find the difficult

area in which the students mostly made errors. In addition, the researcher

discusses those errors and provides revision. Finishing this step, the researcher

33 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology employed by the researcher to

accomplish this study. It covers the explanation of the way the researcher

conducts the research, gathers and analyzes the data. There are seven sections

discussed in this chapter. They are what research method is used, research

participants, where the research takes place, research instruments and data

gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedure.

A. Research Method

Generally, this error analysis study belongs to a qualitative research.

According to Ary et al (2002), qualitative study is a study aims to get a holistic picture and depth understanding of social phenomena in which the data is

explained in the form of words, rather than a numeric analysis of data”. The study

focused on analyzing students’ errors in Report texts. The aim of this study was to

answer the research questions about common errors that the students committed in

constructing Report text.

In this study, the researcher adapted Content or Document Analysis.

Content or Document Analysis according to Ary et al (2002) is a study which aimed to identify the specific characteristics of visual or written recorded

materials within their contexts, such as, textbooks, letters, newspapers, films,

diaries, etc. Ary et al (2002) stated, there are five purposes of Content analysis.

content analysis, the writer wanted to analyze the errors of students’ writings in

Report text in order to describe the area of students’ difficulty in writing Report

texts.

B. Setting

This research was conducted in SMP N 2 Yogyakarta. The third grade

students were the participants of the research. The research was done during

January in the second semester of academic year 2011/2012.

SMP N 2 Yogyakarta is chosen for this research because it was the school

where the researcher did Program Pengalaman Lapangan (PPL) in seventh semester. Thus, the researcher got a big opportunity and an easy access to conduct

research there.

C. Research participants

Since Report texts are taught for the first time in the third year of Junior

high school, the researcher selected the ninth grade students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta to be the participants of this research. Here, this research was

conducted to analyze the students’ Report texts. It became relevant to the basic

competence of ninth grade students of junior high school stated on Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Republik Indonesia, number 22, 2006, which is “to express meaning and rhetoric steps on a simple short essay to interact with the

35

The total participants of this study was 42 ninth year students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta. It was from three classes: 9A, 9E, and 9F. The researcher took 14

students from each class as the research participants.

There were six classes of ninth grade and each class consisted of 36

students, however, it was not possible to make use all the classes. The limited

participants were taken since the English teacher commanded the researcher to

make use of three classes only to analyze the students’ documents of Report texts.

The researcher had to returned the students’ Report texts soon so that the teacher

could give the marks. In the contrary, the English teacher handled to correct the

writings from the three other classes. Due to the coming of National exam

preparation, there was a limited time to finish the learning material of the topic of

Report texts. Therefore, the limitation of time and energy in analysing the

students’ document became the reason of selecting limited research participants.

Furthermore, by taking specific participants, the researcher were able to focus on

the analysis of students’ errors in writing Report texts easily and effectively.

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique

In order to gain the data, the researcher employed a checklist as the

instrument. The checklist was developed to help the researcher to discover the

common errors of Report texts written by the ninth grade students and specified

the errors into categorization of aspects. The checklist consisted of categories of

errors which were grouped into the following: content, organization, grammar,

vocabulary, and mechanics. In addition, each category had several subdividisions.

Tribble (1996). The researcher determined the subdivisions of errors by mostly

looking at the criteria which were elaborated in each writing elements proposed

by Tribble (1996) and modify some. The Tribble’ s criteria of writing elements

was relevant to the kinds of error found in the students’ writing of Report texts.

The checklist developed in carrying out this study was presented in Appendix D.

The data gathering technique was described into some sections. Starting

with, the researcher compiled the students’ writings of Report text as the source of

the data. Each student had to construct Report text once. The theme of the Report

text construction was “Mammal”. The students were free to develop the theme

given to them. However, the students had to make at least 3 paragraphs of writing

and they had to produce 100 words at the minimum. After reading the students’

documents, the researcher corrected and found out the errors of students’ pieces of

writing. The most important section was classifying the errors into categories and

subcategorizations.

E. Data Analysis Technique

The data analysis was started after categorizing the errors of the research

participants’ writing into types using the checklist. It was started with calculating

the total number of errors commited by all partcipants in terms of content,

organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. The researcher then

formulated a chart to illustrate the results. The next one is drawing conclusion of

the common errors from the chart presentation. The numerical data of each case

served as the indicator of the difficult area of learning. Some categories which had

37

composing report texts. In other words, it became difficult areas of students’

learning.

F. Research procedure

Conducting this study, the researcher did several beginning steps. The first

step is identifying the research problems. The second one is identifying the

research participants. The researcher selected the ninth year students of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta to be the participants of this research. The third one is preparing

research instruments. The researcher prepared a checklist which was proposed by

Tribble (1996), however, the researcher did some modification. Therefore it

would be relevant for this study. Fourth, the researcher consulted the research

instruments with the advisor.

Keeping the ongoing steps, the researcher did some followings. First, the

researcher asked a permission letter from the head of Department of English

Language Education Program and sent it to the head master of SMP N 2

Yogyakarta to conduct a study. Second, the researcher collected the students’

pieces of writings on Report texts. In the teaching and learning of writing Report

texts, the researcher asked for a help from the English teacher of the ninth grade

students to give assignments to the students to make Report texts about mammals.

The researcher compiled the students’ compositions on Report text from the three

classes: 9A, 9E, and 9F. Third, the researcher read the students’ documents,

corrected them, and found out the errors of students’ pieces of writing. Fourth,

before classifying the errors, the researcher revised the checklist and consulted to

students’Report text. The researcher then grouped the errors into categories and

subcategorizations. Afterwards, the researcher analyzed the data by calculating

the total number of errors commited by all participants in the categories of

content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics. The researcher then

drew a chart to clarify the results. Next, the researcher drew conclusion of the

common errors from the chart presentation. Some categories which had the

highest number of errors was regarded as the students’ common errors in

composing report texts. Briefly, it served as the difficult areas of students’

APPENDIX F

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of

Report Texts

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts Introduction

a. The teacher invites the students to recall the definition of report text and its generic structure, learnt in the first semester.

T: Since you ever learnt Report text in the semester 1, let’s recall again. What is Report text?

T: What is the generic structure of Report text?

T: Yes. In general classification you state the classification of general aspect of the things or phenomena in general. In description of report text, you elaborate the description of things or phenomena in detail. The details of describing living things (animals and plants) can include physical experiences, behavior, habitat, life cycle, uses, etc.

b. The teacher asks the students to read a model text and decide the generic structure.

T: Read the model text entitiled Komodo and decide the generic structure.

Komodo

Komodos are reptiles. The female komodos lay eggs. They belong to cold-blooded animals.

Komodos are the largest lizards. The average weight of komodos in the wild is about 150pounds up to 200 pounds. On the other hand, the length of komodos is varied from 8feet or 2,5 meters up to 10 feet or 3 meters.

Komodos are strong animals. They have gray scaly skin, pointed snouts, powerful limbs and a muscular tail. They use their keen sense of smell to locate their preys from several miles away. They also hunt other lizards as well as large mammals and are sometimes cannibalistic.

The Komodo's teeth are almost completely covered by its gums. When it feeds, the gums bleed, creating an ideal culture for virulent bacteria. The bacteria that live in the Komodo's saliva causes septicemia or blood poisoning in its victims. A komodo will bite its prey, then follow it until the animal is too weak to carry on.

Komodos can be found in some places all over the world. They live in the woodland of a few indonesian islands. They also live in savanna and scrub.

The number of Komodos becomes decreased. These lizard species are threatened mostly by hunting and loss of prey species. Furthermore, Komodos lose their habitat because of deforestration. Taken from: http://understandingtext.blogspot.com/2009/10/contohexample ... ...

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts c. The teacher invites the students to discuss what each paragraph tells about and

what detailed information provided in each paragraph.

T: Let’s discuss what each paragraph tells about starting from paragraph 1. What does par.1 tell about? (teacher invites the students to discusss up to paragraph 6).

Pre-Writing stage

a. The teacher asks the students to make a report text about mammal, such as cow, elephant, cat, etc. They are free to choose the titles but they have to write 3 paragraps and 100 words at the minimum.

T: Now, please make a report text about mammal, such as cow, elephant, cat, etc. You are free to choose the titles, but you have to write 3 paragraps and 100 words at the minimum.

b. The teacher asks the students to brainstorm what they want to write, for example, the name of animal, classification of the animal, kinds of animal, physical apperance, behavior, habitat and food, habits, etc.

T: Have you all got your topic? Now, let’s think what you want to write, for example, the definition of the animal, kinds of animal, physical apperance, behavior, habitat and food, habits, etc.

c. The teacher asks the students to gather data in the library through textbooks, articles on internet, etc. Here, the students are not allowed to plagiarize any text.

T: If you are lack of idea or information to write, now let’s go to library and search information from internet or book. Remember that you are not allowed to plagiarize any text. Make it with your own words.

d. The teacher asks the students to make an organization of notes by putting the main idea and the supporting information in the form of words or phrases into a diagram below and compare their diagrams to other friends’.

T: Put the main idea and supporting information of your topic in the form of words or phrases into a diagram below and compare your diagrams to your friends’. (The teacher give examples by writing in the whiteboard)

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts General classification

What?

Name of Animal

Uses __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

Habitat and food __________ __________ __________ __________ Description

Behaviour __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

Special skills __________ __________ __________ __________

Appearance __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts Drafting stage

a. the teacher asks the students to create the composition of Report text as a first draft.

T: Now, please make your own first draft of Report text.

Revising stage

a. the teacher asks the students to exchange the composition with their partners next to them.

T: Now, plese exchange the composition with your partners next to you. b. The teacher asks the students to give comments, corrections, and suggestion to

their partners’ composition by following this steps.

T: Now, plese give comments, corrections, and suggestion to your partners’ composition (Teacher write the steps which is in the box below on the whiteboard)

c. The teacher asks the students to put a check mark( ) in each box of a small paper of peer feedback after they do the correction.

T: Please put a check mark( )in each box of a small paper of peer feedback that I give you after you do the correction. (Teacher give each students a small paper of notes below)

o Read composition. Do not make any marks on the work .

o Underline words, phrases, sentences that do not seem correct that are difficult to be understood .

o Write your comments. Write the suggestions to improve the composition.

 _{The writer wrote all sentences mostly in present tenses}  _{The writer use logical connections}

 _{The composition has clear general classification and description}  _{Each paragraph has and idea that can be understood}

A Recommended Example of Teaching Writing Scenario of Report Texts d. The teacher asks the students to rewrite their composition into the better one considering the content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation at home.

T: Please rewrite your composition into the better one considering the content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation at home. If you feel that your composition is still lack of content, you can add more content. You can find any information that support your content via internet, but don’t plagiarize.

e. The teacher ask the students to submit the final report composition with the draft and peer feedback next week.

T: Submit the final report composition with the draft and peer feedback next week.

f. The teacher informs the students that they should not forget to put the source (title of book, website of articles on internet) that they take.

T: Don’t forget to put the source such as title of book, website of articles that you take. Put it below your composition.