An Analysis of Students’ Common Error in Writing Descriptive Text

at the 2nd Grade of MA Nurul Huda Sungai Luar

Ardian Supianda
English Study Program
Teachers Training and Education Faculty
Islamic University of Indragiri, Tembilahan
Aldrianhorton@ymail.com

ABSTRACT

Ardian Supianda. 2017. An Analysis of Students’ Common Error in Writing Descriptive Text
at the 2nd Grade of MA Nurul Huda Sungai Luar.

The goal of this research was to find out the students’ common error in writing
descriptive text at the 2nd grade of MA Nurul Huda Sungai Luar. This research belongs to
descriptive study, specifically descriptive qualitative. In order to find out the students’
common error, the researcher used a written text where the students should write their own
descriptive text. Students’ writing were assessed based on global error which consist of error
in verb tense (vt), word order (wo), connector (conn), local error which can be divided into
article error (art), number (num), and organization error (identification error and description
error). After collecting the data, the researcher analyzed them by describing the errors. As the
result, the researcher found that the students made 143 errors which can be separated into
verb tense is about 73 or 51%, word order 14 or 10%, connector 7 or 5%, article 8 or 5,5%,
number 26 or 18%, and identification 15 or 10,5%. At the end, since the goal of this research
is to find out the common error, it can be concluded that the common one is error in using
verb tense (vt).

Key words: Analysis, Error, Writing, Descriptive Text.

INTRODUCTION high school or university is descriptive
There are four language skills in
text. Descriptive text is used to describe or
English; they are listening, speaking,
tell how a thing, person, or place looks
reading and writing. As we know language
like. We describe it by telling its
can be spoken and written, so it is needed
characteristic or anything is relate to the
to learn writing. It is different from the
object that we are about to describe. As
other language skill. In listening and
stated by Oshima and Hogue (1997: 50)
reading, the students receive something
descriptive appeals to the senses, so it tells
that is said or given by others. Meanwhile
how something looks, feels, smell, tastes,
in speaking, the students interact by using
and sound.
their own ideas and involve the other
Error
people, so there will be conversation going
Writing is not as easy as it seems, no
on. On the other hand, the interaction
matter what kind of the type of a text that
through the written form need something
we are dealing with, if we do not have
called as the profeciency in order to be
some knowledge about how to write
better or effective. Moreover, writing is
(grammatical system) we will end up
also one of the language skills that should
creating some error. That is why before we
be mastered by students.
decide to write something, we have to
In writing skill, the students should
master or know at least about the
have a lot vocabulary and know about the
grammatical system in order to help us in
grammatical rules of sentences. Writing
writing. Therefore, there are some
such an important skill because it will be
defenition about error itself. Brown (2007:
applied in many aspect of life, just like
258) thinks that “error is an obvious
speaking, listening, and reading. Through
divergence from the adult grammar of an
writing, people should be able to express
informant, reflect to the learners’
their feeling or ideas in written form.
competence”. Next, Dulay (1998:138)
Talking about expressing feeling or ideas
mentions “errors are the flaw side of the
in written form, we can do that by using
learners’ speech or writing. They are those
text.
parts of conversation or composition that
There are many kinds of text that is
deviate from some selected norm of
taught in junior and senior high school or
mature language performance”.
even in university level. Each of them
The next definition of error is stated
have their own function, and language
by Richards (1971: 5). He assumes that
features. One of the text that is taught in
error can not be dismissed as once in a
while, unnintentionally, or even as just slip b) wo (word order)
of the tongue. A word order error is one in which
Types of Error the order of words in sentence is
Lane and Lange (1993: xx) divided incorrect or awkward. For instance,
those errors into two things. The first one my mother is woman beautiful. In the
called as global errors, and the second one sentence, the word woman is in
called as local errors. incorrect position, it should come
1) Global Errors right after the adjective beautiful.
Global error usually impedes c) conn (connector error)
understanding (lane and Lange, 1993: 1). Connector error is an error in
Take a look at the following table: which the connection between words,
Symbol Explanation sentence, clauses, or paragraph is
vt Incorrect verb tense either unclear, illogical, because of
wo Incorrect word order double, missing, or misplaced
conn Incorrect connector connector. i.g, Rani and mira are sick,
and dori is not. The connector here is
Refers to the table above, the not appropriate, the right one is but.
explanation will be: 2) Local Errors
a) vt (incorrect verb tense) These errors, while distracting, most
Verb tense refers to the time the verb often do not impede understanding (Lane
express. For example: Andy always and Lange, 1993: 2).
rides motor cycle to campus indicates Symbol Explanation
Andy’s habitual action, not just in the Art Article error
past or the future. Furthermore, the Num Number error
students tend to put an incorrect verb
tense in a sentence, for example: Alex a) art (article error)
jog on Jl. Soebrantas every Saturday. An art error is one in which the
This sentence does not have an article has been used incorrectly. For
appropriate verb tense to express the instance, He has a green book. The
time of the action. Since the sentence article ‘a’ in the sentence is not right,
express about habitual action, the since the book is obvious which is
correct verb should be ‘Jogs’ due to the green, the definite article ‘the’ is
subject is Alex. needed instead.
 b) num (Number Error) “word picture”, the viewer are be able to
A number error is one in which the imagine an object in their mind. A writer
singular form of a noun has been used of a good description is such an artist who
instead of the plural or vice versa. i.g: draw a picture that can be “seen”
in the sentence I have two sister, there obviously in the mind of viewer”.
is a number error because sister should Moreover, “Descriptive text is a text which
be sisters. Likewise, In the sentence He consists of the characteristics of
gives me some informations every something. It is used to describe a person,
Sunday. There is also a number error place, or an object in order to become
because informations should be vivid and interesting (Wisesa, 2011: 76)
information. Next, Mulyono & Widayanti (2010:
Writing 98) defined descriptive text as the texts
As stated by Harmer (2004: 33) “ which are used to describe a particular
Writing is frequently useful as preparation place, person, or thing.
to others activity, in particular when As the result, with the definitions of
student write sentence as a preamble to descriptive text from experts have been
discussion activities”. In addition, writing shown and gathered, the researcher
is obviously a process of thinking (Brown, assumes that descriptive text is used to
2001: 336) describe or tell how a thing, person, or
Other than Harmer and Brown, place looks like in order to become real
Elbow (1998: 7) also said that writing and interesting for readers to read.
triggers the ability to make an invention Types of Descriptive Text
words and thoughts out of our self, Generally, there are three types of
moreover, it triggers the ability to beg descriptive text. Zemach & Rumisek,
them out in order to choose which one will (2003: 26-28) said that there are 3 types of
be used. descriptive text.
Descriptive Text 1) Describing place
Descriptive text is used to describe A description of place may answer
or tell how a thing, person, or place looks some of the questions such as where the
like. Just like Oshima and Hogue place is, how big it is, how warm or cold
(1997:50) think “descriptive writing the place is, how your feeling about it,
appeals to the senses, it describes how what things you can see at it, and what
something looks, feels, smeels, tastes, or colors you see.
even sound. A good descriptions more like 2) Describing People/ person
 As for the describing person, it may Those errors were described in detail in
answer some of the questions such as who this research based on the students’
the person is, what that person do, how she writing.
looks like, how is his/her personality. this research was conducted at MA
3) Describing Thing Nurul Huda Sungai Luar. It is located on
Describing thing may answer some of Parit 5 Sungai Luar. It has 5 classes which
the question such as what color that thing separated as 2 classes for first grade, 1
is, how it looks like, where it is being put class for second grade, and 2 classes for
and etc. third grade. Moreover, this research was
Generic Structures conducted in 17 – 18 Mei 2017.
The generic structures of descriptive Since the amount students of 2nd grade
text divided into two things (Mulyono & of MA Nurul Huda Sungai Luar are about
Widayanti, 2010:106). 39 students, and it consist only 1 class, the
1) Identification: A statement containing a sampling technique of this research was
topic to describe. total sampling which means all the 2nd
2) Description: The details of description grade students of MA Nurul Huda will be
about the object mentioned in the the sample of this research.
identification. As mentioned by Sugiyono (2010: 175)
Every research must have a goal. It total sampling is the sampling technique
is something that the researcher wants to where the amount of sample is as many as
achieve here. As for this research, the goal the population. Moreover, if the population
is to find out the common error in writing is less than 100, then all the population can
descriptive text toward the students of MA be the sample.
Nurul Huda Sungai Luar. And then, the researcher used a written
test as the research instrument. The
METHODE researcher used this kind of research
this research will use descriptive instrument because he wants to know
qualitative.“Qualitative research entails about students’ grammatical common error
collecting primarily textual data and in writing descriptive text.
examining it using interpretive analysis” In order to complete the data, the
(Heigham, 2009:5). The researcher uses researcher did a test. Moreover, the test
descriptive qualitative because he wants to was writing the descriptive text about
describe the error of students’ writing in describing place, thing, and person.
descriptive text, and find the common one. However in this case, the students just
have to choose one of the types of of the data, error in verb tense is the
descriptive text. In addition, if it is common one that always happened in
possible, the students would be given 45 - students’ writing, specifically the 2nd grade
50 minutes to write their own paragraph. students of MA Nurul Huda Sungai Luar.
After collecting the data, the result of The total of error in verb tense is 73,
them (per sentence) will be analyzed in followed by error in number with 26
order to find out the error that have been errors, identification error 15, word order
made by the students of MA Nurul Huda with 14 errors, article 8 errors, followed by
Sungai Luar. The data was analyzed by connector error with 7 errors. The
following method which mentioned by recapitulation can be seen in this following
Corder, cited by Ellis (1994: 48) in table.
Haryanto (2006: 25) suggests these Table 4.1. Types of Error and Their
following steps to conduct on error Frequesncy
analysis research. 1) Collection of samples
of learner language, 2) Identification of
errors, 3) Classification of errors, 4)
Explanation of Error, 5) Evaluation of
errors
FINDINGS
Based on the writing test of the
students, it could be observed that there
are 39 students’ writings, from which the
researcher found errors, in punctuation,
spelling, words choices, and grammar.
However, In this case, the researcher only
focused global error which can be divided
into verb tense, word order, and connector.
And then, local error which can be
separated article error, and number error.
Finally, the organizations of descriptive
text will be also assessed.
After analyzing the data, it was
found 143 errors (global, local,
organization error). From the calculation