A.

ANALYZING STUDENTS ERROR IN WRITING NARRATIVE

TEXT AT THE ELEVENTH GRADE OF SMA NEGERI 1 SIAK

B.

Background
Writing is the most complex skill for English student, because writing is

thinking process how to express our mind and how to give understanding to
people who read our text depends on their understanding. Writing is the learning
process of shaping experience into text, allowing the writer to discover, develop,
clarify, and communicate thoughts and feelings. Writing requires and supports
the development of thinking skills.
Writing is one of the important parts and the proper tools in learning a
language because we have to pay attention to the patterns, spelling, vocabulary
and the sentence patterns. In writing the student can express their feelings, ideas,
thoughts and their opinions. Gaith (2002) says writing is about how we express
our thought and ideas to be a product.
As a

matter of fact, English

is a foreign language for Indonesian

students, writing a text in English totally is quite difficult for them. Students who
learn English may produce many errors in their writing such as in using tenses or
in arranging sentences become a good paragraph. Harmer (2001) states student
make

same

mistake more than one even when those mistake have been

repeatedly pointed out of them.

Raimes (1983) explained that writing is an area in which students commit
errors and it is helpful in students' learning because of the following reasons:
-

First, it reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that have

been taught to students.

Second, when students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous with the
language.

Third, when they write they necessarily become very involved with the new
language, the effect to express ideas, and the constant use of eye. hand and brain
is a unique way to reinforce learning.
Shahid Bahonar (2013) explain, there are three approaches to errors:

- Contrastive Analysis (CA)

- Error Analysis (EA)
- Interlanguage theory (IL)
Ferguson (1968) says Contrastive analysis is the systematic study of language to
identifying their structural differences and similarities.
Corder (1967) explain Error analysis is the systematic study of deviation from targ
language norms in the course of SLA, especially in terms of the learners
developing interlanguage.
Corder (1971) describe Interlanguage is an implication for theories of language
contact, language change and language acquisition, beside its usefulness in
describing, special language types such as immigrant speech, non standard
dialects, non-native varieties of language and the language of aphasics and among
of poetry, among others.
From the three kinds of three approaches to errors, the most commonly
discussed is error analysis. In this case we need to know that error and mistake
have different meaning. A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a
random guess or a slip, in that it is a failure to utilise a known system correctly,
and an error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker,
reflects the competence of the learner. Based on

that explanation we can

understand mistake are what researcher have to reffered to as performance error

(the learner knows the system but fails to use it) while the error are a result of
ones systematic competence (the learners system is incorrect). According to

James (1998) an error cannot be self-correction, and mistakes can be selfcorrected if the deviation is pointed out to the speaker.
In this research writer choose to take Daulay theory in classifying student
error. Daulay(1982) explain in analyzing error we can clasify in 4 classes, they
are:
- Omission (OM)
- Addition (AD)
- Subtitution / misformation (MF)
- Mis- ordering (MO)
-Omission (OM)
Omission is errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear
in a well formed phrases or sentence.
- Addition (AD)
Addition errors are opposite of omission. They are characterized by the presence
of an item, which does not appear in a well-formed utterance.
- Misformation (MF)
Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong form or morpheme
of structure. While in omission error, the item is not supplied at all. In the
misformation errors the learner supplies something, although it is incorrect.
- Misordering (MO)
It is characterized by the incorrect placement of one or more elements in a
phrase or sentence. The errors may be made by foreign language and second
language learners when they have acquired certain simple patterns.
Error analysis became a preferred tool of studying second language
analysis. It is seen as one of the best types of linguistic studies that focuses on the

learners' errors. It consists of a comparison between the errors made in target

language and within that target language itself.
Corder (1967) who is considered the father of error analysis contended
that those errors are important in and of themselves". So it can be said that errors
made by language learners make it possible to determine areas that need
reinforcement in teaching. He added that error analysis has two objects: One
theoretical and another applied. The theoretical object is to understand what and
how a learner learns when he studies an second language. The applied object is to
enable the learner to learn more efficiently by using the knowledge of his dialect
for pedagogical purposes. At the same time, the investigation of errors can serve
two purposes, diagnostic (to in-point the problem) and prognostic (to make plans
to solve a problem).In addition, he said that it is diagnostic because it can tell us
the learner's grasp of a language at any given point during the learning process. It
is also prognostic because it can tell the teacher to modify learning materials to
meet the learners' problems.
In this case writer want to analyze students error in writing narrative
text. Writer choose to take sample at SMA Negeri 1 Siak because writer already
have small interview with the teacher. The teacher explain that they already give
explanation, example, and excercise to the students, but when the teacher check
the students work, the teacher find much erros in their work. Based on this case
writer want to identification and classification students error in writing text.
Writing have so many genre, like recount, description, report, narrative, ect. In
this research writer choose narrative text for the sample, because narrative text has
been learned since junior high school until senior high school, the even in
narrative text is for entertain the reader, thw use of grammar in narrative text is
quite simple because the tenses in narrative text is simple past.
An error analysis has an important role to reveal what kinds of error the
students do most, and how the students can learn from their mistake in writing

by themselves. Those are the reason why the writer is interested in analyzing
students error in writing. In this case, the writer wants to find out the grammatical
error made by the eleventh grade student of SMA Negeri 1 Siak in their
composition writing. And, by knowing the students errors obtained from the test
of their narative writing focusing in their grammar, we will know what kind of
grammar error that commonly made by the students at SMA Negeri 1 Siak.
Based on the statement above, the writer would like to conduct a research
in ANALYZING STUDENTS ERROR IN WRITING NARRATIVE TEXT AT
THE ELEVENTH GRADE OF SMA NEGERI 1 SIAK .
C.

The Formulation of the Problem

The writer formulates the problem of this research as follows:
-

What kind of error the students at SMA Negeri 1 Siak make in

grammatical features focusing on linguistic classification ?

D.

The General Objective of the Study

To find out error the student at SMA 1 Siak make in grammatical features

focused on linguistic classification.

E.

The Need for the Study

The findings of this research are expected to give some valuable

contributions for the writer, student, and teacher.

For the writer, some valuable contribution in doing this research is writer
can understand the things that need to be considered in the process of learning
and teaching.
For the student some valuable contribution in this research is help student
to develop their knowledge in grammar ability especially analyze grammatically
in writing, they would know about their ability in writing narrative text. So, they
could consider the improvement of their ability.
This research was expected to be benefit for giving some information for
the teacher to know students ability in grammar and giving them an important

contribution in english teaching process which is part of grammar and known

students ability in writing narrative text, she/he could take an action to solve this
problem such as giving explanation and exercise in writing narrative text and give
more exercise of writing narrative text.
F.

The Definition of the Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation in reading this

paper the definition of the terms are givern as follow:

1. Error :
Which a student cant do self correction, but where it is clear which form
the student wanted to use, and where the class is familiar with that form. Julian
Edge (1989)
Errors in this research is students error in term of linguistic classification
in writing narative text.
2. Narative text :
Narative is stories organized by time, one event in the story, one step in the
process happening after the other. Joseph Canavan (1969)
Narrative in this research is narative text produced by student

G.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. The Nature of Writing
Writing is one of the language skills that should be mastered by the

English learners. This skill is used as a medium of delivering the ideas, feeling,
and perception of the writer to the readers. Beside that, writing is also a good tool
for communication. Through writing students can share what they feel, think
and deliver their opinion to others. Axel rod and Charles R (1985) says writing
is a complex proses because so many element of mistery and surprise. But we
know everybody can learn to do it.

Writing is also defined as productive and expensive action. So, in writing

a writer should have a good knowledge and skills about how to write well
because good writing is a set of specific writing skills. Writing covers a number of
elements, such as content, grammar, vocabulary ,unity and coherence. All of this
items essential in writing. In line with this, Charles w. Bridges and Ronald f.
Lunsford (1984) says writing is the stage in which the writer produce a rough
draft of the paper. The important thing of writing for the student is to express
their feeling and produce their own language on the paper. To be a good writer,
the students practice and try to write and to increase their capability. Writing is
more complicated than other.
On the other hand James c. Raymon (1980) divided the definition of
writing into four categories, they are : writing is a way of thinking, writing is
more than a medium of communication, writing is a way of remebering and a
way of thinking well. Writing makes words permanent and thus expands the
collective memory of human beings from the relatively small
A The Nature of Error Analysis
There are many definiton about error analysis, the following definitions of
errors are derived from several view. According to Corder (1981) error is both an
ancient activity and at the same time comparatively new one. Errors have played
an important role in the study of language acquisition in general and in examining
second and foreign language in particular.
Harmer (2001) state errors are part of the learner Interlingua that is the
version of the language which a learner has at any ona stage of development and
which is continually reshaped as he/she aims toward full mastery. Richards (1974)
states that errors analys is the study and analysis of errors made by the second or
foreign language learners. Based on the definition, we known that errors analysis
is necessary to conduct only for the errors made by learner in learning second or
foreign language. In addition Corder (1967) state that teachers can get benefit
from the findings of errors analysis in many ways. Errors tell to the teacher how
far toward the goal the learner has progressed and what remains for him to learn.
7

According to Brown (1987) The concept of error analysis is observed, analyzed,

and classified to reveal something of the system operating within the learner, lead
the surge of study of learners errors.
There are different frameworks and classifications of errors according to
various linguistic levels of description and systematicity, and researchers in their
attempt to analyze learners' errors have developed their own categories. Halliday,
McIntosh, and Strevens (1964) claimed that it is extremely useful to construct a
purely descriptive framework for the analysis of errors, taking into account the
level of language and the various categories involved.
Cataln (1997) tried to systematize error terms and definitions to make
teachers and researchers aware of relativity of errors and the great degree of
overlapping. She stated that in error studies the most appropriate terms and
definitions must be chosen to serve the researchers' purposes best (ibid). Corder
(1974) identified three types of errors according to their systematicity: (1)
presystematic errors occur when the learner is unaware of the existence of a
particular rule in the target language; (2) systematic errors occur when the learner
has discovered a rule but it is a wrong one; (3) post systematic errors occur when
the learner knows the correct target language rule but uses it .
Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982) established four broad classifications of
errors: (1) linguistic taxonomy which classifies errors according to the language
component and the particular linguistic constituent the error affects; (2) surface
strategy taxonomy which emphasizes the ways surface structures are changed; (3)
comparative analysis taxonomy which is based on comparison between the
structures of second language errors and certain other types of construction; (4)
communicative effect taxonomy focuses on the effect of errors on the listener or
reader.
Regarding linguistic taxonomy, Keshavarz (1999) classified errors into
four distinct categories: orthographic errors, phonological errors, lexico-semantic

errors, and syntactic-morphological errors. Corder (1973) classified errors based

on the main processes which lead to erroneous utterances: omission, addition,
substitution and permutation (misordering). Dulay et al. (1982) classified errors
according to the ways the surface structure is altered in erroneous utterances:
omission, addition, misformation (substitution) and misordering. The two
taxonomies proposed by Corder (1973) i.e. processing errors, and Dulay et al.
(1982) i.e. surface errors, are compatible and their subcategories can be equated.
Omission errors refer to the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed
utterance. Addition errors refer to the presence of an item that must not appear in a
well-formed utterance. Misformation or substitution errors are due to the use of
the wrong form, morpheme or structure. Misordering errors are due to the
incorrect placement of a morpheme or a group of morphemes in an utterance.
In this research writer choose to take Daulay et al theory in calasifying
student error. Daulay et al(1982) explain in analyzing error we can clasify in 4
classes, there are :
-Omission (OM)
- Addition (AD)
- Subtitution / misformation (MF)
-Mis- ordering (MO)
-Omission (OM)
Omission is errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in
a well formed phrases or sentence. Any morpheme or word in a sentence is a
potential candidate for omission. However, between content words and function
words, the letters are more frequently omitted by language learners.
Example
1.

He sitting *)
He is sitting.

2.

English use as second language *)

English is used as second language.

- Addition (AD)
Addition errors are opposite of omission. They are characterized by the presence
of an item, which does not appear in a well-formed utterance.
Example
1.

She is eats banana *)

She eats banana.

2.

It is on a picture of elephant *)
It is a picture of elephant

- Misformation (MF)
Misformation

errors

are characterized by the use of the wrong form or

morpheme of structure. While in omission error, the item is not supplied at all. In
the misformation errors the learner supplies something, although it is incorrect.
Example
1.

Ali eat a pineapple *)

Ali eats a pineapple

2.

It is the tiger*)
It is a tiger.

- Misordering (MO)
It is characterized by the incorrect placement of one or more elements in a phrase
or sentence. The errors may be made by foreign language and second language
learners when they have acquired certain simple patterns.
Example
1.

Elephant has a nose long*)

Elephant has a long nose.

2.

Zebra the colours is black and white*)

Zebras colours is black and white.

10

People who learn foreign language will do some error on their work, there
are cause of error describe by Richard (1971). Richards subdivides the intralingual
or developmental error as the causes of errors into :
- Overgeneralization.
Overgeneralization or transfer is the use of previously available strategies in new
situations. In second language learning some of these strategies will prove helpful
in organizing the facts about the second language, but others, perhaps due to
superficial similarities, will be misleading and inapplicable - overgeneralization
covers instances where the learner creates a deviant structure on the basis of his
experience of other structures in the target language. Based on the above
statements, we can say that the cause of error in this case is not the influence of
the learners' mother tongue but it is the influence of the target language which
they have already learnt.
example: He runs fastly.
In this sentence, the learner produces an error because he/she generalizes that
adverbs of manner must always be formed by adding 'ly' to the adjectives.

- Ignorance of Rule Restriction.

This kind of error is closely related to overgeneralization. That is the learners fail
to observe the restrictions of certain structures. In this case, they apply a rule in
the context of a sentence where actually it is not necessary.
example : The man whom I saw him yesterday.
The student does not know that it is impossible to mention the person referred to
by the relative pronoun by another pronoun as well.
- Incomplete Application of Rule.
This means that the learners apply a rule in the context of a sentence, although the
rule is not yet complete. The students may use a statement for a question by
adding a question mark at the end of the sentence.
11

example: He goes to school?

-False Concepts Hypothesized. False concepts hypothesized refers to faulty rule
learning at variouslevels. There is a class of interlingual errors which derive from
faulty comprehension of distinctions in the target language. These are sometimes
due to poor gradation of teaching items some students get confused and cannot
differentiate between go and come, bring and take, too and very, etc. They use the
present tense instead of the present continuous tense or the other way round. This
might be caused by learners not paying much attention to the difference between
items. They consider too and very are the same as well as go and come, etc.
Another caused of error mentioned by George (1972) is 'redundancy
reduction'. The error might bemade as a result of blending structure learnt early in
the learning sequence, for example: 'Yesterday I walk at Losary Beach. The
adverbial marker 'yesterday' in this sentence is, for the learner, sufficient to
indicate a time reference, and consequently the -ed is omitted from the stem of the
verb; and when we add -ed means we make redundancy. This kind of thing should
be paid attention to in teaching.
Based on Cataln (1997) analyzing an error is a useful tool either to
discover the type of structures of the target language (TL) that cause trouble for
second language learners in their interactive comrnunication with native speakers,
or to map out the type of strategies used in learning a foreign language.
B. The Nature of Narative Text
Narrative is the form of writing that is used to relate the story of acts or
events. It usually arranges the story based on time sequence. Narrative is to
amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experiences in different ways
to the readers or listeners with our stories. It tells a story to make a point or
explain an idea or event. As a result, this type of essay can be fun to read and even
to write. A narrative contains action, dialogue or humor. According to Hornby

12

(1973), narrative means story or orderly account of events. So in narrative the

students usually try to write a composition based on his or her personal
experience.
Narrative paragraphs are most distinctively used in fiction. So that, they
will contain all necessary components of action development, the aspect of
narratives, consist of protagonist, setting, goal, obstacle, climax and resolution.
A narrative text has three parts, they are social function, generic structure,
and lexico grammatical. The social function of the text as mentioned above is to
amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experiences in different
ways.
There are three generic structures of the text namely :
a. Orientation
An orientation in narrative text functions to set the scene and introduces the
participants.
b. Complication
Complication is a crisis a rising.
c. Resolution
The last generic structure is resolution, in which the the crisis is resolved, for
better or for
worse.
The significant lexicogrammatical features of the text focuses on the
specific and usually individualized

participants, use material processes,

behavioral processes, and verbal processes, use a relational processes and

13

mental processes, use temporal conjunctions, and temporal circumstances, use

past tense.
H.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.

Research Design
Researcher could choose several methods, which could be used in

educational research; they are historical research, descriptive research and

experimental research. In this study the writer used descriptive research. Best
(1981 : 25) stated that descriptive research describes what is. It involves the
description, recording, analysis, and interpretation of conditions that exist. It
involves some types of comparison or contrast and attempt to discover
relationship between existing non manipulated variables. Best ( 1981 : 106 )
describes characteristics of descriptive research, as follow : they are non
experimental, they involve hypothesis formulation and

testing, they use the

logical method of inductivedeductive reasoning to arrive at generalizations, they

often employ methods of randomization so that error may be estimated when
inferring population characteristics from observations of sample, the variable and
procedures are describes as accurately and completely as possible so that they
study can be replicated by other researchers.
2.

The Location of the Study

This research will be conducted at SMAN 1 Siak.

3.

Population and the Sample of the Study

The population of this study is the second grade student of SMA 1 Siak.

Since the population of the second grade students is more than 100 people, so it is
necessary to have sample for taking the data. According to Gay (1987) said if the
population is large and homogeneous enough the sample is taken 40% in
minimum. Since the number in this population in this research is quite large and
homogenous and the student have similar characteristics, the writer took 40% as
the sample.

14

4.

Data Collection Technique

The writer will ask the student to writing narrative text for collecting data.

The writer did the next following step as a part of data collection technique. They
-

are :
First , writer give explanation about narrative text to the students, after that writer

give an example of narrative text to give understanding to the students.

Second, writer asked to write narrative text to the students minimum 3 paragraph,

with their own word.

Third, after students collect their work, writer give sign in part of wrong

grammatical order (focus in language classification by Daulay theori)

The data ready to analyze.
5.

Data Analysis Technique

After collecting the students writing to determine the errors, the writer did

the next following steps as a part of data analysis, in analyzing the data, the writer
will use content analysis which consist of the steps by Gall (2005). They are :

1)

Preparing the database.

After the sample are collected through sampling proces, they are ready to be
analyzed. In this process, the data gained are in the form of error in lingustic
calssification will be underlining by the writer.

2)

Sequencing the data base

After the error of lingustic classification are identify, they will sequence from the
highest result of error until the lowest.

3)

Grouping the data into categories

The sequence data will be grouping into categories.

4)

Coding each data

After the data already grouping we will give code to help us in calculating the
data, the total of omnision will coding with POM, and so on.

5)

Calculating all the coded data

Calculating the frequency and percentage of error made by students. Table of the
frequency and percentage of Students Errors in Narrative Text Writing Based on
surface Strategy taxonomy :
15

Name

Type of Errors

o
OM

AD

MF

Total

Total

errors

words

MO

Total

POM = Total Omission X 100 % = ..%

Total error
PAD = Total Addition X 100 % = ..%
Total error
PMF = Total Misformation X 100 % = .%
Total error
PMO = Total Misordering X 100 % = ..%
Total error

Explanation :
POM = Percentage of Omission
PAD = Percentage of Addition
PMF = Percentage of Misformation
PMO = Percentage of Misordering
6)

Generating construct that emerge from the categories

All the data obtain can give a meaningful meaning towards the study. From the
steps above we can analyze the error student do most in writing narrative text.

16

In calculating the data, the writer use Hatch and Farhady (1982: 46), to obtain the
percentage.

I.

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