CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

in this chapter, the researcher presents the background of the problem, the identification of the problem,

the limitation of the problem, the formulation of the problem, the objective of the research, the uses of the

research, and the scope of the research.

A. Background of the Problem

Language is absolutely significant in people’s life. Without it, people cannot interact with others.

However, people cannot understand what the other people say if they do not know the language that they

use. People neither can express their ideas nor opinion if they do not know the language. In other words, it

is difficult to do all our activities without language. People need language not only for communication but

also for keeping up with science and technology.

Brown states that language is a system of arbitrary vocal of symbol with permits all people in given

culture to communicate or interact.’ Therefore, language is important

H. Douglas Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Tebching New Jersey, Prentice Hall. mc, 1994, p.4
2,

for human being. Language is a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar, or

the system of communication used by the people of a particular country or profession. Therefore, there is

a relation between a language and the people who speak. Considering the facts above, the researcher

thinks that the language is very important in human life.

Lim states that language is a social phenomenon.2 It is a means of communication between individuals. It

also brings them into relationship with their environment. Language is therefore socially learned

behavior, a skill that is acquired as we grow up in society. There are many various languages in the world,

because language is a tool of conmrnnicaljon Language exists in two forms, the written and the spoken or

the oral form. Not all languages in the world have the written form of letters, but most languages have the

spoken form of sounds of phonemes. The need of mastering a language especially English is necessary.

English not only becomes more important in the world for communication, but also as an international

language which is used in international conferences.

As a matter of fact, learning English as a foreign language is not the same as learning

English as the second language. The students who learn it as the second language

have greater opportunity than the students who learn English as a foreign language.

Students who learn English as a second language can use English in their daily

2 Lim Kiat Boey, An Introduction to Linguistics for The Language Teacher, Singapore, 1975,

p.3
3

communication simultaneously. On the other hand, students who learn English as a foreign language have

title exposure or opportunity to use English in their daily life situation. There are four language skills that

must be mastered by the students, namely reading, speaking, listening, and writing. To suppoit the four

language skills, mastering grammar cannot be avoided, so they are demanded to master English grammar

first, but many students find difficulties in making a good entcnce in English. Furthermore, by learning

grammar, the students will be able to use the language correctly.

Learning grammar is very important for the students in acquiring the language competence. In other

words, the understanding of grammar will enable the students to improve the four language skills better.

Listening and reading both rely on input from an outside source and require knowledge of the language,

background knowledge, and comprehension skills. The productive skills of speaking and writing are more

complex as they necessitate taking knowledge of a language a step further to actually produce new

language.3 In addition, the limited time to practice writing and lack of good knowledge of grammar and

organization may cause great difficulties to someone especially the problem to compose good and correct

sentence in English. Therefore, Dullay et.al state that people cannot learn language without first

systematically committing errors. It means that error is an inevitable part of learning.4

Anonymous, Posted on December 15’, 2008, Language Skills in the Classroom. [Online]. Provides: ht

p://www.enotes.com/lit/discuss/language-skillS-CIaSSrO0m- 12531 [February 14th, 2012]

4Dulay, et al, Language Two, New York, Oxford University Press, 1982, p.138
4

Dullay et.aI also state that by knowing students’ errors, the teacher will get useful infonnation

and can be used to sequence items for teaching or devise remedial lesson.5 It can be said that

correcting the students’ errurs can function as teaching technique feedback. Further, Dullay et.ai

state that studying learners’ errors serves two major purposes:

It provides data from which inferences about the nature of the language learning process can be

made, and

It indicates to teachers curriculum developers which part of the target language students have

most difficulty producing correctly and which error types detract most from a learner’s ability to

communicate effectively.6

In this research, the researcher focused on analyzing the students’ grammatical errors especially

in using singular and plural nouns in their descriptive writing. Then, by writing a paragraph,

students learn to communicate a single idea clearly and effectively in written form.

The research was conducted at SMP Tn Sukses Natar Lampung Selatan. Based on the

preliminary research, the data were obtained by interviewing the English teacher of the seventh

class at SMP Tri Sukses Natar Lampung Selatan, Mrs. Miswati, S.Pd. She said that the students

noticed that they often do mistake when they apply singular and plural nouns. They were still

find difficulties in using singular and plural nouns and

1.

Ibid p.138 6Th14 p.138

5

distinguish between singular form which is changed to plural form. The researcher has given test to the

students in preliminary research, and the result of the test still far from the standard scores. They made

many errors in their descriptive writing. Here is the researcher represents some of the errors made by

the students:

1. Ihaveabestfrieflds.

2. His names is Arkan.

3. I have three brother. -

4. HeiswearingaglasseS.

5. Sheisanicegi!i.

6. This is my bedrooms.

The errors of singular and plural nouns above are taken from the students’ writing when the researcher

conducted preliminary research. Then, the correct answer should be:

1. Ihaveabestfriend.

2. His name is Arkan.

3. I have three brothers.

4. He is wearing glasses.

5. She is a nice girl.

6. This is my bedroom.

When the students want to write some words, thoughts, and their ideas in Indonesian language, then the

grammatical changes will not be happen like in English language. That is why the students often do

mistake and find difficulty when they apply their writing in English. The researcher is so interested

in investigating students’ ability by

I

their descriptive writing in using singular and plural nouns. Therefore, the researcher proposes a

research entitled: “An Analysis of Students’ Error in Using Singular and Plural Nouns in their

Descriptive Writing Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy at the Seventh Class of Second

Semester at SMP Tn Sukses Natar Lampung Selatan in 2011/2012 Academic Year”.

B. Te Identification of the Problem

Based on the background of the problem above, the researcher identified the problem as follows:

1. The students’ ability in descriptive writing is low.

2. The students still find difficulties in applying grammar in their writing.

3. The students still make a lot of errors in using grammar, especially in using singular and plural

nouns.

C. The Limitation of the Problem

Based on the identification of problem above, the researcher focused on the main obIem that is

an analysis of the students’ error in using singular and plural nouns in t±ir descriptive writing

based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy at the seventh class of ecimd semester at SMP Tn Sukses

Natar Lampung Selatan in 2011)2012 academic

I). The Formulation of the Problem

Based on the limitation of the problem above, the researcher formulated the problem as follows:

1. What types of errors do students make in using singular and plural nouns in their descriptive

writing based ou Surface Strategy Taxonomy?

2. What are proportions (frequency and percentage) of the four error types of Surface Strategy

Taxonomy that will be found of singular and plural nouns in their descriptive writing?

E. The Objectives of the Research

The objectives of the research are:

1. To find out types of errors the students make in using singular and plural nouns based on

Surface Strategy Taxonomy.

2. To find out proportions (frequency and percentage) of the four error types of Surface Strategy

Taxonomy that will be found of singular and plural nouns in their descriptive writing.

F. The Uses of the Research

The uses of the research are:

1. The result of the study can be used to inform the English teacher about error analysis based on

Surface Strategy Taxonomy in students’ descriptive writing.

8

The result of the study can be used to give motivation for the English teacher to improve their

technique in teaching of the error items fields next time.

The result of the study can be used to improve the students’ mastery in English, especially in

writing skill.

The result of the study can be used as complementary consideration for the other research that

related to this study.

The Scope of the Research

1. The Research Subject

The research subject was the students at the seventh class of the second semester at SMP Tn

Sukses Natar, Lampung Selatan.

The Research Object

The research object was an analysis the students’ errors in using singular and plural nouns in

their descriptive writing based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy. The Place of The Research

The research was conducted at SMP Tn Sukses Natar Lampung Selatan. The Research Time

The research was conducted at the seventh class of the second semester at SMP Tn Sukses Natar

Lampung Selatan in 2011/2012 academic year.

e

CHAPTER ii

TIlE FRAME OF THEORIES

In this chapter, the researcher presents the theories of languages, the concePts of error analysis, the

concept of singular and plural nouns, and the concept of descriptive writing that mainly related to

this thesis.

A. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language

Since English has been so widely used in the world, it serves different functionS in different countries.

Some countries use English as the first language, while some others use it as the second language and as

a foreign language. First language means that the language has been acquired since one was born, and

uses it when she or he starts learning to speak, and continues using it in his/her daily life as he/she growS

up. Different from first language, second language is not the first acquired by people. It is usually

acquired by people after they have mastered their first language, or they move from the communitY

where a first language is used to another in which people use a second language.
10

rwn states that second language learning context are those in which the classroom rzt language is readily

available out there. Teaching English in the United States or ‘.ra1ia clearly falls into to ESL category.

Foreign language contexts are those in &itiich students do not have ready contexts for communication

beyond their :ssroom.1 Teaching English as a foreign language should be put as the main priority

-.use, it will introduce not only something new about the language to students but so about its culture.

Teaching by using media and other equipments is hoped can 5upport the students achieve the goal. In

addition, the teaching methods should be a1 interesting and appropriate for students.

B. The Concept of Error and Mistake

According to Dullay et.al that errors are flawed side of learner speech and writing.2 They are those

parts of conversation or composition that deviate from some selected norm of mature language

performance. Meanwhile, Brown states that error is noticeable deviation from the adult grammar or a

native speaker reflecting the inter language competence of the learner, while mistake refers to a

performance error that is either a random guess or slip, in that it is a failure to utilize a known system

correctly.3 It is a means slip of the tongue, random ungrammaticalities and other performance

lapses in native speaker production also occur in second language speech. However, the problem of

determining what a learner’s mistake and what a

‘Douglas Brown, Language Assessment Principles and Classroom Practice, 2004, London,

Longman, p.1 16

2Dullay.et.a], Language Two, New York, Oxford University Press, 1982, p.138

Douglas Brown, Princ4Ie of Language Learning and Teaching New Jersey, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice

HaIl,Jnc, 1980, p.l65

11
learner’s error is one of some difficulty and involves a much more sophisticated study and analysis of

errors than is usually accorded them.

Further, according to Dullay et.al the distinction between performance error (mistake) and competence

error (error) is extremely important, but it is often difficult to determine the nature of a deviation wthout

carefully analysis. Therefore, they define error as any deviation from a selected norm of language

performaflCe no matter the characteristics or causes of the deviation might be4

In this research, practicallV the researcher holds on the idea proposed by Dullay et.al as the basis of

determining the deviations produced by the subject. In conclusion, error in this research is any deviation

that is made by the students in doing communication by writing.

C. The Concept of Error Analysis

Human learning is fundamentally a process that involves the making of mistakes. Brown states that

the fact that learners do make errors can be observed, analyzed, and classified to reveal

something of the system operating within the learner, led to a surge of study of learners’ errors, called

“error analysis”.5 While, according to Dullay

4DuUay eta1, Op. C14p.139

Douglas Brown, Op. CU, p.166

12

et.al state that the error analysis can be characterized as an attempt to account for iearner errors.6

According to Corder, error analysis has two functions, they are:7

1. To investigate the language learning process.

2 To investigate whether it is necessary or not for teacher to have remedial teaching. In this case, the

students’ errors give benefits, they are:

& Errors tell the teacher how far their students have progressed to reach the goals.

b. Errors provide evidences of how language is learnt and viiat strategies the learners are employing.

c. Errorscanbeusedbythetstoi

Ziking about error analysis, Dulay et.al classifies four taxonomies of error analysis
—-

1. Lingustic category taxonomy

2. Surface strategy taxonomy

3. Comparative taxonomy

4. Communicative affect taxonomy8

this research, to analyze the students’ error, the researcher focused on Surface aIegy Taxonomy as the

base for describing the classification of the errors. Since

‘Dullayet.al,Op. Cit, p.141

‘S.P Corder, Op. Cii, p.45

8Dulayet.aI Op. Cis p.150

13
this taxonomy focuses on aspects on the errors themselves, it emphasizes on analyzing the ways

surface structures are changed.

D. The Sources of Error

We have already seen that straitegies of learning basically hinge on genera] principles of

learning. Brown states that strategies for production discussed here under the rubric of “source of
—

error” take varied furms, some related to learning strategies and

—

some to other properties.9

1. hiterlingual Transfer

It is phenomenon in which the students’ native language influences the target language, so that the

students produce erroneous utterances. This error is attributable

to negative interlingual transfer. While it is not always clear that an error is the result of transfer from the

native language, many such errors are detectable in learner speech. Fluent knowledge of a learner’s

native language of course aids the teacher in detecting and analyzing such errors; however, even

familiarity with the language can be of help in pinpointing this common source.

2. Jntralingual Transfer

It is phenomenon in which the students make errors in target language caused by the grammatical rules

of the target language itself as the result of an adequate knowledge of the learners in the target language.

9Douglas Brown, Op. Cit, p.173

b.

3. Context of Learning
14

Context refers to classroom with its teacher and its mateaJs in the case of school Ieanjg In a

classroom Context the teacher or the textbook may lead the learner to make faulty hypotheses

about the language Here the sjdents often make ernors because of misleading explanation from

the teacher faulty presention of S1Ce or word in a textbook, or even because of a pattern that was

memorjJ rottenj in a drill but not properly contextnjzed

4. Comnjjcj0 Strategies

Brown stes that a COmcatiOn Strategy is the conscious emp1oyrn of verbai or nonverb& mechanisms

for ConlJnunicating an idea when precise linguistic forms axe for some reason not readily available to

the learner at a point in Comrm11jcatjon It is clear that the categories of strategies overlaps both inter-

and intraling1 transfer and context of learning.

5. Avojdan

Avoidance is a corn011 Cofli nication strategy that can be broken down into severaj subcategones and

thus distingus from other types of strategies The most COmnOfl type of avoidance strategy is syntac or

lexicaj avoidance Withj a semantic category.

bid, p.178

15

E. Concept of Surface Strategy TaxonOmY

Based on surface strategy taxonomy, Dullay et.al states that a surface strategy

taxonomy highlights the ways surface structures will be altered: learners may omit

necessary items or add unnecessary ones, they may misform items or misorder

items.’1 There are four types of errors based on the surface strategy taxonomy, they

are:

1. Omission

These errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-

formed utterance in other words, an utterance of a sentence is said to exhibit omission

ror, if it omits any necessary item used in well-formed sentence or utterance.

Example:

• There are two book (incorrect)

There are two books (correct)

2. Addition

These errors are characterized by the presence of an item which must not appear in a

well-formed utterance. There are three kinds of addition errors:

a. Double Markings

For instance:

“Dulayet.aI1OP. Cit, p.150

I
16

He buys an apples (incorrect)

He buys an apple ( correct)

b. Regularizations

Regularizations errors that fall under the addition category are those in which

a marker that is typically added to a linguistic item is erroneously added to

exceptional items of the given class that do not take a marker. For instance:

• Childs instead of children

• Sheeps instead of sheep

c. Simple Addition

If an addition error is neither a double marking nor regularization, it is called a simple addition.

No particular features characterize simple addition other those that characterize all addition

errors, the use of an item which should not appear in a well-formed utterance. For instance:

• These are a new books (incorrect)

These are new books (correct)

3. Misformation

These errors are characterized by the incorrect form of morpheme of structure. There are three

kinds of misformation errors:

17

a. Regularization Errors

That fall under the regularization errors of misformation category are those in which a regular marker is

used in place of an irregular one. For instance:

He has one children (incorrect)

He has one child (correct)

b. Archi Forms
—

The selection of one member of a class of forms to represent others in the

class is common characteristic of all stages of second language acquisition.

The form selected by the student is called an “archi form”. For instance:
—

• fldogismine

• That books are new

For this learner “that” is archi demonstrative adjective representing the entire members of demonstrative
—

adjective.

c. Alternating Forms

As the learners’ vocabulary and grammar grow, they have known the various members of a class.

Nevertheless, they still fail to select and use the members appropriately. For instance:

• That are my favorite rooms. (incorrect)

Those are my favorite rooms. (correct)

18

4. jsordering

These errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an

utterance. For instance:

Mr. Alvin has two books new (incorrect)

Mr. Alvin has two new books (correct)

F. The Concept of Noun

Noun is a word that is used to show for name of people places, animalS, days, ideas, things, or etc.

ExanWleS Fatim (name of person); Jakarta (place); and SaturdaY (dy).’2 Frank states that the noun is one

of the most important parts of speech. Its arrangement with the verb helps to form the sentence core

which is essential to every complete sentence. Some flOUflS may belong to more than one of the pes given

below13

i. Proper Noun

A proper noun begins with a capital letter in writing. it Includes (a) personal names, (b) names of

geoaphi0 units such as countries, cities, rivers, etc, (c) names of nationalities and religions, (d) names of

holiday, (e) names of time units, (f) words used for personification a thing or abstraction tread as a
—

person. As opposed to proper nOUnS, all other nouns are classified as common nouns.

‘2Faidlal Rahnhafl Au, Fundame7tcil3 of English Grammar A Practical Guide, Pustaka

Widyatama,27 p.4

‘ Marcefl Frank, Modern English, Prentice Hall, mc, 1972, p.6

19

2. Concrete or Abstract Nouns

A concrete noun is a word for a physical object that can be perceived by the senses —

we can see, touch, smell the object (flower, girl). An abstract noun is a word for a

concept it is an idea that exists in our minds only (beauty, justice, mankind).
—

3. Countable or Noncountable Nouns -

A countable noun can usually be made plural by the addition of —s. A noncountable

noun is not used in the plural. Mass nouns form one type of noncountable noun. They

are words for concrete objects stated in an undivided quantity. Abstract nouns

(including names of school subject and sports) are noncountable.

Some noncountable nouns may also be used in a countable sense and will therefore

have a plural. In the sentence We had chicken for dinner, chicken is a mass noun; in

There were many chickens in the yard, chickens is a countable noun. In addition, a

noncountable noun may be used in the plural with the special meaning of kinds of —

Many fruits were displayed at the fair.

4. Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a word for a group of people, animals or objects considered as a

single unit. Example of collective nouns are audience, committee, class, crew, crowa

enemy, faculty, family, flock; folk; government, group, hera jwy, majority, minority,

nation, orchestra, press, public, team.

S

I
20

Collective nouns are countable nouns; they may be used in the plural All the committees have now
—

made their recommendation.

Nouns in many European languages may be inflected, that is, changed in form, for certain grammatical

properties. Usually these changes are made through special endings. Inflectional forms of nouns may

indicate:

I. gender. Special endings mark nouns as masculine, feminine or neuter, not necessarily to actual sex.

2. case. Special endings mark nouns according to their function in the sentence- subject, object of the

verb, etc.

3. number. Special endings mark singular or plural nouns.

As a matter of fact, the only grammatical properties for which the English noun is inflected are: (1)

number —the noun has a special ending that signals not only actual possession, but a number of other

relationship for which of phrases may also be used. In this research, the researcher focused on analyzing

students’ grammatical error in using singular and plural nouns.

G. The Concept of Singular and Plural Nouns

A noun is the name of a person, place or thing. A singular noun refers to one only. A plural noun

refers to two or more. Schmitt explains that defmition of singular noun is when a noun means one

only, it is said to be singular (example: boy, girl, book, church, box), when a noun means more

than one it is said to be plural (example:

. 4 - — -— •-
boys, girls, books, churches).’4 There are many rules in using singular and plural nouns, as follows:
1. Es/s plural nouns.
a) The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding s to a singular noun.
Example:
Singular Plural
Lamp lamps
Cat cats
Fork forks
Flower flowers
Pen pens
b) Nouns ending in s, z, x, sh, and
Example:
Singular ___
Moss
Dish
Buzz
Box
Church
‘ Beverly Schmitt, 1997-2002, Singular and Plural Nouns lOnline]. Provides:
xpJ/www.teachingeng1ish.org.collum [November 3, 2011]

ch, from the plural by adding “Cs”

Plural
mosses
dishes
buzzes
boxes
churches
22 c) Noun ending in y preceded by a consonant is formed into a plural by changing “y”
to “les”. Example:
Singular Plural
Lady ladies
City cities
Army armies
Country countries

, d) Nouns ending in “y” preceded by a vowel from their plural by adding “s’.

Singular Plural
Boy boys
Day days
e) Most nouns ending in “o” preceded by a consonant is formed into a plural by
adding “es”. Example:
Singular Plural
Hero heroes
Buffalo buffaloes
Potato potatoes
Tomato tomatoes
The following are among those that add s only:
Canto solo piano lasso
Halo memento albino sirocco

_- -
23
I) Most nouns ending in “o” preceded by a vowel is formed into a plural by adding
“s’. Example:
Singular Plural
Folio folios
Cameo cameos
Studio studios
Poafolio portfolios
g) Some nouns ending in “f’ or “fe” are made plural by changing “F’ or “fe” to
“yes”. Example:
Singular Plural
Beef beeves
Wife wives

4 Life lives

Exceptions: The following may form their plurals by adding ‘s’.

Singular Plural
Chief chiefs
Fife fifes

I Safe safes

Roof roofs
Grief griefs
24

Specialn ote:

a) Irregular Plurals noun

Man men

Woman women

Foot feet

Mouse mice

Tooth teeth

Child children

Goose geese

The following flOUfl below have no singuj.:

Scisso oats tongs dregs trousers

Pinchers bellows snuftèra cattle sheais

Measles mumps victuaJs tweezers vespers

Some nOUnS are always singular. Some of these nouns may be used in the plural when different kinds

are meant as: sugars, coffees, Cottons, gold, silver, wheat, corn, molasses, copper, sugar, eotto news,

gallow5, mathematics, ethics (other Words ending in Ics).

Singular nouns use this and that.

Plural nouns use these and those.

25

a) Plural same as Singular

Some words ending in —s do not change in the plural. Common examples:
Singular Plural
Sheep Sheep
Crossroads crossroads
Species species
Fish fish
Nouns taken from foreign languages without change generally retain their
original plurals.
Singular
Alumna
Formula
Nebula
Vertebra
Automaton
Curriculum
Datum
Erraftu
Gymnasium
Phenomenon
Stratum
Alumnus
S

Plural
alumnae formulae nebulae vertebrae automata curricula
data errata gymnasia
phenomena
strata alumni

Singular
focus radius stimulus
terminus
amanuensis
analysis
axis basis ellipsis hypothesis parenthesis thesis

Plural
foci radii stimuli termini amanuenses
analyses
axes bases ellipses hypotheses
parentheses
theses
26

Other forms of singular and plural nouns are:

a) Possessive nouns

To show position, add an apostrophe (‘) and —s to singular noun.

a.

My brother

The girl

My student

My wife

The lecture

James

My brothers

The girls

My students

My wives

The lectures

b) Usingtobe

Is

Possessive noun My brother’s The girl’s My student’s my wife’s the lectures James’

Possessive form my brothers’ the girls’ my students’ my wives’ the lectures’

Plural noun

are II Was were

27
H. The Concept of Writing

Byrne states that writing involves the encoding of a message of some kind: that is, we translate our

thoughts into language.’5 Writing is more that the production of graphic symbol, just a speech is more

than production of sound. It means that writing is a process of sending a message by using !etters, express

idea, feeling, and thought, which are arranged in the word, sentence, and paragraph correctly.

Writing is a part of subject which is difficult in learning English, because in writing people need special

aspect of language, for instance: diction, structure, mechanic, and rhetorical. In other hand, Leo states

that writing as a process of expressing ideas or thoughts in words should be done at our leisure. Writing

can be very enjoyable as long as we have the ideas and the means to achieve it.16

There are several ways of organizing sentences which can be applied in writing activity depending on the

researcher purpose. According to Wishon and Burks, writing is classified into four types as follows:’7

1. Narration is the form of writing used to relate the story of facts or events.

Narration places occurrences in time and tells what happened according to natural time sequences.

15 Doun Byrne, Teaching Writing Skill, Longman, 1998, p.1

16 Sutanto Leo, English for Academic Purpose, Essay Writing, Yogyakarta, ANDI, 2007, p.1

‘‘ George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English Revised Edition, New York, Litton Educational

Publishing, 1980, pp.378-383

28

2. DescriPtion reproduces the way things look, smell, taste, feel, or sound; it may also evoke moods, such

as happiness, loneliness, or fear. It is used to create a visual image of people, places, even of units of

time days, time of days, or seasons. It may be used also to describe more than the outward appearaIW
—

of people. It may tell about people’s traits of character or personality.

3. ExpoSitiOt1 is used in giving infonnation. making expIanati0us and interpreting meanings. It

includes editorials, essays, and inforniative and

instructional material.

4. Mgumefltatofl is used in persuading and onvinciflg. It is closely related to expositiOn and is

often found combined with it. Argumefltattoll is used to

make case or to prove disprove a statement or preposition.

hi this research, the researcher chose descriptive writing to collect the data because, the students at the

seventh class of the second semester were studying about descriptive text in this semester.

I. The Concept of Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing is about using the power of words to arouse and capture the reader’s attentiOfl and

create a lasting impact. According to Osbinia and Hogue, descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it

tells how something looks, feels, smells, tastes and/or sounds.’6 A good description is like a “word

picture”; the reader can image the object, place, or person in his or her mind. In a descrtptiofl,

writers

‘6Ajice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Introduction Academic Writing Second F4itiofl 1997, p.50

29
often use spatial order to organize their ideas. It means that the students are able to describe their way of

thinking in words by writing.

Descriptive writing is a type of writing in which to write the ideas are arranging on the basic of space

or location, such as in the description of a person, description of a landscape, description of the structure

the building, description of the structure of something, etc. Description helps the reader, though his/her

imagination to visualize a scene or a person, or to understand a sensation or an emotion.’7 Besides,

descriptive paragraph also has language features:’8

a. Focus on specific participants

b. The use of adjectives and compound adjectives.

c. The use of linking verb / relating verbs.

d. The use of simple present tense.

e. The use of degree of comparison.

In this research, the researcher focused on describing person, place and things. The researcher chose

some tittles that were given for the students (See Appendix 2).

‘7George E. Withon and Julia M Burks, (, Cii p.128

g Rudi Hartono, Genres of Texis, Semarang, 2002, p.6