The Grammatical Error Analysis Found in Students’ Composition

Abstract

Grammar is an important language component to enhance students’ language proficiency. However, many students still make grammatical errors in writing their essays. This research aims at analyzing types of grammatical errors found in students’ essays. The type of this research is a descriptive case study. The subjects of the study were 20 third-semester students of Purworejo Muhammadiyah University, Indonesia. The researchers used a test to collect the data. The results of tests were analyzed descriptively by using Keshavarz’s theory. The analysis result shows that the percentage for each error type is 34.06% (omission), 7.25% (addition), 57.97% (substitution), and 0.72% (permutation). Based on the research result, the researchers conclude that the most dominant error is substitution. The percentage of error can prove it, that is, 57.97%. There are some implications of error analysis in English language teaching in universities in Indonesia. The lecturer can give enrichment, understand students’ grammar competence, give corrective feedback to students’ errors, modify target language learning items in classrooms and textbooks, understand the way students apply the target language rules, and use the effective teaching method or learning media.