An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Essay Writing at Bethany
Elementary School
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Riski Veriando Setianda
112007203
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Essay Writing at Bethany
Elementary School
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Riski Veriando Setianda
112007203
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
iii
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Kind of Work : Undergraduate Thesis
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1
An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Essay Writing at Bethany
Elementary School
Riski Veriando Setianda
Abstract
This study investigated errors in English tenses found in the students’ writing
test of 5th grade students at Bethany Elementary School offered in first semester, 2012-2013 academic year. There were 12 students participated in
this study The data were collected from the students’ essay about daily activities and holiday. It was found that the students still had problems in using two basic tenses, i.e Simple Present Tense and Simple Past Tense. I suggested that the teachers need to focus not only on the organization of writing but also on the grammar especially tenses when they teach writing. Keywords: Error, Simple Past tense, Simple Present Tense
Introduction
Nowadays, English is becoming more important. More than three hundred million
people are speaking English as native speakers and more than four hundred million people
speak English as second or foreign language (Rad, 2007). In recent years, the teaching of
English in Indonesia is expanding into primary or elementary school setting as a local content
course. Teaching English for young learners has been officially permitted since 1994 to
prepare human resources in the future. It may be considered as a controversial issue in
teaching English as a foreign language in Indonesia. Introducing English to young learners is
arguable especially from the linguistic point of views.
Learning a foreign language is not easy, in English, because the rules are different
from those of our native language. The difficulties are also faced by the students of Bethany
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reading, and writing. “in order to master the English language, learners have to be adequately
exposed to all of the four basic skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing”
(Brown, 2000). Writing is one of the skills in which learners or students express their ideas,
comments, or opinions as a means of communication. Bryne (1979) explained that writing is
transforming our thoughts into language. In other words, writing can be defined as a way of
communication by transforming observations, information, thought, or ideas into language,
so it can be shared with others. Also, Bryne (1979) added that it is neither easy nor
spontaneous; it requires conscious mental effort. Writing is not only just transforming our
thought or idea in written form but also it relays to the process of monitoring any single
words or features that we have written and the process of rereading and revising our writing.
Writing gives unique opportunities of explore ideas and enquire information.
Horton (1982) defined writing as away to express people‟s feelings, emotions, and
ideas in order to find the most suitable words to convey message and also saying something
in different way. Brigdes and Lunsford (1984) emphasized that writing is a process in which
learners are encouraged to be more active in expressing the ideas. However, it is not easy to
develop a good piece of writing, especially for children. Warren (1985) proposed that writing
is no trouble; just jot down ideas as they occur. The jotting is simple. It is the occurring which
is difficult.
However, the standard of English among children is on the decline despite learning
English for several years. The students are still weak in English and face some problems.
This problem especially happen in their writing skills. They still commit errors in all aspects
of language. Children often find difficulties in writing, because they are not used to
conveying their ideas in a foreign language, particularly when the teacher gives topic that
they do not like. The teacher should give interesting topics to the learners. Children are often
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gradual growth of knowledge and intellectual skill toward a find stage of formal and logical
thinking” (Cameron 2001, p.2). I believe that almost all children have imaginations which
can help them to express ideas. Expressing idea is the main way to start a good writing.
The difficulties of writing may cause mistakes which children do not realize. That
mistake actually happen from the student‟s understanding about the pattern, in this case is
grammar. Written language cannot be separated from grammatical rules. Haffernan and
Lincoln (1986) proposed that fine writing needs an effective understanding of grammar. In
similar vein, Byrne (1979) suggested that good writing is produced by a good writer who
produces sentences which are arranged in a good sequence, a particular order, and linked
together in certain ways. Sounds, words, sentences are meaningful within this frame of each
language structure and system. Similarly, each language uses its own pattern of arrangement
and form for its grammatical meanings. Kroll (1990) believed that English language learners
who have already learned to write in another language have knowledge and literacy skills that
can help them write in English, but they still face many difficulties. Juel (1994) added that
writing has been characterized as the most challenging of the literacy domains. Bassically,
writing is a complex process requiring visual memory, attention, phonological processing,
semantic operations, and motor performance. It is therefore less specific and less automatized
in terms of reading and it can easily be disturbed by the interference of concurrent cognitive
and motor operations (Moretti et al., 2003).
Stephens (1992) pointed out that writing is one of painful process in learning
language. As a result, children are likely to feel awkward and almost certain to make
mistakes. He believed that the problem that children face might help them in expressing their
ideas and improving their writing skills. It is almost the same when we are talking about the
purpose of writing. I believe that every writer has a goal, that is, to make the readers
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why grammatical aspects in a piece of writing need a special attention. When a piece of
writing has problems with grammatical errors, the readers will not understand what the
writers really mean. The readers might feel confused when they are reading it. The specific
problems especialy happen in each sentence of writing. Sentences are made up of patterns of
arrangement of words group, words, stress, etc. On the other hand, children appear to have
specific problems separating closed words, including prepositions, articles and conjunctions,
from the nearest content word (noun, verb, or adjective) (Ferreiro & Pontecorvo, 1996 ;
Tolchinsky & Cintas,2001 ). When words are not semantically salient such as auxiliary verbs,
clitics and prepositions in English, separating words accurately can remain difficult in some
cases until high school (Tolchinsky, 2003). Bassically, sentences occur in sequences, and
each language has its own system for the ordering of sentences in sequences.
All the children‟s writing may have errors in their sentences. Error is “an unwanted
form”, specifically, a form which a particular course designer or teacher does not want
(George, 1972). If the unwanted form appeared as an independent part of the learner‟s
experience, e.g., in the English of other teachers or of local speakers, there is no difficulty of
explanation of its presence. However, errors are not embarassing. According to Jain (1973),
the realization of error in learning a foreign language is important for the understanding of
the acquisition process. It means that a teacher should let the children make some errors in
writing, since it will enable teachers to pay more attention to part of the lesson which needs to
be reviewed. James (1998) defined an error as "unsuccessful bit of language" (p.1). Errors
seem to be as succinct and compact a description as I've ever read! However, this very
readable style of writing, whilst appearing informal, is maintained through technical issues
which is easy to obfuscate by a children which has poor writing style.
Mistakes, errors, and problems in children‟s writing are related with grammar.
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intuitively know the grammar system of that language, that is, the rules of making meaning.
Students who are native speakers of English already know English grammar. They recognize
the sounds of English words, the meanings of those words, and the different ways of putting
words together to make meaningful sentences.
Grammar is still regarded as the most difficult part in a language use. Does a training
in 'formal grammar' improve a child's ability to write? At one time it was taken for granted
that the answer was yes, so children were taught grammatical analysis as part of the effort to
improve their writing. However when educational researchers sought evidence for the
expected effects, the results were negative; for example, one of the classic experiments
concluded: "It seems safe to infer that the study of English grammar had a negligible or even
harmful effect upon the correctness of children's writing in the early part of the five
secondary schools" (Harris 1962). The earliest research questioning the value of grammar
teaching found that it was simply a waste of time in the sense that most children could not
apply any of the categories even after many years of teaching (Cawley 1957; Hudson 1987;
Macauley 1947). This is clearly a fundamental objection if it is true, but most research has
found that, when well taught, any kind of grammar (traditional or modern) can be learned by
most school children at least at secondary level and in some cases at primary level - for
example, fifth-graders (Gale 1967). It is also interesting to remember that grammar was one
of the few subjects that teachers taught purely on the basis of what they themselves learned at
6
taught at the second semester. Learning tenses is very important to make a sentence well and
clear suitable with the time of the activity. Talking about tenses, most students of Indonesia
find it difficult to learn. Based on my observation, when I taught simple present tense and
simple past tense to some elementary students, most of the learners had difficulties in using
verbs. The learners were confused in using verb –s, verb 1 and verb past, and also in using
auxiliary do, does, and did. It is difficult because English has a different system from
Indonesia. Their native language influences them in constructing English sentences. In
Indonesia, there are no changes of the verb caused by time. There are no concord between
subject and the verb either. For example, the sentence „saya makan sekarang and dia makan
sekarang‟ in Indonesia the verb is not influenced by the person. In English sentence, „I eat
now and he eats now‟, have different verbs, one of the verb has -s. Therefore, there is a great
possibility for children to make errors. In this case, the English teachers must realize the
problems faced by the students. My observation in Bethany Elementary school also showed
that tenses are the most problem in student‟s writing. They are still confused about plural and
singular, verb agreement, verb be, etc.
This research aimed to analyze the grammatical errors made by the learners in
constructing simple present tense and simple past tense in the writing. An Italian proverb says
Sbagliando S’impara (we learn through our error) and making mistakes can indeed be
7
foreign language is a part of learning process. It is impossible for students to learn a foreign
language without making mistakes or errors. Because in learning foreign language, making
errors is common, acceptable, and important part in order for the teacher to improve the
teaching method and provide feedback.
Other study about grammatical errors made by the learners in constructing simple
present tense and simple past tense in the writing is on Dyah Yeny‟ thesis (2009). The study
used different subject in collecting data. She used Integrated Course 2‟ students of Satya
Wacana Christian University as her subject. This research here used 5th grade elementary
students as the subject.
This research aimed to address the following research question; What are the common
grammatical errors that occur in the writing of 5th grade of elementary students? The purpose
of this research was to describe the common errors in simple present tense and simple past
tense of the students‟ writing.
The result of this research may provide the Elemantary School teachers better
understanding of their students and it could be an input for them in teaching writing and
focusing on the problematic ones. I hope that this research could provide some guidance or
assistance for those who would like to study further about grammatical errors in writing by
children.
The Study
This study used a descriptive method. I used students‟ writing in Bethany Elementary
School Salatiga to identify the kinds of grammatical errors. The focus of this research was the
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The participants of this research were the students of 5th grade of elementary school
at Bethany Elementary School in the 2012 / 2013 academic year. The total number of the
student were 12 students. I adopted purposive sampling that based on specific needs.
Purposive sampling signifies to see sampling as a series of strategic choices about with
whom, where and how to do the research (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000).
The research instrument of this study is writing prompt. All subjects were given two
series of pictures about holiday (past tense) and daily activities (present tense) and some
questions related to the pictures as a guide to write their stories. Then, the students were
instructed to write stories. Each student wrote only once (each series of pictures) in a piece of
paper and the were given freedom to express their ideas based on the pictures and questions
given.
In collecting the data, first I asked permission from the teacher to give the students
instruction to write stories (writing). After getting the data, I classified and analyzed the
errors. After classifying and analyzing the errors, I tried to find the possible causes of the
errors. This study only analyzed the grammatical errors and then grouped the errors based on
the tenses; Simple past tense and Simple present tense.
In analyzing the data, first I read and studied the students‟ writings. Then, I corrected
the writings and focused on the tenses errors. After that, I divided the errors based on the two
tenses. Next, I arranged the finding of errors in three steps. The first explanation was the
intoduction of errors. The second showed the context of errors. The last showed the possible
causes of errors and analysis. Finally, I summarized the errors on tenses and presented the
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Discussion
The purpose of this study was to investigate the common grammatical errors of past
tense and present tense. The analysis found 48 errors, which could be divided into two types
of tenses errors. There were 22 errors in the simple present tense, and 26 errors in the simple
past tense.
A. Number of Simple Past Tense Errors
Figure 1. Errors in Simple past tense
It can be seen in Figure 1 that the number of errors was high. It indicated that making
mistakes can indeed be regarded as an essential part of learning (Norrish, 1995:1). Figure 1
shows the number of errors in first type of tenses error. It was Simple Past Tense type. In the
simple past tense errors, the student made four types of errors. Type 1 was the incorrect use
of Simple past tense verb. Type 2 was the incorrect use of Simple past tense form by adding
(be) before the transitive verb. Type 3 was the misuse of Simple past tense because the
students used present perfect tense in their sentences. Type 4 was the incorrect use of Simple
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present tense. The study found 22 errors in type 1 (84%), 1 error in type 2 (4%), 2 errors in
type 3 (8%), and 1 error in type 4 (4%). It is clear that the students still made many errors in
simple past tense. Mostly, they made errors in type 1 (22 errors (84%)). It was the highest
ranked of errors in simple past tense and this study. For further analysis, all types of error
from simple past tense were selected and interpreted.
Error type 1. The incorrect use of simple past tense
In the analysis, some students made errors in using simple past tense. The following
italicized word(s) or phrase(s) were some the examples of the errors in using simple past
tense form:
1. My friend who invited me. I bringa lot of things, such as: blanket, sunblock, etc.
2. I went to the beach yesterday. I spend my holiday only for one day. My family
invited me there.
The first and the second examples above were related to the incorrect use of simple
past tense verb. The word bring and spend were inappropriate because the sentences indicated the activities that happened in the past time, the students should use the simple past
tense. So, it should be changed into brought and spent. However, they used the simple present tense.
Error type 2. The incorrect use of simple past tense
In analyzing the data, the writer found another error type in using simple past tense. Here
are the examples:
11
The word was (be) in the example above was the incorrect use of the simple past tense form by adding was (be) before the transitive verb. The sentences were inappropriate because was (be) must not preceded by an transitive verb. So, the correct sentence should be,
The driver who drove the bus.
Error type 3. The misuse of simple past tense
In the analysis, the writer also found the misuse of simple past tense. Here are the
examples:
4. My brother went to meet my father, and my father has put something in my brother
hands. Then we can swim together.
5. I started to go to Jepara. When I havearrived, I saw a beautiful hotel.
The sentences above were the misuse of simple past tense because the students used
perfect tense in their sentences. If the sentences indicate the activities that happened in the
past time and there was connection with the present time, the students should use the simple
past tense. So, the correct sentences should be, My brother went to meet my father, and my father put something in my brother hands. Then we can swim together and I started to go to Jepara. When I have arrived, I saw a beautiful hotel.
Error type 4. The incorrect use of simple past tense
From the data that had been collected, the writer found that some students did not use
simple past tense form correctly. The following are the examples of the errors:
6. In the second day, I went to the market and bought some food. After that, I‟am
12
The sentence above was the example of the incorrect use of simple past tense. If the
sentences indicate the activities that happened in the past time, the students should use simple
past tense. However, they used present continous tense instead. So, the correct sentennce
should be, In the second day, I went to the market and bought some food. After that, I swam and in the night I prepared to go home at 9 p.m.
B. Number of Simple Present Tense Errors
Figure 2. Errors in Simple present tense
It could be seen in Figure 2 that the number of errors was also high. It indicated that
making mistakes can indeed be regarded as an essential part of learning (Norrish, 1995:1).
Figure 2 shows the number of errors in Simple Present Tense type. In the simple present
tense errors, the student made five types of errors. Type 1 was the absence of –s morpheme in
the simple present tense verbs for third person singular subject. Type 2 was the misuse of an
–s morpheme by adding it to the verb of the second person singular subject. Type 3 was the
misuse of V - ing morpheme by adding it to the verb. Type 4 and type 5 were the incorrect
13
clear that the students still made many errors in simple present tense. Mostly, they made
errors in type 3 (7 errors (32%)). It was the highest number of errors in the simple present
tense. For further analysis, all types of errors from simple present tense were selected and
interpreted below.
Error type 1. The absence of –s for third person singular subject
In the analysis, the wrong form of simple present tense was found in the students‟ writing.
It was the absence of –s morpheme. The following are the examples of the errors:
7. I must find my owm seat. Then the teacher teach us.
8. I go to school use a car. My dad drive it.
The first and the second examples above were inappropriate sentences because there was
no –s morpheme in the simple present tense verbs for third person singular subject. The
sentences were inappropriate because the students did not add an –s morpheme after the
verbs. The words teach and drive should be changed into teaches and drives.
Error Type 3. The misuse of –s for second person singular subject
From the data that have been collected, the writer found several errors in misusing of –s
morpheme. Here are the examples:
9. After that, I take a bath with soap and water. And then I changes my clothes for
school.
10. After do the exercise, I brushes my teeth. Then, I take a bath.
The words changes and brushes above were inappropriate. It was the misuse of an –s morpheme by adding it to the verb of the second person singular subject. The sentences were
14
should be, After that, I take a bath with soap and water. And then I change my clothes for school and After do the exercise, I brush my teeth. Then, I take a bath.
Error type 3. The misuse of V-ing present participle
In analyzing the data, the writer found another error type in using simple present tense.
Here are the examples:
11.I have dinner at 6 p.m. Then I brushing my teeth.
12.I go to school with my dad. At the school, I studying a lesson. The lesson is English.
The sentences above were the misuse of V - ing morpheme by adding it to the verb. The
sentences were not correct because the verbs should not have V - ing morpheme. It should
use simple present tense (V1) to tell about routine. The words brushing and studying should be changed into brush and study.
Error type 4. The incorrect use of simple present tense (1)
In the data, the students wrote a daily activities essay, so, they had to use simple present
tense. In fact, many students did not use simple present tense. The following are some
examples of the errors:
13.After I have breakfast, I was watching TV for a while.
14.I take a bath at 7 a.m. After that, I was changing clothes for school.
The first and the second examples above were related to the incorrect use of simple
present tense. To tell about daily activities, the students should use the simple present tense.
However, they used the past continous tense. It made the sentences inappropriate. So, the
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Error type 5. The incorrect use of simple present tense (2)
The last errors were found from the data that had been collected. The writer found that
some students did not use simple past tense form correctly. The following are the examples of
the errors:
15.I woke up at 7 o‟clock. After that, I have a warm up before I take a bath.
16.I was woke up at 6 a.m. After that, I have breakfast.
The sentence above was the example of the incorrect use of simple present tense. To tell
about daily activities, the students should use the simple present tense. However, they used
the simple past tense. It made the sentences inappropriate. So, the sentences should be
changed into I wake up at 7 o’clock. After that, I have a warm up before I take a bath and I wake up at 6 a.m. After that, I have breakfast.
Conclusion
This study aimed to analyze the grammatical errors made by the learners in
constructing simple present tense and simple past tense in the writing. This study has found
that the students made 48 errors, which could be divided into Simple Present Tense and
Simple Past Tense errors. There were 4 types of errors in the simple past tense. First, it found
22 errors (84%) in the incorrect use of Simple past tense. Second, it found 1 error (4%) in the
incorrect use of Simple past tense form by adding be before the active verb. Third, it found 2
errors (8%) in the misuse of Simple past tense. The last type was 1 error (4%) in the incorrect
use of Simple past tense.
Errors in using the simple present tense were found to be the second highest with 22
errrors (46%). There were 5 types of errors in this tense. First, it found 4 errors (18%) in the
16
mastered the tenses yet. They still make errors both in Simple past tense and Simple present
tense. This result was similar with the conclusion of Yusuf Tiono‟ thesis (2010). He
concluded that tenses errors found in students‟ writing were considered as basic error. Those
errors occured because the students mistyped the words or they lacked grammatical
awareness.
This study was limited only to analyze the grammatical errors made by the students of
5th grade elementary school of Bethany Elementary School in constructing simple present
tense and simple past tense in the writing. The similar cases that appeared with different
tenses samples and subject were not considered. It was due to the limitation of the subject and
time of observation.
Since the result of the study, I would like to give the following suggestion. When
teaching writing, teachers should focus not only on the organization of writing but also on the
grammar especially tenses. This can be done when students are doing revision. Hedge (2001)
mentioned that before students submit their writing, teacher should encourage them to do
revision, of which grammar correction is one of them. Rereading the text and making changes
especially in grammar to improve their writing need to do. During the revison, the teacher
should direct the students to add, remove, move, or substitute the incorrect tenses.
Teaching English for young learners‟ material was changing over time. The case of
17
tense in the writing is only the one that happened to be investigated at a particular time during
the thesis making. The result of the study might have variation if one of the element (the
grammatical error sample, the participants (subject), the instruments etc) is substituted. So, I
suggested to make another studies about grammatical errors using other elements to get
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Acknowledgment
This thesis would not have been done completely without the help and support from
many people. Therefore, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the following
people who have assisted me in completing this thesis. First of all, I would like to express my
sincere gratitude to the Lord. I would also like to express my huge appreciation to Prof. Dr.
Gusti Astika, M.A., my supervisor, for his patience and kindness in supervising me for the
last three month, Maria. Ch. Eko Setyarini, S.S. M.Hum, the examiner of my thesis, for
his/her willingness to examine my thesis and giving suggestions for my improvement.
Next, I would like to acknowledge and deepest sincere to my beloved parents, my
father, Budi Sunoko, who has been passed away, I am sorry if I cannot made you proud yet, I
wish I could reply all your kindness to me, and my mother, Siti Rondiyah, for every thing that
she has done for me and the endless love in giving me her support morally and financially all
through this year. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my beloved families, my
brother, Aulfiando Setianda, my sister in law, Maria Fransiska, also my niece and my
nephew, Theodora Celina setianda and Theodorus Jovan Cakra Setianda; for their support to
my study.
I would also like to thank to my whole big family that each also helps me in their own
way. All of my friends that I can not mention one by one. Thank you for everyone who‟s
filling the parts of my life in English Department: EDVenturers period 2007-2009, ED
Touring-ers, Eleveners period 2007-2010, EDFL. Finally, I am particularly grateful to
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Flower. L. (1985). Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
Gale. I. F. (1967). An experimental study of Two fifth-Grade Language-arts Programs. An analysis of the writing Children Taught Linguistic Grammars Compared to Those Taught Traditional Grammar. PhD thesis, Ann Arbor.
George, H.V. (1972). Common Errors in Language Learning; Insight from English. Massachusetts: Newbury House Publisher, Inc.
Haffernan, J.A.W., & Lincoln, E.J. (1986). Writing, A college Handbook. Canada: W.W. Norton and Company, INC. USA.
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Hedge, T. (2001). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Tolchinsky, L., & Cintas, C. (2001). The development of graphic words in written Spanish:
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Appendix A
Use this picture below as ilustration to help you in making a good story
Write your daily activities and use the pictures as a guide. Use present tense in your writing. This questions below will help you to arrange your writing, answer it in full sentences!
1. When do you wake up (picture 1)? 2. What do you do next (picture 2)?
3. What do you do before you take a bath (picture 3)? 4. When do you take a bath (picture 4)?
5. What do you do before you go to school (picture 5)? 6. Who drives you to school (picture 6)?
7. What do you do/learn at school (picture 7)? 8. When do you go home (picture 8)?
9. What do you do after you get back home (picture 9)? 10. When do you have dinner (picture 10)?
23
Appendix B
Use this picture below as ilustration to help you in making a good story
Look at the series of picture above. Write your own family holiday and use these pictures as a guide. Use past tense in your writing. This questions below will help you to arrange your writing. Answer it in full sentences!
1. Where did you go for your family holiday (picture 1)? 2. When did you go there (picture 2)?
3. How long did you spend on your holiday (picture 2)? 4. Who invited you there (picture 3)?
5. What did you bring on your holiday (picture 4)? 6. What did you ride to go there (picture 5)? 7. Who drove it (picture 5)?
24
Appendix C
List of students’ error in simple present tense
26
my clothes. clothes.
4 In the school, I was learning and
eating.
In the school, I learn and eat.
5 I was taking a dinner. I take a dinner.
Table 5. Type 5
Number of
student‟s
errors
Students‟errors The correction
1 I woke up at 07.00 o‟clock. I wake up at 07.00 o‟clock.
27
Appendix D
List of students’ error in simple past tense
28 and see the beautiful mountain.
29
my brother hand. brother hand.
2 When I have arrived... When I arrived...
Table 4. Type 4
Number of students’errors
Students’errors The correction
1 After that Iam swimming and in
the night I...
After that I swam and in the night I...