AN ERROR ANALYSIS IN USING TENSES MADE BY SECOND

SEMESTER STUDENTS OF ENGLISH DEPARTEMENT IN WRITING

TEXT ASSIGNMENT

By Group 6 :

1. Gusti Nanda Harmiansyah (2105086040)

2. Marla Yofina Prapasya (2105086060)
3. Yosepha Ananda Yusransyah (2105086054)

FKIP Mulawarman University

May 16, 2023

 ABSTRACT

Error analysis is a systematic method to analyze learners' error in applying

linguistics as well as a second and a foreign language. Tense is defined as any of the
forms of a verb that may be used to show the time of the action or state expressed by
the verb. Investigating error analysis through the students' work is essential research
as its aim. This study was conducted to describe the types of error found in the
students' writing text and the most committed error in using tenses made by the
second semester students in the English Department at Mulawarman University . This
study was carried out using the mixed method approach. The subjects of this study
were the second semester Students writing assignment in Intermediate English
writing course. The instruments of this research were the researcher, writing text of
second semester students of English Department at Mulawarman University. The
result of this research showed that there were 22 errors from several writing text of 32
students, there are 8 or 36.36% in the present perfect tense, 1 or 4.54% in the present
perfect continuous tense, 7 or 31.81% in the simple past tense, 1 or 4.54% in the
simple future tense, 1 or 4.54% in the present continuous tense and 4 or 18.18% in
the simple present tense. Meanwhile, the most type of error was in the form of using
present perfect tense in writing text. The researcher, on the other hand, addresses
recommendations to 1) English teachers should be aware of tenses errors in writing
text, 2) students to explore their writing ability about using present perfect tense, 3)
How to develop tenses awareness in the beginner level students writing text, 4) other
researchers to explore the implementation of error analysis in writing text.

Keywords: error analysis, tenses, students' writing text

 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The concept of tense in English is a method that we use to refer to time - past,
present and future. Tense is defined as any of the forms of a verb that may be used to
show the time of the action or state expressed by the verb.

The ability to use tenses accurately is an essential aspect of effective

communication in the English language. However, for beginner level students, tense
errors are a common occurrence in their writing, which can impact the clarity and
coherence of their texts. The Clarity of text are important, so they need grammar
accuracy especially in tense. This research paper aims to investigate the nature and
frequency of tense errors in writing texts of beginner level students and identify the
most challenging areas of tenses that require further attention, in order to improve
their writing skill and accuracy. This paper will review studies on Grammatical error
of Tenses in writing text of student at second semester in English Department.

Based on the problems, the researcher formulates this paper to identify the most
common error made by second semester students of English writing text by analyzing
a corpus of writing texts produced by beginner level students in an English Writing
language course.
 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Definition of Error Analysis

Error analysis is an important aspect of applied linguistics as well as second and

foreign language learning. It is also a technique for systematically analyzing learners'
errors. According to Brown (1980:166) cited by error analysis is the process to
observe, analyze, and classify the deviations of the rules of the second language and
then to reveal the systems operated by learner. The present researcher uses the term
"error" to refer to a systematic deviation from a selected norm or a set of norms of a
target language. In addition, Corder (1967) stated that error is a systematic deviation
of the learners from which we can reorganize the learners’ knowledge of the
language. Basically "error" and mistake are different, a mistake is also a deviation
from the norms of the language but is not systematic. Richards et.al (1985:95) state
that mistake, made by a learner when writing or speaking, is caused by lack of
attention, fatigue, carelessness, or other aspects of performance. In errors, the errors
that occur are repeated, this can be due to a lack of knowledge of the aspects and
rules of the second language.

In addition, Crystal (1987:112) claimed that “…error analysis is a technique for

identifying, classifying and systematically interpreting the unacceptable forms
produced by someone learning a foreign language, using any of the principles and
procedures provided by linguistics.”

Considering about the definitions by Crystal (1987:112), we can say that error
analysis is an activity to identify, describe, interpret, evaluate, and prevent the errors
made by the learners. Errors, of course, will occur a lot in the skill aspect of students,
especially beginner level students. In this case, the researcher conducted research on
written texts produced by second semester students in writing assignments when
viewed through the aspect of using tenses. By analyzing errors in the second semester
students' writing texts, it is hoped that there will be in-depth identification regarding
the errors that occur and find out the location of the most errors made by second
semester students in the English Department at Mulawarman University.

2.2 The Definition of Tenses

In the English language, the word ‘tense’ is used to denote a characteristic of

the verb in a sentence. The tense of a verb is used to depict the particular time in
which a specific or event is taking place. According to the Oxford Learner’s
Dictionary, the term ‘tense’ is defined as “any of the forms of a verb that may be used
to show the time of the action or state expressed by the verb.” The Merriam-Webster
Dictionary provides a slightly different definition. According to it, the word ‘tense’ is
defined as “a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration
of the action or state it denotes.” “The tense of a verb group is its form, which usually
shows whether you are referring to past, present, or future time”, according to the
Collins Dictionary, and the Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘tense’ as ”any of the
forms of a verb which show the time at which an action happened. “The Tenses are
the most important part of English Language. To write a correct sentence or to say
anything to anyone, we need to express the idea in the right form of Tenses.

In English grammar, there are three main tenses, each of which is further
categorized into four other forms, for a total of twelve tenses. The three tenses in
English are: Present Tense, Past Tense, and Future Tense, with four different forms:
Simple Tense Form, Continuous Tense Form, Perfect Tense Form, Perfect
Continuous Tense Form, and there are twelve tenses in English: Simple Present
Tense, Present Continuous Tense, Present Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Continuous
Tense, Simple Past Tense, Past Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Tense, Past Perfect
Continuous Tense, Simple Future Tense, Future Continuous Tense, Future Perfect
Tense, and Future Perfect Continuous Tense, Simple Future Tense, Future
Continuous Tense, Future Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect Continuous Tense.

According to corpus research, the three most commonly used tenses in writing
are the simple present, simple past, and present perfect (Bibber et al., 1999; Caplan,
2012).Each type of Tenses is used based on the time the activity occurs. Often,
students have difficulty determining the correct tenses in writing assignments. Tenses
are complicated things for some students to understand and master. However, tenses
are a very important part to pay attention to and ensure their correctness in every
language skill such as writing and speaking. From this study, one of the objectives is
to find out the types of tense that are most poorly mastered by second semester
students.

2.3 The Definition of Writing

Writing is a skill and an activity that involves expressing ideas or thoughts in

written form. Writing skill is mostly considered as a difficult task for some college
students, for instance, as it burdens them to be more thinking and careful about
language processing. According to Eric & Helen (1996, p.2), "The accuracy of using
language and the effective organization are two important factors to be understood in
order to make a good writing". It means that conveying thoughts in writing form is
not an easy task because it necessitates not only intellectual comprehension but also
grammatical competence, particularly in the use of tenses.

Writing is the hardest of the four language skills to learn in a foreign language,
according to (Richards & Renandya, 2002: 303). It is because the writing process
necessitates ideas and thought, but it must also pay attention to components such as
vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation in order to represent those thoughts. It is
because the procedure of writing requires an idea and thinking, but it should give
attention to some elements such as vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to express
those ideas. Then Jacob (1981:30) states that writing profile consist of content,
organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanism.

One of the important grammar elements in writing text is the use of tenses. In
writing text have to pay attention to Tense so that the ideas conveyed in writing are
conveyed correctly to the reader The Tenses are the most important part of English
Language. To write a correct sentence or to say anything to anyone, we need to
express the idea in the right form of Tenses.

.
 CHAPTER III
METHODS

3.1 Research Design

In this study we used a qualitative descriptive method, Isaac and
Michael (1985:18) stated that a qualitative descriptive method is a method that
systematically describes the facts and characteristics of a particular population
in an entire or region if factual and descriptive interests are accurate. method
according to the needs of society. Therefore, we intend to systematically
describe the data and then analyze it as accurately as possible. In this study,
we collected data on errors in writing texts on English education students
class of 2022 at Mulawarman . We examined all collections of texts on these
students and collected every tense error found and then described the types of
errors, corrections and explanations.

3.2 Time and Place of Research

This research was conducted at the teacher training and education faculty
of Mulawarman University which is located at JI. Muara Pahu, Mt. Kelua,
Kec. Samarinda Ulu, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan. We made a proposal
on May 13, 2023. Before conducting research, the authors first examined and
collected data on tense errors for class 2022 Mulawarman University students
in the writing texts they were working on. Then, we analyze each of these
errors and describe them in this paper.
3.3 Research Instrument
Those studied consisted of 31 students Mulawarman University in
Semester II of the 2022 Academic Year. Data collection was carried out using
two kinds of instruments namely; find errors in the use of tenses and tables
 that record the mistakes of each student. Student errors are then analyzed to
find the percentage.
3.4 Data Collection
In this study, we divided the task of examining all the texts in the writing
task folder of second semester English education students’ class of 2022 to
collect data. With sufficient knowledge about tenses, we listen carefully to
find out students' tense mistakes. We use excel tables to collect data on the
tense’s errors found and then describe the types, corrections and explanations.
3.5 Data Analysis
In analyzing the data on tense errors, we focused on analyzing the errors
in using tenses in their writing assignments. To find out individual errors, we
explain student errors in writing based on the following steps:
1. Identify students' writing assignments and find out what mistakes they
make in writing.
2. Classifying students' tenses errors in writing. Therefore, the data will be
categorized into each error type.
3. Describe the tenses mistakes made by students in writing texts.
4. Counting tenses errors made by students. Based on the classification of
errors in using the text.

CHAPTER IV
 FINDING & DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings
Results of Tenses Errors in Writing Tasks Performed by Second
Semester Students Class of 2022 English Language Education at
Mulawarman University
In this section, we explain the dominant tenses errors in students'
writing. Based on the analysis of the error table, there were 22 errors from 32
students. From the table below, there are 8 or 36.36% in the present perfect
tense, 1 or 4.54% in the present perfect continuous tense, 7 or 31.81% in the
simple past tense, 1 or 4.54% in the simple future tense, 1 or 4.54% in the
present continuous tense and 4 or 18.18% in the simple present tense. Those
are the dominant tenses errors in writing texts made by semester II students of
class 2022. The table contains the dominant tenses errors.

Table 1. The Dominant of Students’ Tenses Errors

Present perfect tense : 8 ( 36.36% )

Present perfect continuous tense : 1 ( 4.54% )

Simple past tense : 7 ( 31.81% )

Simple future tense : 1 ( 4.54% )

Present continuous tense : 1 ( 4.54% )

Simple present tense  : 4 ( 18.18% )

Total : 22 ( 100% )
Chart 1. The Dominant Tenses Errors of Second Semester Students Class of 2022
English Department at Mulawarman University

4.2 Discussion

The learning outcomes described previously show information related to

writing assignments was made by students. In chapter 2, the research on tenses in
writing skills has been discussed, which will be analyzed especially in tenses in
writing skills.

Based on the findings of student errors. We find the common percentage errors
from the aspect of tenses. The percentage of common tenses errors are Present perfect
tense (36.36%), Present perfect continuous tense (4.54%), Simple past tense
(31.81%), Simple future tense (4.54%), Present continuous tense (4.54%) and Simple
present tense ( 18.18%). The most categories of errors were made by students is the
present perfect tense, where they don't know the use of these tenses, and they can't
change the third form of this tense verb. Sometimes, they forget to distinguish the use
of the first and third forms of this tense.

This present perfect tense is a tense whose function is to show an outcome and
can be used to describe an activity or situation that has started in the past, and has
been completed in the past as well or is still continuing today. Often students make
mistakes in defining an event which should use this form of tenses but instead uses
the simple past tense. The simple past tense can be caused because they cannot
distinguish between past events and past events that are currently happening. Some of
them use tenses as if the incident was happening in the past even though the incident
in question was not happening at that time. Present continuous tense, usually used to
show an action or event that is happening while the conversation is in progress, while
students make mistakes in using verbs in their tenses where they instead use verbs 3.
Misuse of Present perfect continuous tense for students in semester II class 2022 this
is the use of a verb that must be in the past because the sentence has a function to
describe an action that was completed in the past but the verb used is verb 1. In the
simple future tense error, of course, because students think the sentence is ongoing
even though the meaning of the sentence is they make show events that will happen.
And finally, the simple present tense, the student's mistake in using this tense is the
meaning of a sentence that should state a fact or habit but instead often uses it as if it
were a simple past tense.

Based on the further description above, the effect of the error is caused by
difficulty in understanding the meaning and definition of these tenses. Finally, as a
student result make these mistakes due to the influence of a lack of understanding of
the meaning of the sentences they make.
 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion
Based on the error analysis, it means that there were 22 errors found in
student writing assignments, errors in the use of student tenses namely present
perfect tense (8 errors), present perfect continuous tense (1 error), simple past
tense (7 errors), simple future tense ( 1 error), present continuous tense (1
error), and simple present tense (4 errors). We found that the present perfect
tense was the most frequent error in students' work, the second most mistakes
are simple past tense, the third is simple present tense and the last is present
perfect continuous tense, simple future tense and present continuous tense
with the same number.

5.2 Suggestion
Making mistakes is a common problem in the learning process, and
teachers must continue to monitor the progress of their students by providing
evaluations. By understanding students' mistakes, they are able to create new
teaching techniques in second language teaching. Students should be active
and keep asking about something they don't know instead of feeling afraid of
making mistakes. They also have to read a lot, learn, and practice words or
structures so that they are easily recognized and avoid continuous mistakes.
Because errors have become a serious concern for every researcher, this
research requires further research to make it more useful for teachers,
students, and other researchers. Thus, future researchers are expected to be
able to conduct further research that is more in-depth about student mistakes.
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