AN ANALYSIS ON THE ERRORS OF THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS WRITING ON THE DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

Writing is one of the fundamental skills in English language education, yet many students, particularly at the vocational school level, face significant difficulties in composing well-structured and grammatically accurate texts. These challenges often result in persistent errors that hinder their ability to communicate ideas effectively. Understanding these errors especially in writing descriptive texts is crucial for improving teaching strategies and student writing outcomes.
This study employed a qualitative descriptive research design to analyze the writing errors of tenth-grade students at SMK Islam Bustanul Ulum Pakusari in the academic year 2024/2025. Data were collected through classroom observations, student worksheets, and semi-structured interviews. The instruments used included observation checklists, interview guides, and documentation of student writings. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, which consists of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing.
The findings revealed that students commonly made three major types of errors: (1) grammatical errors (e.g., misuse of articles, auxiliary verbs, subject-verb agreement, and passive forms); (2) lexical and spelling errors (e.g., limited vocabulary, incorrect word forms, and spelling mistakes); and (3) cohesion and stylistic errors (e.g., redundancy, unclear references, and inappropriate sentence structure). These errors were primarily caused by interlanguage interference, intralingual interference, and carelessness.
These findings align with prior research indicating that students struggle with basic grammatical structures and vocabulary use in English writing. Interviews confirmed that insufficient writing practice, limited feedback, and unclear understanding of descriptive text structures contributed to the errors. This suggests the need for more explicit instruction and structured practice in grammar, vocabulary, and writing conventions. Integrating visual aids, regular writing assignments, and peer reviews may help students overcome these difficulties.
This study concludes that writing difficulties among tenth-grade students are multifaceted and primarily stem from linguistic and pedagogical factors. Addressing these challenges requires targeted teaching strategies and a more engaging writing environment. Further research is needed with a larger sample size and different school contexts to validate and expand upon these findings.