720 Copyright © 2023 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 11, Number 1, June 2023 pp. 720 – 737 An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo Faisal Amir1, Abidin Pammu2, Nasmilah3 Corresponding author: Faisal Amir (faisalamir18@hotmail.com) 1English Language Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hasanuddin University Jl Perintis Kemerdekaan Km 10 Tamalanrea, Kota Makassar - Prov. Sulawesi Selatan – Indonesia, 90245 Received: 2023-05-03 Accepted: 2023-06-06 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v11i1.3811 Abstract Considering the importance of grammatical knowledge in the writing process, this research aims at describing the grammatical errors that are committed by the fifth semester students of English Department at IAIN Palopo. The research study is classified into a descriptive- qualitative study. The data were collected from twenty two English texts written by the English Department students which were done as tasks and contained six familiar topics. Students were supposed to write an essay/paragraph about the given topics. In addition, the researcher had permission from the lecturer to take and analyse the students’ written works. The researcher and students’ written works are the main sources of data collection in this research. To identify the common errors, students’ writings were analysed with the help of checklists in order to classify different types of errors made by the respondents. The results of the study revealed that the most common and frequent errors made by the students are 387 (58.37%) places of omission errors, 213 (32.12%) places of mis formation errors, 131 (19.75%) places of addition errors, 8 (1.20%) places of mis ordering errors. Besides that, the causes of these errors were developmental found in 323 (36.17%) places, 306 (34.26%) of ambiguous, 205 (22.95%) of interlingual, and 59 (6.60%) unique errors. Based on these findings, teachers are suggested to raise students’ awareness on these errors and provide sufficient remedies to prevent students from internalizing such errors. Keywords: Error Analysis, Writing, Grammatical Error Introduction This research aims to find out the grammatical errors in writing committed by students in the English Department of IAIN Palopo. The fifth semester students have been learning English grammar since primary school. Therefore, they have been struggling with grammar for eleven years. Diffidently, it is an extremely long period of time, and a person in eleven years can master any language, but still most students in the English Department have difficulties in grammar. They usually make grammatical errors in writing which is not preferable for a fifth semester student, and these problems should be figured out. These tremendous problems of students motivated the researcher to conduct research http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 721 regarding this problem. First, the researcher tried to analyse the kinds of errors that the fifth semester students in the English Department of IAIN Palopo generally made in their writing. Next, the researcher reviewed some research studies related to this problem, and he took some strategies that they used on their research. After that, the researcher collected the data using the data collection method. It was immensely significant for the researcher to use the most reliable and proper method for collecting the data. The researcher had reviewed some research studies which were conducted by English Department scholars and ex-students. But he didn’t find any research regarding this significant problem. Therefore, the researcher found this problem immensely significant and decided to incorporate internationalised research into this research in order to find out the most appropriate solutions and suggestions for students. As Christianto (2018) asserted that, English education college students are organised to be English teachers, they must have a suitable competence in all language capabilities in order to be top English teachers. They ought to no longer solely emerge as suitable listeners and speakers, but also properly readers and writers. Moreover, it was determined in many prior study papers that writing is one of fundamental boundaries that ESL and EFL college students encounter. There are many elements that influence foreign language acquisition. These consist of environment, age, motivation, teacher, learners’ attitude, or parents’ attitude. Rofik states that grammatical problems, each errors in phrase order and sentence construction, have been usually discovered in the written works of college students (Rofik, 2018). Similar to the students in Indonesia, syntactic errors such as connecting phrases and sentence constructions had been regularly countered. One reason for ungrammatical writing is the native language or mother tongue interference. Mother tongue interference occurs when second language learners use the only preceding language’s system which occurred in their brain to practice with target language. Learners may also make errors because they count on the target language and their native language are comparable which are apparently different. Therefore, the investigation of the kinds of errors in English writing and the impact from other languages or native languages will be recommended for learners. Oflaz (2012) found that mother tongue interference is the reason for the errors discovered in his study. The frequency of word-by-word translation error is high. Despite the researcher conducted research on errors because errors in writing were recorded/written and grammar was an essential requirement for successful results of learning English. Therefore, the current study would like to fill this gap by proposing two research questions: 1. What are the most frequent kinds of errors made by the fifth semester students on English written production? 2. What are the sources of the errors? Method In this research of error analysis, a qualitative approach is used since it tries to analyze the data qualitatively using words rather than number or statistical formulas in making conclusions. It is to describe the data obtained from English study program students’ literary work in the form of written texts. The type of research of this study is document analysis since it analyzes written materials. Ary et al (2008) stated that document analysis is research applied to written or visual materials for the purpose of identifying specified https://paperpile.com/c/SmASfB/gxfz Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 722 characteristics of the materials. The researcher may take 10-15% or 20%-25% or more if the population used as the sample. Furthermore, Creswell (1997) stated that alternatively, a qualitative approach is one in which the inquirer often makes knowledge claims based primarily on constructivist perspectives (i.e., the multiple meanings of individual experiences, meanings socially and historically constructed, with an intent of developing a theory or pattern) or advocacy/participatory perspectives (i.e., political, issue oriented, collaborative, or change oriented) or both. It also uses strategies of inquiry such as narratives, phenomenologist, ethnographies, grounded theory studies, or case studies. The researcher collects open- ended, emerging data with the primary intent of developing themes from the data. In short, the researcher sought to establish the meaning of a phenomenon from the views of the research subjects. Creswell (1997) stated the qualitative approach incorporates much more of a literary form of writing, computer text analysis program, and experience in conducting open-ended interviews and observations. This research was conducted at IAIN Palopo by focusing on writing of the fifth semester students as the research respondents. The research data were taken from class D which has twenty-two students. This class was taught by Dr. Maghfirah Toyyib, M.Hum. The researcher took twenty-two students’ writing to represent the whole students. The researcher chose the fifth semester students since they were still in the early phase of learning writing, so they would be more enthusiastic to learn English and be more op en to correction and pay attention to the errors they made. The grammatical errors they committed would assist them to a greater learning and understanding of the English language. Result and Discussion Table 2.1 shows the types, number and percentages of errors committed by the participants in their written work. By using Surface Strategy Taxonomy theory by Dulay et al. The researcher found that the students committed 387 places of omission errors, 131 places of addition errors, 213 places of misformation errors, and 8 misordering errors were found. Furthermore, these errors were caused by Interlingual and Intralingual errors; more specifically, mother tongue interference, overgeneralization, lack of knowledge about grammatical rules and etc. Table 2.1 Surface Strategy Errors Frequency No Surface Strategy Taxonomy Component Frequency Percentage (%) 1. Omission 387 58.37 % 2. Addition Regularization 0 0 % Total Double Marking 27 4 % Simple Addition 104 15.68 % 131 19.75 % 3. Misformation Regularization 0 0 % Total Archi-form 94 14.17 % Alternating 119 17.94% 213 32.12 % 4. Misordering 8 1.20 % Total 663 100% IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 723 Figure 2.1 The Distribution of Students’ Errors On Surface Strategy Taxonomy In this section, the researcher analyzed the erroneous clauses and provided the corrections that should be used. Each type of error was described in order to know why those were considered as errors. The following analysis concerns about omission, addition, misformation and misordering. 1. Omission The researcher found 387 errors in terms of omission type. There are two main kinds of omission, they are omission of content morphemes and omission of grammatical morphemes. The researcher found four kinds of omission of content morphemes, namely: verbs (v), nouns (n), adjectives (adj) and adverbs (adv). Mostly the errors occur in missing part of nouns. Secondly, the errors are in missing part of adverbs. Thirdly, the errors are missing part of the verb. Other error clauses are in adjectives missing type. As for the omission of grammatical morphemes, the researcher found six kinds, namely: inflection (inf ), verb auxiliaries (v-aux), conjunction (conj), articles (art), preposition (prep) and pronoun (pron). Mostly the errors occur in missing part of verb and noun inflection. Secondly, the errors are in missing part of verb auxiliaries. Thirdly, the errors are in missing parts of articles and prepositions. Fourthly, the errors occur in missing parts of conjunction. Other error clauses are in the pronoun missing part. Each of them is discussed as follows. a. Omission of Content Morphemes The researcher found one hundred sixty nine (169) errors in missing part of content morphemes. Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 724 1). Omission of Noun Table 2.2 Omission of Noun Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Noun Yes, I cannot stand* again Yes, I cannot stand it again There was no interesting * that appealed to me There was no interesting channel that appealed to me Frequency of Error: 73 Percentage: 11.01% Causes/Sources: Mother tongue interference, Intralingual The researcher found seventy three (73) errors in terms of noun missing parts. Table 2.2 presents the example of the data. As attached in the example above, the errors occurred because the noun was omitted in the students’ clauses. For example, in the data, the sentence ‘Yes, I cannot stand again’ shows that the student should put a noun in the sentence to make it grammatically correct. Because the previous question in the writing is ‘What? Pee? Now?’. In this case the noun needed is an object ‘it’. The correct sentence should be ‘Yes, I cannot stand it again’. Then, the sentence ‘There was no interesting that appealed to me’ should be ‘There was no interesting channel that appealed to me’. 2). Omission of Adverb Table 2.3 Omission of Adverb Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Adverb *I arrived in Kuta,... When I arrived in Kuta,... Me and my friends, all of us were 17 people There were 17 people of us Saturday night was very crowded and* a little stuck Saturday night was very crowded and there was a little traffic jam Frequency of Error: 46 Percentage: 6.93% IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 725 Causes/Sources: Interlingual , Mother Tongue Interference The researcher found fort six (46) omissions of adverbs. Table 2.3 presents the example of the data. For example in datum number one, the clause ‘I arrived in Kuta,...’ still has a continual clause. In this case, the clause has a missing part of the adverb of time. The correct clause should be ‘When I arrived in Kuta,...’. As for example number two, the correct sentence should be ‘There were 17 people of us’, because an adverb should be used in place of a subject with ‘be’ and a few other verbs, especially when referring to somebody or something for the first time. Another corrected sentence is in the third example, ‘Saturday night was very crowded and there was a little traffic jam’. This sentence has a similar pattern to sentence number two. Omission of Verb Table 2.4 Omission of Verb Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Verb I woke up with really tired I woke up and felt really tired like many wars that religion as ... who can not respect to other beliefs like many wars which use religion as ...who can not respect other beliefs We went to ... and welcome to that beach We went to ... and arrived at that beach Frequency of Error: 27 Percentage: 4.07% Causes/Sources: Incomplete knowledge of rules, Intralingual The researcher found twenty seven (27) errors in the missing verb part. Table 2.4 presents the example of the data. The errors occurred because a verb is omitted in those clauses. For example, in datum number one, the clause ‘I woke up with really tired’ should be ‘I woke up and felt really tired’. In this case, the student used conjunction ‘with’ instead of ‘and’. It also doesn’t have a ver. Therefore, the correct clause should use ‘felt’, the same verb class with ‘woke’. The next error is shown in datum number two. The clause ‘like many wars that religion as…’ does not have any verbs. The correct sentence should be ‘like many wars which use religion as…’. Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 726 4). Omission of Adjective Table 2.5 Omission of Adjective Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Adjective to go to the nature place to go to the place close to nature I felt boring with them I felt bored with them Frequency of Error: 23 Percentage: 3.46% Causes/Sources: Intralingual The researcher found twenty three (23) errors in terms of adjectives. Table 2.5 presents the example of the data. It is considered as an error if the student composed writings ungrammatically. In the example above, an adjective is needed. The sentence ‘to go to the nature place’ is ungrammatical. Instead of writing ‘natural place’, the student wrote ‘nature place’. Therefore, to make the sentence more grammatical, the student should put an adjective in the middle of the phrase. The correct sentence should be ‘to go to the place close to nature’. b. Omission of Grammatical Morphemes The researcher found two hundred eighteen (218) errors in missing part of content morphemes. Each kind of them is discussed in the following explanation. 1). Omission of Inflection Table 2.5 Omission of Inflection Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Inflection There was someone talk beside me There was someone talking beside me I step on the white sand without slippers I stepped on the white sand without slippers kitchen tools like plates, forks, knive, glass, and so on kitchen tools like plates, forks, knives, glasses, and so on Frequency of Error: 67 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 727 Percentage: 10.10% Causes/Sources:Interlingual, Intralingual The researcher found sixty seven (67) errors in omission of inflection. Table 2.5 presents the example of the data. As shown in the table, the errors occurred because the student does not put the changing of a word form or the ending to show its grammatical function. In example number one, an error occurs in terms of omission of verb inflection. The ending of the past progressive form is omitted. The correct sentence of ‘There was someone talk beside me’ is ‘There was someone talking beside me’. ). Omission of Verb Auxiliaries Table 2.6 Omission of Verb Auxiliaries Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Verb Auxiliaries I *still confused I was still confused we *ready we were ready The weather at night thankfully *not too cold The weather at night thankfully was not too cold Frequency of Error: 52 Percentage: 7.84% Causes/Sources: Intralingual The researcher found fifty two (52) errors in omission of verb auxiliaries. Table 2.6 presents some examples of the data. The errors occurred because auxiliary verbs are omitted in the sentences. As shown in example number one, the clause ‘I still confused’ does not have any auxiliaries. Auxiliary verb ‘be’ (was) should be added in this clause to make it more grammatical. Therefore, the correct sentence should be ‘I was still confused’. The second and the third examples are the same. The auxiliary verb should be put after the subject. 3). Omission of Article Table 2.7 Omission of Articles Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Articles I could see *power plant I could see a power plant Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 728 and *sparkling water was there and the sparkling water was there a few seconds later *footsteps disappeared a few seconds later the footsteps disappeared Frequency of Error: 36 Percentage: 5.42% Causes/Sources: Interlingual, Intralingual (Overgeneralization) The researcher found thirty six (36) errors in omission of articles. Table 2.7 presents the example of the data. There are two articles in English. The first one is the indefinite article ‘a/an’. The for ‘a’ is used before consonant sounds and the form ‘an’ is used before vowel sounds. Here is the example of missing part in article ‘a’, ‘I could see power plant’. The second one is the definite article ‘the’. It is used for referring to somebody or something that has already been mentioned or can be understood. For example, in datum number two, the clause ‘and sparkling water was there’ is ungrammatical. The correct clause ‘and the sparkling water was there’. In this case, the object is already understood. The next example is in the clause ‘a few seconds later footsteps disappeared’. The correct clause should be ‘a few seconds later the footsteps disappeared’. 4). Omission of Preposition Table 2.8 Omission of Preposition Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Preposition the castle gate *Vredeburg the castle gate of Vredeburg the security hold me up in the first and *the middle gate the security held me up in the first and in the middle gate I could see what happened with them I could see what happened to them Frequency of Error: 34 Percentage: 5.12% Causes/Sources: Mother Tongue Interference, Complexity of English IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 729 Prepositions The researcher found thirty four (34) errors in omission of preposition. Table 2.8 presents the example of the data. A preposition is usually used before a noun or pronoun to show places, positions or times. The first example is the phrase ‘the castle gate Vredeburg’. This phrase omitted the preposition ‘of ’ because it is originating from a specific background in a place. Therefore, the correct clause should be ‘the castle gate of Vredeburg’. The next example is in the sentence ‘the security held me up in the first and the middle gate’. In this case, the student composed the sentence in parallel form. 5). Omission of Pronoun Table 2.9 Omission of Pronoun Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Omission of Pronoun I also do not know* I do not know either 1 kilogram of rice, eggs, mineral waters, some biscuits 1 kilogram of rice, eggs, several bottles of mineral water, some biscuits one of *popular beach in the world one of many popular beaches in the world Frequency of Error: 16 Percentage: 2.41% Causes/Sources: Mother tongue interference, Intralingual The researcher found sixteen (16) errors in missing part of the pronoun. Table 2.9 presents the example of the data. Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or noun phrase. The datum number one is ‘I also do not know’. This sentence is missing the indefinite pronoun ‘either’ because by the present of ‘also’, the student meant to respond that she has the same knowledge as the other person in the writing’s conversation. Therefore, the sentence should be ‘I do not know either’. The next example is in the clause ‘1 kilogram of rice, eggs, mineral waters, some biscuits’. ‘Mineral water’ is an uncountable noun. Therefore, the phrase should be added by indefinite pronoun and countable noun. The correct phrase should be ‘...several bottles of mineral water…’. 6). Omission of Conjunction Table 3.1 Omission of Conjunction Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 730 Omission of Conjunction because of shocks unsteadiness truck and engine because of truck and engine shock and unsteadiness I also rent tent, sleeping bag, *mattress I also rented tent, sleeping bag and mattress Three boys, *three girls with only two vehicles are perfect Three boys and three girls with only two vehicles were perfect Frequency of Error: 13 Percentage: 1.96 % Causes/Sources: Lack of knowledge about rules The researcher found thirteen (13) errors in omission of preposition. Table 3.1 presents the example of the data. As shown in the example, the error occurs because the phrases are not properly connected. As for the first example, the phrase ‘shock and unsteadiness’. The error in the second example occurs in the last two nouns. There should be an ‘and’ connecting the last two nouns. The correct sentence should be ‘I also rented a tent, sleeping bag and mattresses. The last example is like the first one. The correct sentence should be ‘Three boys and three girls with only two vehicles were perfect’. 2. Addition The second type of the error is addition. The researcher found 131 errors of addition type. There are 2 kinds of errors found in the writings instead of 3 kinds of errors. It is because the researcher did not find any erroneous phrase in terms of regularization. Therefore, the researcher shows only the two kinds of addition. They are double markings and simple additions. Here is the explanation of each error. a. Double Markings Table 3.2 Double Markings Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Double Markings but I was enjoy with my journey but I enjoyed my journey was very closed to me was very close to me until the busses stops until the busses stop Frequency of Error: 27 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 731 Percentage: 4% Causes/Sources: Interlingual, Intralingual The researcher found twenty-seven (27) errors in addition to the type of double markings. Table 3.2 presents the example of the data. The example number one is not correct. The clause ‘but I was enjoy my journey’ is marked by the present of a verb auxiliary ‘was’. If the student used simple past tense, the clause should use verb -ed instead of verb auxiliary. Therefore, the correct clause should be ‘but I enjoyed my journey’. The datum number two ‘was very closed to me’ is also not correct. The student failed to delete the passive marker v-ed where the construct meaning is different from what the student meant. The correct clause should be ‘was very close to me’. b. Simple Addition Table 3.3 Simple Addition Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Simple Addition like from, Malaysia, ..., and many more like, Malaysia, ..., and many more In the former times, people saw many peacocks were finding brackish water for drink In the former times, people saw many peacocks finding brackish water to drink But it was different with this field it was different from that field ..., so we have to find a parking place ... ..., we had to find a parking place ... Interval of one minute later one minute later Frequency of Error: 104 Percentage: 15.68% Causes/Sources: Intralingual, Lack of knowledge about rules. The researcher found one hundred four (104) errors in missing part of content morphemes. Table 3.3 presents the example of the data. The first example is inappropriate. If the student wanted to mention something already understandable, the unnecessary word should be omitted. The clause ‘like from, Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 732 Malaysia,..., and many more’ is not correct. It should be ‘like Malaysia,... and many more’. The second example is the usage of the verb auxiliary ‘were’, because it is not a past progressive sentence. The real form is ‘which find’ and the phrases are connected and become ‘finding’. Therefore, the correct sentence should be ‘In the former time, people saw many peacocks finding brackish water to drink’. 3. Misformation The researcher found two hundred thirteen (213) errors in the terms of misformation. Most of the students have made such errors, therefore it can be concluded that it happened because of their limited vocabulary. They just put the words they knew without any caution of inappropriate words or meaning. Mostly the errors occurred in terms of alternating form. Table 3.4 presents the example of the data. Table 3.4 Misformation Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Misformation I slowly open my eyes and that someone greeting me I slowly opened my eyes and someone greeted me I could saw*power plant I could see a power plant We are also asking to other friends We were also asking other friends I am talking so much I was talking so much the sound of my door open and then closed again my door opened and then closed again at 18.15 we are ready to go at 18.15 we were ready to go Frequency of Error: 213 Percentage: 32.12% Causes/Sources: Incomplete knowledge of rules, Intralingual Misformation usually occurred because of the lack of learners' information or knowledge in the changing of past participle or in constructing sentences according to its tense form. As shown in the first example, the student was not consistent in writing the right verb form. Here, the student used past tense in composing the writing. Therefore, the right clause should be ‘I slowly opened my eyes, and someone greeted me’. The next example is the clause ‘I could saw a power plant’. This clause already used past IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 733 modal auxiliary. Because of that, the student should use a simple present verb instead of a simple past verb. Therefore, the correct clause should be ‘I could see a power plant’. The next example is the usage of past participles. The student used the present verb instead of the past one. Therefore, the correct sentence should be ‘we were also asking other friends. The fourth example has the similar kind of error to the third example. The correct clause should be ‘I was talking so much’. As for the last two examples, they have the same kind of error with the previous examples. The correct clause should be ‘my door opened and then closed again’ and ‘at 18.l5 we were ready to go’. 4. Misordering The researcher found eight (8) errors in terms of misordering from the text. In this type of error, the student did not write the clause in an appropriate order. Table 3.5 presents the example of the data. Table 3.5 Misordering Error Classification Error Identification Error Correction Misordering Why I could be in Bali right now, Why could I be in Bali right now, They sold clothes, ornaments, jewelries, board surfing, and *restaurants They sold clothes, ornaments, jewelries, surfing board, and there were also restaurants Because the three of us were hungry, so the first goal we have set The three of us were hungry, so we set the first goal Frequency of Error: 8 Percentage: 1.20% Causes/Sources: Interlingual ( L1 Interference) , Word by word Translation of L1 to L2 This kind of error is characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme in a sentence. For example, the sentence in datum number one ‘why I could be in Bali right now.’ is incorrect. It is a positive sentence, but its order is an interrogative one. In the text, the next sentence is the answer. Therefore, the sentence is not in an appropriate order. The correct one should be ‘why could I be in Bali right now’. As for the last example, the clause ‘...so the first goal we have set’ is not in the right order. ‘We have set’ here is the subject and ‘the first goal’ is the object. The right pattern is subject (noun) + verb + object (noun). Therefore, ‘the first goal’ should be put after the ‘we set’. The right sentence should be ‘so we set the first goal’. By looking at the similarities and the differences between this study and the previous studies, the researcher can conclude that the students’ comprehension about the use of Faisal Amir, Abidin Pammu, Nasmilah An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing Made by English Education Students at IAIN Palopo 734 grammar and word choices in their writing is similar to the other students’ which produced other kinds of writing. Therefore, the researcher believes that students of class D have to learn more to understand better about the construction of good writing in English language. From the writing texts produced by the fifth semester students of English study program at IAIN Palopo. The researcher concludes that the highest percentage of the errors is addition, especially in constructing sentences according to its form. These errors occurred because the students were still lacking the form or grammar that is supposed to have in the sentence, but the learners omit it. Also, the mother tongue as a source of the learners’ errors. It happens because the students attempted to build up hypotheses about the English language from their limited experience of misleading explanation provided by the teacher, faulty presentation in a textbook or a memorized pattern that is not contextualized which reflects the general characteristics of rule learning. To make the students aware of this kind of lacking knowledge, the students should study and practice more about English grammar and vocabulary. Therefore, the students could easily compose a good writing with less error. Conclusion By analysing the students’ errors according to four types of errors based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy: Omission, misformation, addition, and misordering. The writer used comparative analysis in order to infer the causes or sources of those errors committed by the students. After all errors were identified, then the frequency of each type of error was investigated. The most predominant Types of error was omission with 387 (58.37%). The omission happened when the students omit an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance or writing. The second most predominant error was misformation, 213 (32.12%). The students supply the wrong form of the morphemes or structure, and they supply something although it is incorrect. Misformation errors are divided into three subcategories: Alternating, Archi-form, and Regularization. The third most frequent error was addition. This error occured when the students present an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance or writing. It usually occurs in the later stages of L2 acquisition or learning when the learner has already acquired some target language rules. The fourth dominant error was misordering the misordering errors had the lowest frequency of occurrence made by the English students. It happens when the students make an incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an utterance or writing. The great majority of the participants in this study demonstrated confusion for the right usage of prepositions, addition of unnecessary prepositions. In sources of error, developmental was the highest frequency in the students’ errors. The developmental errors happen when the student attempts to build up hypotheses about the English language from his limited experience of misleading explanation provided by the teacher, faulty presentation in a textbook or a memorized pattern that is not contextualized which reflects the general characteristics of rule learning. Ambiguous was the second highest frequency in affecting the students’ grammatical errors. The ambiguous is caused when the errors reflect the learner’s native language structure and the types found in written works/speech of children acquiring a first language. Based on the data, it was found that interlingual errors were in the third dominant of the students’ grammatical errors. This error referred to negative transfer or mother-tongue interference. Interlingual affects the students make errors as the result of transfer from their native language since they have not been familiar with the second language system. Unique errors were the lowest frequency in affecting the students’ grammatical errors. Unique errors occur when the student builds his first language development, it must be unique to second language and since it is not interlingual, some must be unique reflections of creative construction. Finally, the findings were grouped, and the examples of each error IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 735 were presented. References Badger, R., & White, G. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. 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IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(2), 1307- 1314. doi:https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v10i2.3208 https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v10i2.3208 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 737