AN ERROR ANALYSIS OF USING PRESENT TENSE BY THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

This study deals with the error analysis. It was conducted by using qualitative research design. The respondents of this study were Grade Ten (X) students of SMA Negeri 1 Tanjung Morawa. The respondents of this study were 3 classes which chosen randomly ten students from each class. The data of this study were taken from the students’ descriptive test. Dulay’s theory was applied to analyze students’ error in writing and divided each error into types. Based on the research there were four types of error found in students’ writing. There were Omission, Addition, Misformation, and Misordering. Then, after analyzing the data, it was found that the highest error found in Omission with the number 281 items (61.50%) . The result of this study shows that students’ ability in using present tense still low and students still made errors.