DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra
Vol. 5 No. 4 (2025)

Common Grammatical Errors in Students’ Writing: A Qualitative Error-Analysis Study

Nur Hikmah (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Sam Hermansyah (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Jumiati Jumiati (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Zulkifli N (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Sri Rahayu (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Nuraeni Syarif (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)
Syamsuriani Syamsuriani (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang)



Article Info

Publish Date
05 Oct 2025

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the common grammatical errors produced by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in written tasks, and explores possible underlying causes as reported by the students. Using an error-analysis framework, 60 undergraduate learners’ short essays were analyzed for grammatical errors; follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 volunteers to probe students’ awareness and perceived causes. Findings indicate that article/determiner misuse, verb tense and aspect errors, subject-verb agreement, preposition misuse, and word order/sentence structure problems are among the most frequent error types. Interview data suggest that first-language transfer, inadequate exposure to grammatical input, faulty internalization of rules, and limited proofreading strategies contribute to recurring mistakes. Pedagogical implications include focused grammar instruction within writing contexts, increased corrective feedback that highlights patterns rather than isolated errors, and explicit metalinguistic awareness activities. The study contributes up-to-date qualitative evidence on error patterns and student perspectives to inform EFL writing pedagogy.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

deiktis

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Other

Description

DEIKTIS: Journal of Language and Literature Education is an academic journal published in April, August and December by the Indonesian Muslim Lecturer Association. This journal presents scientific articles on Learning, Education, Literature, Linguistics, ...