CRITICAL JOURNAL REVIEW
Arranged to Fulfill the assignments for the Contrastive & Error Analysis course
Supporting Lecturer : Asrina Sari Sembiring, M.Hum
A
R
R
A
N
G
E
D
By:
Novi Yanti
0304213106
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING
ISLAMIC STATE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA
MEDAN
2025
PREFACE
Praise be given to Allah SWT for all of His bounties that have allowed this crucial
journal review to be completed. I would want to show my gratitude to all who have
assisted me by donating both thoughts and materials. The author really hopes that this
critical journal review will help readers gain knowledge and experience. In fact, I hope
that readers will put this text into practice in their daily lives.
Because of my limited knowledge and expertise, I believe there are still many
flaws in the production of this critical journal review. As a result, I sincerely wish for
constructive criticism and suggestions from readers in order to improve my critical essay.
Reviewer
Novi Yanti
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE ................................................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ iii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
A. Background of CJR ......................................................................................... 1
B. Purpose of CJR ................................................................................................ 1
C. Benefit of CJR ................................................................................................. 2
D. Identity of Journal ........................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER II SUMMARY OF JOURNAL .......................................................... 3
A. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 3
B. Reviewe of Literature ..................................................................................... 4
C. Method ............................................................................................................. 5
D. Findings & Discussion.................................................................................... 5
E. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER III STRENGTHS & WEAKNESS .................................................... 8
A. Strengths of Journal ........................................................................................ 8
B. Weakness of Journal ....................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER IV CLOSING ........................................................................................ 9
A. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 9
B. Suggestion ....................................................................................................... 9
C. Reference ......................................................................................................... 9
iii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of CJR
Due to the students' current lack of interest in reading, knowledge development
has been poor. One strategy for boosting interest in reading is to critique periodicals. It is
a practice to review a journal critically in order to know and comprehend the information
offered there. In general, journal reviews concentrate on evaluation (interpretation and
analysis explanation) regarding the benefits and drawbacks, what is intriguing, and how
the journal can alter perceptions and ways of thinking.
They also consider whether the knowledge acquired can deepen understanding of
a particular field of study. While doing so, reviewing journals can also hone our capacity
to analyze and assess the argument put forth by the author. in order for it to serve as a
useful input for other creative writing procedures. If the critic does not read the entire
journal, they cannot critique it.
By conducting this review, users can evaluate the journal's quality by contrasting
it with other publications by the same author or other publishers, as well as offer
feedback to the journal's authors on the journal's content and writing style.
B. Purpose of CJR
The goals of the Critical Journal Review are to:
1. Complete one of the required assignments for the Introduction to Literature course that
the lecturer has given.
2. Give readers a general overview of the journal's identity, a synopsis of the journal, its
strengths and shortcomings in terms of writing procedures, as well as the overall
coherence of the journal's content and its consequences from multiple perspectives.the
journal's overall coherence and its consequences from a variety of angles.
3. Deepen critics' understanding because the publication exposes issues and answers that
broaden our knowledge. issues and answers that advance our understanding.
1
C. Benefit of CJR
The benefits of making Critical Journal Review, namely :
1. As students engaged in the world of education, these journals need to be criticized
because they can improve the skills of students in making good and correct research
reports.
2. Increase students' knowledge of the theory and application of the results of researchers'
ideas so that this knowledge can become a new inspiration for students as prospective
teachers in compiling or designing effective learning Improve the results of analysis in
each journal to be criticized
D. Identity of Journal
1. The Title Of Journal : An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing
Descriptive Text.
2. Journal Name : Bilingual: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris
3. The Author : Rohdearni Wati Sipayung & Benarita
4. Vol/No : Vol.5/No.1
5. Publication Year : 2023
6. e-ISSN : 2302-6596
2
CHAPTER II
SUMMARY OF JOURNAL
A. Introduction
English taught in many countries including Indonesia. As an international
language, there are four skills have to be mastered by foreign learners. They are
listening, speaking, reading and writing. From those four basic skills mentioned, writing
is the most complicated one. Writing is the most difficult one for all language learners
whether the language is the first, second, or foreign language. Writing is difficult to learn
because authors should utilize a process that includes planning, organizing, and revising
to present meaning in words form (Palmer, 1994). (Hyland, 2003) states that writing is
not just arranging words into a sentence, linking the sentences into a paragraph, and
ordering the paragraphs into a text. It also requires grammatical and lexical knowledge,
understanding in applying the grammatical knowledge into different context and purposes
and knowledge of topic that are going to be written. In writing, there are a number of
language aspects involved such as model texts, prepositions, spell - check, punctuation
and grammar. In this research, the writer focuses on analyzing grammatical error in
writing descriptive text made by the second year students. Discussion text is one of the
texts that should mastered by the students.
To analyze learner language in an appropriate perspective, it is crucial to make a
distinction between mistake and error, because mistake and error are two different
phenomena. (Brown, 2007) said that a mistake refers to a performance error that is either
random guess or a “slip” in that it is failure to utilize a known system correctly. Since
descriptive text is one of the genres to be mastered in order to pass the lecture, the
students should pay attention such as in grammatical parts and write this text well without
committing any errors. This phenomenon takes writer’s attention to conduct the research
about grammatical errors in university students‟ descriptive text. The researcher expects
to identify several grammatical errors in university students‟ descriptive texts. The
researcher aims to find out the types of grammatical errors in students‟ descriptive text,
the dominant error, and why students make errors since errors can be identified through
learners‟ grammatical competence.
3
B. Review of Literature
The section of this article discusses previous theories and research relevant to
grammatical errors in writing descriptive texts, particularly within the context of learning
English as a Second Language (ESL
- Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Theory: The article touches upon theories
about how individuals learn a second language, particularly emphasizing that errors are a
natural part of the learning process. This theory highlights the importance of
understanding how errors help learners construct their understanding of the target
language.
- Error Analysis: The article defines error analysis as a method to identify, classify, and
interpret errors made by language learners. This helps understand the specific difficulties
faced by learners and identify areas needing improvement in the teaching process.
- Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis: The article discusses the hypothesis that a learner's
first language (L1) can influence their ability to learn a second language (L2), which may
lead to errors. However, research shows that the role of L1 is more complex and doesn't
always result in negative interference.
- Types of Errors: The article explains various types of grammatical errors commonly
observed, including omission errors (missing grammatical elements), addition errors
(adding unnecessary elements), overgeneralization errors (overapplying rules), and false
concepts hypothesized errors (misinterpreting rules).
- Linguistic Features of Descriptive Texts: The article explains the distinctive features
of descriptive texts, such as the dominant use of past tense, focus on specific participants,
and use of time and place adverbs. Understanding these features is crucial for writing
grammatically correct descriptive texts.
Previous research mentioned in the "Review of Literature" supports the argument
that grammatical errors are common in writing descriptive texts, especially among ESL
learners. The article also emphasizes the importance of understanding the linguistic
features of descriptive texts to minimize errors and improve student writing skills.
4
C. Method
The research employs a qualitative descriptive approach, focusing on gathering,
analyzing, and interpreting data about grammatical errors in student writing. To ensure a
focused analysis, the researchers utilize purposive sampling, selecting a homogenous
group of 20 second-year English Education students. This ensures that the participants
share similar experiences and approaches to learning writing. Data is collected from
descriptive texts written by the students, providing a rich and detailed source for
analyzing grammatical errors. To systematically categorize and analyze these errors, the
researchers employ a comprehensive error analysis framework, examining six distinct
categories: tenses, prepositions, articles, voices, morphology, and verbs. This framework
allows for a thorough examination of the specific grammatical challenges faced by the
students.
D. Findings & Discussion
Based on the data analysis, it was found that there are 285 occurrences of
grammatical error in university students‟ descriptive text. The findings obtained can be
seen in the following points.
1. There are 6 types of grammatical error found in university students‟ descriptive
text namely: tenses, preposition, articles, voices, morphological, and verbs errors.
The details of each category
2. The dominant grammatical error found in university students‟ descriptive text is
tense errors which has total occurrences of 75 (26.31%) specifically the use of
past tense. Successively, it is followed by verbs error (66 occurrences or 23.15%),
morphological error (58 occurrences or 20.35%), prepositional error (47
occurrences or 16.5%), article error (25 occurrences or 8.77%), and the last is
voicing error (14 occurrences or 4.92%).
3. The reason why students‟ made dominant error in using specifically past tense is
the students‟ are lack of understanding the linguistic features of descriptive text.
They do not pay attention carefully that one of the linguistic features of
descriptive text is the dominant use of past tense. Another reason is they are also
lack of understanding and comprehension of nominal and verbal sentence since
5
the number of verbal error appears after tense error which has range only about
3%.
There are some factors that affect the existence of grammatical error in university
students‟ descriptive text. Based on the source of error, the writer predicted that the
students are affected by two types of source of error. The first is interlingual that occur
because the interference of the L1 of the student as Indonesia Language user. The
construction of the mother tongue affects the construction in the target language. For
example, in Indonesia there is no tense that indicates time signal as in past, present or
future tense. So, there is no change in using verb in order to explain the activities that is
happened in past, present or future. The second factor comes from the intralingual. It
means that the student confused in applying the rules in target language itself. It is
because of error of Intralingual includes overgeneralization, ignorance of rules restriction,
false concepts hypothesis, and incomplete application of rules. In this research, some of
the students wrote the text by using simple present.
So, it is not suitable because in telling past event we should use past tense. It can
be seen from the dominant grammatical error which is in the category of tenses error
specifically the use of past tense. It is relevant with the linguistic features of the genre
itself. Another finding of predominant grammatical error is error in using verbs such as
omission of the verb „be‟ and addition of the verb „be‟. Some of the students are still
confused to differentiate between nominal and verbal sentence. So, in the data, it is also
found that when the students write a nominal sentence, they miss writing „be‟ such as “I
afraid of seeing the earthquake” instead of “I am afraid of seeing the earthquake”. And
vice versa, they add „be‟ in verbal from which is not in the progressive form. It is
commonly known that writing is not easy since it needs understanding and enough
capability to compose a good writing. (Hyland, 2003) states that writing is not just
arranging words into a sentence, linking the sentences into a paragraph, and ordering the
paragraphs into a text. It also requires grammatical and lexical knowledge, understanding
in applying the grammatical knowledge into different context and purposes and
knowledge of topic that are going to be written. The ability of grammar is urgently
6
required in order to make our writing meaningful and can successfully achieve the
communicative purpose of our writing.
E. Conclusion
1. Types of errors: The study identified six types of grammatical errors in students'
descriptive writing: tenses, prepositions, articles, voices, morphology, and verbs.
2. Dominant error: The most frequent error was in tenses, particularly the misuse of
past tense, indicating a lack of understanding of the linguistic features of
descriptive writing.
3. Reasons for errors: The study attributes these errors to a lack of understanding of
the linguistic features of descriptive writing, confusion with English grammatical
structures, and difficulty distinguishing between nominal and verbal sentences.
7
CHAPTER III
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESS
A. Strengths Of Journal
First, the study provides a detailed analysis of the grammatical errors, including
the types, frequencies, and possible explanations for each category. This thoroughness
offers valuable insights into the specific challenges faced by students in their writing.
Second, the article highlights the significance of understanding the linguistic features of
descriptive texts, specifically the dominant use of past tense, to minimize grammatical
errors. This focus aligns well with genre-based approaches to teaching writing. Third, the
study directly addresses a crucial issue for English Education students who are preparing
to become teachers. Understanding students' grammatical errors allows educators to tailor
their teaching strategies and provide targeted remediation. Fourth the authors effectively
contextualize their findings by comparing them to previous studies on error analysis in
descriptive writing, establishing the relevance and significance of their research.
B. Weakness Of Journal
First, the study focuses solely on grammatical errors in descriptive writing. A
broader analysis that incorporates other aspects of writing, such as lexical choices,
coherence, and cohesion, would provide a more comprehensive understanding of
students' writing difficulties. Second, the article identifies and analyzes errors but doesn't
offer any specific interventions or teaching strategies for addressing the issues. Including
a section on potential pedagogical approaches would enhance the practical value of the
research. Third, the article lacks a detailed explanation of the teaching context in which
the students were learning. Understanding the curriculum, teaching methods, and learner
background would provide a more nuanced understanding of the factors contributing to
the grammatical errors.
8
CHAPTER IV
CLOSING
A. Conclusion
In this critical journal review assignment, we can find out where the advantages
and disadvantages of each journal we review are, and we can be trained with a critical
attitude in conducting research starting from criticizing a journal, especially in this
Contrastive & Error analysis course, which we review journals whose grammar is quite
high in understanding the material critically. For this reason, we know that critical journal
review is useful in digging deeper into knowledge and training to have a critical attitude.
B. Suggestion
Critiquing journals requires a critical attitude and seriousness in understanding
each journal. In addition, when doing this task, it is expected not to focus on summarizing
the material, but to understand the material.
C. Reference
Sipayung, R.W. & Benarita. (2023). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writing
Descriptive Text. Bilingual : Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Vol. 5/No. 1.
