Chapter 2
  Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
 

  This chapter consists of Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

 
sections. Literature Review section connects and compares previous studies which
 
are related to the present final project in order to identify the gaps. Moreover,
 
Theoretical Framework section describes all theories which are used for conducting
 
the present final project.

2.1 Literature Review

English is a universal language used by people in this world (Al-Oudat,

2017). Learning a foreign language cannot be separated from learning its grammar.

Every language has its own grammar. “Grammar is a set of rules for producing

correct sentences in a language” (“Aspects of English Language”, 2017). Grammar

rules are complicated for some people; accordingly, almost everyone can make

grammatical errors when they speak in English or write English essays, so can the

students pursuing English major. The present final project focuses on subject-verb

agreement, sentence fragment, the use of conjunction, and mechanics which consist

of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in order to find out the most common

grammatical and mechanical errors made by English Department students in their

essays. Reviewing previous works which are related to the present final project is

important in conducting this final project. Therefore, this literature review connects

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and compares seven works which are related to the present final project in order to
 
identify the gaps between the previous works and the present final project.
 

  The first review discussed is a final project report done by Cholidah in 2010.

  The purpose of this analysis was to find out the frequent errors in subject-verb

  agreement, verb patterns, verb forms, and sentence structures in Polban engineering

and  commerce students’ final project report abstracts. She used the data from five
 
engineering students’ abstracts and five commerce students’ abstracts in 2008. This
 
research used qualitative method. The writer found that the most common error

found in students’ abstracts is verb forms, and the least frequent mistake found in

students’ abstracts is verb patterns. This final project provides a clear description

about the errors found in the students’ abstracts. The weakness of the report is that

the writer uses too many “I” in her final project report. The similarities to the present

final project are about the qualitative method which was employed, and the analysis

of grammatical errors in subject-verb agreement. The difference is that the kind of

data used. This research used the data from students’ abstracts while the present

final project takes the data from students’ essays. Hence, this study is related to the

present final project in the case of the theory of subject-verb agreement.

The second review is a final project report done by Desianty in 2007. The

aims of the study were to see kinds of language mistakes used in banners and

signboards and to see the common language mistakes used in banners and

signboards. The writer analyzed grammatical errors in spelling. The study

employed qualitative method. The writer found that the most common error made

in spelling is omission of letter. The strength of this analysis is the writer provides

15
 
 

 
a clear explanation of spelling from other experts. However, she does not state
 
where she took the theories of procedure for data analysis. The similarities of the
 
present
  final project are the qualitative method which was employed and the

  analysis of error in spelling. The differences are that the present final project

  analyzes the grammatical errors in students’ essays while this analysis analyzed the

spelling
  errors in signboards and banners; moreover, this study only focused on
  in spelling whereas the present final project analyzes mechanics which
errors
 
consist of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Therefore, this study relates to

the present final project in the case of the theory of spelling.

The third review is a final project report done by Yunita in 2014. The

purposes of the analysis were to analyze the grammatical and punctuation errors

found in the business email in PT INTI (Persero). This research analyzed 20

business emails. This research employed qualitative methods and simple

calculation. The writer found that the most common error is parts of speech, and

the least common error is the use of phrase. The strength of this study is that the

writer explains the theories which are applied simply and easily to understand. The

weakness of this final project report is that the grammatical aspects that she

analyzed and the results of the analysis are different. She analyzed the following

grammatical errors: punctuation, subject-verb agreement, part of speech, word

choice, articles, and tenses. However, the results show that there are two other

grammatical errors which were not analyzed before: capital letter and the use of

phrase.

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The fourth review is a thesis conducted by Mungungu in 2010. This
 
research investigated common English language errors made by Oshiwambo,
 
Afrikaans,
  and Silozi first language speakers. This research investigated 360 essays

  from 180 students in year 12. The aims were to identify and compare the types of

  English language in the writing of Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, and Silozi first language

speakers
  in Namibia and the frequency of each error occurred in each group. The
  of this research indicate that there are four most common errors made by the
results
 
students. They are tenses, prepositions, articles, and spelling. The findings reveal

that the hypothesis first language speakers of Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, and Silozi in

Namibia who made mistakes in their English writings that differ from each other

and in their frequency of occurrence is proved wrong. The three groups made

similar errors. The researcher provides a clear analysis of the grammatical errors

made by Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, and Silozi students. In addition, the researcher

also gives explanation of studies on error analysis in Africa, Europe, and Asia. This

study can be a good model for the present final project since the researcher explains

the analysis clearly and easily to be understood. This study relates to the present

final project since the theory of subject-verb agreement is the same.

The next review is a journal article written by Novita in 2014. The aims of

this study were to find the most common grammatical errors in Andalas students’

writings and to identify the factors that caused the students to make errors. This

research focused on passive voice, verb and tenses, subject-verb agreement,

articles, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, noun phrases, and singular and

plural nouns. The factors causing errors were classified into two categories. They

17
 
 

 
are interlingual errors and intralingual errors. Interlingual errors are related to the
 
mother tongue influence, while intralingual errors are in relation to the
 
generalization
  within the target language. The qualitative method was used in this

  research. The researcher only chose the essays from students whose scores in the

  writing class were below 75 since 75 is the standard mark in the lecturer’s

evaluation
  system so that she only analyzed the essays from five students who had

low  ability in writing. The result of this research shows that subject-verb agreement
 
is the most common errors found in the students’ essays. In addition, the errors are

mostly caused by intralingual factor. This journal article is explained clearly and

applies lots of theories from experts such as the causes of grammatical errors.

However, in explaining the result, the writer only used phrases to explain the cause

of errors; consequently, it was hard to understand the result of the causes of errors.

For example, she only explained the grammatical system is conjunction, the cause

of error is intralingual, and the cause type is incomplete rule application without

adding any further explanation. Furthermore, the data of this analysis are too few

since the writer only analyzed five essays. The similarity is the data are taken from

students’ essays while the differences are the number of data collected and the

causes of making errors. The present final project does not analyze the causes of

errors.

The other review is a journal article written by Radin and Fong in 2014. The

aims were to investigate subject-verb agreement errors in argumentative essays

written by diploma students of UiTM Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia and to

identify the factors that caused them to make errors in subject-verb agreement. The

18
 
 

 
study explained that students had problems with four types of subject-verb
 
agreement in their essays including subject-verb agreement of person, subject-verb
 
agreement
  of number, subject-verb agreement of subject, and subject-verb

  agreement of notional agreement and proximity. In addition, the researchers

  classified the factors that caused the students to make errors into the three following

causes:
  interlingual errors, intralingual errors, and induced errors. Induced errors

are  the result of incorrect guidelines which are received by students while acquiring
 
the targeted language. This study was conducted using qualitative method. The

results confirm that the most common error found is subject-verb agreement of

number, and the least common error is subject-verb agreement of subject.

Moreover, the highest factor causing the students to make errors is induced errors

which can be known from the result of the questionnaires and the interviews that

the researchers did. In this journal article, the researchers give a clear explanation

about the factors that affected students in making grammatical errors. However,

they only analyzed the errors in subject-verb agreement. In relation to the present

final project, the theory of subject-verb agreement from this research is applied.

The last work is a journal article written by Al-Oudat in 2017. This journal

article was written in order to investigate the spelling errors made by English major

students at Al-Baqla Applied University, Jordan. The data were 65 essays collected

from the students’ homework writings. The categorization of spelling errors was

based on Cook’s theory which are divided into the following types: insertion,

omission, substitution, and transposition errors. The result of this journal article

indicates that the most common spelling error found is substitution, and the least

19
 
 

 
common spelling error is transposition. This journal article is very simple and easy
 
to be understood, but the definitions of each type of the spelling errors are explained
 
too  simple. This study relates to the present final project in the case of the theory of

  spelling errors.

  In conclusion, there are three gaps found after reviewing seven literature

reviews.
  The first gap is sentence fragment because none of the researchers have
 
analyzed errors in sentence fragment. The second gap is the use of conjunction since
 
it is not analyzed by the researchers. Even though there is one researcher who had

analyzed errors in coordinating conjunction, the present final project focuses on the

use of conjunction which includes not only coordinating conjunction but also

subordinating conjunction and conjunctive adverb. The third gap is mechanics, for

none of the researchers have analyzed mechanical errors. There are three researches

who analyzed errors in spelling, but none of them have analyzed errors in mechanics

which consist of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Accordingly, the present

final project is to analyze the errors in subject-verb agreement, sentence fragment,

the use of conjunction, and mechanics which are found in essays written by English

Department students.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

It is important to have a good understanding of error analysis, grammar, and

mechanics before analyzing grammatical and mechanical errors which are found in

essays written by English Department students of Politeknik Negeri Bandung.

There are ten theories which are used in the present final project in order to have a

good analysis of grammatical and mechanical errors. They are about error analysis,

20
 
 

 
about grammatical error which consists of subject-verb agreement, sentence
 
fragment, and the use of conjunction, about mechanics which consists of
 
capitalization,
  punctuation, and spelling, and about essay.

 
2.2.1 About Error Analysis
 
In learning a foreign language, it cannot be denied that most students make
 
errors. Error analysis can be done in order to identify grammatical and mechanical
 
errors made by foreign language learners. According to Richards and Schmidt

(2002), “Error analysis is defined as the study of errors made by the second and

foreign language learners” (cited in Mungungu, 2010, p.19). Furthermore, Crystal

(2003) argued that error analysis is a technique to identify, classify, and explain the

inappropriate forms which are made by foreign language learners (cited in

Mungugu, 2010). Therefore, error analysis is a technique which is used to identify,

classify, and explain errors made by second and foreign language learners in their

language learning activity such as writing.

2.2.2 About Grammatical Error

Every language has its own grammar that might be different from one

language to another language. The rules expressing how words are combined,

organized, or changed to tell certain meaning are called grammar (Swan, 2005).

Coghill and Magendanz (2003) pointed out, “Grammar determines how words are

arranged to form meaningful units” (cited in Reinaldhi, 2017, p. 11). It means that

21
 
 

 
grammar is the rules playing an important role in making sentences since it shows
 
certain kinds of meaning. If grammar is not used properly, the meaning of the
 
sentences
  can change. However, grammar is not easy to understand, and almost

  everyone can make grammatical errors when writing or speaking in English

  (Novita, 2014).

  Grammatical error is a term used in order to tell inappropriate usage of

 
grammar rules such as wrong verb tense (Nordquist, 2018a). Moreover, Novita
 
(2014) believed that grammatical error is the error which occurs when words are

not properly combined. Therefore, every grammar rule which is not applied

correctly is called grammatical error. Grammatical errors can be various since

grammar consist of several parts. According to James (1998), there are several

components of grammar such as reported speech, prepositions, singular/plural,

articles, tenses, irregular verbs, possessive case, and adjectives (cited in Mungungu,

2010). Furthermore, Nordquist (2018d) stated that grammar consists of several

categories such as adverbs, verbs, nouns, adjectives, prepositions, determiners,

conjunction, and particles.

About grammatical aspects, the present final project focuses on subject-verb

agreement, sentence fragment, and the use of conjunction. The reason for analyzing

errors in subject-verb agreement and sentence fragment is because both of them

have relations with nouns and verbs. A noun as a subject of a sentence must agree

with its verb. For example, a singular noun must be paired with a singular verb, so

sentences in the students’ essays can be analyzed in order to find any subject-verb

agreement errors. Moreover, some sentences written by the students in their essays

22
 
 

 
might lack its main subject or its main verb. Otherwise, even though the sentences
 
have a subject and a verb, they still can be considered as sentence fragment if they
 
do not
  state a complete thought. Therefore, the essays written by the students can

  be analyzed in order to find sentence fragment errors. This final project also

  analyzes errors in the use of conjunction. Students might use conjunction to vary

their  types of sentences, so their essays are not boring to be read. However, they
  use the conjunction improperly in their essays. Therefore, the present final
might
 
project focuses on analyzing errors in subject-verb agreement, sentence fragment,

and the use of conjunction. Besides, the present final project also focuses on

mechanics although mechanics are not a part of grammar, but they are a part of

writing that surely can be found in the students’ essays, for mechanics consist of

capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

a. About Subject-verb Agreement

According to Benner (2000), a subject and a verb must agree with each

other. The verb must be singular if the subject is singular, and if the subject is plural,

then the verb must also be plural. Subject-verb agreement is considered as a major

problem which is faced by students who learn English (Radin & Fong, 2014). In

their research, Bailis, Kreitchet, and Belle (n.d.) argued, “Many composition

instructors believe that students often make subject-verb agreement errors in their

writing…”.

Corder (1974) explained that there are five types of subject-verb agreement

(cited in Radin and Fong, 2014). They are subject-verb agreement of person,

23
 
 

 
number, indefinite subjects, coordinated subjects, and notional agreement and
 
proximity.
 

  1) Subject-verb agreement of person

  According to Butte College (2016c), subject-verb agreement of person

  to whether the word signifies the first person, the second person, or the third
refers
 
person. I and we are the first person plural, you is the second person plural, he, she,
 
and it are the third person singular, and they is the third person plural.

The following is the example of subject-verb agreement of person written by Radin

and Fong in 2014.

“They dislike eating cucumber.”

S V

They is a third person plural subject; therefore, the verb must be also plural. The

subject they and the verb dislike agree with each other because the verb dislike

without adding –s at the end of the word is used when the subject is plural.

The other examples of subject-verb agreement of person are explained below.

1. Rina walks to school every day.

S V

Rina is a singular subject, so the verb must be singular too. The verb walk

must be added –s at the end of the word since the subject is singular.

Therefore, the subject Rina agrees with the verb walks.

24
 
 

 
2. We always watch movies together.
  S V

  We is a first person plural subject; hence, the verb must be also plural. The
 
subject we and the verb watch agree with each other because the verb watch
 
without adding –s at the end of the word is used when the subject is plural.
 

 
2) Subject-verb agreement of number
 
“Subject-verb agreement of number refers to whether a word is singular
 
(child, account, city) or plural (children, accounts, cities, we)” (Butte College,

2016c). It means that the verb of a sentence depends on the subject. If the subject is

singular, the verb must be also singular. Moreover, the verb must be plural if the

subject is plural. For a singular subject, the verb must be added ending s or es at the

end of the verb while a plural subject does not need to be added s or es at the end

of the verb.

Here is the example of subject-verb agreement of number written by Radin and

Fong in 2014.

“The students are in good health.”

S V

The students is a plural noun since it refers to more than one student, so the verb

must be also plural. The linking verb are is used for plural subjects. Therefore, the

subject the students and the linking verb are agree with each other.

25
 
 

 
The other examples are explained below.
 

 
1. Riska is a smart girl.
  S V

  Riska is a singular subject, and the linking verb is is also a singular verb.

  Therefore, the subject Riska agrees with the linking verb is.

 
2. The waitresses smile every time they serve the foods to the customers.
  S V

  The waitresses is a plural noun since they refer to more than one waitress,

and the verb smile is used for plural subjects. Hence, the subject and the verb

of the sentence agree with each other.

3) Subject-verb agreement of indefinite subject

A subject can be either a noun or a pronoun. Nordquist (2017b) said that

indefinite subject refers to “an unspecified or unidentified person or thing.”

Singular indefinite subjects must be paired with singular verbs. The following list

is the list of singular indefinite subjects.

anything each everything nothing something

anybody either everybody nobody somebody
anyone neither everyone no one someone

According to Blanchard and Root (2004), the plural indefinite subjects are

both, few, many, others, and several. A verb of a sentence must be plural if the

subject is one of the plural indefinite subjects.

26
 
 

 
Here is the example of subject-verb agreement of indefinite subject written by
 
Radin and Fong in 2014.
 

 
“Somebody is knocking on the door.”
  S V

  Somebody is a singular indefinite subject, and the auxiliary verb is is also singular.

Therefore,
  the singular indefinite subject somebody agrees with the auxiliary verb

is.  
 

The other examples of subject-verb agreement of indefinite subject are explained

below.

1. Everyone wants to be rich.

S V

Everyone is a singular indefinite subject, so the verb must also be singular.

The verb want with adding –s at the end of the word is used when the subject

is singular. Therefore, the subject everyone and the verb wants agree with

each other.

2. Many people know about what he did in the past.

S V

Many people is a plural indefinite subject; therefore, the verb must be also

plural. The verb know without adding –s at the end of the word is used when

the subject is plural. Hence, the subject many people agrees with the verb

know.

27
 
 

 
4) Subject verb agreement with coordinated subject
 
A coordinated subject or a compound subject is a subject consisting of two
 

  and joined by and (Butte College, 2016c). Coordinated subjects are always
things

  plural.

  There is the example of subject verb agreement with coordinated subject written by

Radin
  and Fong in 2014.

 
“Facebook and Twitter are popular among teenagers nowadays.”
S V
 
The subject Facebook and twitter is a coordinated subject where two things are

joined by and. Therefore, the subject is plural. The linking verb are is also plural,

so the subject Facebook and Twitter and the linking verb are agree with each other.

The other examples of subject verb agreement with coordinated subject

are explained below.

1. Fried chicken and fried rice are my favorite meals.

S V

Fried chicken and fried rice is a coordinated subject since two things are

joined by and, so it is plural. The linking verb are is also plural. Therefore,

the subject fried chicken and fried rice agrees with the linking verb are.

2. Cats and dogs have several similarities.

S V

Cats and dogs is a coordinated subject since it consists of two animals joined

by and, so it is plural. The verb have is also used for plural subjects.

Therefore, the subject and the verb of the sentence agree with each other.

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5) Subject verb agreement of notional agreement and proximity
 
Brenner (2012) pointed out that notional agreement means subject-verb
 
agreement
  rules are applied which are based on the meaning of the sentence rather

  than the grammatical form. Therefore, a singular noun can be paired with a plural

  verb, and a plural noun can be paired with a singular verb depending on the meaning

  sentence. For example, the word audience can be considered as either a

of the
 
singular or a plural noun. If audience is seen as a single entity, then it is a singular
 
noun. If audience is seen as a collection of every individual who comes to watch a

concert, it is a plural noun. Besides, when a subject expresses time, money,

measurement, weight, fractions, collective nouns, or a field of study, the subject is

singular. Therefore, the verb must be singular too.

Nordquist (2017b) argued that proximity agreement is “the practice of

relying on the noun that is closest to the verb to determine whether the verb is

singular or plural.” There are two nouns as a subject. If the noun which is closest to

the verb is singular, then the verb must be also singular. If the noun that is closest

to the verb is plural, then the verb must be plural even though the verb cannot agree

with the other noun of the sentence.

Below is the example of subject verb agreement of notional agreement written by

Radin and Fong in 2014.

“Five years is a long time to wait.”

S V

Five years is a subject expressing time, so it is singular. Therefore, the verb must

be singular too. The subject five years and the verb is agree with each other.

29
 
 

 
Here is the example of subject verb agreement of proximity agreement written by
 
Nordquist in 2017.
 

 
“Either John or his brothers are bringing the dessert.”
  S V

  The noun John is singular while the noun his brothers is plural. The noun his

brothers
  is the closest noun to the verb. Therefore, the verb must be plural. The

auxiliary
  verb are is used when the subject is plural. Hence, the subject and the verb
 
of the sentence are correct even though the verb does not agree with the first

singular noun in the sentence.

The other examples are explained below.

1. Twenty dollars is a reasonable price for this pair of shoes.

S V

Twenty dollars is a subject expressing money, so it is a singular subject. The

linking verb is is used for singular subject. Therefore, the subject and the

verb of the sentence agree with each other.

2. The football team have a good stamina.

S V

The subject football team is a collective noun which can be considered as

either a singular or a plural collective noun. In this case, the subject is plural

since it talks about every member in the football team which has a good

stamina, so it does not talk about the team as a single entity. Therefore, the

subject football team and the verb have agree with each other since have is

used when the subject is plural.

30
 
 

 
b. About Sentence Fragment
 
Every English sentence must have at least one main clause consisting of a
 
subject
  and a verb and expressing a complete thought (Butte College, 2016b). The

  sentence will not express a complete thought if it lacks either a subject or a verb.

  When sentences do not have a subject, a verb, or a main clause, they are called

sentence
  fragment (“Sentence Fragment,” 1999). Sentence fragment happens
  sentences are not complete (Oshima & Hogue, 1991).
when
 
There are three main problems of sentence fragments presented by

University of Calgary (1999). They are missing subject, missing verb, and missing

main clause which are explained below.

1) Missing subject

Every sentence must have its subject; however, according to an article

written in a website of Butte Collage (2016b), “Some fragments are missing

subjects”.

Below is the example of missing subject written in Butte College blog in 2016.

Fragment:
“Was running late that day.”
V

Was running late that day is a fragment since it does not have a subject.

Complete sentence:
“I was running late that day.”
S V

The addition of the subject I turns the fragment into a complete sentence.

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  The other example is explained below.

 

 
Fragment:
Always goes to school after cleaning his house.
  V

  Always goes to school after cleaning his house is a fragment since it does not
  have a subject.

 
Complete sentence:
Cameron always goes to school after cleaning his house.
S V

The addition of the proper noun Cameron makes the sentence has a complete

thought.

2) Missing verb

A sentence must contain at least a main verb that makes the sentence express

a complete thought. “Any phrase, no matter how long, is a fragment if the verb is

missing” (Butte College, 2016b).

Here is the example of missing verb written by Blanchard and Root (2004) in their

book Ready to Write More: From Paragraph to Essay.

Fragment:

“Both Alexander and his younger sister Lisa.”

S

32
 
 

 
The sentence does not contain a verb. It only contains a coordinated subject
 
where two names are joint by and. Therefore, there must be a verb in order to
 

  make the sentence have a complete thought.

 
Complete sentence:
 
“Both Alexander and his younger sister Lisa enjoy tennis.”
  S V O

  The addition of the verb enjoy and the object tennis make the sentence has a

  complete thought. Enjoy is a transitive verb, so it needs a direct object.

The other example is explained below.

Fragment:

People in my house.
S

People in my house does not state a complete thought since the main verb is

missing.

Complete sentence:

People in my house have different hobbies.

S V O

The addition of the transitive verb have and the object hobbies make the

sentence state a complete thought.

3) Missing main clause

“A very common type of fragment is the unfinished thought fragment.”

(Butte College, 2016b). Sentences can be sentence fragments even though they

33
 
 

 
contain a subject and a verb because they only contain a dependent clause which is
 
preceded by a subordinating conjunction. Therefore, the sentences lack the main
 
clause
  or the independent clause.

 
Here is the example of missing main clause written by Blanchard and Root (2004).
 
Fragment:
 
“Before I went to college.”
  Dependent Clause

  The sentence does not have a complete thought since it is introduced by the

subordinating conjunction before. It is a dependent clause which cannot stand

alone. The sentence must contain at least one independent clause to make it

state a complete thought.

Complete sentence:

“Before I went to college, I worked part time at a bank.”

Dependent Clause Independent Clause

The addition of the independent clause I worked part time at a bank makes the

sentence has a complete thought.

The other example of missing main clause is explained below.

Fragment:

After she graduated from her college.

Dependent Clause

After she graduated from her college does not express a complete thought since

it is preceded by the subordinating conjunction after. Therefore, it is a

dependent clause which cannot stand alone.

34
 
 

 
Complete sentence:
 
There are two possible corrections.
 

  The first possibility:

  She moved to Palembang after she graduated from her college.

Independent Clause Dependent Clause
 
The second possibility:
 
After she graduated from her college, she moved to Palembang.
  Dependent Clause Independent Clause

  The addition of the independent clause she moved to Palembang makes the

sentence expresses a complete thought.

c. About the Use of Conjunction

In writing an essay, it is important to vary kinds of sentences in the essay. It

will make the essay more interesting to read. “A composition with only one kind

of sentence is boring and ineffective” (Oshima & Hogue, 1999, p. 165). In their

book, Oshima and Hogue (1999) explained that there are four types of sentence:

simple sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence, and compound-complex

sentence. In making compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences,

conjunctions are needed to connect two independent clauses together or to connect

a dependent clause with an independent clause. According to Oxford Dictionary

(2010), “Conjunction is a word to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate

words in the same clause.” Therefore, a conjunction can link words with words,

phrases, with phrases, clauses with clauses, or sentences with sentences.

35
 
 

 
Stern (2003) stated that there are three types of conjunction. The three types
 
of conjunction are coordinating conjunction, subordinating conjunction, and
 
conjunctive
  adverb which are explained below.

  1) Coordinating conjunction

  According to an article in the Walden University (2017) website,

 
coordinating conjunction is a conjunction which joins words with words, phrases
 
with phrases, and clauses with clauses in a sentence. It means that coordinating

conjunction cannot connect sentences with sentences. Coordinating conjunction

consists of the following coordinators: for, and, but, or, nor, yet, and so, or it is

known as the acronym FANBOYS.

The examples of coordinating conjunction written in Walden University website in

2017 are explained below.

The examples are the use of coordinating conjunctions connecting:

words with words:

“The study is several years old but still valuable to this study.”
Adjective Conj. Adjective

The coordinating conjunction but connects two adjectives in the sentence.

phrases with phrases:

“In this course, I will write a literature review, a case study, and a final paper.”
Noun Phrase Noun Phrase Conj. Noun Phrase

The coordinating conjunction and connects three noun phrases in the sentence.

36
 
 

 
two independent clauses:
 
“The patient complained of chronic pain, yet she refused treatment.”
 
Independent Clause Conj. Independent Clause
 
The coordinating conjunction yet connects two independent clauses in the
 
sentence.
 

 
2) Subordinating conjunction
 
Subordinating conjunction is a word that links two clauses to each other
 
(Walden University, 2017). However, the two clauses are not equal. One clause is

the main clause or independent clause, and the other clause is the dependent clause

which is preceded by the subordinating conjunction. Dependent clauses cannot

stand alone because they express incomplete thoughts; therefore, they must be

attached to independent clauses.

The following is the list of subordinators.

after even though unless wherever

although if until which
as in spite of whatever while
because since when who
before so that whenever whom
despite that where whose
even if though whereas

37
 
 

 
The examples of subordinating conjunctions are below.
 
1. Harry’s cat seems weak as if it would die soon.
 
Independent Clause Dependent Clause
 

  The subordinating conjunction as if links two clauses in the sentence.

  Without the independent clause Harry’s cat seems weak, the sentence will

  not express a complete thought since the dependent clause as if it would die

  soon cannot stand alone as a sentence.

 
2. Devi becomes a quiet girl since her mother passed away.
Independent Clause Dependent Clause

The subordinating conjunction since links two clauses in the sentence.

Without the independent clause Devi becomes a quiet girl, the sentence will

not express a complete thought since the dependent clause since her mother

passed away cannot stand alone as a sentence.

3. Almost everyone knows that Justin Bieber was a poor boy.

Independent Clause Dependent Clause

The subordinating conjunction that links two clauses in the sentence.

Without the independent clause almost everyone knows, the sentence will not

express a complete thought since the dependent clause that Justin Bieber was

a poor boy cannot stand alone as a sentence.

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3) Conjunctive adverb
 

  According to an article in the Butte College (2016a) website, conjunctive

adverb
  is a conjunction which joins independent clauses into a sentence. If

  conjunctive adverbs are placed in the middle of a sentence, a semicolon must be

  placed before the conjunctive adverbs, and a comma must be placed after the
 
conjunctive adverbs. Moreover, conjunctive adverbs can appear at the beginning of
 
the sentence, and a comma is placed after the conjunctive adverbs. The position of
 
conjunctive adverbs is flexible, so they can be placed at the beginning, in the

middle, or at the end of sentences (“Conjunctive Adverbs”, 2001).

The following is the list of commonly used conjunctive adverbs.

accordingly furthermore in contrast meanwhile on the other hand

besides hence indeed moreover otherwise
consequently however instead nevertheless therefore
for example in addition likewise nonetheless thus

The examples of conjunctive adverbs are mentioned below.

1. I wanted to eat at KFC; meanwhile, my brother wanted to eat at Burger King.

Independent Clause Conj. Adverb Independent Clause

The conjunctive adverb meanwhile is placed in the middle of the first and the

second independent clauses. There is a semicolon before the conjunctive

adverb and a comma after the conjunctive adverb.

39
 
 

 
2. We must submit our assignment on Wednesday; otherwise, the lecturer will
  Independent Clause Conj. Adverb Independent

  not accept our assignment.

Clause
 

 
The conjunctive adverb otherwise is placed in the middle of the first and the
 
second independent clauses of the sentence. There is a semicolon before it
 
and a comma after it.
 

  3. Kylie is a famous super model. In contrast, her sister is just an ordinary

Sentence Conj. Adverb Sentence

person.

The conjunctive adverb in contrast is placed in the beginning of the second

sentence. This is correct because a conjunctive adverb can precede a sentence

where it functions as a connector between two sentences. Therefore, the

conjunctive adverb in contrast links two sentences. There is a comma placed

after the conjunctive adverb in contrast.

2.2.3 About Mechanics

Grammatical and mechanical errors are different. “Grammar is the structure

of written or spoken language. It refers to the parts of speech and how they combine

together to form sentences. Mechanics refer to the rules of the written language,

such as capitalization, punctuation, and spelling” (Lethbridge College, n.d.). It

means that grammar and mechanics are two different components, but both are

important in writing. Since mechanics are the part of writing, students also use

mechanics in their essays in order to deliver clearer intended messages. For

40
 
 

 
example, “Let’s eat father” and “Let’s eat, father” have different meaning. The first
 
expression has the meaning that somebody asks others to eat their father while the
 
second
  expression has the meaning that the person wants to eat with his father.

  Therefore, mechanics in writing essays are also important to reduce

  misunderstanding and to present clearer message. The present final project also

focuses
  on mechanics which consists of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
 
a. About Capitalization
 
Capitalization means the first letter of a word is capitalized while the other

letters of the word are in lowercase (Straus, 2018). “The main function of capitals

is to focus attention on particular elements within any group of people, places, or

things” (Straus, 2018). For example, two sentences such as I like going shopping at

a mall in Bandung and I like going shopping at Trans Studio Mall in Bandung have

a difference. The first sentence is not specific because mall is a common noun, and

it means that the speaker likes going shopping at any malls in Bandung while the

second sentence gives a specific mall which distinguishes it from every mall in

Bandung. Accordingly, capitalization is used to distinguish between proper nouns

and common nouns and to make the readers focus on specific things that the writers

want to tell in their writings. Proper nouns are words used with the first letter

capitalized to identify specific people, places, or things (Traffis, n.d.). According to

an article entitled “Grammar Rules” written in 2016, “Common nouns are words

used to name general items rather than specific ones”. Therefore, capitalization is

important in writings to make any differences between the specific and common

things.

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According to Blanchard and Root (2004), there are eight main rules of
 
capitalization which are explained as follows.
 

 
 Do capitalize the first word of sentences:
 
Students must submit their assignment if they want to pass this semester.
 
Students is the first word of the sentence, so the first letter of the first word
 
must be capitalized.
 

 
 Do capitalize names and the title preceding the name (if any):

Julia

Professor Madison

President Joko Widodo

Dr. Hans

Do not capitalize the titles if they do not precede names or appear after

names.

“The senators from Iowa and Ohio are expected to attend” (Straus,

2018).

“Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, will come to the meeting”

(Norquist, 2018).

 Do capitalize the names of racial and ethnic groups:

African American

European

Asian

Do not capitalize black or white when it refers to group of people.

42
 
 

 
 Do capitalize the names of specific places which include countries, states,
 

 
cities, rivers, streets, and mountains:

  Indonesia

  Jakarta

  Mount Everest

  Do not capitalize the words countries, states, cities, rivers, streets, and
  mountains if they are not preceded by the names of the specific places.
 
I often visit other countries with my parents.

 Do capitalize the days of the week, months, and holidays:

Monday

January

Indonesian Independence Day

Do not capitalize the seasons: summer, winter, spring, and fall (autumn).

 Do capitalize the names of religions:

Islam

Hinduism

Protestantism

Catholicism

 Do capitalize nationalities and languages:

Japanese

American

English

Arabic

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 Do capitalize all words in titles excluding prepositions, articles, and
 

 
conjunction, unless they are the first word:

  A Quiet Place

  Harry Potter

  The Old Man and the Sea

  are four additions of capitalization rules from Nordquist (2018b) which are
There
 
explained as follows.

 Do capitalize the pronoun “I”

She said that I should be more careful when driving.

 Do capitalize the names of particular institutions, buildings, and

organizations:

Oxford University

The Eiffel Tower

World Health Organization

 Do capitalize any brand names:

Samsung

Coca cola

Walls

Do not capitalize brand names which begin with a lowercase letter such as

iPhone, iPad, and eBay except they are the first words of a sentence.

IPhone will open more than 500 new stores in the world within a year.

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 Do capitalize all letters in acronyms or initialism:
 

 
WHO (World Health Organization)

  UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Fund)

  LA (Los Angeles)

  UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

  Organization)
 

 
b. About Punctuation

Punctuation is symbols or signs which are used in writings to tell the readers

how the sentences are organized and how to read them (“Punctuation – Symbols

and Signs”, 2018). It will make the readers confused if the texts they are reading do

not contain any punctuation marks. There is an example from Straus (2018), “We

had coffee, cheese and crackers and grapes.” The sentence can be clearer if there is

a comma after crackers, so cheese and crackers are one dish. Therefore, the

sentence becomes “We had coffee, cheese and crackers, and grapes.” This rule of

using commas follows British rules where there must be a comma before the

connector and (Straus, 2018) while American rule does not need to add a comma

before the connector and. The present final project employs British rules. All in all,

punctuation really plays an important role in any piece of writing since it tells how

the sentences should be read. Besides, it makes any ideas that the writers want to

convey in their writing clearer if they use punctuation properly.

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According to Blanchard and Root (2004), there are five main punctuation
 
marks which are explained as follows
 

  Full Stop (.)

  A full stop is used at the end of a sentence. It divides sentences with

  sentences. Moreover, a full stop is used to indicate abbreviations, used in e-

  mail and internet addresses, and used in numbers.

   A full stop is used at the end of sentences:
 
The main purpose of this program is to make people aware of global

warming.

 A full stop is used to indicate common abbreviations:

Mr.

Mrs.

A.M.

P.M.

Etc.

 A full stop is used in e-mail and internet addresses (Oxford Dictionary

2010):

https://www.englishgrammar.com

 A full stop is used in numbers (“Punctuation”, (n.d.):

$5.25 (five dollars and twenty-five cents)

27.13 (twenty-seven point one three)

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 Comma (,)
 

 
“Commas show a minor break or pause in a sentence” (Langan, 2006,

  cited in Nurwahyuni, 2017, p.26). A comma has so many functions in

  writing. It can tell a series of items, separate independent clauses in a

  sentence, tag questions, and many more. Below is the list of the functions

  of comma usages.
   A comma is used to separate words or phrases in a series:
 
“The sea around Antarctica is home to dolphins, porpoises, whales,

seals, and other sea creatures” (Blanchard & Root, 2004).

She always wears an elegant short dress, a glamour necklace, a

branded handbag, and a pair of beautiful heels when she attends a

wedding party.

Do not use a comma if a series only consists of two words or phrases:

My brother always collects stamps and coins.

She cannot control herself to buy a brand-new car and a brand-new

phone.

 A comma is used to separate independent clauses which are joined by a

coordinating conjunction:

“I worked hard all day, so I went to bed early” (Blanchard & Root,

2004).

My teacher has taught me participial phrases for three months, but I

still do not understand about them.

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 A comma is used after introductory phrases or clauses or parenthetical
 
expression:
 

  When he just arrived at his house, he realized that he lost his wallet.

  “Hearing her father was in hospital, Jane left work immediately”

  (“Punctuation, n.d.).

  “By the way, did you hear about Sue’s car?” (Oxford Dictionary,
  2010)
 
“The tire, however, will need to be balanced before it is used”

(Nurwahyuni, 2017).

 A comma is used before a direct quotation:

Christina said, “The train leaves in half and hour” (Blanchard &

Root, 2004).

 A comma is used between the day of the month and year:

May 16, 1997

 A comma is used in tag questions (“Punctuation, n.d.):

Jenni does not have a car, does she?

He walks to school every day, does not he?

 A comma is used in non-defining relative clauses (Oxford Dictionary,

2010):

Dr. Madison, who is really kind to her patients, has moved to a

bigger hospital.

48
 
 

 
“The Pennine Hills, which are very popular with walkers, are
 
situated between Lancashire and Yorkshire” (Oxford Dictionary,
 

  2010).

 
 Question Mark (?)
 
 Question mark is used at the end of all direct questions:
 
What is the most important thing in this world?
 
Do not use question mark for indirect questions.
 
He asked me where I was going.

 Colon (:)

Colons are used to introduce a series, to separate hours and minutes, and

to introduce a quotation.

 A colon is used to introduce a series:

“The museum offers daily tours of the following collections:

American, Asian, Classical, and European” (Blanchard & Root,

2004).

Making a glass of orange juice should have the following

ingredients: oranges, water, ice cubes, and sugar.

 A colon is used to separate hours and minutes:

5:47 A.M.

11:01 P.M.

49
 
 

 
 A colon is used to introduce a quotation which is longer than three lines:
 
As Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable state in their book, The
 

  History of the English Language:

  There is no such thing as uniformity in language. Not only does

  the speech of one community differ from that of another, but the

  speech of different individuals of a single community, even

  different members of the same family, is marked by individuals
 
peculiarities (Oshima & Hogue, 1991).

 A colon is used between main titles and subtitles of a book, article, or

play (Oshima & Hogue 1991):

The name of an article from The New York Times is “Space

Stations: Dream or Reality?” (Oshima & Hogue, 1991)

 Quotation Marks (‘…’) (“…”)

Quotation marks are always in pairs. They are used to enclose direct

quotations and to identify titles of songs, poems, articles, essays, short

stories, and a chapter from book.

 Quotation marks are used to enclose direct quotations:

Katy said, “I don’t know why Mr. Edward didn’t let me get the job.”

 Quotation marks are used to identify titles of songs, poems, articles,

essays, short stories, and a chapter from book:

My favorite song is “Perfect” by One Direction.

50
 
 

 
 Quotation marks are used to emphasize words such as slang expression
 
or irony:
 

  “He told me in no uncertain terms to ‘get lost’” (Oxford Dictionary,

  2010).

  All students did not submit their assignment in the name of

  ‘solidarity’ since some of them had not finished their assignment

  yet.
 
According to an article in Education First web page (n.d.), there are three

additions of the main punctuation marks which are explained below.

 Semicolon (;)

Semicolons are used between two independent clauses which have

connected ideas, before conjunctive adverbs, and between items in a list

which the items already have commas.

 Semicolons are used between two independent clauses which have

connected ideas:

“The sun was already low in the sky; it would soon be dark” (Oxford

Dictionary, 2010).

I love drinking milk; I hate drinking alcohol.

 Semicolons are used before conjunctive adverbs (Oshima & Hogue,

1991):

“Skiing is dangerous; nevertheless, hundreds of people ski” (Oshima

& Hogue, 1991).

51
 
 

 
Niall Horan has an angelic voice; moreover, he is a good-looking
 
man.
 

   Semicolons are used between items in a list which the items already

  have commas:

  I cannot decide which car I like best; the Ferrari, with its quick

  acceleration and ease of handling; the small, conventional Ford, with

  its reclining bucket seats; or the uncomfortable Volkswagen, with its
 
economical fuel consumption (Oshima & Hogue, 1991).

 Exclamation Mark (!)

Exclamation mark is used to indicate strong feeling in a sentence

(“Punctuation – Symbols and Signs”, 2018). Moreover, “The exclamation

mark is used to express exasperation, astonishment, or surprise, or to

emphasise a comment or short, sharp phrase” (“Punctuation”, n.d.).

 Exclamation mark is used to indicate strong feeling:

“That’s unbelievable!” (“Punctuation”, n.d.)

“Get out!” (“Punctuation”, n.d.)

 Apostrophe (‘)

An apostrophe is used to show possessions and used in contractions.

When it is used to show possessions, it is placed after a person’s name with

adding s after it. If the person is plural and has an ending s, the apostrophe

must be placed after it without adding s. Furthermore, if the name is plural

and does not have an ending s, the apostrophe must be placed after it without

52
 
 

 
adding s after it. If an apostrophe is used in contractions, it replaces a letter
 
which is omitted (University of Kent, n.d.).
 

   An apostrophe is used to show possessions:

  The children’s books are placed on their tables.

  Charles’ car is the newest Ferrari.

   An apostrophe is used in contractions:

  I won’t take your time for too long (I will not take your time for too
 
long).

It’s not that expensive (It is not that expensive).

c. About Spelling

Spelling is word forming consisting of acceptable ordered letters (American

Heritage Dictionary, 2011). Spelling has a big role in making English sentences. If

the spelling is not correct, the sentences may have another meaning or they do not

mean anything. In writing essays, spelling is very important in order to express the

ideas that want to be conveyed. However, students should be more careful in writing

essay because they may make errors in spelling the words.

There are different types of spelling errors. Cook (1999) categorized the

kinds of spelling errors into four categories which are substitution error (when a

letter is submitted by another letter), omission error (when a letter is omitted),

insertion error (when a letter is added), and transposition error (when the order of

two letters is reversed) (cited in Al-Oudat, 2017, pp. 45 - 46).

53
 
 

 
The detailed descriptions of four types of spelling errors are explained below.
 

 
1) Substitution Error
 
Substitution error occurs when a letter of a word is submitted by another
 
letter. Since the pronunciation of English words is different from what the words
 
are actually written, sometimes it is confusing to decide whether to use a right letters
 
of a word. The examples of substitution errors are whether to choose <c> in plases
 
(places), prinsess (princess), <e> in dicided (decided), vegitable (vegetable), <i> in
 
devided (divided)., defferent (different), personalety (personality), or <s> in

decition (decision), extention (extension).

2) Omission Error

Omission error occurs when a letter of the target word whether it is a vowel

or a consonant is omitted. According to Khalil and Yassin (2017), “These deletions

show the poor spelling abilities…” This happens because the pronunciation of

English words is different from how the words are written. Common omission

errors are such as omitting <e> in coffe (coffee), evry (every), igonor (ignore), befor

(before), cultur (culture), believ, (believe), provid (provide) <h> in wich (which),

<k> in now (know), nowledge (knowledge), <l> in tal (tall), specialy (specially),

typicaly (typically), carefuly (carefully), <r> in suprisingly (surprisingly),

transfering (transferring), or <t> in importan (important), wach (watch).

54
 
 

 
3) Insertion Error
 
Insertion error occurs when a letter is added to the target word. Khalil and
 
Yassin
  (2017) believed that this kind of error can happen to all language levels and

  can lead to spelling errors. Addition errors are such as adding <a> in cray (cry),

  tray (try), maight (might), laif (life), <c> in reccommend (recommend), <e> in

leade
  (lead), showe (show), focuse (focus), lessone (lesson), <l> in gratefull

 
(grateful), beautifull (beautiful), or <s> in dissappointed (disappointed), dissappear
 
(disappear), dissagreement (disagreement).

4) Transposition Error

Transposition error occurs when the order of two letters or more of the target

word is reversed. “Learners mostly switch the positions two letter by replacing one

letter in the position of the other one” (Khalil and Yassin, 2017). The examples of

transposition errors are such as <ie> in freind (friend), freid (fried), expereince

(experience), pateint (patient), beleive (believe), acheivement (achievement), and

sceince (science) or <ei> in thier (their).

There are ten theories that have been explained. They are about error

analysis, grammatical error which consists of subject-verb agreement, sentence

fragment, and the use of conjunction, and mechanics consisting of capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling, and essay. To make the theories about grammar and

mechanics are easy to understand, a concise summary of grammar and mechanics

are made in Table 1 and Table 2.

55
 
 

 
Table 1 The Summary of Grammar
 

Grammar
 
No. Explanations Types
Components
 
1. Subject-verb A subject and a verb must agree According to Corder (1974),
 
agreement with each other. The verb must there are five types of subject-
 
be singular if the subject is verb agreement: subject-verb
 

 
singular, and if the subject is agreement of person, number,

  plural, then the verb must also subject, coordinated subjects, and

be plural (Benner, 2000). notional agreement and

proximity.

2. Sentence Sentence fragment happens According to an article written in

Fragments when sentences are not a website of University of

complete (Oshima & Hogue, Calgary (1999), there are three

1991). They lack either a types of sentence fragments:

subject, a verb, or a main missing subject, missing verb,

clause. and missing main clause.

3. The Use of Conjunction is a word which According to Stern (2003), there

Conjunction has the function to join words are three types of conjunction:

with words, phrases with coordinating conjunction

phrases, clauses with clauses, (FANBOYS), subordinating

or sentences with sentences. conjunction, and conjunctive

adverb

56
 
 

  Table 2 The Summary of Mechanics

 
Mechanics
No.   Explanations Types
Components
  1. Capitalization Capitalization means the first According to Blanchard and Root
 
letter of a word is capitalized (2004), there are eight main rules
 
while the other letters of the of capitalization: capitalize the
 
word are in lowercase. “The first word of sentences, names
 
main function of capitals is to and the titles preceding the name,

focus attention on particular the names of racial and ethnic

elements within any group of groups, the names of specific

people, places, or things” places, the days of the week,

(Straus, 2018) months, and holidays, the names

of religions, nationalities and

languages, all words in titles

except prepositions,

conjunctions, and articles.

2. Punctuation Punctuation is symbols or signs According to Blanchard and Root

which are used in writings to (2004), there are five main

tell the readers how the punctuation marks: full stop (.),

sentences are organized and comma (,), question mark (?),

how to read them (“Punctuation colon (:), and quotation marks

– Symbols and Signs”, 2018). (“…”). Moreover, According to

an article in Education First web

57
 
 

 
page, there are three additions of
 
the main punctuation marks:
 

  semi-colon (;), exclamation mark

  (!), and apostrophe (‘).

  3. Spelling According to American Cook (1999) categorized four

  Heritage Dictionary (2011), kinds of spelling errors:

  spelling is word forming substitution error, omission error,
 
consisting of acceptable insertion error, and transposition

ordered letters. error.

2.2.4 About Essay

Students who learn English must master the four important skills in learning

English. They are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is the most

difficult skills to learn since it requires not only the knowledge about grammar and

vocabulary but also writing skills such as determining the structure, the content, and

the organization of the essays (Richards & Renandya, 2002, cited in Hourani, 2008,

p.2). Moreover, writing essays are common assignment at college or university.

According to Oshima and Hogue (1991), essays are a piece of writing consisting of

several paragraphs in which each paragraph explains one main point of the topic.

Essays consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introductory

paragraph, there is a thesis statement that states the main idea of the whole essay.

The body includes the explanation of the main ideas of the topic. In addition, the

58
 
 

 
conclusion states the final comments of the essays, and it can also restate the main
 
ideas in different words (Oshima & Hogue, 1991).
 

  In conclusion, Chapter 2 has two sections which have different functions.

  Literature Review section connects and compares seven previous studies which are

related
  to the present final project, so the gaps between the previous works and the

 
present final project can be identified. Furthermore, Theoretical Framework section
 
explains ten theories which are used in conducting the present final project. They

are about error analysis, grammatical error which consists of subject-verb

agreement, sentence fragment, and the use of conjunction, mechanics which

consists of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, and essay. Hopefully, those

theories which have been explained can make the result of the present final project

better since the theories of error analysis, grammar, and mechanics are really helpful

in analyzing the grammatical and mechanical errors found in the students’ essays.

59