AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ ERROR IN APPLYING PERIOD,
COMMA, AND COLON AT THE EIGHTH SEMESTER STUDENTS OF
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF IAIN SALATIGA IN THE
ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2015/2016
A GRADUATING PAPER
Submitted to the Board of Examiners as a Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan
(S.Pd.)
English Education Department of Teacher Training and
Education Faculty State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN)
Salatiga
By :
ANDRI TRIYONO
NIM : 113 12 149
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
STATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES (IAIN) SALATIGA
2016
v
DEDICATION
This graduating paper is dedicated to:
1. My beloved Parents ( Budi Prayitno and Tumirah). Thanks for your
everlasting love and encouragement and for totally shaping me. You are
the reason for me to finish this graduating paper.
2. My sister (Mevi Irmawati) and brother (Vidi Prasetyo) who always cheer
me up and support me.
3. My best friend, Nurul Mufidah who has given me so much knowledge,
and worthy experiences.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Assalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.
Thanks to Allah SWT, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful because
of his wonderful blessings and His Mercy, the writer can finish this graduating
paper successfully. The writer hopes, as Allah allow, this paper can be blessing in
the future. He always gives everything the writer need and makes everything
possible. Praise and gratitude always be with him.
Peace and salutation always be with our Greatest Prophet Muhammad
SAW, perfect person who has guided us from the darkness to the lightness.
However, this success would not be achieved without supports, guidance,
help, advice, and encouragement both from individual and institution. Therefore,
the writer would like to express the deepest gratitude to:
1. Dr. Rahmat Hariyadi, M.Pd. as the Rector of IAIN (State Institute for
Islamic Studies) Salatiga.
2. Suwardi, M.Pd. as the Dean of Teacher Training and Education
Faculty.
3. Noor Malihah, Ph.D. as both, the Head of English Education Department
and the writer counselor who has patiently educated, supported, directed,
and given the writer countless advices, suggestion, and recommendation
for this graduating paper from beginning until the end.
4. All the lecturers in English Education Department.
5. All the staffs that have helped the writer in processing administration.
vii
6. All the respondents who have disposed to be tested and let the writer
conduct this research.
7. My belove parents (Budi Prayitno and Tumirah) who always pray for my
success and my best for the rest of their lives. My lovely sister and brother
(mbak vi and mas vidi) who always give me support.
8. My best friend (Nurul Mufidah), who always supports me to finish this
graduating paper as soon as possible. And all my friends of IAIN Salatiga,
especially in English Education Department.
9. All of figures who cannot be mentioned in this limited paper.
From the bottom of his heart, the writer truly thanks to all individuals. The
writer feels very fortunate because he has been surrounded by such amazing
people who have helped him to accomplish his work.
Wassalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb.
Salatiga, September 9th
, 2016
The writer
Andri Triyono
NIM: 11312149
viii
ABSTRACT
Triyono, Andri. 2016. AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ ERROR IN
APPLYING PERIOD, COMMA, AND COLON AT THE EIGTH SEMESTER
STUDENTS OF ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF IAIN
SALATIGA IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2005/2016. A Graduating Paper.
English Education Department. State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) of
Salatiga. Counselor: Noor Malihah, S.Pd., M.Hum., Ph.D.
This study is mainly aimed to describe the students‟ error in applying punctuation
marks (period, comma, and colon). Punctuation is important in writing, because
accurate punctuation is essential in clear and effective writing, especially in
academic writing. This study answers three questions:” (1) What kinds of error are
created by the students?, (2) What is the dominant error used by the students?, and
(3) What are the causes that make the students produced the errors of period,
comma, and colon?”. The writer uses a descriptive qualitative method to
categorize and analyze the error produced by the students. The data is collected
from a text entitle Going to Sanur Beach which is taken from internet. There are
three findings in this study. First, students produced the error in each of the
punctuations (period, comma, and colon), and the total number of the error is still
high. Second, the most dominant error produced by students is in applying
comma, with the total number of 90 errors or 51.7%. And then, it is followed by
the error of period of 49 error or 28.2% and colon with 35 error or 20.1%. Third,
there are some causes that make the students produce the errors: (1) Students lack
of accuracy in applying punctuations (period, comma, and colon), (2) The
students omit some of the punctuations, and (3) the students have little knowledge
in applying punctuation. Based on the data in this study, there are some students
who do not understand how to use period after abbreviation, and most of them do
a comma splice in the sentence.
Keywords: Error, Mistake, Error Analysis, Punctuation,
ix
TABLES OF CONTENTS
TITLE………………………………………………………………………… i
DECLARATION…………………………………………………………….. ii
ATTENTIVE CONSELOR NOTES……………………………………....... iii
CERTIFICATION PAGE……………………………………………………. iv
MOTTO……………………………………………………………………… v
DEDICATION………………………………………………………………. vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT……………………………………….........………. vii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………............……. ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………….. x
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………….. xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study………………………………………………….. 1
B. Limitation of the Problem………………………………………………..... 4
C. Problem Question………………………………………………………….. 4
D. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………….... 4
E. Significance of the Study………………………………………………….. 5
F. Definition of the Key Terms………………………………………………. 6
G. Graduating Paper Organization………………………………………….... 7
CHAPTER II: THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Previous Works…………………………………………………………..... 9
B. Error and Mistake
x
1. Error…………………………………………………………………..... 10
2. Mistake…………………………………………………………………. 11
C. Definition of Error Analysis………………………………………….. 12
D. Sources of Error
1. Interlingual Errors……………………………………………………… 14
2. Intralingual Errors……………………………………………………… 14
E. Punctuation
1. Period…………………………………………………………………… 18
2. Comma…………………………………………………………………. 21
3. Colon…………………………………………………………………... 32
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Type of Research…………………………………………………………. 35
B. Object of the Research……………………………………………………. 36
C. Data Sources……………………………………………………………… 37
D. Data Collecting Method………………………………………………...... 38
E. Procedure of Data Analysis……………………………………………….. 38
CHAPTER IV: DISCUSSION
A. Kinds of Error Produced by Students
1. Errors of Period…………………………………………………………. 43
2. Errors of Comma………………………………………………………... 44
3. Errors of Colon………………………………………………………….. 47
B. Distribution of the Data of Errors…………………………………………. 49
C. Importance of Punctuation for the Students………………………….. 51
xi
D. Summary…………………………………………………………………... 54
CHAPTER V: CLOSURE
A. Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 56
B. Suggestion and Recommendation
1. For Students……………………………………………………………. 57
2. For Teachers…………………………………………………………… 58
3. For the Researcher……………………………………………………… 58
REFERENCES
CURRICULUM VITAE
APPENDICES
xii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Classification of the Paragraph…………..…………………….. 39
Table 3.2 Sentences Codes……………………………………………….. 40
Table 4.1 Frequency of the Students‟ Error in Applying Period,
Comma, and Colon…………………………………………….. 49
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents about background of the study, limitation of the
problem, research questions, objectives of the study, significances of the study,
clarification of the key terms, review of the previous study, and graduating
paper‟s outline.
A. Background of the Study
Language is the most important thing for human‟s life. Language cannot be
separated from human daily life, because it is as the tool for them to communicate
with their parents, brother, sister, their friends, and other. Using language
everyone is able to express what is in their thoughts and feelings. Besides that, the
people use language to get information and convey several kinds of message such
as ideas, emotions, and desires to the others. Fromkin and Rodman (1988:4) states
that when you know a language, you can speak the language and people who
know the language can understand you. From this statement it is clear that when
you know a language, you are able to make a communication and able to get more
information with the language which you have.
One language which is learnt and spoken internationally is English. As the
International language, English is used by many people all over the world as the
first language like in the English itself, or as the second language like in
Singapore, Malaysia, and India. In Indonesia, English is as Foreign Language that
2
has been introduced in many levels of education. It starts from play group,
elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, and up to university. At
the level of Junior High school and Senior High School, English is as the main
subject. It is as the one of several subjects which is examined at the national
examination. Foreign language is a language spoken by people who do not use the
language as either, their first language or second language. For example,
Indonesian people speak Indonesian as their first language. Thus, English is their
foreign language because it is only learnt firstly in school. It is true that learning
English as foreign language is not easy for many people. In fact, most of the
Indonesian learners have difficulties in mastering English skills. There are four
skills in English that must be mastered by the learners such as listening, speaking,
reading, and writing.
Writing becomes one of four skills in English that has the complicated rule
to be understood. In writing skills the students have to be very careful and
comprehend enough in some rule. Moreover, when they have to write an
academic writing, they have to apply the correct punctuation. Oshima and Hogue
(2007: 3) state that academic writing is the kind of writing used in high school and
college classes. From this explanation, it is clear that students have to be very
careful in applying punctuation marks, especially in academic writing which is
very important for collegian. The accuracy in applying punctuation will help the
students to comprehend the text easier, but in the fact that punctuation becomes
one case for the students that make them confuse to apply it correctly.
3
Bailey (2011: 212) states that accurate punctuation and use of capitals help
the reader to understand exactly what the writer meant. Some examples of the
punctuation that are always used by the students are period, comma, and colon.
These are kinds of punctuation that always make the students confuse in applying
them. For example the use of comma and colon have similar functions in the
sentence. They are used to separate elements within a sentence. And many
students still do some errors in applying these punctuation marks.
According to the explanation above, the writer is interested to analyze the
students‟ error in applying punctuation marks. By understanding about
punctuation, it is expected that the readers are able to construct a good writing. In
this study, the writer limited the research into three types of punctuation. The
three punctuations are period, comma, and colon. The selection of this
punctuation is due to the common use of them which frequently confusing for
students. Beside that, it is important for the researcher to limit the punctuation
used as theoretical basis. Furthermore, this study is aimed to analyze the students‟
errors in applying period, comma, and colon at the Eighth Semester Students of
English Education Department of IAIN Salatiga in Academic Year of 2015/2016.
Therefore, the writer can find out the error produced by the eighth semester
students, the dominant error in using punctuation mark, and the causes of the
errors in their writing test.
4
B. Limitation of the Problem
There are many kinds of punctuation, for example period, ellipsis mark,
comma, semicolon, colon, question mark, etc. However, some punctuation makes
the students confuse when they have to apply punctuation mark which almost has
the similar function, such as period, comma, and colon. The writer wants to limit
his study in order that the problems to be analyzed are not too broad.
C. Problem Questions
Based on the background of the study there are problems, which can be
formulated after identifying the errors. The question are:
1. What kinds of error are produced by the students?
2. What is the dominant error produced by the students?
3. What are the causes that make the students produced the errors of period,
comma, and colon?
D. Objectives of the Study
From this study, the writer wants to achieve some objectives; they are as
follows:
1. To find out kind of error are produced by the students.
2. To find out the dominant error produced by the students.
3. To find out the causes that makes the students produced the errors of
period, comma, and colon.
5
E. Significance of the Study
The research can be beneficial as follows:
1. Practically
a. For the Students
The result of this study helps the students to comprehend the text easier
after they understand about the rule of punctuation, especially in applying
period, comma, and colon.
b.For the teachers
The teachers know the students‟ error in applying punctuation marks,
especially in applying periods, commas and colons. This is because the use of
period, comma, and colon are always confusing, so that the teachers will
explain more clearly to the students about punctuation in the next semesters
to increase the students‟ knowledge in punctuation marks.
c. For the readers
The readers know more about the errors that always occur in applying
period, comma, and colon. With this research are expected that the readers
can improve their comprehension in applying punctuation, moreover when
they write or make an academic writing.
2. Theoretically
The findings of this research can be used as an input to develop the knowledge
of English, especially in using the punctuation marks of period, comma, and
colon in academic writing. The result of the research can be used as reference
work for other study which relates to the punctuation.
6
F. Definition of the Key Terms
To clarify and keep clear any mistakes in interpreting this research, it is
necessary to explain the terms regarding with the study. To understand this study
easier, the writer presents some description and explanation of related terms. They
are as follows:
1. Punctuation
Stilman (1992: 53) states the word punctuation derives from the Latin
for "point." That is, the marks within a sentence point to the various meanings
of its words, making sense of what otherwise might be a string of sounds. They
serve two functions: (1) they define how the various elements of a sentence
relate to each other, thereby ensuring clear and unambiguous communication,
and (2) they help to establish the tone. The first function is more mechanical
and hence more easily learned; the second is part of what distinguishes the
skilled writer from the novice. She also explains that in dialogue, punctuation
helps to convey intonation and style of speaking, so that the reader "hears" a
character's words the way the writer intended. Subtleties such as pauses,
emphases, hesitancy and changes in pitch can be achieved through the
appropriate marks. Examples of punctuations are period, ellipsis mark, comma,
semicolon, colon, question mark, etc. in this study the writer is interested to
investigate period, comma, and colon only.
2. Error
Corder (1973: 257), states that errors are breaking the rule, due to a
lack of competence such as knowledge of the language, which may or may not
7
be conscious. As they are due to a lack of competence they tend to be not self-
correctable. For beginner learner certainly that they will have many difficulties
in learning the English. Thus, make the students do many errors in their
learning processes. So, the teachers are very active to help students‟ errors and
follow the learners‟ development in order to reduce the students‟ errors.
3. Error Analysis
Erdogan (2005: 262) states in terms of error correction, the analyses of
errors are supposed as a strategy to inhibit the errors that have been made in
writing product such as paper assignment. He also explains that error analysis
enables lecturers to find out the sources of errors and take pedagogical
precautions towards them. As indicated above, the analysis of students‟ errors
has become an essential need to organize remedial courses, to compose
appropriate material and teaching strategies based on the findings of error
analysis.
G. Graduating Paper Organization
This section provides the organization of the graduating paper. There are 5
chapters in this graduating paper
Chapter I presents background of this study, which discussed the reason why
the writer intends to conduct an analysis of students‟ error in applying period,
comma, and colon. This chapter also covers the limitation of the problems,
objectives of the study, significance of the study, definition of the key terms, and
graduating paper organization.
8
Chapter II presents previous work, some related theories regarding with the
error, mistake, the source of error, and punctuation marks. And then, the writer
explains the definition of punctuation itself and more detail give information
about the differences in using period, comma, and colon.
Moving to chapter III, presents research methodology. It explains the type of
research that is used in this research and the reason why the writer uses test and
questionnaire as the way to collect the data. Comprehensive explanation are split
into type of research, object of the research, data sources, data collecting method,
and procedure of data analysis.
Chapter VI presents the data analysis, including distribution of the data of
errors, kinds of error produced by students, the importance of punctuation for the
students, and the summary of the research.
Finally, in chapter V the writer gives the closure that includes conclusion
and suggestion.
9
CHAPTER II
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
In this chapter the writer explains briefly the theoretical framework which
includes the previous works, the differences between error and mistake, definition
of error analysis, sources of error, and definition of punctuation mark.
A. Previous Works
In this study, the writer reviews previous works which discuss the similar
discussion about the punctuation to determine originality of this study.
The first study is conducted by Hidayah (2010). She conducts a research
about the use of punctuation and capitalization in composition that was done by
the second year students of SLTP Alternatif Qoryah Thoyyibah Salatiga. She uses
the descriptive qualitative research to find out her study and she uses it as a type
or research. She gets some results from her study. Firstly, commonly the students
do not understand in applying punctuation, it can see from their composition.
Secondly, the capitalization mistake made by the students are still high, they just
know that capitalization only use at the beginning of the sentences. Finally, the
percentage mistake in applying punctuation and capitalization made by the
students is very high. Her research shows that the students who get the low grade
are 33,3% and the students who get very good grade are only two.
The second study is conducted by Rahmawati (2014). She conducts a
research about error of applying punctuation in English text. She uses the
10
descriptive qualitative research to find out her study and she uses it as a type of
research. And from her study, she gets some results. Firstly, the most dominant
mistakes that is done by the students from the highest is in applying quotation
mark, comma, exclamation point, period, omission, and question mark. Secondly,
from her study she knows that the average score of the students is 88, which
means that generally the students have mastered punctuation.
The present study is dealing with error analysis on the use of punctuation
mark, especially in applying period, comma, and colon made by the eighth
semester students of English Education Department of IAIN Salatiga in the
academic year of 2016/2017. In this research, the writer also acts as the
researcher. So, it can be said that the present study is quite different from the
previous works above.
B. Error and Mistake
In this section, the writer discusses about the differences between errors
and mistake. Although error and mistake are the similar meaning as the
Indonesian students know, but the word error and mistake actually have the
different meaning. Therefore, the writer provides some definitions of error and
mistake as below:
1. Errors
As the writer mentioned in the chapter 1, errors are breaking the rule,
due to a lack of competence such as knowledge of the language, which may
or may not be conscious. Knowing learner‟s error will provide useful
11
evidence of the system of the language (Corder, 1981: 10).For beginner
learner, especially the students who learn English as the foreign language,
certainly they do not understand how to learn language by themselves. So,
teachers are very active to help students with knowing errors made by learner
and follow the development of learners toward the purpose of language
learning.
Ellis (1997: 17) also proposes the notion of error which has the
similar main idea with the notion from Corder. She states that error reflect
gap in a learner‟s knowledge which arises because the learner does not know
what is correct. From their notion the writer conclude that an error occur
because of the students lack of competence. So, it can show the gap of
learners‟ knowledge.
Meanwhile, the other notion is proposed by Brown (2007: 258). He
explains error as an “idiosyncrasies in the language of the learner that are
direct manifestations of a system within which a learner is operating at the
time”. An error is a noticeable deviation from the native grammar, it reflect
the competence of the learner.
From the information above, we can know that error is the deviation
that occurs because language learners do not understand the rules of the
language. In this section, the students need extra exercises.
2. Mistakes
Mistake is a deviation that occurs because of the influence of the
situation in language learners. Corder (1981: 10) states “Mistakes are of no
12
significant to the process of language learning. However, the problem of
determining what learner‟s mistake is and what learner error‟s is one of some
difficulty and involves a much more sophisticated study and analysis of
errors than is usually accords them.”
According to Brown (2007: 257) “a mistake refers to a performance
error that is either a random guess or a slip, in that is a failure to utilize a
known system correctly.” The mistake occurred because of fatigue,
exhaustion, and lack of concentration. Thus, the mistake causes the learners
cannot apply the rule of languages correctly. The other notion is from Ellis
(1997: 17). She states that mistakes reflect occasional lapses in performance;
they occur because in particular instance, the learner is unable to perform
what he or she knows.
From the opinions above, we can learn that mistake is caused by
learner. The learners can correct their mistake by realizing the condition of
themselves, such as their concentration, their fatigue and exhaustion that
probably can caused the mistake.
C. Definition of Error Analysis
Writing skills become one of four skills in English that has the complex
rule to be learnt for many learners in learning English as the foreign language. It is
undeniable that students make mistakes and do some errors in their writing
products. So, many researchers have tried to identify the common errors made by
students in writing English as the second language or foreign language. However,
13
all of those can be prohibited through realizing the errors and operating on them
according to the feedbacks given.
Erdogan (2005: 262) states in terms of error correction, the analyses of
errors are supposed as a strategy to inhibit the errors that have been made in
writing product such as paper assignment. Erdogan (2005: 262) also explains error
analysis enables lecturers to find out the sources of errors and take pedagogical
precautions towards them. The other notion is from Gass and Slinker (2008: 102).
They state that error analysis is a type of linguistic analysis which focuses on the
errors made by learners. It starts from learner production data. As indicated above,
the analysis of students‟ errors has become an essential need to organize remedial
courses, to compose appropriate material and teaching strategies based on the
findings of error analysis.
However, English teachers have to realize that errors made by the students
need to be analyzed correctly in order to make learning strategies effectively. It is
clear that the errors analysis is a procedure to analyze the error of language that
made by learner and it is used for teacher or researcher as the research.
D. Sources of Error
There are many descriptions for different kinds of errors, it is inevitable to
move further and ask for sources of errors (Erdogan, 2005: 265). It has been
indicated in the first part of the study that errors are assumed as being the only
result of interference of the first language habits to the learning of second
14
language. The sources of errors can be categorized within two domains: 1)
interlingual transfer and 2) intralingual transfer (Erdogan: 2005: 265).
1. Interlingual Transfer
Interlingual transfer is a significant source for language learners. The
interference of mother tongue becomes a major source of difficulty in
learning second language. Brown (2007: 263) explains that interlingual
transfer is a significant source of error for all learners.
2. Intralingual Transfer
Intralingual errors are resulted from faulty or partial learning of the
target language rather than language transfer (Erdogan, 2005: 266). The
other notion is proposed by Brown (2007: 265). He states that intralingual
interference is the negative transfer or item within the target language, or
put another way, the incorrect generalization of rules within the target
language.
Thus, intralingual errors are the direct result of the learners attempt to
create language system that he is learning. About the present of intralingual
errors, Richard classify them into four categories, they are as follows:
a. Over-generalization
Over-generalization can be defined as the use of previously available
strategies in new situation. Over-generalization covers instances when
the learner creates a deviant structure on the basis of his experience of
other structure in the target language. Richard (1974: 174) gives some
15
examples to make the learners easier to understand, such in sentences
below:
(1a) He can sings.
(1b) He can sing.
Sentence (1a) is an example of Over-Generalization Error. It is
shown by the use of „s‟ in the verb. The grammatical form of verb when
it is preceded by auxiliary verb „can‟ is the infinitive verb without to. So,
the correct forms of „sings‟ is „sing‟ as illustrated in (1b). Another
example, the –ed marker, in narrative or in other past contexts, often
appears to carry no meaning, since past tense is usually indicated
lexically in stories, and the essential notion of sequence in narrative can
be expressed equally well in the present. Here, sentence (2a) is an
example of error illustrated by Richard (1974: 175):
(2a) Yesterday, I go to the university and I meet my new professor.
(2b) Yesterday, I went to the university and I met my new
professor.
The sentence (2a) should use the past tense form or verb in past
form, because the word “yesterday” indicates the past context. The
correct example can be seen as in sentence (2b) above.
b. Ignorance of rule restrictions
In this type of error, the learners fail to observe the restriction of
exist structure. Once he learned a sentence “We talked about it”, they
might make a wrong sentence as “We discussed about it”. The sentence
16
“ask him to do it” produces “make him to do it”. It ignores restriction on
the distribution of “make” (Richard, 1974: 175). The word “make”
should be followed by infinitive without “to”. The learner often ignores
the new rule and tends to use the previous structure.
c. Incomplete application of rules
Intralingual errors of this category may occur when a learner has to
respond immediately to question made by the teacher. Richard (1974:
178) states that the learner fails to apply correct English pattern due to
the stimulus sentence. Richard illustrates some examples using short
conversation below:
(3a) Teacher : “What does he have to do?”
Learner : “He have to do write the address?”
(3b) Teacher : “What does he have to do?”
Learner : “He has to do write the address?”
The student‟s response in sentence (3a) is incomplete application
of the rules. From the student‟s response above, it can be seen that the
verb “have” above should be “has”, because it is preceded by subject
“he” which includes the first singular pronoun. So, the correct form is
„has‟ as illustrated in sentence below (3b).
d. False concept hypothesized
This is a class of developmental errors which derive from faulty
comprehension of distinction in the target language. The learners
sometimes encounter confusion in applying some language rules. For
17
example, confusion between too, so, and very, between come and go, and
so on. They also often make false concept in hypothesizing the
grammatical structure. The form “was”, for example, may be interpreted
as a marker of the past tense, giving one day it was happened, and is may
be understood to be the corresponding marker of the present tense, such
in sentence (4) below which is illustrated by Richard (1974: 178):
(4) He is speaks French.
The sentence (4) above should not use to be “is”, because this
sentence uses verbal sentence in present forms and with the first singular
pronoun as the subject. So, it uses verb only with adding “s” on verb
“speak”.
E. Punctuation
Stilman (1992: 53) states the word punctuation derives from the Latin for
"point." That is, the marks within a sentence point to the various meanings of its
words, making sense of what otherwise might be a string of sounds. They serve
two functions: (1) they define how the various elements of a sentence relate to
each other, thereby ensuring clear and unambiguous communication, and (2) they
help to establish the tone. The first function is more mechanical and hence more
easily learned; the second is part of what distinguishes the skilled writer from the
novice. She also explains that in dialogue, punctuation helps to convey intonation
and style of speaking, so that the reader "hears" a character's words the way the
writer intended. Subtleties such as pauses, emphases, hesitancy and changes in
18
pitch can be achieved through the appropriate marks. Bailey (2011: 212) gives
more explanation about the function of punctuation. Bailey states that accurate
punctuation and use of capitals help the reader to understand exactly what the
writer meant.
Using Punctuation is very important, because it makes the reader easily
understand written text. People can understand the messages that are conveyed by
the others, even without looking at the expression of the person who wrote the
message. It means that punctuation marks clarify the meaning in a sentence. In a
spoken form, the punctuation is represented in the forms of pause, intonation,
gesture, and facial expression. From the explanation above, it is clear that
although the text is not alive, but because of the correct punctuation, the text as if
has a soul. According to Patridge (2005: 8-82) punctuation marks comprise of
period, comma, semicolon, colon, parenthesis, dash, question mark, and
exclamation mark. However, the writer only investigates the use of period (.),
commas (,), and colon (:) for the sake of the study.
1. Period
Stillman (1997: 106) states that period has two functions: ending a sentence
and indicating abbreviation. Furthermore, Straus (2008: 52-53) states that
period has some rules in applying in the sentence, there are:
a. Use a period at the end of a complete sentence that is a statement. An
example on the use of period for this function is illustrated by Straus as
in sentence (1) below:
(1) I know that you would never break my trust intentionally.
19
It can be seen from example (1) that a period is used to end a complete
sentence that is statement.
b. If the last word in the sentence ends in a period, do not follow it with
another period. Some examples on the use of period for this function is
illustrated by Straus in sentence (2) and (3) as bellow:
(2) I know that M.D. She is my sister-in-law.
(3) Please shop, cook, etc. I will do the laundry.
It can be seen from example (2) and (3), that when the last word of
sentence is abbreviation, we should use period. If the abbreviation in the
last sentence, use one period only as the sign of the last word of the
sentence and followed by the capitalization as the sign of new sentence.
c. Use a period after an indirect question. An example is illustrated by
Straus to make the learner easier to understand the use period for this
function. Here, Straus gives one example in sentence (4) below:
(4) He asked where his suitcase was.
It can be seen from the example (4) above, that a period is used after
indirect question. It is surely different when we make a direct question,
because we have to use the question mark. Here, to make clear about the
difference see sentence (5) bellow:
(5) Where is her suitcase?
gives different function in using of period. Here, is list in using full stop or period
according to Center of Language Development:
The other notion is from Center of Language Development (2008: 32) that
20
a. Period is used at the end of a sentence that is not a question and
exclamation. An examples on the use of period for this function is
illustrated by Center of Language and Development in sentence (1),
bellow:
(1) He went to mosque yesterday.
It can be seen that a period is used at the end of a sentence that is not a
question and exclamation, such in sentence (1) above.
b. Period is used to separate the hour figure, which shows the minutes and
seconds that indicates the time. An example on the use of period for
this function is illustrated by Center of Language and Development in
sentence (2) below:
(2) 06.45.25 PM
It can be seen that a period is used to separate the hour figure, which
shows the minutes and seconds that indicate the time such in sentence
(2) above.
c. Period is used in the author's name, title of paper, and place of publisher
in the bibliography. An example on the use period for this function
is illustrated as in sentence (3) below:
(3) Arikunto, Suharsimi. 1989. Prosedur Penelitian: Suatu
Pendekatan Praktek. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta
It can be seen from example (3) that a period is used in the author's
name, title of paper, and place of publisher in the bibliography.
21
d. Period is used after abbreviation. Some examples on the use of period for
this function are illustrated as in sentence (4) below:
(4) Aug.
From the examples (4) it is clear that a period is used after abbreviations
of Aug. which means August.
2. Comma
Stillman (1997: 60) states that the comma is by far the most-used
punctuation mark, typically outnumbering all the others put together. Its
basic role is to function as an interrupter, separating a sentence into distinct
units. Kirkman (2006: 34-52) explains the use of comma into 8 rules as
below:
a. Comma is used for marking the boundary of a „preliminary‟ group. An
example on the use comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as
in sentence (1) below:
(1) Tomorrow, I will go to Paris with my wife.
It can be seen from example (1), that comma is used for marking the
boundary of a „preliminary‟ group.
b. Comma is used for enclosing parenthetic information. An example on
the use comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as in sentence
(2) below:
(2) The buildings, as I have said, will be hexagonal.
It can be seen that comma is used for enclosing parenthetic information
such in sentence (2) above.
22
c. Comma is used for signaling the function of relative clauses. An
example on the use comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as
in sentence (3) below:
(3) The sand grains, which are almost entirely quartz, are not
cemented together.
It can be seen that comma is used for signaling the function of relative
clauses such in sentence (3) which starts by the word “which”.
d. Comma is used to indicating the function of with… construction and -
ing… constructions. An example on the use comma for this function is
illustrated by Kirkman as in sentence (4) below:
(4) Insert the new disk into the disk drive, with the notch at the
bottom.
From sentence (4), it is clear that comma is used to indicate the function
of with…construction.
e. Comma is used to separate adjective in a series. An example on the use
of comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as in sentence (5)
below:
(5) Rika was a lonely, young girl.
From sentence (5), it is clear that comma is used to separate adjective in
a series.
f. Comma is used to separate two word-groups referring to a single
following word. An example on the use of comma for this function is
illustrated by Kirkman as in sentence (6) below:
23
(6) This is a popular, though time-consuming, technique.
From the sentence (6) it is clear that comma is used to separate two
word-groups referring to a single following word. The word “time-
consuming” is two word-groups which refer to a single following word.
So, there is a comma.
g. Comma is used before and and other conjunctions. An example on the
use comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as in sentence (7)
below:
(7) The processor accepts data from input devices, and checks it
before computing.
It can be seen that comma is used before and and other conjunctions,
like in sentence (7) above. The comma is used before conjunction and.
h. Comma is used after that is, for example, and for instance. An example
on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Kirkman as in
sentence (8) below:
(8) There are many kinds of punctuation for example, period,
comma, colon, semi colon, etc.
From the sentence (8) above, it is clear that comma is used after the
word for example.
From the explanation above, it is clear that comma has some function in applying in the sentence. And it will help the learner easier to understand about
the meaning of the text if the sentence has the correct punctuation, for example on
24
a. Comma is used to separate words and word groups with a series of three or
more. An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by
Straus as in sentence (1) below:
(1) My $10 million estate is to be split among my husband,
daughter, son, and nephew.
It can be seen that commas is used to separate words and word groups with
a series of three or more. Straus also has given a note for this rule of
comma. He states that omitting the comma after son would indicate that
the son and nephew would have to split one-third of the estate.
b. Comma is used to separate two adjectives when the word “and” can be
inserted between them. An example on the use of comma for this function
is illustrated by Straus as in sentence (2) below:
(2) He is a strong, healthy man.
It can be seen from sentence (2) that we have to use a comma to separate
two adjectives when the word “and” can be inserted between them.
c. Comma is used when an -ly adjective is used with other adjectives. Straus
has given a note that to test whether an -ly word is an adjective or not, the
learner can see if it can be used alone with the noun. If it can, use the
comma. He also gives some examples to make the learner understand
about comma in this function as follows:
(3) Felix was a lonely, young boy.
the use of comma. Furthermore, Straus (2008: 54-57) explains more detail and
explicit about the rule of coma as follows:
25
(4) I get headaches in brightly lit rooms.
It can be seen that we have to use a comma when an -ly adjective is used
with other adjectives such in sentence (3). But, the word “brightly” in
sentence (4) is not an adjective because it cannot be used alone with
rooms; therefore, no comma is used between brightly and lit.
d. Comma is used before or surrounding the name or title of a person directly
addressed. Some examples on the use of comma for this function are
illustrated by Straus as in sentence (5) and (6) below:
(5) Will you, Aisha, do that assignment for me?
(6) Yes, Doctor, I will.
It can be seen that we have to use commas before or surrounding the name
or title of a person directly addressed, such in sentence (5) and (6) above.
Straus has given note again to make learners more understand. He states
that the learner or writer must capitalize a title when directly addressing
someone.
e. Comma is used to separate the day of the month from the year and after the
year. But, if any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma. An
example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Straus as in sentence (7) and (8) below:
(7) Kathleen met her husband on December 5, 2003, in Mill
Valley, California.
(8) They met in December 2003 in Mill Valley.
26
From the sentence (7), it is clear that we use a comma to separate the day
of the month from the year and after the year. But, we should not use
comma if any part of the date is omitted like in sentence (8).
f. Comma is used to separate the city from the state and after the state, or we
can use a comma after the city only. An example on the use of comma for
this function is illustrated by Straus as in sentence (9a) and (9b) below:
(9a) I lived in San Francisco, California, for twenty years.
(9b) I lived in San Francisco, California for twenty years.
It can be seen that comma is used to separate the city from the state and
after the state such in sentence (9a). And we can use a comma after the
city only, like in sentence (9b).
g. Comma is used to surround degrees or titles used with names. Commas are
no longer required around Jr. and Sr. Commas never set off II, III, and so
forth. An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by
Straus as in sentence (10) below:
(10) Al Mooney, M.D., knew Sam Sunny Jr. and Charles Starr III.
It can be seen that comma is used to surround degrees or titles used with
names. Such in sentence (10), comma is used to surround degrees or title
M.D. that followed the name of Al Mooney.
h. Comma is used to set off expressions that interrupt the flow of the
sentence. An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated
by Straus as in sentence (11) below:
(11) I am, as you have probably noticed, very nervous about this.
27
It can be seen that comma is used to set off expressions that interrupt the
flow of the sentence. Such in sentence (11), commas is used to set off
expression “as you have probably noticed”.
i. Comma is used after dependent clause at the beginning of the sentence.
Conversely, do not use a comma when the sentence starts with an
independent clause followed by a dependent clause. Some examples on the
use of comma for this function are illustrated by Straus as in sentence
(12a) and (12b) below:
(12a) If you are not sure about this, let me know now.
(12b) Let me know now if you are not sure about this.
From the sentence (12a) above, it can be seen that when starting a sentence
with a dependent clause, use a comma after it. But, when a sentence starts
with an independent clause and followed by dependent clause, do not use
the comma like in sentence (12b) above.
j. Comma is used after phrases of more than three words that begin a
sentence. If the phrase has fewer than three words, the comma is optional.
An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Straus
as in sentence (13) below:
(13) To apply for this job, you must have previous experience.
From the sentence (13), it is clear that comma is used after phrases of more
than three words that begin a sentence.
k. If something or someone is sufficiently identified, the description
following it is considered nonessential and should be surrounded by
28
commas. Some examples on the use of comma for this function are
illustrated by Straus as in sentence (14) and (15) below:
(14) Freddy, who has a limp, was in an auto accident.
(15) The boy who has a limp was in an auto accident.
It can be seen that if something or someone is sufficiently identified, the
description following it is considered nonessential and should be
surrounded by commas. Like in sentence (14), Freddy is someone who has
been identified, so the description is not essential and there must be a
comma. Whereas, in sentence (15) we do not know which boy is being
referred to without further description; therefore, no commas are used.
l. Use a comma to separate two independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction and, or, but, for, nor. You can omit the comma if the clauses
are both short. Some examples on the use of comma for this function are
illustrated by Straus as in sentence (16) and (17) below:
(16) I have painted the entire house, but he is still working on
sanding the doors.
(17) I paint and he writes.
It can be seen that comma is used to separate two strong clauses joined by
a coordinating conjunction and, or, but, for, nor. Such in sentence (16), the
sentence uses comma before the word “but” because both of the sentence
are the strong clause or independent clause. But, in sentence (17), there is
not comma because both of the sentences are short sentences.
29
m. Use the comma to separate two sentences if it will help avoid confusion.
An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Straus
as in sentence (18) below:
(18) I chose the colors red and green, and blue was his first choice.
It can be seen that comma is used to separate two sentences if it will help
avoid confusion. Such in sentence (18) above, comma is used to separate
two sentences of “I chose the colors red and green” and the sentence
“and blue was his first choice” to avoid the confusion that probably make
the different in meaning.
n. A comma splice is an error caused by joining two independent clauses
with only a comma instead of separating the clauses with a conjunction, a
semicolon, or a period. A run-on sentence, which is incorrect, is created
by joining two independent clauses without any punctuation. An example
of sentence with comma splice and run-on sentence is illustrated by
Straus on sentence (19a) and (19b) below:
(19a) Time flies when we are having fun, we are always having
fun. (Comma Splice)
(19b) Time flies when we are having fun we are always having fun.
(Run-on Sentence)
The sentence (19a) and (19b) above are the incorrect sentence, so it can
be write as the correct sentence such in sentence (19c), (19d), and (19e)
below:
30
(19c) Time flies when we are having fun; we are always having
fun.
(19d) Time flies when we are having fun, and we are always
having fun.
(19e) Time flies when we are having fun. We are always having
fun.
o. If the subject does not appear in front of the second verb, do not use a
comma. An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated
Straus as in sentence (20) below:
(20) He thought quickly but still did not answer correctly.
It can be seen that the sentence (20) above do not use comma because the
subject does not appear in front of the second verb or exactly after the
word “but”, there is not a subject.
p. Comma is used to introduce or interrupt direct quotations shorter than
three lines. Some examples on the use of comma for this function are
illustrated by Straus as in sentence (21) below:
(21) „„Why,‟‟ I asked, „„do you always forget to do it?‟‟
It can be seen that comma is used to introduce or interrupt direct
quotations shorter than three lines. Such in sentence (21) comma is used
to introduce or interrupt direct quotations shorter than three lines.
q. Use a comma to separate a statement from a question or in a question tag.
An example on the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Straus
as in sentence (22) below:
31
(22) I can go, can’t I?
It can be seen that comma is used in a question tag. Such in sentence (22)
above, comma is used after independent clause which is followed by
question tag.
r. Comma is used to separate contrasting parts of a sentence. An example on
the use of comma for this function is illustrated by Straus as in sentence
(23) below:
(23) That is my money, not yours.
It can be seen that comma is used to separate contrasting parts of a
sentence. Such in sentence (23) above, there is a comma after sentence
“That is my money” because this sentence followed by contrast sentence
that is “not yours”.
s. Use a comma when beginning sentences with introductory words such as
well, now, or yes. Some examples on the use of comma for this function
are illustrated by Straus as in sentences (24) and (24) below:
(24) Yes, I do need that report.
From sentences (24) above, it is clear that comma is used when a
sentence starts with introductory words such as yes like in sentence (24).
t. Comma is used to surround words such as therefore and however when
they are used as interrupters. An example on the use of comma for this
function is illustrated by Straus such in sentence (25) below:
(25) I would, therefore, like a response.
32
From the sentence above, it is clear that comma is used to surround words
such as therefore like in sentence (25) as the interrupters.
u. Use either a comma or a semicolon before introductory words such as
namely, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., or for instance when they are
followed by a series of items. An example on the use of comma for this
function is illustrated by Straus such in sentences (26) below:
(26) You may be required to bring many items, e.g., sleeping bags,
pans, and warm clothing.
It can be seen that comma is used before introductory words such as
namely, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., or for instance when they are
followed by a series of items such in sentence (26). To make the learner
easier understand about the abbreviation, Straus has given a note that i.e.
means “that is” and e.g. means “for example”.
3. Colon
Stillman (1997: 97) states that the colon acts as a signal of anticipation,
drawing the reader's attention to what comes after it. Writers are often
unsure about the distinction between this mark and the semicolon.
Furthermore, Straus (2008: 58) explaines that colon has 3 rules in the
sentences, they are;
a. Use the colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list of items when
introductory words such as namely, for example, or that is do not appear.
Some examples on the use of colon for this function are illustrated by
Straus such in sentence (1) below:
33
(1) I want the following items: butter, sugar, and flour.
From sentence (1) above, it is clear that colon is used after a complete
sentence to introduce a list of items when introductory words such as
namely, for example, or that is do not appear.
b. A colon should not precede a list unless it follows a complete sentence.
However, the colon is a style choice that some publications allow. An
example on the use of colon for this function is illustrated by Straus such
in sentence (2) below:
(2) There are three ways a waitress can make a good impression
on her boss and her customers:
(a) Dress appropriately.
(b) Calculate the bill carefully.
(c) Be courteous to customers.
From the examples above, it can be seen that we can use a colon when a
complete sentence is followed by a list like in sentence (2) above.
c. Capitalization and punctuation are optional when using single words or
phrases in bulleted form. If each bullet or numbered point is a complete
sentence, capitalize the first word and end each sentence with proper
ending punctuation. The rule of thumb is to be consistent. An example
on the use of colon is illustrated by Straus such in sentence (3) below:
(3) The following are requested:
(a) Wool sweaters for possible cold weather.
(b) Wet suits for snorkeling.
34
(c) Introductions to the local dignitaries.
Besides that, Straus has given a note that when the learners make a
written text with a list, they may use periods after numbers and letters
instead of parentheses.
35
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the writer would like to explain methodology which is
used in this research. It consists of type of research, object of the research,
data sources, data collecting method, and procedure of data analysis.
The purpose of this research is to analyze the students‟ errors in applying
period, comma, and colon at the eighth semester students of English
Education Department of IAIN Salatiga in Academic Year of 2015/2016.
A. Type of Research
This research is descriptive qualitative. It concerns with providing
description of phenomenon that occurred naturally, without the intervention of
an experiment or an artificially contrived treatment. As Kothari (1990: 5)
states that qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective
assessment of attitudes, opinions, and behavior. He also states “descriptive
research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The
major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it
exists at present.”
In this research, the writer also used a data in percentage. This research
still includes descriptive qualitative. As Arikunto (1998: 246) states that the
data qualitative which is available often quantified, in number form just to
make it easier in combining two or more variable. After get the final result,
36
and then make it as the qualitative again. This technique is often called as
descriptive qualitative with the percentage.
Thus, this research should not isolate individual or groups into some
variables or hypothesis. It is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, for
example this research which is conducted to phenomena in the students‟ error
in applying period, comma, and colon. This research relates to quality or kind
of the students mastering in writing. It tends to be in the form of words than
number (Kothari: 2004).
In addition, Robbert (2011: 7-8) states that there are five features of
qualitative research:
1. Studying the meaning of people‟s live, under real-world condition,
2. Representing the views and perspectives of the people in a study,
3. Covering the contextual condition within which people live,
4. Contributing insights into existing or emerging concepts that may help
to explain human social behavior, and
5. Striving to use multiple sources of evidence rather than relying on a
single source alone.
So, it is clear that to answer the research question, the writer uses
qualitative approach in this research.
B. Object of the Research
The object of this research are some punctuation marks (period, comma,
and colon) produced by the eighth semester students of English Education
37
Department of IAIN Salatiga. The text that are needed by the writer was taken
from the internet entitle Going to Sanur Beach. In this research, the writer has
modified the text as needed.
C. Data Sources
In every research, there must be data to be analyzed. A researcher is able
to get the data from many source, either person or things. Arikunto (2010:
172) states that data source is subject where the data is collected.
Arikunto (1998: 120) states that in taking a sample; it should not all of
the population if the population are more than 100 people. He argues that it is
possible to take sample for about 10-15% or 20-25% from the total of the
population. It is depend on the capability of the researcher refers to his time,
power, and extensive of the area.
In this research, source of the data is a text taken from an internet1. The
data of this research is collected from a text entitle Going to Sanur Beach
which is given to 21 (15%) students out of 140 students in the eighth semester
students of English Education Departmen of IAIN Salatiga. This text is
uploaded by Adian saputra on October 16th
, 2015. The text Going to Sanur
Beach is chosen because it contains several punctuation marks in different
function in the sentences, especially in period, comma, and colon. This is can
be tool as the test for the students to be analyzed by the writer.
1 http://www.belajardasarbahasainggris.com/2015/10/16/contoh-recount-
1text-
bahasa-inggris-super-lengkap/
38
D. Data Collecting Method
Collecting data is very important in conducting a research. In this
research, the writer uses test and questionnaire to collect the data. The
procedures in collecting the data are:
1. First, the writer removes all punctuation marks in the text Going to
Sanur Beach
2. Second, the writer gives a text to the students and asks them to
complete the text with appropriate punctuation mark. The writer gives
the students 25 minutes to do this test.
3. After the students complete to fulfill the text with punctuation marks,
the writer gives them a questionnaire. The questionnaire contains 4
questions for the students to answer the questions as follow:
a) Do you think that punctuation in writing is important? Give
your reason?
b) Mention the function of period in sentences?
c) Mention the function of comma in sentences?
d) Mention the function of colon in sentences?
E. Procedure of Data Analysis
To analyze the data, the writer followed the procedure below:
1. First, the writer gives codes to the respondents as the identity.
2. Second, the writer numbers the sentence from the text such in table 2
below:
39
Table 3.1
Classify of the Paragraph
No Paragraph No of Sentence Types of Punctuation
1 First 1 period and comma
2 First 2 period
3 First 3 period, comma, and colon
4 First 4 period and comma
5 First 5 period, comma, and colon
6 Second 6 period and comma
7 Second 7 period
8 Second 8 period and comma
9 Second 9 period and comma
10 Second 10 period and comma
11 Second 11 period, comma, and colon
12 Second 12 period
13 Second 13 period and comma
14 Second 14 Period and comma
15 Second 15 period
16 Second 16 period and colon
17 Second 17 period
18 Third 18 period and comma
19 Third 19 period
20 Third 20 period and comma
21 Third 21 period and comma
22 Third 22 period and comma
23 Third 23 period and comma
24 Third 24 period and comma
25 Fourth 25 period and comma
26 Fourth 26 period and comma
27 Fourth 27 period, comma, and colon
40
28 Fourth 28 period and colon
29 Fourth 29 period and comma
3. Third, the writer checks the students‟ work by identifying the error
which is made by them.
4. Fourth, the writer gives the code to the student‟s work which has the
error and analyzed it. For example as the writer explained as bellow:
a. R1/P1/S5, she wrote for me that there are some items which
should I brought:
(1) Bags,
(2) Clothes,
(3) Hat, and
(4) Glasses.
The codes above mean that the sentence above contains the
punctuation error that students produced from paragraph 1 line 5. Here
are the explanations about the codes above:
Table 3.2
Sentence Codes
No Code Explanation
1 R1, R2,R3, …….R21 Initial name of the students
2 P1, P2, P3, and P4 Number of Paragraph
3 S1, S2, S3, …….S28 Number of line in the paragraph
5. Fifth, the writer classifies the student‟s error based on the type of
punctuation marks (period, comma, and colon).
41
6. Sixth, the writer describes the students‟ work, what are the possibilities
in the students‟ error by matching with the students‟ questionnaire.
42
CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION
In this chapter, the writer presents the result of data analysis. There are 4
main sub sections in this chapter. The first is kinds of errors produced by
students, second is distribution of data of errors, third is importance of
punctuation for the students, and the last is summary.
A. Kinds of Error Produced by Students
In this section, the writer will explain detail about the students‟ works.
The example of errors which is produced by the students is discussed as in
sentence 1-29. Here are the discussion about students‟ errors in applying
period, comma, and colon.
1. Errors of Period
From table 4.1, the result shows that these are 28.2% or 49 error of
period produced by the students. Several types of error in applying period are
illustrated as follows:
a. R1/P1/S2
We went there by bus at 07 00 a.m.
Example R1/P1/S2 shows the error in applying period between a
numbers which indicates the time. This case is based on the theory of
comma which has been explained in chapter II. Center of Language
Development states that full stop or period is used to separate the hour
43
figure, which shows the minutes and seconds that indicates the time. So, the
correct form from the R1/P1/S2 as follow:
We went there by bus at 07.00 a.m.
b. R6/P2/S18
On the second day in Fri, we visited Sanur beach.
Example R6/P2/S18 shows the error in applying period after the
abbreviation of Fri. This case is based on the theory of comma which has
been explained in chapter II. Center of Language Development states that
full stop or period is used after abbreviation. So, the correct form from the
R6/P2/S18 as follow:
On the second day in Fri., we visited Sanur beach.
c. R12/P2/S15
I asked what the reason was,
Example R12/P2/S15 shows the error in applying period after an
indirect question. This case is based on the theory of comma which has
been explained in chapter II. Straus states that full stop or period is used
after an indirect question. So, the correct form from the R12/P2/S15 as
follow:
I asked what the reason was.
2. Errors of Comma
From table 4.1, the result shows that these are 51.7% or 90 error of
comma produced by the students. Several types of error in applying comma are
illustrated as follows:
44
a. R1/P2/S14
I thought she was a beautiful kind girl.
Example R1/P2/S14 shows the error in applying comma. This case is
based on the theory of comma which has been explained in chapter II.
According to Straus, comma is used to separate two adjectives when the
word and can be inserted between them. Kirkman also states that comma is
used to separate adjective in a series. So, the correct form from the
R1/P2/S14 as follow:
I thought she was a beautiful, kind girl.
b. R3/P3/S22
When we took a walk along the seashore we found money one hundred
thousand.
Example R3/P3/S22 shows the error in applying comma to separate
dependent clause with independent clause. This case is based on the theory
which has been explained in chapter II. According to Straus, comma is used
if dependent clause at beginning of the sentence, so use comma after it. So,
the correct form from the R3/P1/S2 as follow:
When we took a walk along the seashore, we found money one hundred
thousand.
c. R4/P3/S23
Immediately Arif took the money.
Example R4/P3/S23 shows the error in applying comma. This case is
based on the theory which has been explained in chapter II. According to
45
Kirkman, comma is used for marking boundary of a preliminary group, so
after the word immediately should use a comma. So, the correct form from
the R4/P3/S23 as follow:
Immediately, Arif took the money.
d. R7/P3/S24
We decided to divide the money for Arif Vidi and Me.
Example R7/P3/S24 shows the error in applying comma to separate
words and word groups. This case is based on the theory which has been
explained in chapter II. Straus states that to avoid confusion, use commas to
separate words and word groups with a series of three or more. So, the
correct form from the R7/P3/S24 as follow:
We decided to divide the money for Arif, Vidi, and Me.
e. R10/P2/S8
When we came to the hotel, we did not come to our room directly but we
have to check in first.
Example R10/P2/S8 shows the error in applying comma to separate
two independent clauses which is placed after the dependent clause at the
beginning of the sentence. This case is based on the theory which has been
explained in chapter II. Straus states that comma is used to separate two
independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction such and, or, but,
for, and nor. So, the correct form from the R10/P2/S8 as follow:
When we came to the hotel, we did not come to our room directly, but we
have to check in first.
46
f. R13/P3/S18
On the second day in Fri. we visited Sanur beach.
Example R13/P3/S18 shows the error in applying comma. This case is
based on the theory which has been explained in chapter II. Straus states that
comma is used after phrases of more than three words that begin a sentence.
If the phrase has fewer than three words, the comma is optional. So, the
correct form from the R13/P3/S18 as follow:
On the second day in Fri., we visited Sanur beach.
g. R21/P4/S28
Time flies when we are having fun, we are always having fun.
Example R21/P4/S28 shows the error in applying comma called as
comma splice. This case is based on the theory which has been explained in
chapter II. Straus states that comma splice is an error caused by joining two
independent clauses with only a comma instead of separating the clauses
with a conjunction, a semicolon, or a period. So, the correct form from the
R21/P3/S18 can be in three forms as follow:
a. Time flies when we are having fun, and we are always having fun.
b. Time flies when we are having fun; we are always having fun.
c. Time flies when we are having fun. We are always having fun.
3. Errors of Colon
From table 4.1, the result shows that these are 20.1% or 35 error of colon
produced by the students. Several types of error in applying colon are
illustrated as follows:
47
a. R1/P1/S3
Before we went to Bali, we needed to prepare several things our body
health, money, and supplies such as snack and beverage.
Example R1/P1/S3 shows the error in applying colon that must be used
after complete sentence to introduce a list after the words of “several thing”.
This case is based on the theory which has been explained in chapter II.
Straus states that colon is used after a complete sentence to introduce a list
of items when introductory words such as namely, for example, or that is do
not appear. So, the correct form from the R1/P1/S3 as follow:
Before we went to Bali, we needed to prepare several things: our body
health, money, and supplies such as snack and beverage.
b. R7/P2/S16
And she answered that there are three ways a waitress can make a good
impression on her boss and her customers.
(d) Dress appropriately.
(e) Calculate the bill carefully.
(f) Be courteous to customers.
Example R7/P2/S16 shows the error in applying colon. This case
based on the theory which has been explained in chapter II. Straus states that
a colon should not precede a list unless it follows a complete sentence:
however, the colon is a style choice that some publications allow. So, the
correct form from the R7/P1/S2 as follow:
48
And she answered that there are three ways a waitress can make a good
impression on her boss and her customers:
(a) Dress appropriately.
(b) Calculate the bill carefully.
(c) Be courteous to customers.
B. Distribution of the Data of Errors
In this section the writer presents the main data that have been collected
from the students‟ works from Going to Sanur Beach text. As previously
states in chapter I, the first objective of this research is to find the type of
errors in applying punctuation marks (period, comma, and colon).
From the results of the research An Analysis of Students‟ Errors in
Applying Period, Comma, and Colon at the Eighth Semester Students of
English Department of IAIN Salatiga in Academic Year of 2015/2016 which
has been conducted, the writer finds several kinds of errors produced by the
students. The writer presents the distribution of the punctuation errors in
table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1 Frequency of the students Error
in Applying Period, Comma, and Colon
No
Type of
Error
Occurrence in
Number
Occurrence in
Percentage
1 Period 49 28.2%
2 Comma 90 51.7%
49
3 Colon 35 20.1%
Total 174 100%
Table 4.1 shows the distribution of errors in applying punctuation marks
(period, comma, and colon) in my data. It can be seen that from the data above
there are 174 punctuation errors in students‟ work. The most dominant
students‟ error produced by the Eighth Semester Students of English
Education Department of IAIN Salatiga occur in applying comma with the
total number is 90 errors or 51.7%. In this case, the writer assumes that the
error in applying comma occur because of some reason. First, they lack of
competence in applying comma accurately. This case based on the students
works that still conduct a comma splice in a sentence. Second, there are some
sentences which make students confuse to apply comma correctly. This is
caused by the sentence which has two independent clauses which makes the
students confuse to apply the punctuation mark or conjunction. And the
sentence that should use punctuation marks in a series, for example in
applying period and comma in a series. Third, according to Straus as
explained by the writer in chapter II, comma has more function than the other
punctuation marks (period and colon). So, it is possible for the students to
conduct the errors in applying comma correctly rather than in applying period
or colon.
The error in applying period is half frequently than the error of comma,
with the total number of error is 49 errors or 28.2%. In this case, the writer
50
assumes that the error in applying period occur because students‟ lack of the
competence in applying period, even they omit the period in the sentence. This
case caused by the period that surely use in the sentence, or in other words
period as the main punctuation in a sentence. Because of this reason, it is
possible that students careless in applying period, so they unconsciously omit
the period.
The least error in applying punctuation mark exist in my data is the error
in applying colon, with the total number of error is 35 errors or 20.1%. In this
case, the writer assumes that the error in applying colon occur because of
some reason. First, they lack of competence in applying colon accurately. This
case based on the students works which still use comma after complete
sentence to introduce a list of items. As the writer has been explained in
chapter II, Straus explains that colon is used after a complete sentence to
introduce a list of items when introductory words such as namely, for example,
or that is do not appear. Second, from the similar sentence the writer assumes
that this sentence can outwitted the students. It is because of the sentence that
just determined by introductory words such as namely, for example, and that
is. The students have to apply colon when these introductory words do not
appear, but they have to use comma when the introductory words is appear.
C. Importance of Punctuation for the Students
In this section, the writer discusses about the result of questionnaires
from the students, in turns.
51
1. Do you think that punctuation in writing is important? Give your reason?
All the 21 students say that punctuation in writing is very important.
Some of them state that punctuation can influence the meaning of a word.
So, without punctuation they cannot create a sentence with the clear of
meaning. From this answer, it is clear that all of the students realize that
punctuation is very important and have great influence in writing skills.
2. Mention the function of period in a sentence.
Several students answer similarly that period has 4 functions as follows:
a. Period is used in the end of sentence that is statement.
b. Period is used to indicate the time.
c. Period is put on after an acronym or abbreviation.
d. Period is put on the end of title.
The other students answer the function of period less than 4. From
their answer, it is clear that several students have enough of knowledge in
applying period. So, one of the cause the students still conduct an error in
applying period, it is caused by their lack of knowledge in applying period.
3. Mention the function of comma in a sentence?
Several students only know 3 function of comma, there are:
a. To separate a dependent clause and independent clause if dependent
clause at beginning of the sentence.
b. To separate a list or words/word groups in a series.
c. Comma is used in the end of indirect speech.
52
From their answer, it can be seen that students have so limited
knowledge in applying comma. As the writer explained in chapter II,
according to Straus and Kirkman, comma has several functions which are
more than three functions. And students in this research lack of the
knowledge in applying comma, so it is clear that this becomes the cause of
the dominant students‟ error in applying comma.
4. Mention the function of colon in a sentence?
Most of the students only give one answer as follow:
a. Colon is used to introduce a list of items.
From their answer, it is clear that most of the students lack of the
knowledge in applying colon in sentence. Even, from students works shows
that most of the students just know/correct in applying colon when the
sentence introduces a list of item. And they still conduct an error if colon is
used after a complete sentence to introduce a list of items when
introductory words such as namely, for example, or that is do not appear.
From the students answer, it is clear that students know about the
importance of punctuation in writing skill. It can be seen from their answers in
question 1. But, they still do so many errors in applying punctuation marks
(period, comma, and colon). One of the causes is their lack of knowledge in
applying punctuation, and from students‟ works shows that several students
also omit or cannot place the punctuation mark (period, comma, and colon)
precisely.
53
D. Summary
The results of this study show some important information. The students
have different ability in applying punctuation. In this study, the writer finds
the factors of students‟ error in applying punctuation (period, comma, and
colon).
Here are the causes of students‟ error in applying period, comma, and
colon:
1. First, the student lack of the accuracy in applying punctuation. This
case can be seen from the students‟ work which is incorrect in
applying punctuation mark (period, comma, or colon). For example in
P1/S2 : We went there by bus at 07:00 a m. There is a student who has
tried to apply period, but she still does not accurate in applying period.
2. Second, the students omit some of the punctuation mark (period,
comma, or colon). For example in P2/S14: I thought she was a
beautiful kind girl. Many students omit a comma which should be used
to separate adjectives in a series.
3. Third, students have little knowledge in applying punctuation (period,
comma, and colon) properly. This case can be seen from the result of
the questionnaire.
54
CHAPTER V
CLOSURE
After conducting the research, doing the analysis, and presenting the
results, in this chapter the writer would like to present the conclusion and
suggestion of this study which is entitled An Analysis of the Students‟ Errors in
Applying Period, Comma, and Colon at the Eighth Semester Students of English
Education Department of IAIN Salatiga in Academic Year of 2015/2016.
A. Conclusion
After analyzing the data of the students‟ error in applying period, comma,
and colon, the writer accomplished to the conclusion as follows:
1. Based on the finding of the analysis, to answer the first question, the writer
finds that the students produced three types of error in applying punctuations.
The punctuations are error in applying period, error in applying comma, and
period, comma, and colon.
2. Based on the finding of the analysis, to answer the second question, it is clear
that the most dominant errors produced by students are comma. The total
number of errors in applying comma is 90 errors or 51.7%. The error of comma
is caused by students‟ lacks of competence in applying comma accurately, a
confusing sentence, and comma which has more function than period or colon.
Then, the error of period with the total number of errors is 49 errors or 28.2%.
error in applying colon. The students produced total 174 errors in applying
55
The error of period is caused by students‟ lack of competence in applying
period, and even they omit the period in sentence. And the last is colon with the
total number of errors is 35errors or 20.1%. The error is caused by the students‟
lack of competence in applying colon accurately and in sentence which can
outwit students.
3. To answer the third question of this study, the writer finds some causes of error
produced by students in applying period, comma, and colon. The causes are as
follows:
a. The student‟s lack of the accuracy in applying punctuation marks
(period, comma, and colon).
b. The students omit some of the punctuation marks (period, comma, and
colon).
c. The students have little knowledge in applying punctuation marks
(period, comma, and colon).
B. Suggestion and Recommendation
Based on the explanation, to close this graduating paper the writer
proposes some suggestion and recommendation as follows:
1. For Students
a. The students should motivate themselves to practice their writing skill,
especially in applying of punctuation mark correctly. Because this is
very important for them, moreover when they have to make an academic
writing such as graduating paper or the others.
56
b. According to the findings, it can be said that the students still have some
difficulties in applying punctuation marks (period, comma, and colon).
Therefore, they should pay more attention in the way using commas as it
becomes an aspect of most dominant error they produced.
2. For the Teachers
a. The teachers have to pay much attention to the students‟ error in
applying punctuation marks (period, comma, and colon), because this is
very important for their writing skills.
b. The teacher has to explain and discuss the material about punctuation
marks as the evaluation when they are in writing class.
3. For the Researchers
a. The researcher suggests the next researchers of the similar area, to
analyze more deeply about punctuation in the other academic writing,
thus they can find more various types of error in the use of punctuation.
57
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http://www.belajardasarbahasainggris.com/2015/10/16/contoh-recounttextbahasa-
inggris- super-lengkap/. Accesed in 25th
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1
CURICULUM VITAE
Name : Andri Triyono
Student Number : 113 12 149
Place and Date of Birth : Magelang, Februari 23rd
, 1992
Address : Cepit Wetan, Rt 002/Rw 001, Desa Banyuwangi,
Kecamatan Bandongan, Kabupaten Magelang.
Phone Number : 085 643 488 007
Education :
1998-2004 : Elementary School (SD N Trasan II), Kecamatan
Bandongan, Kabupaten Magelang.
2004-2007 : Junior High School (SMP N 4) Kota
Magelang.
2007-2010 : Senior High School (SMA N 1 Bandongan),
Kabupaten Magelang.
2012-2016 : English Education Department Faculty of State
Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga