An Analysis of Students’ Difficulties in Writing Descriptive Texts among Tenth-Grade Students at State Senior High School 1 Tanjung Tiram in the 2025/2026 Academic Year

Abstract

Writing descriptive texts remains challenging for English as a Foreign Language learners because it requires the integration of grammatical accuracy, vocabulary mastery, idea organization, and knowledge of text structure. This study aimed to analyze the difficulties experienced by tenth-grade students in writing descriptive texts at State Senior High School 1 Tanjung Tiram during the 2025/2026 academic year. The study employed a descriptive qualitative method, with participants selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through classroom observation, writing tests, and interviews. The findings revealed that students encountered difficulties in grammar, vocabulary, idea organization, generic structure, spelling, and punctuation. Grammatical mastery emerged as the most prominent difficulty, particularly in applying the simple present tense and selecting appropriate forms of to be (is, am, and are), as many students incorrectly used past forms such as was and were. Interview findings further identified linguistic, cognitive, psychological, and pedagogical factors underlying these difficulties. The study concludes that strengthening grammatical competence through interactive instruction and sustained writing practice is essential for improving students’ descriptive writing ability.