Abstract
This study analyses the types and frequency of errors detected in L2 learners’ narrative essays. It involved 50 first-semester English students in a private university in West Java, Indonesia, who enrolled in the Paragraph and Narrative Writing class. The descriptive qualitative approach was used. The data were gathered from the students’ narrative essays during their final semester exam. Identified errors were classified into several categories, calculated, analyzed, and categorized according to their causes based on error analysis theories. The results showed that the most common errors were in the production and distribution of verb groups, the use of articles, spelling, prepositions, parts of speech, singular/plural forms, and questions. The causes of errors were both interlingual and intralingual interferences: interference of the mother tongue, overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restrictions, incomplete application of rules, and false concepts hypothesized. It is hoped that by knowing the types and the frequency of errors, and their causes, students are able to improve their writing skill in English, and teachers are able to better adapt their teaching methods and materials.