Dewi, Netty Kumala. 2021. Students’ Perception on the Affecting Factors in Writing Descriptive Essay at English Language Education Program Batch 2019. Sarjana’s Thesis. English Language Education Study Program. Lambung Mangkurat University. The first advisor: Dr. Jumariati, M.Pd., and the second advisor: Yusuf Al Arief, M.Hum.

Keywords: writing essays, affecting factors, perception

Writing essays for EFL students is uneasy since they should have extensive knowledge on the topic, a good language use including vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and good motivation in writing.This study is to find out students’ perceptions on the affecting factors in writing a descriptive essay at English Language Education Program Batch 2019 who have taken advanced writing course of Lambung Mangkurat University English Language Education Study Program.

This study used a descriptive design with a qualitative approach. The total numbers of students were 41 individuals from two classes of the advanced writing course. Furthermore, six students were selected to be interviewed according to the result of the questionnaire to find out deeper information about their perceptions on the affecting factors in writing a descriptive essay. This research uses the interactive model in analyzing the data. The interactive models of data analysis are data condensation, data display, and drawing conclusions.

The study found that according to students’ perception, the presence of these supporting factors will easily affect them in learning writing, especially writing an essay. However, each student had different factors that affected them in writing. They were internal factors that came from the individual student such as psychology, interest, talent, and motivation, and the external factors that came from outside the individual such as the conditions in the environment around them, supporting facilities, and the role of the lecturers when teaching which encouraged them to learn to write descriptive essays. Therefore, it is suggested that students have sufficient preparation before writing such as brainstorming and making outlines of essays to help them write smoothly.