Abstrak
The purpose of this research was to identify the ability of students in writing in writing a recount text and to find out the difficulties faced by students in writing tje text. This research used a qualitative descriptive method. As a research sample, 32 grade X stufent from SMA Negeri 08 Malinau Barat were chosen using purposive sampling method. The instruments in this research were observation, questionnaire and interview. The researcher utilized code to examine the data. According to Denscombe (2010), the key to qualitative analysis is to link the identification process and data interpretation. The results of analysis showede that students made the most mistakes in terms of of language use. The cause behind the difficulty was the lack of students in practicing writing and also the lack of knowledge in the form of grammar. As a result, in order to solve the issue, students needed to become better writers because their proficiency in language use and mechanics was still low. Teachers also needed to create more opportunities for students to practice writing as well as strategies, materials, and teaching tecqniques that concentrated on language use and mechanics and enhanced student’s profiecienty, particularly in recount text writing.