The field of error analysis is not new to foreign language teaching and learning. Studies in SLA that have focused on error analysis have always investigated the parametric and linguistic competence of learners in terms of the systematic errors that language learners make while learning a language. This paper examines the types of syntactic errors produced by 111 Students of Modern Standard Arabic (SMSA) in the Department of African Languages and Literature (ALL) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The goals of this paper were: (1) to document and categorize the written errors made by Students of Modern Standard Arabic (SMSA), (2) to identify the frequency of the given types of errors in correlation to class level, (3) to seek to determine the underlying reasons of their errors. The study addresses the following research questions: a) What are the common errors that native speakers of English commit in learning Arabici b) Are there any differences in the students' errors which can be attributed to class levele c) What are the potential sources of the errors students makem The results of the analysis of 111 writing samples used for this study yielded a total of 1084 syntactic errors: 75 writing samples for first year in this study yielded a total of 699 syntactic errors, with an average number of 9.89 errors in each composition. The data collected from 36 writing samples of second year yielded a total of 340 syntactic errors, with an average number of 9.4 errors in each composition. The errors were identified, and their frequency computed and then compared across the two levels. First year errors were classified into 16 common types of errors while the second year, were only in 14 types. Interestingly, the structure of Noun - adjective agreement is the most problematic one for both first and second year students with the percentages of 13.20% and 19.11% respectively. Certain types of errors that first year learners make disappeared completely in the case of second year. The sources of errors were attributed to sources other than the parametric variations between Arabic and English. This study has shed light on the way in which AFL students internalize the rules of the target language, which is Arabic. By identifying the students' errors and possible sources, the paper will be useful to teachers because it provides information on common trouble-some structures that learners have.