IMPROVING STUDENTS ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

IMPROVING STUDENTS ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES
PAPER
HILDA NURUSSANIYAH
07221210703
TEACHING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM
IBN KHALDUN UNIVERSITY
BOGOR
2010
INTRODUCTION
Writing is the one of the four language skills that is very important to learn. Writing as a process to get product is influenced by some elements such as vocabularies, grammar, organization, spelling, and punctuation. In the first year of senior high school, the basic competency that should be achieved in the writing English subject is the students have ability to develop and procedure written simple functional text in the recount text, narrative text, news items, procedure, and descriptive text. They can use right diction, grammar, punctuation, spelling and organization.
Descriptive text is difficult enough to learn by the students. Descriptive is a type of text function to describe particular person, place, or thing. The students can use simple present and adjective clause in writing descriptive text. The methods that are usually used to teach writing in the class are guided writing and individual writing. In guided writing method the students’ activity is to write paragraph individually, they work alone in their own task. Those methods do not increase the students writing ability. The problem are students still feel strange and face some difficulties with English lesson especially in developing paragraph.
Sometimes the teacher asks the students to write or to make paragraph individually. The problems faced in un the class are sometimes the students have difficulties to build and develop their ideas, choose the right dictions, and use the grammar. Writing individually does not work optimally to increase the students writing ability. Because of the reason above, the write proposes a method in order to improve the students’ ability in writing especially in writing descriptive text.
Reid (1993:156) states that writing is usually easier, better, and more successful when talking, drafting, revising, and editing together in the groups that are part of the
writing process. Teachers have high responsibility to develop student ability in mastering language skill especially in writing. The teacher must create interesting activities in the class in order the student can develop their ideas in writing. Although the teacher provide some interesting activities it does not mean that there is no problem. The problem is how to increase the students writing ability.
Based on the curriculum the students that are expected to master the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and also have ability to do communication both in written and oral language to achieve functional and informational literacy. Because of that, the English is Senior High School is aimed at developing the four language skills in order that the students can do communication with English language on the certain literacy.
THEORITICAL BACKGROUND
Content Standard According center (focus) the main subjects of Indonesian is on students' skills in both spoken and written language (speaking, listening, reading and writing). Thus students are expected to understand and create a variety of texts both for oral and written language. Each text has the potential to achieve communicative, structural, and linguistic characteristics that are different. Therefore, before teachers can taught school students to be actively involved in the understanding and creation of texts, teachers need training to understand and be able to create various types of text. The activity creates text writing activities conducted under the approach the process of writing (writing process approach). Destination after the training, students are expected to: recognize the various types of text; understand the purpose, structure, and linguistic characteristics of various texts, identify the types of text that should be taught within the competence standard Indonesian language. Media and instructional materials, namely: Impressions examples of various texts, cultivated examples of all types of existing texts (see materials readings for teachers and students). Text can be taken from newspapers, magazines, or other sources. Competency standards Indonesian Elementary and Junior High School. ATK: HVS paper, markers, scissors, glue, paper Teacher Plano explained that in the activities we engage in communication activities to understand and create texts. Text can be interpreted as a piece of communication products which may consist of oral and written text. An oral and written text including the various types of self. Each type of text has a purpose of communication, text structure, and linguistic characteristics that are different. Ability to understand and create the text with a good helping us to produce effective communication. Ability to understand and create the text is a major center of Contents Standard Indonesian subjects. To be able to guide students to learn to understand and create the text, then the teachers also need training to understand and create a variety of texts. (This activity to practice creating ¬ says the text will be implemented by using the writing process approach). The description depicts or describes an object or atmosphere. The important thing to note in the text description or elaboration is detail drawing objects. Description usually begins with an orientation or introduction of an object or situation provide background information. Agency is drawing a detailed description of objects and atmosphere that was captured by the senses or the writer or speaker felt. Effective description makes the reader / audience as
if he saw or felt themselves the object depicted. Usually begins with a larger share toward the smaller or vice versa. Description dominated pronouns, whether said person or object, adjectives, words that show feelings, and adverbs.
DATA
A. The principle of writing
When we are writing the first we must review the basics of paragraph writing and then work through the stages of the writing process to develop a paragraph about our most prized possession. Before beginning our prewriting we must discuss the following question with our classmates and we are answer to this question will become the focus of our paragraph. A paragraph is a group of sentences that develops one central point. A writer often directly states this point in sentence near the beginning of the paragraph, This statement is called a topic sentence more fully within the body of the paragraph. The sentences within paragraph are arranged on the page that is called a format paragraph. In order to we have to set the space between the paragraph and the edge of the page that is called a margin. Whether we are writing by hand on notebook paper, typing on a sheet of typing paper or writing on a word processor or computer, we need to leave 1-inch margins on the left-hand sides of the page, as shown in the accompanying example. The principle of paragraph writing is unity. This means that the entire paragraph should focus on central point. As we write and then revise our paragraph on prized possessions, make certain that all of the sentences within in relate to the central point our making. When we are writing our mind may not always stick to one point. As we begin writing about one idea, other related thought usually occur to us. Yet these related thoughts are something not focused exactly on the central point we are writing to make in paragraph. Instead these digressions only lead us away from the central point. In conversation, digressions are often acceptable. Our listeners will wait patiently, for instance when we wander away from away from the point we are making. Perhaps to tell a funny story that is not directly related to our central point. Most readers, however and especially those in the academic world, are not as patient as listeners. Readers expect us to write unified paragraph in which we stick to one central point throughout each paragraph.
B. The Principle of Practice in writing
Basically the goal is to provide descriptive text information. Contextual factors / social context is a type of text descriptions of / description of objects, animals, or human specific (something particular object, our pets or someone we know well), in contrast to
the report, which is a description of something that is more general (e.g. a particular animal species, the architecture of a particular age, etc.). The relationship between the writer / author and reader (tenor) in the descriptive text is as a person who is authorized (authority) and the reader / listener who is not known (unknown readers / listeners). The medium used for descriptive text is written is free, scientific magazines, textbooks, and historical texts. Descriptive text generic structure is as follows: Classification or Definition Description of features in order of importance.
Vocabulary is often used in descriptive text are words associated with place names: the location, purpose, usability, appearance, and present evidence if required (For building). For animals, the words used are those describing the classification, appearance, habitat, behavior, life cycle, and its usefulness. The language used is language neutral / objective.
Descriptive texts often use one of several forms: past and present will also have one of the forms. Tense is often used is the present tense, but occasionally also use the past tense if the thing described is no longer there. Also often used the passive voice.
Language functions are often used along with grammar and vocabulary are as follows: • Defining: a / the ... was a ... • describing the features (properties): adjectives • expressing cause and effect: Because, so, as a result.
Descriptive text is also often equipped with photos, diagrams, maps, etc.. Basically, to describe something means to make others "see, hear, taste, or smell" the things we see, hear, feel or smell. Everyday, is not something we often describe our friends and family? Nice clothes we see in the store, a tiny kitten we found at the curb, or a tasty new dishes we enjoyed in the cafeteria, we'd all like to describe the "story" we. The Content Standard for the Indonesian language was on mastery orientation language competence. Competitive, this tension is the ability to understand and invent say various
Forms of texts, both spoken and written. Competence in written text to create an effective Meru feed ¬ rarely mastered the competencies to advanced. One reason is because of writing or writing rarely gets attention on writing activities are ¬ can train students to think coherently, and to develop creativity and rhyming. Mastery of competencies to write / compose requires lots of practice. In the teachers' classroom learning tends to require a good end product of the students, but less attention to the struggle or effort gave birth to a student in the paper. In producing a good paper on an author through a process known generally as the process of writing that consists of six phases, namely to create ideas or pre-writing, writing drafts, revising, editing and publication. The sixth stage is not a rigid sequence of the fact that these stages can occur back and forth or overlap. In order for students to produce a quality paper, teachers should guide students through these stages and provides guidance for each stage. In this session students will compose an essay with through every step of the process of writing. By experiencing their own stages of the process of writing the students are expected to guide students to produce quality paper with the writing process approach. In previous sessions the students have analyzed various types of text and need to practice writing different types of text. However, for a limited time on this activity will produce writing that is descriptive writing. Outside the training students need to practice to produce various types of text. These activities can be done in MGMP using writing process approach. This needs to be done more smoothly so that teachers in guiding students to produce a variety of text types with good quality.
C. Purpose of writing After attending the training, students are expected to: 1. Explain the purpose and stages of the process of writing that has endured. 2. Develop a range of activities for each stage of writing. 3. Explore the possibility of barriers to implementing writing process approach in the classroom and possible solutions. 4. Teacher explains the emphasis or orientation of the existing Indonesian lesson on Content Standards and the benefits of activities to develop the ability to write / compose.
Simulation Teaching Writing with the writing process approach Teacher explains that in this simulation, students will act as student and teacher as a
teacher. The teacher began by explaining that at a meeting this morning, the students will practice
writing or writing text descriptions. Teacher asks students to close his eyes for a minute and shortly listen to what's happening around them. After that, students are asked to write down what he had heard in detail. The teacher asks one or two students to read his writings and asked another student to me whether the post value descriptive enough. If it is found that less descriptive writing teacher asked how writing can be made more detailed or more descriptive again. For example: I heard the sound of shoes. For writing like this teacher asked: "How is it? Tuk tuks can not or do not check lok ceklok ? Is the sound loud or soft? How do you feel when they hear it all? Students read each other friends and advising how the article can be made more rich and detailed description. The teacher then says that the newly done is to create a text description by sense of hearing to produce a picture of the atmosphere. Teacher gives a reading text about the house Hamsad Rangkuti to read. Teacher asks students in pairs to make a mind map showing what is described in these essays. Then, Teacher asks the following question: Impression whether the author wanted to create a description of the house? (The impression created is that the house wants Hamsad Rangkuti, although messy, is a very comfortable home for the hers.) How does the author could build such an impression? (By creating a detailed description of the house by using the senses eyes and describe her feelings about the house.) Teachers report that students will write a descriptive essay. Teachers led the students brainstorm to get an idea about something they are going to describe. Teachers can ask: What are some interesting for us describe? Then, students determine one thing (such as houses, objects, people, natural phenomena) that they will whisper descriptive. Teacher asks students to create maps think about aspects of the object were sure you have selected will be described. Teachers are also reminded students to determine the angles used in describing these things and collect / write with any details of the aspects that will be described. For example: Students begin to write the first draft of their writing. After that, the teacher asks the students to exchange papers with each other / their essays. Teacher asks students to read with attention to whether the description of his friend who made enough detail so as if the reader can see, smell, hear, feel / taste or touch the object itself and whether there is a certain impression that can be deduced from the detailed description that has been written . Teachers remind students that at this stage more
concerned with the development of ideas and did not make spelling errors, grammar, structure language, and punctuation. In giving feedback, students can circle words or underline sentences were deemed less descriptive. The students return each essay on the owners and their owners ¬ vision of essays based on feedback from friends and his own invention. In revising, students rewrite the essay.
ANALISYS
A. Introduction
Teacher explains that in communicating the activities we engage in activities to understand and create ¬ text. Text can be interpreted as a piece of communication products which may consist of oral and written text. Oral and written texts including the various types of self. Each type of text has a purpose of communication, text structure, and linguistic characteristics that are different. Ability to understand and create the text with a good helping us to produce effective communication. Ability to understand and create the text is a major center of Contents Standard Indonesian subjects. To be able to guide students to learn to understand and create the text, then the teachers also need training to understand and create a variety of texts. (This activity to practice creating say the text will be implemented by using the writing process approach).
B. Comprehension and Text Analysis
Students are divided into several groups. Each group was given one type of text. Teacher asks students to read. After the teacher gives a few questions relating to the contents of the reading and ask students to retell each text content to a fellow member of the group by referring to the teacher questions. (In order of in preparation Teachers need to prepare a text and comprehension questions about the content of the text. The question relates to what, who, where, when, why and how). By using the same text, the next teacher invites students to review the text by giving the following questions: Is the purpose of the text communication? How does the author organize / arrange argued the idea that it? Does linguistic characteristics of the most dominant or prominent in these texts? Including the type of whether the text? Teachers can use a worksheet to get an answer to these questions. Teachers then distribute to each group of several types of text. (Teachers should ensure whether the reading materials there are all types of text to be studied). Then the group tried to understand the content of text and write a brief summary of the contents of each text. Groups and then examine or analyze the generic structure of each text that has been read. Teachers guide the analysis by providing questions related to the communicative purpose of the text, the text structure and linguistic features of each text
using the questions in item (b) above. Results of analysis of each text was written on paper HVS. Teachers distribute reading materials that contain information about the structure of
the generic text. Group reviewing the results of the analysis and if necessary revise the text. The final results posted on the paper written for Plano, ready to be displayed.
Juxtaposed with text analysis results analyzed.
C. Sharing the Text Analysis
Students work together to see other groups and provide feedback. Teachers also consider the quality of the job groups. Teachers invite students to give their assessment of the quality of the work group itself or any other group. After the teacher convey the results of assessment and provide feedback or reinforcement of the objectives, structure and linguistic features of texts are analyzed. Students improve the results of group work.
D. Writing Process
In producing an essay, an author through a process of writing that involves planning, writing drafts, rewriting again before finally producing a good paper to read. Students need to know that good writing through this process and they need to learn to use this process to produce a good paper. The process of writing consists of five stages, namely pre-write, write drafts, revise, edit and publish writing. In fact, the stages of writing do not always there in order from one stage to the next. Authors are also used to let these stages in a back and forth or several stages occur simultaneously overlap. Students need practice in learning through these stages on a regular basis first. What does the author in every stage of the process of writing? Pre-writing stage In the pre-writing, we are preparing ourselves for writing and doing things as follows: Choosing an interesting essay topic to be developed. 1. Collect data / details about the topic if we do not know much about the topic. Deciding what we want to say about the topic. For example, we want to write about your eating habits, then we need to determine what we want to say about the eating habits. We can choose to discuss about the dangers of unhealthy eating habits or eating habits reflect a person's personality, or eating habits of a society is a culture
that attract foreign tourists, etc. Write the first draft At this stage, the author Write and develop all his ideas freely Using what he had planned on pre-writing stage to help write the first draft of this
2. Revising writing At this stage of revision, the author tries to make improvements on the draft / opaque with respect to the contents of the first essay by doing these things: 1. Reading the draft articles as many as two or three times 2. Asking at least one person (a friend) to read and submit comments on the contents of the reaction and the first draft 3. Deciding what changes will be made to the draft articles 4. Doing repairs
3. Editing writings If the author is more concerned with the revision and development of the of ideas, in this stage, the authors do the following things: 1. Read each sentence carefully. Sentences and words should be read fluently 2. Check whether there is any use of spelling errors, punctuation, and grammar. 3. Other people can help find these mistakes 4. Writing or typing the final draft neatly 5. Reading the results of typing it again to ensure no more mistakes 4. Publish papers Publication of papers can be done through various ways. Among them: 1. Make it in book form and store it in the corner reading / library 2. Display on the board publications (magazines school wall, for example) 3. Submitting to the mass media (magazines, newspapers, newsletters) 4. Upload it in a personal blog on the internet 5. Present at meetings (eg: seminars, workshops, symposia, etc..) 5. Classroom Activities for Every Stage In Writing Process The emergence of the writing process approach to teaching writing has changed the focus from product to process. This means that teachers should not simply require a good end product without also taking into account what can be done teachers to guide students to produce a good paper. Here is an example of some activities that can be done with the guidance of student teachers at every stage of writing. Activities in pre-writing: 1. Explore the individual experiences
2. Read a story or text associated with that will be written 3. Listening to stories read by teacher 4. Brainstorming for ideas 5. Discuss in groups
CONCLUSION
When we are writing the first we must review the basics of paragraph writing and then work through the stages of the writing process to develop a paragraph about our most prized possession. Before beginning our prewriting we must discuss the following question with our classmates and we are answer to this question will become the focus of our paragraph.
Descriptive text is difficult enough to learn by the students. Descriptive is a type of text function to describe particular person, place, or thing. The students can use simple present and adjective clause in writing descriptive text. The methods that are usually used to teach writing in the class are guided writing and individual writing. In guided writing method the students’ activity is to write paragraph individually, they work alone in their own task. Those methods do not increase the students writing ability. The problem are students still feel strange and face some difficulties with English lesson especially in developing paragraph.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Azar, Betty Schrampfer.1993.Understanding and Using English Grammar. Jakarta. Binarupa aksara & Prentice-hall. Inc.
Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Teaching by principle; an Interactive approach To language Pedagogy. Second Edition New York. Longman Group Ltd.
Byrne. Don. 1987. Techniques For Classroom Interaction. London. Longman
Bing, Jannet Mueller. 1989. Grammar Guide; English Grammar in context. London. Macmillan Publisher.
Martin, Parrot. 2000. Grammar for English Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press. New York.
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