1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study.
In English teaching and learning there are four skills which are
very important for english learners, the forth skills are reading, speaking,
listening and writing. Reading and listening are called receptive skill while
speaking and writing are productive one. As one of the four language
skills, writing has always occupied a place in most English language
course. One of the reasons is that more people need to learn to write in
English for occupational or academic purposes. In terms of students’
needs, writing occupies an equal role with the other language skills
(Fauziyati 2005:147).
Among the skills, writing is the most difficult skill. People need to
learn english writing because it is a proses of expressing idea, opinion,
experience, and information in the form of written language. In fact
student still get some difficulties when they are asked to write english text,
especially recount text. Most of them get low score in writing, it caused by
the student’s lack of knowledge how to write, what to write, grammar,
vocabulary and technical writing. And Many students get some difficulties
to write a sentence and explore it to be a paragraph.
Writing is a very complex activity that involves not only the ability
to string sentences in a language but also to express ideas. Pranoto (2004:
2
“Writing means pouring ideas into written form or tell something to others through writing. Writing can also be interpreted as an expression of feeling or expression as outlined in the written form. In other words, through the process of writing we can communicate undirectly.”
Despite it, in the writing process the writer has to pay attention
about the grammar, spelling, and punctuation in order to produce a good
written.
The problem above are also faced by students of Mts Al Uswah
Bergas. According to the interview held on 7th of October 2015 with
Mr.Mochamat, S.Pd.I as English teacher in Mts Al Uswah Bergas. The
writer asked some questions to the teacher, the question are about general
condition in teaching learning process of English material especially in
writing subject, about the students and their participation and also the
strategy that used by the teacher in writing. The teacher gives some
arguments, which are as it knows that writing skill is considered difficult
by the students for some reasons, those reason are that the students usually
get difficulties in starting their writing, they don’t have an idea about what
they want to write, or sometimes they have an idea, but they are still
confused how to develop it as the correct one so they can’t make a good
paragraph. That will cause many student waste valuable time just for
getting started.Some students also get some difficulties to write a sentence
and explore it to be a paragraph.Beside,the student have problemtodevelop
3
why the students difficult to write is the students have lacked of grammar
knowledge and vocabulary, and the students have low motivation to write.
To solve the problems the teachers need to use an appropriate
methods and a media in teaching and learning process which make the
students interest andenthusiastic. There are severals methods or technique
that can be used in teaching and learning English. One of them is
clustering technique. Clustering technique is one of the prewriting
activities that can help man to generate the idea. According to Noel (2005
:6) Clustering is a method of “Mapping” your ideas as they come into your
mind. Clustering technique is a good technique to help students to develop
their idea in writing text, especially Recount text. As Regina L. Smalley
and Marry K Ruetten said that clustering is making a visual map of the
ideas and this way allows the stundents to think creatively. After introduce
this method to Mr. Mochamat, S.Pd.I as english teacher in Mts Al Uswah
Bergas. He agree to be my partner to do this research.
The writer choose clustering technique because there are several
pusposes such as students can enchance their writing skill and try new
solution to create an effective note to make a text. Clustering technique
help students to write easier and interested in writing activity so student
can increase their motivation to write
According to those considerations, the writer is interested in doing
action reasearch entitled “THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
4
WRITING SKILLS (A CLASROOM ACTION RESEARCH OF THE
SECOND GRADE STUDENTS OF MTS AL USWAH BERGAS IN
ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016).
B. Problem of Study
The problem of study can be stated as follows:
1. How is the implementation of clustering technique to improve
students’ writing recount textof the second year students in MTs Al
Uswah Bergas in the academic year of 2015/2016?
2. Does clustering technique improve the students’ achievement on
writing skill of recount text after being taught using clustering
technique in the second year students of MTs Al Uswah Bergas in the
academic year of 2015/2016?
3. How far is clustering technique improve students’ writing skill in
writing recount text in the second year students in MTs Al Uswah
Bergas in the academic year of 2015/2016?
C. Objectives of the Research
In line with formulation of the problem of study above, the
objectives of the study are :
1. To describe the implementation of clustering technique to improve
students’ writing skill of recount textof the second year students in
MTs Al Uswah Bergas in the Academic Year of 2015/2016.
2. To describe the improvement of students’ writing skill of recount
5
students of MTS Al Uswah Bergas inthe Academic Year of
2015/2016.
3. To find out what extent of the use clustering technique in improving
students’ writing skill of recount text in the second year students of
MTs Al Uswah Bergas in theAcademic Year of 2015/2016.
D. Limitation of the Study
This study is focusing on the students’ writing skills of Recount
text of the secondyear students in MTS Al Uswah Bergas. In this research,
the writer takes one class of the secondyear students. The action research
is used to know the ability in writing of the secondyear students by using
clustering technique as a method of English language teaching.
E. Significance of the Research
The result of the study is expected to bring some significance and
contribution in teaching and learning english as follows :
1. Students, the result of this study will give benefit to the students to
improve their ability in learning recount text.
2. Teacher, the result of this study will give an input for the teacher in
teaching recount text, and as an alternative technique to enrich their
teaching technique.
F. Definition of the Key Term
The study is a classroom action research with the title of
“Improving Students’ Writing Recount Text by Using Clustering
6
students of MTS Al Uswah Bergas in academic year 2015/2016. There are
the key term of this research
1. Recount is the simplest text type in the genre of narrating. Formally,
recount is a sequential text that does little more than sequence a series
of events. (Knapp and Watkins, 2005:223) in Fitri, Refnaldi and Rusdi
(2013:75). According to Siahaan and Shinoda (2008:9) in Saragih,
Silalahi, & Pardede (2014:57) recount is to tell “what happened”. A
recount text has a social function is to retell an event with a purpose to
inform or entertain the readers.
2. Clustering technique is the basic of natural writing, can be use to
generate ideas for writing of any form : essays, poem, short stories,
business report, song lirics, even novels. It means clustering
technique can be use in developing student’s descriptive writing
achievementRico (2000 : 38). Clustering is another prewriting
technique. It is visual way of showing how your ideas are connected
using circles and lines. When you cluster, you draw a diagram of your
ideas (Richards and Renandya, 2002:316).
G. Review of Related Literature
In this paper the writer takes review of related literature from
another thesis as comparison of this research.
The first research has been conducted by Dwi Afdhila Sari, a
student of State Institute of Islamic Studies (STAIN) Salatiga 2013. Her
7
CLUSTERING TECHNIQUE(A Classroom Action Research At Eighth
Grades Students Of SMP Islam Sudirman Tengaran In Academic Year of
2013/2015). The writer used classroom action research (CAR) as the
method of research technique. This study consisted of three cycles, each
cycle consisted of four steps, there are: planning, action, observation and
analyze the data. The instrument that used in this research are the English
test sheet (consist of pre-test and post-test), observation sheet, and
interview. The result of the study showed that the student achievement in
pre-test and post-test showed an improvement. The students’ mean in
cycle 1 was from 64.78 up to 72.73 in cycle 2 was from 67.04 up to 77.73
and in cycle 3 was from 69.55 up to 79.55. Based on the research result,
the writer concluded that teaching descriptive writing using clustering
technique can improve students’ writing skill.
The other study was conducted by Ismatul Maula (UIN Syarif
Hidayalullah Jakarta, 2010) the title is “THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
CLUSTERING TECHNIQUE IN TEACHING WRITING OF
NARRATIVE TEXT AT THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA
PGRI 56 CIPUTAT”.This study is categorized as an experimental
research, because it is intended to know the effectiveness of clustering
technique in teaching writing of narrative text at the tenth grade students’
of SMA PGRI 56 Ciputat. An experimental study focuses on treatment and
outcome. the experiment was done in two classes (X-1 and X-2), total
8
20 students out of each class (experimental class and control class) through
random sampling as a sample of this study. The writer conducted pre-test
and post-test. The writer used clustering technique to teach writing skill of
recount text. Based on result of pre-test and post test,the students who used
the clustering technique in learning writing of narrative text (experiment
class) were higher than the students’ score who learned without it (control
class). The clustering technique can help the student to improve their
ideas. It means that the clustering technique had positive effect in teaching
writing of narrative text.
From the previous studies above, the writer interest in the prewriting
technique that has been used in previous study. Many previous studies
used clustering technique for teaching writing and the result proof that
clustering technique can help the students to improve their writing skill.
Therefore, the writer gets an idea to do a further research about teaching
writing using clustering technique, but the writer will do the technique in
different text types. The writer wants to use the technique in teaching
writing of recount text.
H. Graduating Paper Outline
This research is organized into five chapters as follows :
Chapter I present the introduction. It explains the background of
the study, problem of study, objective of the study, limitation of the study,
significance of the research, definition of the term, review of the related
9
Chapter II describes the theoritical framework. It consists of
definition of writing, purpose of writing, effective writing, writing process,
teaching writing, assessing writing, definition of recount text, generic
structure of recount text, language feature of recount text, definition of
clustering technique, and teaching procedures of clustering technique.
Chapter III is description of the research setting consist of general
situation of MTS Al Uswah Bergas, setting of time, description of research
schedule, and subject of study. Research methodology, researh procedure,
data collection technique, research instrument, data analysis technique.
Chapter IV is data analysis, it’s consist of pre-test and post test.
Field note consist of cycle 1 and cycle 2. The last discussions consist of
process of teaching writing recount text using clustering technique,
analysis of students improvement and the extent of using clustering
technique.
Chapter V is closure that consist of conclusion and suggestion. for
10 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In this chapter the writer tries to give clear information of theoretical
framework which is covering writing including definition of writing, purpose
of writing, teaching writing, effective writing, writing proces, and then about
recount text including definition of recount text, kind of recount text, generic
stucture of recount text, language feature of recount text, and the last about
clustering technique including the definition of clustering technique,
advantages and disadvantages using clustering technique, and teaching
procedure of clustering technique.
A.Writing
1. Definition of Writing
Writing is a process of expressing ideas or thoughts in words
should be done at our leisure. How can we do something that we do
not enjoy? Writing can be very enjoyable as long as we have the ideas
and the means to achieve it. Writing becomes significant aspect to
communicate.There are three basic principles, namely, content, register,
and topic, which need to be considered in a piece of academic writing.
Referring to content, it should be made clear, specific, and relevant.
However, register should be formal, to the point, and concise. Topic,
on the other hand, should be free from offences, and should avoid
11
Writing is one of the language skills which is important in
our life. Through writing, we can inform others, carry out transaction,
persuade, infuriate, and tell what we feel. However, we know that
writing or learning to write especially in a second language is not
simply a matter of “writing things done”. It is one of the four basic
skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing) that are very complex and
difficult to learn. There are some characteristics of a good writing. A
text or paragraph may these for to be understood as visible division of
the subject method. (Saragih, Silalahi, & Pardede, 2014:57)
White (1981 : 2) in Nunan (2003:36) state that writing is not
a natural activity. All physically and mentally normal people learn to
speak a language. Yet all people have to be taught how to write. This is
a crucial difference between the spoken and written forms of language.
There are other important differences as well. Writing, unlike speech,
is displaced in time. Indeed, this must be one reason why writing
originally envolved since it makes possible the transmission of a
message from one place to another. A written message can be
received, stored and referred back to at any time. It is permanent in
comparison with the ephemeral ‘here one minute and gone the next’
character of spoken language – even of spoken language that is
recorded on tape or disk.
Writing is a good thing to do, According to Wendy and
12
foreign language, it is still a useful, essential, integral and ejoyable part
of the foreign language lesson.
a. It adds another physical dimension to the learning process. Hands
are added to eyes and ears.
b. It lets pupils express their personalities.
c. Writing activities help to consolidate learning in the other skill
areas. Balanced activities train the language and help aid memory.
Practice in speaking freely helps when doing free writing activities.
Reading helps pupil to see the rules of writing and helps build up
their language choices.
d. Particularly as pupils progress in the language, writing activities
allow for conscious development of language. When we speak, we
don’t always need to use alarge vocabulary because our meaning is
often conveyed with the help of the situation. Lots of structured in
the language appear more frequenty in writing, and , perhaps most
important of all, when we write we have the time to go back and
think about what we have written.
e. Writing is valuable itself. There is a special feeling about seeing
your work in print, and enormous satisfaction in having written
something which you want to say. Never underestimate the value
of making pupils’ work public – with their consent, of course.
Inexpressing their ideas the writer usually uses certain
13
(2008:1-4) stated that every form for written text should have clear
objective that all information, messages or ideas must be packaged in
one particular type of text. The types intend are narrative, description
exposition recount, procedure, anecdote, news item and discussion and
report.
2. Purpose of Writing
The purpose of writing is not merely about product oriented
including content, organization, vocabulary use, spelling, and
punctuation error. It is the process of how the students can express what
they really want to communicate with someone else as offer by
Setiyabudi (2012:12). The purpose of writing have to do with goals or
aims of writing. Thinking about purposes of writing, a writer should
think to motivate people to write.
a. To express idea
A writer expresses his feeling, expressions, personality, likes,
and dislikes in his writing in order to make readers understand
something within the materials.
b. To provide information
It means to give information and explain it. This purpose is to
focus on the materials being discused.
c. To persuade readers
It means to convince readers about a matter of an opinion.
14 d. To create literary work
It means that a work which is based on one’s point of view
(opinion, attitude, and observation) of other matters occurring in
one’s environment.
When we do our writing, we certainly have some purpose.
We have to consider the purpose of our writing not only to the type of
text that we produce but also the language that we will use and the
information that we choose because it will influence our writing.
According to Nunan (1991:84), written language serves a range of
functions in everyday life, including the following :
a. Primarily for action
Public signs, e.g on roads and stations; product labels and
instructions, e.g on food, tools or toys purchased; recipes;
television and radio guides; bills; menus; telephone directories;
ballot papers; computer manuals; monitors and printouts.
b. Primarily for information
Newspaper (news, editorials) and current affairs magazines;
hobby magazines; nonfiction books; including text books; public
notes; advertisement; political pamplets; scholastic; medical; etc.
15 c. Primarily for entertainment
Light magazines; comic strips; fiction books; poetry and
drama; newspaper features; film subtitles; games, including
computer games.
3. Effective writing
According to Langan (1979:13) in sentence skill`s book there
are four goals of effective writing:
a. Make a point
Topic sentence is the sentence that expresses the main idea or
point of the paragraph. It is better if it is stated in the first sentence.
Besides the details of the paragraph will be unified if they support
the point in the topic sentence.
b. Support the point
In supporting the point, the writer requires to contribute
particular reasons, examples, and other elements that describe and
develop it. It is more clear if the readers are able to `see ` ,`hear`,
and `feel`.
c. Organize the support
Listing order and time order are two ordinary methods of
organizing support in a paragraph.
Listing orderby providing a list of two or more reasons, example, or details, it helps the writer in arranging the supporting
16
placed in the last because some readers will remember the last
which is read. The examples of transition words that point out
listing order are: one, for one thing, first of all, second, third, next,
also, another, in addition, next, moreover, furthermore, last of all,
finally.
Time order. It is the supporting details which present the order in which they happened. It tells story a series of directions.
There are some examples which indicate the relationships such as:
first, next, as, before, during, soon, after, now, later, when, while,
often, then, until, finally.
d. Write error-free sentences
The sentences will be clear and well written if we utilize the
correct spelling and obey the rules of grammar, punctuation, and
usage. Therefore, we need these understanding in our head. So that
we require a good dictionary and grammar handbook as some
reference materials in order to crate good writing.
4. Writing process
The writing process is a way of exploring possibilities,
realizing your concerns and hopes, working out problems, presenting
arguments, and entertaining, informing, and persuading others. To be
done well, writing, like all activities, requires practice. Rewriting is not
a punishment but rather a chance to gain greater proficiency, flexibility,
17
Writing a paper is a process that can be devided into the
following steps: getting started through prewriting, preparing ascratch
outline, writing the first draft, revising, editing and proofreading
(Langan,1979:16). According to Polette (2012 : 104) there are five
recursive steps in the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising,
editing, and sharing/ publishing.
In the other hand, white and arndt (1991:5) in Harmer
(2004:258) stated that process writing is an interrelated set of recursive
stages which include: drafting, structuring (ordering information,
experimenting with arrangements, etc), reviewing (checking context,
connections, assessing impact, editing), focusing (that is making sure
you are getting the message across you want to get across), generating
ideas and evaluation (assessing the draft and/or subsequent drafts).
5. Teaching Writing
Writing is an important part of the curriculum in the schools
from the earliest grade onward, and most children in countries that
have a formal education system will learn to write , at least at a basic
level in that setting. in this sense, we can say that first language writing
instruction is relatively standardized within a particular culture
(Weigle, 2002:5). Why teach writing? According to Harmer (2001:79)
The reason for teaching writing to students of english as foreign
18
and most importantly, writing as askill in its own right. We will look at
each of these in turn.
a. Reinforcement :
Some students acquire languages in a purely oral/aural way,
but most of us benefit greatly from seeing the language written
down. The visual demosnstration of language construction is
invaluable for both our understanding of how it all fits together and
as an aid to committing the new language to memory. Students
often find it useful to write sentences using new language shortly
after they have studied it.
b. Language development :
We can’t be sure, but it seems that the actual process of
writing (rather like the process of speaking) helps us to learn as we
go along. The mental activity we have to go through in order to
construct proper written texts is all part of the on going learning
experience.
c. Learning style :
Some students are fantastically quick at picking up language
just by looking and listening. For the rest of us , this may take a
litle longer. For many learners, the time to think things through, to
produce language in a slower way, is invaluable. Writing is
19
activity instead of the rush and bother of interpersonal face to face
communication.
d. Writing as skill :
By far the most important reason for teaching writing of
course, is that it is a basic language skill, just as important as
speaking, listening and reading. Students need to know how to
write letters, how to put written reports together, how to reply to
advertisements – and increasingly, how to write using electronic
media. They need to know some of writing’s special conventions
(punctuation, paragraph construction, etc) just as they need to know
how to pronounce spoken english appropriately.
According to Seth (2008:123),the reason why writing is
taught in English teaching and learning are as follows: `
a. Good writing task get learners using their English to communicate
to others and to express their creatively, either can be very motivate
the learners.
b. Writing gives students time to develop their thoughts.
c. Writing can create a beneficial time of quite where all are working
simultaneously on a beneficial task.
d. Written work gives the teachers hard evidence of level and
20 6. Assessing of writing
In analytic scoring, scripts are rated on several aspects of
writing or criteria rather than given a single score. Depending on the
purpose of the assessment, scripts might be raten on such features as
content, organization, cohesion, register, vocabulary, grammar, or
mechanics. Analytic scoring schemes thus provide more detailed
information about a test taker’s performance in different aspects of
writing and are for this reason preferred over holistic schemes by many
writing specialists.
Weigle (2002:116) said that one of the best known and
most widely used analytic scales in ESL was created by Jacobs et al. In the Jacobs et al scale, scripts are rated on five aspects of writing : content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics.
Table 2.1
List of Component Evaluation of Writing
Jacobs et al.’s scoring profile ESL COMPOSITION PROFILE
Component Score Criteria
30-27
EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD
Knowledgeable, substantive, thorough
development of thesis, relevant to assigned
21 Content
26-22
GOOD TO AVERAGE: Some knowledge
of subject, adequate range, limited
development of thesis, mostly relevant to
topic but lacks detail.
21-17
FAIR TO POOR :Limmited knowledge of
subject, little substance, inadequate
development of topic
16-13
VERY POOR :Does not show knowledge
of subject, non-substantive, not partinent,
or not enough to evaluate
Form/
organization
20-18
EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD :Fluent
expression, ideas, clearly stated/supported,
succinct, well-organized, logical
sequencing, cohesive
17-14
GOOD TO AVERAGE: Somewhat
choppy, loosely organized but main ideas
stand out, limmited support, logical but
incomplete sequencng
13-10
FAIR TO POOR :Non-fluent, ideas
confused or disconnected, lack logical
22
9-7 VERY POOR :Does not communicate, no
organization or not enough to evaluate
Vocabulary/s
tyle
20-18
EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD
:Sophisticated rang, effective word/idiom
choice and usage, word from mastery,
appropiate register
17-14
GOOD TO AVERAGE: Adequate range,
occasional errors of word/idiom form
choice, usage but meaning not obscured.
13-10
FAIR TO POOR :Limited range, frequent
error of word/idiom form, shoice, usage,
meaning confusd or obscured
9-7
VERY POOR :Essentially translation, little
knowledge of english, vocabulary, idiom,
word form, or not enough to evaluate
25-22
EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD:
Effective, complex construction, few error
of agreement, tense, number, word,
order/function, articles, pronouns,
23 Languageuse/
Grammar `
21-18
GOOD TO AVERAGE: effective but
simple constructions, minor problems in
complex constructions, several errors of
agreement, tense, number, word order/
function, articles, pronouns, preposition
but meaning seldom obscured.
17-11
FAIR TO POOR : Major problem in
simple/complex construction, frequent
error of negation, agreement, tense,
number, word, order/function, articles,
pronouns, preposition and or fragment,
run-ons, deletions, meaning confused or
abscured
10-5
VERY POOR :Virtually o mastery no
mastery of sentence construction rule,
dominated by errors, does no
communicate, or not enough to evaluate
5
EXCELLENT TO VERY GOOD
:Demonstrate mastey of conventions, few
errors of spelling, puntuation,
24 Mechanic
4
GOOD TO AVERAGE: Occasional errors
of spelling, puntuation, capitalization,
paragraphing, but menaing not abscured
3
FAIR TO POOR :Frequent errors of
spelling, puntuation, capitalization,
paragraphing, poor handwriting, meaning
confused or abscured
2
VERY POOR :No mastery of conventions,
dominated by errorsof spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing,
handwriting ilegible, or not enough to
evaluate
From the explanation above the reseacher conclude that the criteria of
scoring are
Table 2.2 Criteria of Scoring
No Score Criteria
1 89-100 Exellent
2 79-88 Good
3 66-78 Fair
25
5 0-45 Very Poor
B.Recount Text
1. Definition of recount text
Recount text is a text that tell us about a part of experience. A
recount text has an orientation, a series of events in chronological
order, personal remarks on the events, and a reorientation that rounds
of the sequence of events ( Priyana, 2008:19 ).
According to knapp (2005:224), recount text basically it is a
written out to make a report about an experience of a series of related
event. A recount is written out to inform an event or to entertain
people. Recount text is text function as for telling an incident in the
past.
From the explanation above the writer conclude that recount
text is kind of text or story that retell about real experience or event
that happened in the past. The purpose of recount text is toinform an
event or to entertain people.
2. Generic Structure of recount text
According to Lewis (2002:4) recount text usually consist of :
a. Orientation (a scene setting opening)
Introducing the participant, place and time. Example: I went
26 b. Events
Describing series of event that happened in the past.
Example: I sat with Sarah on the bus. We pour soil in four pots.
c. Reorientation (a closing statement)
It is optimal. Stating personal comment of the writer to the
story. Example: when we got back from the trip we wrote about it.
The seeds with soil, light and water grew best.
3. Language Feature of Recount Text
Boardman, 2008:287 in Saragih, Silalahi, & Pardede (2014:57)
statedthat the language feature usually found in recount text include:
a. Use of nouns and pronouns to identify people, animals or things
involves.
b. Use of past action verbs to refer the events.
c. Use of past tense to located events in relation to speaker’s or
researcher’s time.
d. Use conjunctions and time connectives to sequence the event.
e. Use of adverb and adverbial phrases to indicate place and time.
C.Clustering Technique
1. Definition of Clustering technique
Clustering, also know as diagramming or mapping, It is
another strategy that can be used to generate material for an essay.
This method is helpful for people who like to do their thinking in a
27
show relationships among the ideas and details that occur to you
(Langan, 1979:18). Diagramming or maping same as clustering, it can
help the student to generate idea before they try to start writing.
Clustering is a kind of technique which can be used in
pre-writing stage. It is introduce by Gabrielle Lusser Rico, a professor of
english and creatifity at San Jose State University, California in 1980s.
It is a techique which provides an alternative way for writers to do the
brainstorming before starting to write. Rico also claims that clustering
is a kind of technique in brainstorming which benefits greatly from the
right brain (which she called ‘design mind’), the part of the brain in
which non-linier partern and images production occur (Rico,2000).
Likewise, Pica (1986 as cited by Baroudy, 2008) defines clustering as
a non-linier brainstorming process that generates ideas, images, and
feelings around a stimulus word until a pattern becomes discernible.
Reid (1993 : 6) mentions that the invention of clustering
helps writers to generate develop, and arrange their ideas. It can be
said that clustering helps the learner in developing their idea. The goal
of clustering is to determine the intrinsic grouping a set of unlabeled
data. It can be shown that there is no absolute “best” criterion which
would be independen of the finalaim of the clustering.
From the devinition above, the writer conclude that clustering
is making a visual map or new association that allows thinking more
28
technique which can be used in pre-writing stage. Clustering will help
the students how to associate the ideas and write down the ideas that
exist in their minds, and how to develop the ideas into a good
paragraph.
2. Teaching Procedures of Clustering Technique
Clustering is a powerful tool because it taps into the right
brain, which drives creativity. The right brain is where fresh ideas and
original insights are generated. The left brain, in contrast, is more
logical and orderly. Both are essential to good writing, but if the left
brain is too dominant when starting writing, it inhibits the free flow of
thought. According to Proett & Gill,1986,p6 in Jack and Willy (2002)
in clustering, the students form words related to a stimulus supplied by
the teacher. The words are circled and then linked by lines to show
discernible clusters. Clustering is a simple yet powerful strategi: “its
visual character seems to stimulate the flow as association... and is
particularl good for students who know what they want to say but just
can’t say it”. Maede (2010) (in http://www.maedecomm.
Com/clustering.html) mentions that there are some procedures to do
clustering technique :
a. Write a word or phrase on a clean piece of paper;
b. Circle the word and let connections flow, writing down each new
word or phrase that come to mind, circling it, and connecting it
29 c. Keep hand moving all the time;
d. Cluster for a while;
e. Continue adding to the cluster;
f. Write a piece without worrying abour perfection.
According to Langan (1979:18) in clustering, you begin by
stating your subject in afew words in the center of a blank sheet of
paper. Then as ideas come to you, put them in ovals, boxes or circles
around the subject, and draw lines to connect them to the subject. Put
minor ideas or details in smaller boxes or circles, and also use
connecting lines to show how they relate.
To cluster ideas, begin with a blank sheet of paper. Write the
word or phrase that expresses the broad subject you want to write
about in the center and then circle it. For example you want to write
about unforgetable holiday. Think of ideas and details related to this
subject. Write around it all the word that come to your mind as you
think about unforgetable holiday. Write quickly, circling each word,
grouping words aroud your central word. Connect your new words to
30
Figure 2.1Application of Clustering Technique
From the figure 2.2 above, we can see that the topik (a
memorable holiday) is put in the centre and of the key words should
be related to the topic. The students can write the key word as many
as possible. Then, the students can choose which key words should
31
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the description of the research method used in this
study.It consist of research setting, subject of the research, research methodology,
research procedure, data collection technique, research instrument, and data
analysis technique.
A. Research Setting
1. General Description Of MTS Al Uswah Bergas
MTS Al Uswah Bergas established on January 14th 1917 under
the name MMP ( Madrasah Menengah Pertama ). This school was
established on the initiative of Islamic religious education teachers
districts Klepu (before becoming district Bergas). In 1947 MMP
(Madrasah Menengah Pertama) turned into SMP Islam Karangjati, in
1980 until 1987 for the specification of agencies under the ministry of
religious affairs SMP Islam Karangjati become MTs Karangjati. Then
began in 1988 changed its name to MTs Al Uswah Karangjati and
finally in 1990 became MTs Al Uswah Bergas until now.
The location of Mts Al-Uswah Bergas is at Jl. Masjid Tegalsari,
Bergas Lor, Semarang regency. This school land area is 4500m and
building area is 1800m. This school has 20 classrooms for teaching
learning process. The students of MTs Al Uswah Bergas in academic
32
seventh year, 235 students of eight and the students of nine year are
307.
2. Setting of Time
The research was carried out at MTs Al Uswah Bergas in
academic year 2015/2016. This research has been done at February
2016. Mr. Mochamat, S.Pd.I as English teacher in Mts Al Uswah
Bergas was observed by the researcher.
The writer conducted this research by applying classroom action
research which consisted two cycles, each cycle consist of four steps,
and they were: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Each
cycle was conducted in two meeting.
3. Description of Research Schedule
The research was conducted in February but the process during
the pre-research began from October. Here the writer as an observer
and the collaborator, Mr. Mochamat S.Pd.I as the teacher in teaching
learning process. The table bellow will show the schedule of the
research:
Table 3.1 Research Schedule
No Date and Time Activities
1 October 7th 2016 observation : interview to the teacher
2 October 9th 2016
33
3 January 4th 2016 permit aplication
4 January 12th 2016 permit validator aplication and validating the instrument
5 January 15th 2016 consultation of the research schedule
6 January 20th 2016 Consulting the research instrument and validating the instrument
7 January 28th 2016 first meeting before cycle. Pre-test
8 February 2nd 2016 cycle 1 (first meeting)
9 February 4th 2016 cycle 1 (second meeting)
10 February 5th 2016 Validating the instrument
11 February 9th 2016 cycle 2 (first meeting)
12 February 11th 2016 cycle 2 (second meeting) and giving post test
The process of teaching and learning recount text writing using
clustering technique was going smoothly and most of the students are
enthusiastic. Although, there was no one of the students interested to
make a question about the material but the students very enthusiastic
answer the teacher’s question.
4. Subject of this study
The researcher conducted this classroom action research in the
second grade students of MTS Al Uswah Bergas in academic year
2015/2016. The second grade students consist of seven classess,but
the reseacher took VIII A class. This class consists of 36students, 8
male and 28 female. They come from high and middle economy
34 B. Research Methodology
In this research the researcher used classroom action research
(CAR). Action research is a systematic investigation conducted by
practitioners to provide information to immediately improve teaching and
learning. The emphasis is on teachers, counselors, and administrators
designing, carrying out and using the results of the study in their
immediate work environment (James, 2008:329). According to Arhar,
Holly, & Kasten(2001) as quoted by Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle
(2010:313) Action research is a type of resarch that has been used in many
disciplines, including education. Action research, as its name implies,
within education is a type of research that aims to enact immediate
changes in an educational setting. It has the potential to produce change
quickly because the research is carried out by educators in their own work
setting. Action research borrows techniques and ideas from all other types
of research but differs from the purely quantitative or qualitative
approaches in that its orientation combines professional practice, research,
and reflection on one’s own educational practices.
According to Stringer (2008:1) action research, however, is a
distinctive approach to inquiry that is directly relevant to classroom and
learning and provides the means for the teachers to enhance their teaching
and improve student learning. Far from an “extra” that teachers must
35
researchcan be integrated into regular classroom activities to assist them to
enhance student learning and improve their professional practice.
Classroom action research are coming from three words. They are
research, action and class. It can be describe are as follows
1. Research is an activity to find out accuracy some object using
methodology to get data or information which benefit to improve
something which interest and important for researcher.
2. Action is some activities deliberately done by having several aims, in
the research in form activities cycles.
3. Class is a group of students in same time and have same lesson from
teacher
From the definition above, the writer conclude that classroom
action research is research which is done by the teacher in teaching
learning process to understand the situation and to improve the skill of the
students in learning process
Classroom action research is a method of finding out what works
best on your own classroom so that you can improve student learning but
every teaching situation is unique in terms of content, level, student skills
and learning style, teacher skills and teaching style, and many other
factors. To maximize student learning, a teacher must find out what works
best in a particular situation. ( Mettetal, 2001)
One of the aims of action research is to identify a ‘problematic’
36
managers, administrators, or even parent- consider worth looking into
more deeply and systematically. The term problematic does not mean that the teacher is an incompetent teacher
C. Research Procedure
In this action research, classroom action research (CAR) activities
carry out a series of activity cycle. They were cycle I and cycle II. The
activities of each cycle were as follow:
1. Cyle I :
a. Planning
1) The researcher identified the teaching learning design, such as
arranging lesson plan which was according to the teaching
learning process which was using clustering technique.
2) Developed learning activities.
3) Prepare learning source and instrument.
4) Prepare the research instrument and documentation
b. Acting
1) Teacher explained the material about recount text
2) Teacher shown the sample of recount text
3) Student and the teacher identified the generic structure of the
text
4) Students were guided to learn about past tense
37
6) Teacher ask students to write recount text by using clustering
technique
7) The students, the teacher and the researcher discussed the work
together
c. Observing
The researcher observed student’s activities during
teaching learning process. The researcher and the teacher helped
the students who found difficulties in using the technique.
d. Reflecting
The researcher and the teacher tried to find out the
solution to fix the problems that faced by the students. To make
the students more understood about the material and the
technique. The writer conducted the research with Minimum
Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal(KKM) 70, the writer hopes this study would be successful, and achieve the
desired target, that is 80% of the total number of students. If the
first meeting was not successful it would continued to the cycle 2.
2. Cycle II :
a. Planning
1) Identified the problem and the alternative to solve the
problem
2) Arranged the lesson plan based on the teaching material
38 4) Prepare the teaching aids
5) Prepare the research instrument
b. Acting
1. Teacher asked to the students about their problem and
reviewed the material in previous lesson.
2. Students and the teacher identified the problem that had been
faced by the students in previous cycle
3. Students are guided to learn about past tense
4. The teacher gave sample of recount text with clustering
technique to the students
5. Students are guided to try to implement the clustering
technique
6. The teacher asked students to write a recount text by using
clustering technique.
7. The students, the teacher and the researcher discussed the
work together
c. Observing
The researcher observed student’s activities during
teaching learning process. The researcher and the teacher helped
the students who found difficulties in using the technique.
d. Reflecting
Evaluated and concluded the result in the second cycle.
39
subject.Classroom action research can be illustrated based on
Kemmis and Mc Taggart’s view as quoted by Young, Rapp &
Murphy in Journal of Instructional Pedagogies. There are four
activities in each cycles can be describe as follows:
Figure 3.1 :Cyclical Action Research Model Based on Kemmis
and Mctaggart(1988) as Quoted by Young, Rapp & Murphy
D. Data Collection Technique
In this classroom action research, the researcher used some
techniques to collect the data. There are test, observation and
documentation. The explanation
1. Test
The test implement in the research consist of pre-test and
40
technique to improve writing skill meanwhile Post test is
implemented after using clustering technique inorder to know
the result of this study before and after using clustering
technique.
2. Observation
Beside doing the test, the researcher did class
observation. Observation has an improtant role not only for
classroom research but also more generally for supporting the
professional growth of teachers and in the process of school
development. This method would be used to observe teaching
learning process and the students’ activity.
3. Documentation
The last documentation, documentation is searching the
data. It is about note, book, news paper, magazine, photo, etc.
documentation in this research will be used to know some
information of the data such as the material of the study,
student’s worked, etc.
E. Research Instrument
Research instruments use to collect data and all the instruments
used in this reseach has been validated by validator to show that all the
instruments are valid and can be use in the research. In this study, there
41 1. Written Test
Written test uses to know the student’s ability of
writing before and after implementing clustering technique.
The forms of the test were essay test in this test the teacher
would give some grade based on some aspects. Those aspects
are grammar, content, organization or form, vocabulary and
mechanic. The following table is the analytical scoring rubric
used by the writer to analyze the students’ writing recount text:
Table 3.2 Analytical Scoring Rubric Adapted from Weigle.
Component
of writing Scores Indicators
Content
30-27 Relevan to the topic and easy to understand
26-22 Rather relevan to the topic and easy to understand
21-17 Relevan to the topic but is not quite easy to understand
16-13 Quite relevan to the topic but is not quite to easy to understand
Form/ Organization
20-18 Most of sentences are related to the main idea
17-14 Some sentences are related to the main idea
13 10 Few sentences are related to the main idea
9 7 The sentences are unrelated to each other
Vocabulary
20-18 A few errors in word choice and usage.
42
13-10 Occasional errors in word choice and usage and meaning confused
9 – 7 Frequent errors in words choice and not enough to evaluate
Language Use/ Grammar
25-22 A few grammatical inaccuracies
21-18 Some grammatical inaccuracies
17-11 Numerous grammatical inaccuracies
10-5 Frequent grammatical inaccuracies
Mechanic 5 A few errors in punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing
4 Some errors in punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing
3 Occasional errors in punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing
1 Frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing
2. Observation Sheet
Observation sheet would be used to know the students
and teachers’ activity during English teaching and learning
process by using clustering technique. This instrument gives
monitor and records the students’ improvement during the
lesson.
3. Documentation
In order to collecting documentation data , the writer
use photo as instrument of the data. Photo in this research
43
Conclude the process of teaching learning using clustering
technique. Another instrument is the data from the school and
from the teacher about the situation of the MTs Al Uswah
Bergas Especially the student of VIII A of MTs Al Uswah
Bergas.beside that the researcher also prepared some video as
documentation.
F. Data Analysis Technique
The researcher conduct the action research of the implementation
of clustering technique to improve student’s writing skill of recount text in
MTs Al Uswah Bergas. To analyzing the data, there are two ways to
analyze the data, they are :
a. Descriptive technique
The writer used the descriptive technique to analyze motivation,
interest, and students behaviour during the teaching learning
proces.The writer described all activity that happened in the classroom.
In descriptive technique, the researcher analyzes the observation sheet
which has been made by the researcher.
b. Statistical technique
A statistical technique is used to calculte the result of the test,
before and after applied clustering technique in improving student’s
44 Students’ Mean score=
M = ∑XN
Where,
M : Mean of students’ score
∑X : The sum score of students’ writing test
To know the improvement in pre-test and post test, the
researcer would use the formula as follow :
P = 𝑦1−𝑦
𝑦 𝑋 100 %
Where:
P = Percentage of Students’ Improvement
y = Pre-test result
y1 = Post-test 1 result
y2 = Post-test 2 result
In gaining the class percentage which passes the Minimum
Mastery Criteria – Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 70 (seventy) the writer uses formula :
P =
𝐹𝑁
𝑋 100 %
Explanation :
P : The class percentage
F : Total percentage score
45
CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presented the data of the implementation of clustering
technique to improve students’ recount text writing. It was conducted through
classroom action research which consists of several activities and this chapter
deals with the description of the research and data analysis of each cycle.
A. Data Analysis
1. Pre- Test
The researcher began the research with dug some information such
as the class, the technique, the problem and students’ name andscore. The
researcher did not conduct the class or observation. The researcher just
collected the data from the teacher.
The researcher do simple interview on October 7th 2015 with Mr.
Mochamat, S.Pd.I as English teacher in Mts Al Uswah Bergas. The
teacher recommended the researcher to conduct the research in class
VIIIA, because the class has a problem in writing. Based on the teacher’s
information, many students got difficulties in writing recount text. The
students usually get difficulties in starting their writing, they also can’t
recognize or improve a sentence or paragraph correctly or they don’t
have an idea about what they want to write. Furthermore they can’t put
the right words down becoming a good sentence or paragraph. After
46
prepared the instrument to conducted the research in that class. The focus
of this research is to improve their writing skills of recount text.
Before giving treatment, the researcher wanted to know the
students mastery of recount text first by using pre-test on January 28th
2016. In pre-test, the researcher did not give any treatment to them. It’s
purely their own ability they got from their own teacher. The researcher
wanted to know whether yes or not the students could produce a recount
text by paying attention to the generic structure of the text well. This
stage was intended to know the students’ weakness before having some
treatment.
In this test, the students were asked to write a recount text about
their holiday based on their own ability without any treatment from the
teacher but only from the review explaining the recount text briefly. The
pre-test followed by 36 students from VIII A class. Based on the result of
the pre-test, the student’s ability in writing recount textwas verry low.
The score of the students’ pre- test as follow:
TABLE 4.1 Score of the students’ Pre-Test
NO NAME
ASPECTS
C F V G M TOTAL
1 Abdillah 18 13 13 13 2 59
47
3 Alfan Nuril Ikhsan 18 14 12 13 3 60
4 Alya Ratna 19 12 12 12 2 57
5 Amanda Reisana 20 14 14 13 3 64
6 Anggy Pramudya.W 18 13 13 12 2 58
7 Ardian Danu M 21 16 15 16 3 71*
8 Arnandani Yekti H 19 13 14 12 3 61
9 Arsyan Arijudin Zulfa 19 13 13 12 3 60
10 Dewi Ro’ikhatul.M 19 13 12 12 3 59
11 Ditta Nur Aini 20 13 14 15 2 64
12 Diva Chantya N 21 12 13 14 3 63
13 Ellyta Fernanda Dwi.V 19 12 12 12 3 58
14 Fauziah Nuraini 18 12 13 13 2 58
15 Fifi Anggriyani 20 14 16 16 3 69
16 Ilyani Saadiyah 18 12 12 12 3 57
17 Intan Roosika 21 14 15 14 3 67
18 Lailatul Azka 18 13 13 13 2 59
19 Latifah Ulfa Wafiroh 24 16 17 19 3 79*
20 Mario Boy Kusuma 19 14 14 13 2 62
21 Muhammad Afif.M 18 11 14 12 3 58
22 Muhammad Maftuh.F 18 15 14 15 3 65
23 Naizah May.I 23 15 15 15 2 70*
48
25 Olivia Puja M 19 13 13 12 3 60
26 Puput Mei Hidayati 20 13 13 13 2 61
27 Putri Novita Sari 19 12 13 12 3 59
28 Ridho Arif H 18 13 14 12 3 60
29 Rika Ayuningtyas 19 14 13 12 3 61
30 Sherin Aulia Rahma 18 12 14 11 2 57
31 Sherly Dwi Ditzi.S 20 14 14 13 2 63
32 Siti Ulvania 19 14 13 12 3 61
33 Syahda A 19 14 13 12 2 60
34 Ulin Nuha Khoirunnisa 23 14 15 15 3 70*
35 Yunita Dwi.K 18 13 13 12 2 58
36 Mei Kurniawati 19 14 14 13 2 62
∑ 2234
Note : *) students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criteria- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 70
Explanation:
C : Content
F : Form / Organization
V : Vocabulary
G : Grammar
49
From the data above , it can be inferred that the mean of those
students’ pre-test score is :
∑pre test : 2234
𝑀𝑥 = ∑XN
Explanation:
M = Mean of the students’ score.
∑x = Sum/total of students’ score.
N = Total number of students.
𝑀𝑥 =
2234
36
𝑀𝑥 = 62.05
Next, to know the class percentage which passes the Minimum
Mastery Criteria – Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal(KKM) 70 (seventy) using the following formula:
P =
𝐹𝑁
𝑋 100 %
P =
436
𝑋 100 %
50
Based on the result of pre-test, the data showed that the mean of
pre-test was 62,05. There were only five students or 11.11 % of the
students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal(KKM) Meanwhile the other 32 students were below that criterion. From that analyzing , it could be seen that almost of
the second year students of MTs Al Uswah Bergas writing was recount
text was very low.
2. Post – Test
After clustering technique was implemented to the students, the
researcher gave the post-test to the students on February 4th 2016 and
February 11th 2016. In this test, the students were asked to write a recount
text about their unforgettable memories with their own word. The
post-test followed by 36 students. The score of the students’ post- test as
follow:
Table 4.2 Score of the Students’ Post-test Cycle 1
NO NAME
ASPECTS
C F V G M TOTAL
1 Abdillah
22 15 15 15 3 70*
2 Adinda Al Askhabila
51 7 Ardian Danu M
24 16 15 14 3 72*
8 Arnandani Yekti H
21 14 14 12 3 64
9 Arsyan Arijudin Zulfa
21 15 15 15 4 70
10 Dewi Ro’ikhatul M
19 13 13 13 3 61
14 Fauziah Nuraini
19 13 13 13 3 61
15 Fifi Anggriyani
22 15 16 16 3 72*
16 Ilyani Saadiyah
19 13 12 13 3 60
17 Intan Roosika
23 15 16 14 3 71*
18 Lailatul Azka
20 14 13 14 3 64
19 Latifah Ulfa Wafiroh
24 16 17 18 3 78*
26 Puput Mei Hidayati
20 13 12 13 2 60
27 Putri Novita Sari
20 13 12 13 3 61
28 Ridho Arif H
19 13 13 14 3 62
29 Rika Ayuningtyas
19 14 13 13 3 62
30 Sherin Aulia Rahma
52
34 Ulin Nuha Khoirunnisa
22 15 15 15 3 70*
35 Yunita Dwi K
20 14 13 12 3 62
36 Mei Kurniawati
21 14 14 14 3 66
Sum/ Total
2347
Note : *) students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criteria- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 70
Based on the data above, the calculation of the mean of students’
score in writing post-test is:
∑ post test 1 : 2347
𝑀𝑥 = ∑XN
Explanation:
M = Mean of the students’ score.
∑x = Sum/total of students’ score.
N = Total number of students.
𝑀𝑥 =
2347
36
𝑀𝑥 = 65.19
From the calculation of the students’ post-test 1 score, it can
be concluded that there were some improvement toward students’
53
technique in teaching English. It is proven by students mean test
result comparison between pre-test and post test in cycle 1. The
mean of pre-test is 62.05 while the mean of post-test 1 is 65.19.
The improvement was also can be calculated in percentage by
calculating students’ pre-test score with their post-test 1 score. It
calculated by using this formula below :
P =
𝑦1−𝑦𝑦
𝑋 100 %
Where:
P
= Percentage of Students’ Improvement
y
= Pre-test result
y1 = Post-test 1 result
y2 = Post-test 2 result
P =
65.19−62.0562.05
𝑋 100 %
P =
3.1462.05
𝑋 100 %
P =
5.06 %
From the calculating above it showed that only few students
can improve their writing skill of recount text, there were some
students who did not passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion-
54
percentage which passes the Minimum Mastery Criteria –
Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 70 (seventy) using the following formula:
P =
𝐹𝑁
𝑋 100 %
P =
1136
𝑋 100 %
P = 30.55 %
Based on the result of post-test cycle 1, the data showed that the
mean of pre-test was 64.86. There were eleven students or 30.55
% of the students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion-
Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal(KKM) 70. Meanwhile the other 26 students were below that criterion. It implied that the first
criterion has not fulfilled.
TABLE 4.3 Score of the Students’ Post- Test Cycle 2
NO NAME
ASPECTS
C F V G M TOTAL
1 Abdillah 28 18 18 21 4 89*
2 Adinda Al Askhabila 25 15 14 16 4 74*
3 Alfan Nuril Ikhsan 25 15 15 16 3 74*
4 Alya Ratna 24 15 15 15 3 72*
