CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Writing
1. Definition of writing
Writing is one of language skills besides listening, speaking, and reading. There are many definitions of writing according to many experts.Writing is the mental work of inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and pharagraphs and that will be clear to read (Nunan, 2004: 88). Another definition of writing is stated by Tarigan (1994: 3) It is explained that writing is one language skill, which is used to communicate indirectly.
From the definition, it can be concluded that writing is the way or the process to express or to represent writers‟ ideas as indirectly communication.
2. Procedure of writing
There are some steps to make good writing. Based on Harmer (2004: 4-5), the process of writing has four main elements. Those are: a. Planning
The writer has to think about three main issues:
produce, but also the language they use, and the information they choose to include.
2) Thinking about the audience they are writing for, since this will influence not only the shape of writing (how it is laid out, how the paragraph structured, etc), but also the choice of language, for example it is formal or informal.
3) Considering the content structure of the writing that is, how best the sequence the facts, idea,or arguments which they have dedicated to include.
b. Drafting
It is the first version of a piece of writing as a draft. As the writing process proceeds into editing, a number of drafts may be produced on the way to the final version.
c. Editing (Reflecting and Revising)
Once writers have produced a draft they then, usually, read, throught what they have written to see where it works and where it does not. Perhaps the information is not clear. Perhaps the way something is written is ambiguous or confusing.
d. Final Revision
Once writers have edited their draft, making the changes the considering to be necesarry, they produce their final version.
This may look diffrent from both the original plan and the first draft, because it has changed in editing process. But the writer is not ready to send the written text to intended audience.
The writer assumes that there are four procedures in writing, those are planning, drafting, editing, and final revision. 3. Purpose of writing
There are some reasons for people to write. Writing is used to record, ensure report and persuade and those purpose can be reached by people who can organize well their thought and express it clearly, this clearence depends on the thought, organization, diction, and sentence used morsey (in Tarigan, 1994:4). Everyday writing activity has purposes. Hugo ( in Tarigan, 1994:24) assumed that the purpose of writing as follows:
a. Assignment purpose
With assignment purpose, in fact, the writer has no purpose. The writer start writing since someone asks him. The idea to write does not come from the writers‟ himself.
b. Altruistic purpose
the feelings and their logic, to make their lives much easier by using his writing.
c. Persuasive purpose
With this purpose, the writer writes to convience the reader about the truth of idea given.
d. Information purpose
The purpose of this writing is to give information or explanation to the reader.
e. Self-expressive purpose
The purpose is to introduce the writer to the reader. f. Creative purpose
This purpose is closely related to the self-expressive purpose. However, it tends to get the artistic values.
g. Problem-solving purpose
This writing is used to solve problem faced by the writer. The writer wants to explain and observe carefully about his thought and idea to be understood and accepted by the reader.
The writer assumes that there are many purposes when the writer wants to write something.
4. Criteria of good writing
Pival in Tarigan,(1994:6) A good writing shows the ability of the writer to:
a. Express ideas.
b. Arrange ideas in a good sequencial order.
c. Write clearly (unambiguous), using the sentence well, language, and examples. Therefore the meaning is in line to what the writers‟s want,
so the writer is easy to understand.
d. Write surely; it can describe the main idea clearly and logically. In this chase, the writer have to avoid the use and the repetition of useless pharase. The words used must support the main idea harmoniously which want to be reached.
e. Critizede his draft of writing and then revise it to get the better one. The key of the successfulness in writing is the willingness and the abilities of the writer revising his first draft.
f. Show the pride of his writing: the willingnes to use good punctuation, to read the words meaning in correlation to the grammar used before sending it to the readers. A good writer knows well that those things are important since they may give good contribution to the result. 5. Problem of writing
a. Lack of vocabulary
Vocabulary is an important part in writing composition. The writer can not produce a good composition if he do not master the vocabularies well. Most of students face this problems, they end up repeating the same words, this hinder creativity and make the sentence not communicative.
b. Unstructured idea
The problem faced by students in writing composition is about how to organize the idea into sentence. In writing composition, students usually write the composition which is not in a sequencial structure. It happens because students get difficulties in putting or maintaining ideas in order.
Students can write composition well if they know the rule in writing paragraph. Before they write composition, they start by choosing the theme. Then, make an outline which can help them in arranging the sentence or pharagraphs. By those ways, they can avoid some mistakes in writing composition. Of course, the content of the composition will be suitable with the theme.
c. Incorrect use of Grammar
especially in grammar. It becomes problems when they have to make composition which cosist of sentences.
The result of having problem in writing, it makes some errors in their writing. According to Richard (in Hendiyari, 2012: 1586) the exsistence of errors depends on the result of L1 tranference or mother language tranference. It means that error comes from the strategies that they use in language acuisition and reciprocal interfrance of target language item. Therefore, the teacher has to figure out what areas should be focused and what kind of attention is need in foreign language classroom.
The writer assumes that there are some problems of students in writing such as lack of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, and organizing ideas. The result of having problem in writing makes developing error in their writing. Mother language transference included in source of defelopment errors.
6. Evaluation of students’ writing
There are some aspects to evaluate students‟ writing. Based on
nurgiyantoro (2010:441), some aspects to evaluate students‟ writing are
content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanic. a. Content
b. Organization
Organization means how pharagraphs are arranged to make a good text.
c. Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the most important elements in writing. The writers should choose appropiate words and arrange the words into sentence.
d. Language use
The good language depends on the grammar. It means that a good writing is a group sentences with correct grammar in every sentence. It does not need a long sentence in writing, but what the writers need is an effective sentence with correct grammar.
e. Mechanic
Mechanic refers to the role how students write. The writers have to make sure that all pharagraphs are well developed. All the words are spelled correctly and also the use of correct punctuations in their writing.
B. Recount Text
1. Definition of Recount Text
People usually want to share about their experience in the past. It can be share in the written form. According to Hornby (1987: 1286) recount means something ( to somebody ) give detailed account of something; recount one‟s adventures, experience, etc. Text means main
written or printed part of a book or page (constrated with notes, diagrams, illustration, etc.)
Based on the explanation above the writer concludes that recount text is a text that is used to tell someone‟s experience in the past.
2. The Generic Structure of Recount Text
According to Mukarto et.al(2007: 62) the generic structures of recount text are:
a. Title (optional)
It usually sumarizes the text and inform specific participants. It is possible not to give title in our recount.
b. Part 1 : list of events
It presents events what people do? It tell the events chronologically, it use conjunction or connectives like: first, second, then, next, first, second, next, finally, etc.
c. Part 2 : reorientation
3. Types of recount
There are many types of recount, they are: a. Personal recount
These usually retell an event that the writer was personally involved in.
b. Factual recount
Recording an incident, example: a science experiment, police report.
c. Imaginative recount
Imaginative recount is an imaginary role and giving details of event, example: students write an imaginative recount in title: “a day in the live of pirate”.
Since there are many types of recount but here, we only discuss about personal recount.
4. Language features of Recount Text
In writing recount text, the writer has known some important things as the reference, so they can make a recount text easily. In this part will be explained about the general criteria of recount text, criteria of personal recount text, factual recount text, and the last one is imaginative recount text.
a. General
3) Use of action verbs.
4) Use of linking items to do with time.
5) Detailes irrelevant to the purpose of text should be avoided. b. Personal recount
1) Use of first person pronoun.
2) Personal responses to the event can be included, particularly at the end.
3) Details are often chosen to add interest or humor. c. Factual recount
1) Use of third person pronoun.
2) Details are usually selected to help the reader reconstruct the activity or incident accurately.
3) Sometimes the ending describe the outcome of the activity. 4) Mention of personal feelings is probably not appropiate.
5) Details of time, place and manner may need to be precisely stated. 6) Descriptive details may also be required to provide precise
information.
7) The passive voice may be use.
8) It may be appropiate to include explanation. d. Imaginative recount
1) Usually written in the first person.
From the description above the writer conclude that in writing recount text, the writer have to determine what kind of the recount that he want to write because each of the recount have a diffrent criteria.
5. Purpose of recount text
The purpose of recount text is to list describe past experience by retelling event in the order in which they happened (chronological order). Recounts are written to retell event with the purpose of either informing or entertaining their audience (or both).
C. Previous studies
To prove the originality of this study, the writer presents some previous researches that deal especially with teaching english. The first research is conducted by dwi nur indah (2010) who studies the teaching english entitled “Improving Writing Recount Text by Using Photographs ( A Case Study of the Eleventh Year Students of SMA Negeri 1 Batang Pati in The Academic Year of 2009/2010)”.
In her study she describes teaching english can improve writing recount text by using photographs. Her conclusions are The average score of the students who were taught writing recount text by using photographs is 76. 8. In the table of achievement it is on the range of 71-80 which is categorized as good. Therefore the students‟ achievements who were taught writing
In the table of achievement it is on the range of 61-70 which is categorized as fair. Therefore the students` achievements who were taught writing recount text without using photographs is fair. It means that using photographs in teaching writing recount text to the eleventh year students of SMA N 1 Batangan Pati in the academic year 2009/2010 is effective.
Another research is done by Neni Nurkhamidah (2011) entitled “Improving Students‟ Ability in Writing Recount Text by Following the
Procedures of Moodle Application Program (A Classroom Action Research on the Eighth Grade Students of SMP N 13 Semarang in the Academic Year of 2010/2011)”. Based on the result of the presented analysis in the previous
chapter, the writer concluded that the eighth grade students of SMP N 13 Semarang ability‟s in writing recount text was improved through teaching in
learning process by following the procedure of Moodle application program. The average of the students‟ achievement in the pre-test was 68.90%, in the
cycle 1 was 77.10%, and in the post-test was 80.75%. Furthermore, it could also be concluded that the students were interested in using Moodle as a medium. They enjoyed doing the online learning by using internet. This enjoyment of the medium was represented by students‟ enthusiasm in following the lesson from the beginning to the end.
