(A Thesis)
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for S1-Degree
By: Sevia Yolanda NPM: 1211040174
Study Program: English Education
Advisor : Prof. Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag Co-Advisor : Nunun Indrasari, M.Pd
TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING FACULTY STATE INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES
(A Thesis)
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for S1-Degree
By: Sevia Yolanda NPM: 1211040174
Study Program: English Education
TARBIYAH AND TEACHER TRAINING FACULTY STATE INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC STUDIES
YEAR OF 2016/2017
By: Sevia Yolanda
1211040174
Writing ability is defined as the level of skill or competence in writing. The writer should be more careful and pay attention to the aspects of writing. Commonly, writing is the hardest thing for students because they should take a long process. One of the English components is grammar. The grammar can defined as the science of the rules in forming and combining words into sentences. Adjective is one the most important part in the grammar. The objective of this research was to know whether there was the correlation between students’ ability in using adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text. Descriptive text is the form of text that aims at describes how something or someone looks or feel. The purpose or the social function of descriptive text is to describe the reader about many things, including people, places, events, situations, thoughts, and feelings. In the recount text, the sentences are usually organized according to identification and description.
The research methodology used in this research was correlation research. The population of the research was taken from the students at the first semester of the eighth grade of SMPN 1 Talangpadang Tanggamus in 2016/2017 academic year consisted of 137 students. The sample was chosen based on cluster random sampling technique. The sample taken was class VIII.2 consisting of 34 students. In collecting the data, the writer used instrument in the form multiple choice test for adjective ability and descriptive writing for ability in writing descriptive text. After giving try out, the writer gave the test and then analyzed the data by using Pearson’s Product Moment formula.
The result of Pearson’s Product Moment correlation showed that the result was 0.8, and then it was consulted to rcritical. The result of rcritical with significant level 0.05 was 0.325.
Due to robserved is higher than rcritical (0.8 > 0.325), the conclusion of the research is that there
Using Adjective and Their Ability in Writing Descriptive Text at the Eighth Grade of
SMPN 1 Talangpadang in the Academic Year of 2016/2017” is completely my own work. I am fully aware that I have quoted some statements and ideas from various
sources and those are properly acknowledged in the text.
Bandar Lampung, January 2017 Declared by,
“Nun. By the pen and by the (record) which (men) write.” (Al Qolam : 1)1
1 Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an Text and Translation (New Delhi : Millat Book
and from my deepest of my heart and great love, this thesis is dedicated to:
1. My parents, Mr. Ardiansyah and Mrs. Daswalena, S.Pd who always pray,
support and guide for my success.
2. My beloved brothers, Ade Yoga Kurniawan, Muhammad Novalda and Ahzan
Andrean who always support and prayed for me a lot in my life to continue my
study well.
3. My family, who always supports and motivates me to finish this thesis.
10th, 1994. She is the first child of four children of the couple of Mr. Ardiansyah and
Mrs. Daswalena, S.Pd.
The writer began her study at SDN 3 Talangpadang in 2000 and finished in 2006. In
the same year, she entered SMPN 1 Talangpadang and finished in 2009. Then, she
continued her study to SMAN 1 and finished in 2012. After that, she continued her
study at IAIN Raden Intan Lampung, in English Education Study Program of
Tarbiyah and Teacher Training Faculty of State Institute of Islamic Studies of Raden
and for completing this thesis. Then, peace and salutation may be upon to the great
messenger prophet Muhammad Peace be upon Him, who brought us from the
darkness to the lightness. Besides, the writer also grateful to many people for
contributing their ideas and time given to her in completing this thesis entitled, “The Correlation between Students’ Mastery in Using Adjective and Their Abilty in
Writing Descriptive Text at the Eighth Grade of SMPN 1 Talangpadang in the
Academic Year of 2016/2017”.
This thesis is presented to the English Education Study Program of IAIN Raden Intan
Lampung. The primary aim of writing this thesis is to fulfill the requirement to obtain
S1 degree.
Therefore, the writer would like to thank the following people for their ideas, time
and guidance in completing this thesis:
1. Dr. H. Chairul Anwar, M.Pd, the dean of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training
Faculty IAIN Raden Intan Lampung,
2. Meisuri, M.Pd, the chairperson of English Education study program at IAIN
Raden Intan Lampung.
3. Prof. Dr. Idham Kholid, M.Ag, the advisor who has given guidance to the
to conduct the research at the school and Astrid Dewi, S.Pd as English teacher
and for giving the contribution while she was conducting the research at the
school.
6. All students of the eighth grade of SMPN 1 Talangpadang, for giving nice
participation and great attention during the testing process in this research.
7. All lecturers of English Education Department in IAIN Raden Intan Lampung
who taught the researcher since the first year of her study.
8. Her best friends: Diana Lisa Zain, Nopita Sari, Desi Ani Ayu Lukmana,
Muslikah, Rojiyah, Handrini Astuti and Mia Andriyana who always give
support and suggestion to the researcher in writing this thesis.
9. All of people who have helped the writer to finish the study that can not
mentioned one by one.
Finally, the writer is fully aware that there are still a lot of weaknesses in this thesis.
For this, she truthfully welcomes criticism and suggestion from the readers to
enhance the quality of this thesis to be better.
Bandar Lampung, The Writer,
ADMISSION ... iv
B. Identification of the Problem ... 8
C. Limitation of the Problem ... 8
E. Components of Writing ... 19
F. Types of Text ... 18
G. Descriptive Text ... 22
1. Concept of Descriptive Text ... 22
2. Generic Structure of Descriptive Text ... 23
3. Language Features of Descriptive Text ... 24
4. Basic steps to Write an Effective Descriptive Text ... 24
5. Concept of Descriptive Text Writing Ability ... 27
H. Concept of Adjective ... 28
I. Types of Adjective ... 30
A. Research Design... 37
B. Variable of the Research ... 38
C. Operational Definition of Variables... 38
D. Population, Sample and Sampling Technique ... 39
1. Population ... 39
2. Sampling Technique ... 40
E. Data Collecting Technique ... 40
1. Test on Using Adjective ... 40
2. Test on Writing Ability ... 41
F. Research Procedure ... 41
G. Instrument of The Research ... 42
H. Try Out ... 48
I. Validity ... 48
1. Content Validity ... 49
2. Construct Validity ... 49
3. Internal Validity ... 49
J. Reliability of Test ... 50
K. Readability of Test ... 52
L. Data Analysis ... 53
1. Normality Test ... 53
2. Linearity Test ... 54
3. Hypothetical Test ... 54
CHAPTER IV RESULT AND DISCUSSION A. Data Collection ... 52
1. Situation of SMPN 1 Talangpadang ... 52
2. Students’ Situation ... 52
3. Teacher and Staffs’ Situation ... 53
4. Facilities and Infrastructure of the School ... 55
B. Result of Adjective and Writing Ability Test ... 56
1. Result of Adjective Mastery of Descriptive Text ... 56
2. Result of Writing Ability of Descriptive Text ... 58
C. Result of Data Analysis ... 59
1. Fulfillment of the assumption ... 59
a. Result of Normality Test ... 59
b. Result of Linearity Test ... 60
c. Result of Hypothetical Test ... 61
3. Suggestion for the School ... 65 4. Suggestion for the Next Researcher ... 66
Talangpadang ... 37
Table 4: The Blue Print of Try Out for Adjective Test before Validity ... 40
Table 5: The Blue Print of Try Out for Adjective Test after Validity ... 40
Table 6: Scoring System Writing ... 41
Table 7: Value Interpretation ... 53
Table 8:Students of SMPN 1 Talangpadang ... 54
Table 9: List of Teacher and staff of SMPN 1 Talangpadang 2016/2017 ... 55
Table 10: Facilities and Infrastructure of SMPN 1 Talangpadang in 2016/2017 ... 57
Table 11: The Score of Students Adjective Ability ... 58
Appendix 4:Test Instrument Adjective Ability before Validated ... 78
Appendix 5:Answer Key of Test Instrument of Adjective before Validated ... 82
Appendix 6: Test Instrument Adjective Ability after Validated ... 83
Appendix 7: Answer Key of Test Instrument of Adjective after Validated ... 86
Appendix 8:Writing Instrument Test ... 87
Appendix 9:Form of Construct Validity ... 88
Appendix 10: Sample Try Out ... 89
Appendix 11: Instrument Readability ... 90
Appendix 12: The Result of Readability Test ... 91
Appendix 13:The Table Analysis Validity of Adjective Step 1 ... 92
Appendix 14: The Table Analysis Validity of Adjective Step 2 ... 93
Appendix 15:The Result of Try Out of Odd Adjective... 94
Appendix 16:The Result of Try Out of Even Adjective ... 95
Appendix 17:Reliability of Students' Ability in Using Adjective... 96
Appendix 18:Reliability of Writing Descriptive Text Ability ... 97
Appendix 19:The Sample of the Research ... 98
Appendix 20:Score of Adjective and Descriptive Text Test ... 99
Appendix 21:Students’ Writing Descriptive Score of the Test from Two Raters ... 100
Appendix 22: Table Liliefors ... 101
Appendix 23:TheTable Normality of Adjective ... 102
Appendix 24:The Table Normality of Descriptive Text ... 103
Appendix 25:Result of Linearity Test by Using SPSS Formula ... 104
Appendix 26:Scatterplot of The Data Correlation ... 105
A. Background of the Problem
Language can be used to express ideas, thoughts, opinions, and feelings. As Brown
says that, language is more than a system of communication. It involves whole
person, culture, educational, developmental communicative process.1 It means that
language is considered as a tool of communication and it is difficult to do all
activities without language. In our country, English is the first foreign language that is
taught as a compulsory subject that should be learnt by all students from elementary
school until university.
English is one of the international languages which used by many people to
communicate in the world. Nowadays, English has become more and more important
in sides of life, including education, economic, business, etc. English is also as the
language of science and knowledge. People can find many books written in English.
That is why; people who always want to keep up with the growth of this globalization
era must master English.
1
English is generally taught and assessed in Indonesia as the foreign language and it is
should be given to the students of junior school up to university. There are four skills:
of English including listening, speaking, reading, and writing.2
Writing is a complex activity where the writer must have the ability to compose and
integrate information, so the readers would be easy to understand the language that
being used in written communication. Writing is among the most complex human
activities. It involves the development of a design idea, the capture of mental
representations of knowledge, and of experience with subjects.3 As one of the
language skill, writing is very important for the students. In writing, the writers have
to focus on the purpose of their writing (among others consideration) because it will
effect what language they choose and how they used it.
On the other hand, Leo et.al state that writing as a process of expressing ideas or
thought in words should be done at our leisure.4 In this case, writing as the process to
express the ideas in written form that should be done at leisure time.
Many definitions about descriptive text can be found in separated books. One of them
is being defined by Mukarto that descriptive text is a kind of text to describe
2
http://www.languagelearningportal.com/articles/en-GB/1062/4-essential-skills-in-language-learning.html
3
Horvath Jozsef, Advanced Writing in English as A Foreign Language , (Pecs: Lingua Franca Csoport, 2001), p. 5
4
something, someone, or place. Descriptive text has two main parts, they are
identification and description. The structure of a text is called the generic structure.
Descriptive text is like describe white house, animals, fruit, and etc.5 It can be
concluded that descriptive text is a text to describe something, someone or place and
descriptive text has a two main parts such as identification and description that’s
called generic structure. In learning, the writer believes that adjective is very
important in writing English, especially in writing descriptive text because by
mastering adjective, the English students will be able to combine some words or
phrases into sentences, or some sentences into a good paragraph, but, there are many
students who cannot speak English properly, sometime they are confused to arrange
the grammatical sentences. To make a sentence, the students have a problem in
making a good sentence. According to Woods adjective is a descriptive word that
changes the meaning of a noun or a pronoun.6 It means that adjective is important
used for describe word order to make it clear and easy to understand. Adjective is one
part of grammar that has an important position. It is used in arranging good sentences
which has complete meaning especially in writing descriptive text, to describe about
someone, something, or place we need to know about adjective well. However, some
students did not understand about it.
Based on the explanation above the writer would like to know the correlation between
students’ ability in using adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
5
Mukarto, Sujatmiko, Josephine S.M, Widya Kiswara, EOS English on Sky SMP Book VII, Jakarta : Erlangga,2007,p.140
6
In preliminary research data obtained by interview the English teacher of SMPN 1
Talangpadang, she said that the students have difficulties to develop their ideas to
make a good descriptive text. In addition, she said that the students’ ability in writing is still very low, because they have lack grammar, not only that, they also commonly
do the same mistakes in writing descriptive text. It can be seen on the table below.
Table 1
Students’ Writing Score of SMPN 1 Talangpadang 2016/2017
No Score Class Total Percentage
8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4
1 ≥ 75 15 15 14 12 56 40.88%
2 < 75 19 19 20 23 81 59.12%
Total 34 34 34 35 137 100%
From the table above, it can be said that most of the eight grade students of SMPN 1
Talangpadang still had difficulties in writing descriptive text.
Based on data it can be seen that the students’ writing score was still low. Further, the teacher said that only a few students got score above the criteria of minimum mastery
(KKM), while many students got score below KKM. The criteria of minimum
mastery (KKM) of this school is 75.
Besides, the teacher also said that they were unable to write descriptive text well
Table 2
Students’ Adjective Score of SMPN 1 Talangpadang 2016/2017
No Score Class Total Percentage
8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4
1 ≥ 75 15 10 13 8 46 33.58%
2 < 75 19 24 21 27 91 66.42%
Total 34 34 34 35 137 100%
The writer assumed that their writing’s score was low because they were lack ability
in using adjective. Based on the background above, the writer assumed that adjective
have an important part in writing.
On the other side, the writer also interviewed some students of the eighth grade. From
the result of the interview, it was found that most of the students got problem with
their vocabulary and grammar, so they got difficulties to express their ideas in writing
descriptive text.
So, the writer is interested in doing the research entitled “The Correlation between Students’ Ability in Using Adjective and Their Ability in Writing Descriptive Textof
B. Identification of the Problem
Based on the background above the writer identified the problem as follows:
1. The students have difficulties in using adjective.
2. The students have difficulties in writing descriptive text.
C. Limitation of Problem
Based on the problem above, the writer only focused on the correlation between
students’ ability in using adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
D. Formulation of the Problem
Based on the background, the identification and the limitation of the problem
mentioned above, the writer formulated the problem as follows:
Is there any significant correlation between students’ ability in using adjective and
their ability in writing descriptive text?
E. Objective of Research
The objective of conducting this research is:
To know whether there is significant correlation between students’ ability in using
adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
F. Use of Research
1. To give information about the correlative study of students’ in using adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
2. To give information for the English teacher about the importance of grammar
especially using adjective in writing descriptive text.
3. To motivate the students in learning English, especially to learn more about
using adjective and writing descriptive text.
G. Scope of Research
In the research, the writer included some kinds of information as the scope of the
research. They are follows:
1. Subject of the Research
The subject of the research was the students of the eighth grade of SMPN 1
Talangpadang.
2. Object of the Research
The object of the research is the correlation between students’ adjective ability and their ability in writing descriptive text.
3. Place of the Research
The research was conducted at SMPN 1 Talangpadang.
4. Time of the Research
The research was conducted at the first semester of 2016/2017 academic
A. Concept of Teaching English as Foreign Language
Language teaching is influenced by ideas on the nature of language (language
theories) and the learning conditions that make learners acquire the language
(learning theories).1 In learning English as a foreign language, it is very difficult
because it has different characteristic from our mother tongue, although students have
studied it for a long time but their English ability is still low not only in speaking but
also in writing. It means that the teachers are urged to repair their teaching method.
The teacher has responsibility to make condition to be conducive by giving
assignment, stimulus, guidance, direction, and also support his/her students in the
teaching learning process.
In learning English students are not only hoped to be able to use language, but also to
receive and get information. In teaching and learning process, the material should be
arranged carefully. The material has to be arranged based on the students’ need,
desire and ability. It means that the teacher has to prepare the material as well as
possible before teaching-learning process. The teacher is urged to be creative in order
to their students get the point easily. It is very important for students who learn
foreign language. To get the best result in teaching English, the students should be
1
given more opportunities to apply the language by giving them practice in speaking
and writing.
According to Lim in Aprilia, the purpose of teaching foreign language is enable the
students to use the language to communication. 2 It means that, in learning English
the teacher does not only give the students theory about English but also he/she has
time for practicing in their communication whether written or spoken through English
language instruction. To achieve the target, the English teacher should be able to
motivate the students in the classroom. According to Brown, teaching is showing or
helping someone to learn how to do something.3 It means that teaching is given
instruction, guiding in studying something, providing with knowledge and causing
understanding.
B. Concept of Writing
We know that writing is one of skill in language should be mastered by the students.
Besides that writing is one way to send message and information from the writer to
the reader. There are a lot of definitions about writing that have been given by some
experts. According to Byrne, writing is the act of forming letters or combination of
letters: making marks on flat surface of same kind. It is more than the production of
graphic symbol, just are speech is more than the production of sounds. The symbols
2
Nuri Aprilia, An Analysis of Language Mechanical Error in Paragraph Writing (IAIN Lampung : unpublished Thesis, 2012), p.8.
3
have to be arranged to form sentence.4 From the definition above, it can be concluded
that writing is the production of graphic symbols which have to be arranged
according to certain conventions to form meaningful words, sentences, etc.
According to Lindemann writing is process of communication which uses a
conventional graphic system to convey a message to a reader.5It means that writing is
a process of sending message by using letters, punctuation, word, or sentences as
graphic system.
Moreover, writing is progressive activity. It means that when you first write
something down. You have already been thinking about what you are going to say
and how you are going to say it. Then after you have finished writing, you read over
what you have written and make changes and corrections. Therefore, writing is never
a one-step action.6 It means that when we write something, we must have already
been thinking first because writing is never a one-step action.
Writing is also an action process of discovering and organizing the ideas, putting
them on paper, and reshaping them. Writing is much like speaking, because it is a
4
Donn Byrne, Teaching Writing Skill (London: Longman Group UK, 1997), p.1
5
Erika Lindemann, A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers, Oxford University Press, 1983, p.11.
6
way to discover and communicate the ideas. However, unlike speaking the people get
the information from oral communication but in writing through a paper.7
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that writing is the production of
graphic symbols which are arranged based on certain convention to form meaningful
words, sentences through process of thinking to generate ideas or activities of
someone in order to inform the message on a paper.
C. Concept of Writing Ability
Raimes states that writing ability is a skill in which we express ideas, feelings, and
thought which are arranged in words, sentences, and paragraph using eyes, brain and
hands.8 Writing a sentence is a simple communication form, because student can
write their idea, thought, and argument from a sentence. The process of writing is
usually more complex than the process of speaking.
According to Nunan, writing ability is defined as the ability to respond to a given
stimulus according to some authority’s definition of the correct response.9
The term
of ability is defined as skill or power. Concisely, writing ability is the skill to express
7
Alan mayers, Gateway to Academic Writing, (New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2005), p.3
8
Raimes, A., Techniques in Teaching Writing, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p.76
9
ideas, thoughts, and feelings to other people in written symbols to make other people
or readers understand the ideas conveyed.10
Moreover, Weigle states that writing is an indication that shows that students have
mastered the cognitive skills required for university work. In addition, he states that
writing ability is the skill that we want to test and that the writer is likely to engage
in. 11 Thus, the writing ability is the ability that will be tested in which the writer is
to engage in and needs to master elements of writing itself as respond to the given
stimulus.
Based on explanation above, it can be concluded that writing ability is the ability to
express one’s ideas, thoughts, opinion and feelings into a piece of written work so
that people as readers can understand.
D. Concept of the Writing Process
Writing cannot be produced instantly, it needs process. In the process, writing is seen
as process to experience rather that merely a product to be read. This process, of
course, be affected by the content (subject matter) of writing, the types of writing (ex:
letters, essay, and so on) and the medium it is written (pen and paper, computer
words, file, etc). The writing process is at least as important as the product and even
in exam writing task, the students’ ability (quickly) and later read back through what
10
Avalaible on: http://Teachingenglishonline.net/definition-of-writing-ability/,(on May 6th,2016)
11
they have written in order to make any necessary corrections is extremely
important.12
There are some of terms often used to refer to stages in the process writing,13 like the
following:
Stages of Writing Process
Planning drafting editing final version.
The following explanations and suggestions may be useful during particular stages of
the writing process.14
a. Planning
Experienced writers plan what they are going to write. Before starting to write or
type, they try and decide what it is they are going to say. For some writers this may
involve making details notes. When planning, writers have to think about three main
issues. In the first place, they have to consider the purpose of their writing, the
audience they are writing for, and the content structure of the piece.15 In the other
words, the planning stage also known as prewriting. It requires preliminary thinking
about the written assignment as good as some exploration and formal planning of
ideas into a structure outline. Oshima says that prewriting is the step in the writing
12
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, (New York: Longman, 1988), p.327
13
Jeremy Harmer,Op.Cit.,p.5
14 Ibid.
process in which you get ideas.16 It means that in this step we just write down the
sentences as we think without worrying about the sentences correct or not. Besides
that, it can generate ideas and develop main thesis or purpose statement.
b. Drafting
It refers to the first version of writing as a draft. This first ‘go’ at a text is often done
on the assumption that it will be amended later. As the writing process proceeds into
editing, a number of drafts may be produced on the way the final version.17
Therefore, during drafting the writer puts her/his idea into complete thought, such as
sentences and paragraph. The writer organizes her/his ideas in a way that allows the
reader to understand her/his message.
c. Editing (Reflecting and Revising)
The writer has produced a draft, then, she/he usually read through what she/he has
written to see how it works. Perhaps the order of the information is not clear. Perhaps
the way something is written is ambiguous or confusing. She/he may use a different
form of words for a particular sentence. More skills the writer tends to look at issues
at general meaning and over all structure before concentrating on detailed features
such as individual words and grammatical accuracy. Besides, it is a particular type of
revision focusing especially on language and mechanics. Students may begin editing
16
Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Op Cit, p.34
17
by focusing on editing errors.18 It means that editing is processing, not a one-time
event. When the writer edits his/her work, he/she is checking the place of error. Its
typically errors are spelling, punctuation, capitalization and formatting (indenting of
paragraph).
d. Final Version
Once the students have edited their draft, making the changes they consider to be
necessary, they produce their final version.19 So, that this is the final stage in the
writer process.
And from sources about writing process above, the writer can conclude that there are
some stages to make a good writing and they are; planning, drafting, editing, and
final version. The first is planning. Planning is experienced writers plan what they are
going to write, before the students start to write something, they must plan or prepare
about the material that they will make. The second is drafting, that is make the first
version odd a piece of writing. The third is editing or revising, it is supported by Leo,
he states that editing is the next step you have to do after writing process is
completed.20 And in editing or revising the writers have a produced a draft they then,
usually, read through what they have written to see where it works and where it does
18
Ibid
19 Ibid
20
not. And the last is final version, final version is last final after doing planning,
drafting, and editing.
E. The Purpose of Writing
Writing is not only putting the sentences into a paper, but there are some purposes of
writing. Based on Grenville, there are some purposes of writing:
1. Entertain
The writing does not necessarily make the readers laugh, but it at least engages their
feelings in some way. Writing to entertain generally takes the form of so-called
imaginative writing or creative writing. Examples of imaginative writing are novels,
stories, poems, song lyrics, plays, and screenplays.
2. Inform
The writing tells the reader about something. These kinds of writing can also be
entertaining in the sense that they are good to read, and also entertaining the reader is
not their main purpose that’s just a bonus. Examples of writing to inform are
newspaper articles scientific or business reports, instruction or procedures, and essays
for school and university.
3. Persuade
The writing attempts to convince the reader of something. This includes
advertisements, some newspaper and magazine articles, and some types of essay.
This type of writing might include the opinion, but as part of a logical case backed up
above, the writer concludes the purpose of writing is the expression the ideas, convey
a message to reader, so the ideas themselves should arguably be seen as the most
important aspect of the writing.21
Based on explanation above, it can be concluded that the purpose of writing consists
of certain, inform and persuade. The first purpose is to entertain. Writing to entertain
generally takes the form of creative writing the examples are novels, stories, poems,
song lyrics, and screenplays. The second purpose is to inform. Writing is to inform
the reader about something. And the last purpose is to persuade. Writing to persuade
is to convince the reader of something. The examples are advertisements, newspaper,
and magazine articles.
F. Components of Writing
There are some components that are used in scoring writing ability. According to
Tribble, the criteria to scoring writing ability are: content, organization, vocabulary
language and mechanic.22
a. Content : the substance of writing ideas express (unity), content
relevant to the topic.
b.Organization (form) : ideas clearly stated and supported, logically sequence,
connective appropriately use (cohesion).
c. Vocabulary : the section of words that suitable with the content.
21
Kate Grenville, Writing From Start to Finish a Six-Steps Guide, (New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2001),p.11
22
d.Language : the employment of grammatical forms and Syntactical
pattern.
e. Mechanic : the use of graphic convection of language (demonstrates
good command of spelling, punctuation, and
capitalization).
In the words to know students’ descriptive text ability the writer used the aspects of
scoring system as follows: task fulfillment/ content, organization, vocabulary,
language and mechanics.
G. The Types of Text
In English, we can found type of writing. Each of these writing has its own
characteristics and functions. The students of senior should have knowledge of those
writing text. According to Anderson, types of text in English are divided into several
types. They are poetic, dramatic, narrative, response, discussion, explanation,
exposition, information report, procedure and recount. These variations are genre.23
1. Spoof
Spoof is a text to retell an event with a humorous twist.
2. Recount
Recount is a text to retell events for the purposes of informing or entertaining.
3. Report
23
Report is a text to describe the way things are reference to a range of natural,
manmade and social phenomena in our environment.
4. Analytical Exposition
Analytical exposition text is a text to persuade the reader or listener that
something in the case.
5. News Item
News item text is a text to inform readers, listeners, or viewers about events of the
day which are considered newsworthy or important.
6. Anecdote
Anecdote is a text to share with others an account of an unusual or amusing
incident.
7. Narrative
Narrative text is a text to amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious
experience in different ways.
8. Procedure
Procedure text is a text to describe how something is accomplished through a
sequence of actions or steps.
9. Description
Description text is a text to describe a particular persons, place or thing.
10.Hortatory Exposition
Hortatory exposition text is a text to persuade the reader or listener that something
11.Explanation
Explanation text is a text to explain the processes involved in the formation or
workings of natural or socio cultural phenomena.
12.Discussion
Discussion text is a text to present (at least) two points of view about an issue.
13.Reviews
Reviews text is a text to critique an art work or event for a public audience.
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that, types of writing according
to Anderson, there are 13 types of text in English. They are spoof, recount, report,
analytical exposition, news item, anecdote, narrative, procedure, description,
hortatory exposition, explanation, discussion, reviews. Whereby, in this research the
writer focuses on the descriptive text. It will be conducted in SMPN 1 Talangpadang,
in which based on syllabus on eighth grade, the students learn descriptive text.
H. Descriptive Text
1. Concept of Descriptive Text
Description is a useful tool in many kinds of writing. In narration or storytelling, it
creates a sense of realism. In reports or explanation, it clarifies and makes idea
emotions. In description, it can describe many things, including people, scene, and
sense.24
A descriptive text describes how something or someone looks or feel. It gives an
impression of something.25 Descriptive text refers to the senses, it tells how
something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sounds. A good description is a word
pictures; the readers can imagine the object, place, or person in his or her mind.26
Description presents sensory information that makes writing come alive. It expresses
an experience that the reader can actively participate in by using imagination. It can
be concluded that descriptive text provides an illustration of people, places, events,
situations, thoughts, and feelings.
Blanchard & Root state that writing a description is like creating a picture using
words. The most important in description is to make it in a good description through
specific detail that create appropriate with the picture.27
Based on explanation above, it can be concluded that descriptive text is a clear
description of people, places, objects, or events using appropriate details. An effective
description will contain sufficient and varied elaboration of details to communicate a
24
Sanggam Siahaan, Generic Text Structure, (Yogyakarta: Graha Ilmu,2008), p.89
25
Keith S. Folse, April Muchmore-Vokoun, Elena Vestri Solomon, Great Writing 2 Great Paragraphs, 3rd edition, (United States of America: Heinle Cengage Learning, 2010), p.135
26
Alice Oshima& Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing, (New York: Pearson Education, 2007), p.61
27
sense of the subject being described. Details used are usually sensory and selected to
describe what the writer sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes.
2. Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
Descriptive text has structure as stated by James that it is used in school to guide the
students in learning English:
a. Identification: identifying the phenomenon to be described. The writer introduces
people whose daily activities are going to describe.
b. Description: the purpose is to try and help someone feel that they are actually
experiencing the thing described. The writer gives detailed information. Since the
text tells daily activities, the writer describes or mentions his/her daily activities
in sequence. Information about the time and place of the activities can be used to
describe more about the daily activities.28
3. Language Features of Descriptive Text
a. Using attributive and identifying process.
b. Using adjective and classifiers in nominal group.
c. Using simple present tense.29
28
Peter James, Real English 1 for Senior High School Grade X, (Jakarta: Penerbit Erlangga, 2013), p.84
29
4. Basic Steps to Write an Effective Descriptive Text
A descriptive text simply describes something or someone by appealing to the
reader’s sense: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Here are the basic steps to write
an effective descriptive text:
1) Select a Subject
Observation is the key to write a good description. For example, in order to write
about a place, visit the place and take notes on the sight, sounds, situation there. A
descriptive text paints a picture for the reader, using descriptive devices and the
senses. Create a thesis statement that informs the reader who or what you are
describing.
Examples:
a. The wooden roller coaster in Coney Island is a work of art.
b. My bedroom is an ocean sanctuary.
2) Select Dominant Details
Select only the details that support the dominant impression (thesis statement).
3) Organize Details
The paragraphs in a descriptive text can be structured spatially (from top to bottom or
from near to far) or chronologically (time order) or from general to specific.
Descriptive text can also use other patterns of organization such as narrative or
4) Use Descriptive Words
Do not use vague words or generalities be specific and use sensory, descriptive words
(adjectives). There some examples of the sensory words, in the descriptive text can’t
use vague words because word which will be used must be clear especially in
adjective words. The words must give clear information.
a) Smells that are in the air (the aroma of freshly brewed coffee).
b) Sounds (traffic, honking horns).
c) Sights (“The sun scattered tiny diamonds across dew-covered grass as it peeked
out from beyond the horizon.”).
d) Touch (“The texture of the adobe hut’s walls resembled coarse sandpaper.”)
e) Taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, tart (“Giant goose bumps formed on my tongue
when I accidently bit into a sliver of lemon.”)30
The following texts below are the examples of descriptive text:
1. Describing place/thing
My Favorite Café
My favorite cafe to relax is a small café down the street from where I live. This café
is on a small side street and as soon as you see it, you feel like going in.
There are three windows on either side of the door, and each window has a small
table all around the room. Even though it is not a big place, it is size make it cozy and
comfortable. I always like to sit at a small table in the corner near the front windows.
30
From here, I can look at the artwork on the walls and at the pretty green plants
hanging from the ceiling. With a strong cup of coffee and a good book, I feel very
happy and relaxed in my favorite café.
Source: Dorothy E Zemach, & Lisa A Rumisek, Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay.31
2. Describing person
My Grandmother
When I was young, I admired my grandmother for her strength and kindness. She was
not very big. In fact, she was tiny and very thin she was strong, though. She lived by
herself and still did a lot of the chores around her house. When I was child, I saw her
almost every day, and she and I would talk about everything. She was happy person
and was always smiling and joking, and she often make me laugh. My grandmother
was also very patient, and she would listen to all my problems. She gave me very
good advice whenever I needed it. I didn’t need to be afraid to tell her anything,
because she never got annoyed with me. She just listened and tried to help. I also
liked to spend time with her because she had interesting stories to tell me about her
own childhood and life experiences. When I was young my grandmother was my best
friend.
Source: Dorothy E Zemach, & Lisa A Rumisek, Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay.32
31
Dorothy E Zemach,& Lisa A Rumisek, Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay, (Oxford: Macmillan Publisher, 2005),p.26
32
Based on explanation above, it can be concluded that the basic steps to write
descriptive text are select a subject, select dominant details, organization, and use
descriptive words. Descriptive text has two generic structure, they are identification
and description. The identification structure is introducing people what are going to
describe. Then, the description structure is giving detailed information.
5. Concept of Descriptive Text Writing Ability
Based on explanation, we know that the term of ability is defined as skill or power.
Descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels,
smells, tastes, and/or sounds.33 Concisely, writing ability is the skill to express ideas,
thoughts, and feeling to other people in written symbols to make other people or
readers understand the ideas conveyed.34 It means that it is a way of sharing personal
meanings and it emphasizes the power of the personality to construct someone’s view
based on a certain topic. Then, descriptive text is kind of the text which is aimed to
describe a particular person or thing.35 A descriptive text has a functional objective to
describe a particular person, place, things. To make a good descriptive paragraph the
writer must be creative. The writer also has to understand about points that must be
there in descriptive text writing.
33
Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Op.Cit, p.50
34
Christopher Tribble, Loc.Cit 35
In writing a descriptive text, the writer expresses the idea or topic, than keep attention
about generic structure of descriptive text. The writer also has to keep attention about
five aspects of writing (content, organization, vocabulary, language, and mechanics)
because they are the assessment of writing.
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that descriptive text writing
ability is the ability to produce a text which describes briefly a certain kind of object
such as a person, a place, a thing, or an animal which fulfills the criteria of a good
writing including content, organization, vocabulary, language, and mechanics.
I. Concept of Adjective
Adjective is a part of grammar, it includes in part of speech which functioned to
know the condition of a language. Frank states that adjective is a modifier that has the
grammatical property of comparison. It is often identified by special derivational
endings or by special adverbial modifiers that precede it. Its most usual position is
before the noun it modifies, but it fills other position as well. For example: the small
boy, the boy is small.36 It means that the adjective is important used describing word
to make it clear and easy to understand. Adjective is a word used to describe a noun
or a pronoun. It can be used describing about thing, person or place.
36
According to Bhardwaj, adjective is a word that adds something to the meaning of a
noun or a pronoun.37 It is used before the noun or pronoun or come after it in the
predicate. For example: a clever boy does his work well.
This boy is clever.
According to Lewis, adjective is a word that describes a noun.38 This noun provides
more information about person, place, or thing. For instance, John is a tall and skinny
man. Both tall and skinny are adjectives as they are used to describe John.
Besides that Seaton says that adjective is a describing word. It tells more about noun.
An adjective usually appears before the noun it describes.39 It means adjective is
word that used to describe noun by giving some information about thing, people, or
place. Moreover, adjectives are words describe nouns or pronouns. They may come
before the word they describe (that is a cute puppy.) or they may follow the word they
describe (that puppy is cute.).40
37
A.p Bhardwaj, Essential English for Competitions, (New Delhi: S.Chand,2010), p. 23
38
William Greatheed Lewis, A Grammar of the English Language, (London: T.Dolby, 1979), p. 55
39
Anne Seaton, Y.H Mew, Basic English Grammar for English Language Learner, (Irvine: Saddleback, 2007), p.52
40
Based on the statement above, it can be concluded that adjective is often used to
describe word, especially noun or pronoun (word that substitute for noun). Without
an adjective we cannot describe a thing, or a person in the sentences.
J. Types of Adjective
Adjective is the word which is used to modify noun or pronoun. There five kinds of
adjectives as follow41:
1. Possessive Adjective
Possessive adjective is the adjective which is used to point out the noun that belongs
to someone. Such as: my, your, our, their, his, her, and its. Example:
- This is my book.
- Your car is outside.
- His girl friend is waiting.
2. Descriptive Adjective
Descriptive adjective is the adjective that is used to tell sorts of noun or quality.
Example:
- He is tall man.
- They are good students.
41
- She is beautiful girl.
3. Numeral Adjective
Numeral adjective is the adjective which is used to show the number of a noun.
There are three types of numeral adjective, such as:
a) Definite Numeral Adjective
Definite numeral adjective is the adjective that is used to denote an extract number of
a noun as: first, second, third or one, two, three,…..
Example:
- Ankor Wat is the seventh wonders of the world.
- Ankor temple has got five towers.
b) Indefinite Numeral Adjective
Indefinite Numeral Adjective is the adjective which is to denote an inexact number of
nouns as: some, any, much, many, little, a few, ….
Example:
- I have some friend here.
- She has a few picture,
- He has got much money.
Distributive numeral adjective is the adjective that is used to cache one noun. They
are: every, each, another, other,…
Example:
- Each student is very friendly.
- They speak to another person.
4. Demonstrative Adjective
Demonstrative adjective is the adjective which is used to point out the noun. They
are: this, these, that, those.
Example:
- That man is very handsome.
- These girls are good looking.
5. Interrogative Adjective
Interrogative adjective is the adjective that is used to ask the question. They are
where, what, which,…
Example:
- Which animal do you like?
- Where doctor is he?
Based on the explanation above, the writer take summarize about adjective. Adjective
is classified into possessive adjective, descriptive adjective, numeral adjective,
demonstrative adjective, and interrogative adjective. In this research, the writer used
possessive adjective, descriptive adjective, numeral adjective, and demonstrative
adjective then ask students to make include those adjective above.
K. Concept of Using Adjective Mastery
Adjective is one of the part of speech is used to modify, describe or quantify a noun
or a pronoun. By using adjective will be able to paint a clearer picture and provide a
more comprehensible message to the audience.42 It means that using adjective we can
express the quality of any person or object. Without adjective we could not say how
any object looks like. Using adjective mastery is ability to describe clearer picture to
make the readers understand when they read the writing. Use adjective make the
writing more visual and vivid.
Adjective also tell how things look, feel, taste, sounds or smell and describe feel
about something.43 It means that Adjective help the writer to create clear ideas of
what the noun or pronoun tastes, smells, feels, looks, and sounds like. The readers
will get a fuller picture of the things when they read the writing. It appeals to the
readers’ sense, therefore they can hear, see, touch, taste, and even smell what they are
describing. In using adjectives makes the writing and the reading much more fun.
42
http://adjectivesstarting.com/what-is-an-adjective/
43
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that using adjective mastery is
students’ ability to express or create clear ideas of what the noun or pronoun tastes,
smells, feels, looks, and sounds in order to make the description more vivid and the
readers can hear, see, touch, taste, and smell what they are describing.
L. The Correlation between Students’ Mastery in Using Adjective and Their
Ability in Writing Descriptive Text
Vocabulary is the vital aspect of the language.44 It means that vocabulary is a vital
component of the language. So, vocabulary is the base of language communication.
They will find difficulties in composing a written text when they have limited
knowledge of vocabulary particularly in using adjective. Adjectives are important in a
descriptive text. They are like spices, they add flavor in writing. Adjective is a part of
speech that describes a noun.45 It tells something more about a noun or pronoun. The
students must be able to describe a noun or pronoun, because when they describe how
their feel, they should use adjective. Writers use adjective to give the reader more
complete picture of the people, places, and things they want to describe.46
According to Knapp and Watkins, adjective is the grammatical class that tend to carry
much of the responsibility for describing. Of course all lexical items, for example:
nouns, verbs, adjectives and some adverb (as opposed to grammatical items:
44
Michael Wallace, Teaching Vocabulary, (New York: Henemen Education Book, 1998), p.123
45
Keith S. Folse, April Muchmore- Vokoun, Elena Vestri Solomon, Op.Cit, p.143
46
conjunction, prepositions, pronouns and articles) can be used descriptively, but it is
adjectives that have describing as their key function.47 It means that adjective is very
important in writing descriptive text.
Raimes states that writing reinforces the use of aspects of language skills including
structure, idiom, and vocabulary that we have studied.48 It means that when students
write, they need correct sentences. Particularly in writing a paragraph or text, they
have to arrange the use of the paragraph or text correctly. They often use adjective in
their writing to describe something. Therefore, if someone is able to write good
sentences, it means that he or she is expected to be able to write good paragraph too,
and in using adjective they can express their ideas, moods, feelings, and thoughts.
Based on the statement above, the writer therefore assumes that if the students have
good grammar skill specifically in using adjective, they will be able to write a
paragraph or text descriptive appropriately.
M.The Hypothesis
Based on the frame of thinking above, the writer proposes the hypotheses as follows:
Ho: There is no significant correlation between students’ mastery in using
adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
Ha: There is a significant correlation between students’ mastery in using adjective
and their ability in writing descriptive text.
47
Peter Knapp and Megan Watkins, Genre, Text, Grammar Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing, (Sydney: University of New South Wales, 2005), p. 110
48
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Design
In this research, the writer used correlation research design. According to Kothari,
correlation research studies the joint variation of two or more variables for
determining the amount of correlation between two or more variables.1Moreover,
according to Kaufman, in correlation research, the goal is to determine whether two
or more variables are related.2 In this research, the writer associated two variables:
students’ mastery in using adjective and their ability in writing descriptive text.
According to Ary, correlation research employs data derived from preexisting
variables. There is no manipulation, and the data are taken from single group.3 In this
research, the writer analyzed the data taken from the students’ test. The writer scored
both their in using adjective and their writing ability by using writing test. After
getting the score, the writer analyzed the data to know whether there is correlation of
the variables.
1
C.R Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, (New Delhi: New Age,2004),p.130.
2
Geoffrey Marczyk, et al. Essential of Research Design and Methodology, (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,2005),p.3.
3
B. The Variable of the Research
In this research there were two kinds of variables that investigated. Both of them are
dependent and independent variable, they are:
1. Independent variable is the students’ mastery in using adjective (X).
2. Dependent variable is the students’ ability in writing descriptive text (Y).
C. Operational Definition of Variables
1. The students’ mastery in using adjective is students’ ability to express or
create clear ideas of what the noun or pronoun tastes, smells, feels, looks, and
sounds purpose to make the description more vivid and the readers can hear,
see, touch, taste, and smell what they are describing.
2. The students’ ability in writing descriptive text is the students’ ability to
produce a text which describe briefly certain kind of object such as a person,
a place, a thing, or an animal which fulfills the criteria of good writing,
including content, organization, vocabulary, language, and mechanics.
D. Population, Sample and Sampling Technique
1. Population
Population is all individuals of interest to the researcher.4 Furthermore,
according to Kothari, it is the total of items about which information is desired.5
The population of this research was students of the eighth grade of SMPN 1
4
Suharsimi Arikunto, Prosedur Penelitian:Suatu Pendekatan Praktik, (14th ed) (Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2013),p.173
5
Talangpadang in the academic year of 2016/2017. The population was 137
students.
Table 3
The Population Based on the Number of the Eighth Grade of SMP N 1 Talangpadang
No Class Genders Total
Male Female
1 VIII.1 12 22 34
2 VIII.2 13 21 34
3 VIII.3 12 22 34
4 VIII.4 15 20 35
TOTAL 52 85 137
Source: The Document of SMPN 1 Talangpadang.
2. Sampling technique
Sampling technique is the process of obtaining information about an entire
population by examining only a part of it.6 In this research, the writer used cluster
random sampling technique because the sample is in group and homogeneous and
took the sample from group of class. The process in determining the sample in
cluster random sampling technique was done by using lottery. First, the writer
provided four pieces of paper, each pieces of paper contains the name of classes.
Second, the pieces of paper were rolled and put in a glass. After that, the glass was
shaken and the writer took one piece of the rolled paper to choose a class as sample.
Finally, the writer got VIII.2 as a sample of the research.
6
E. The Data Collecting Technique
In order to gain the data on the students in using adjective and their ability in writing
descriptive text, the writer applied the test such the following explanation:
1. Test on using adjective
The writer used multiple choices to know the students’ mastery in using
adjective. There were 40 items of the test.
2. Test on writing ability
To know the students’ writing ability, the writer asked the students to write
descriptive text consisting of adjective based on the topics given. The writer
asked them to use adjective in their descriptive text.
F. Research Procedure
There were steps done in research procedure, they are:
1. Determining the population
The writer determined the population. In this research, the writer chose the eighth
grade of SMPN 1 Talangpadang consisted of 137 students.
2. Finding the sample
The writer used cluster random sampling to find the sample. The writer got
VIII.2 class consisted of 34 students.
3. Try out of the instrument
In this research, the writer used a multiple choice test of using adjective and
4. Distributing the instruments
After having valid instruments of test, the writer distributed them to the students.
5. Analyzing the data
The data analyzed by using coefficient correlation product moment to investigate
whether there is correlation of students’ mastery in using adjective and their
ability in writing descriptive text.
G. Instrument of the research
The instrument is tool used by the writer to gain the data in the research. In this
research, the writer used test as instrument to collect the data. There were two kinds
of test administered as follows.
1. The test of using adjective
There were 40 items of the test. Each number is followed by four answer (A,B,C,
and D). The score of each item is 1 for correct answer and 0 for the wrong answer.
Hence, the highest score is 100 and the lowest is 0 with measurement of the total
score as follows:
Score =∑
Notes:
N =Total of the test. 7
The specification of adjective test can be seen on the table below:
Table 4
The Blue Print of Try Out for Adjective Test Before Validity
N o
Types of Adjective Items Number Total
Odd Even
1 Descriptive Adjective 1,3,9,13,15,19, 25,27
6,8,14,24,34,36,38 ,40
16
2 Possessive Adjective 17,23,29,31,33 2,22 7
3 Numeral Adjective 21 4,10,12,28,30,32 7
4 Demonstrative Adjective 5,7,11,35,37,39 16,18,20,26 10
Total 20 20 40
Table 5
The Blue Print of Try Out for Adjective Test After Validity
No Types of Adjective Items Number Total
Odd Even
1 Descriptive Adjective 3,5,15,19,25 6,10,14,16,24 10
2 Possessive Adjective 1,9, 12,18,20 5
3 Numeral Adjective 7,11,17,21 2,8 6
4 Demonstrative Adjective 4,13,23 22 4
Total 14 11 25
2. The test of writing descriptive text
The writer gave this test to measure the students’ ability in writing descriptive text.
In this case, the writer focused on descriptive text. Therefore, the students were
descriptive text in 60 minutes for time allocation.
The topics that could be chosen by the students were:
a. My Family
b. Cat
c. My House
d. Computer
In this research to evaluate the students’ writing score, the writer used analytic rating
scale adapted from Christopher Tribble. The text assessed based on the aspect of
writing assessment: content, organization, vocabulary, language, and mechanics. The
total score of writing test is 100.
Table 6
Scoring System Writing
Aspect Score Description
Task
fulfillment/Content
20-17 Excellent to very good: treatment of the
subject, considerable variety of ideas or
argument; independent and through
interpretation of the topic; content relevant to
the topic; accurate detail.
16-12 Good to average: adequate treatment of topic,
some variety of ideas or argument; some
independence of interpretation of the topic;
reasonably accurate detail.
11-8 Fair to poor: treatment of topic is hardly
some irrelevant content to the topic, lacking
detail.
7-5 Very poor: inadequate treatment of topic, no
variety of ideas or argument, content
irrelevant, or very restricted; almost no useful
detail.
4-0 Inadequate: fails to address to task qith any
effectiveness.
Organization 20-17 Excellent to very good: fluent expression,
ideas clearly stated and supported;
appropriately organized paragraphs or sections;
logically sequenced (coherence); connectives
appropriately used (cohesion).
16-12 Good to average: uneven expression, but main
ideas stand out; paragraphing or section
evident, logically sequenced (coherence);
connectives used (cohesion).
11-18 Fair to poor: very uneven expression, ideas
difficult to follow; paragraphing or
organization does not to help the reader;
logical sequenced difficult to follow
(coherence); connectives largely absent
(cohesion).
7-5 Very to poor:lack fluent expression, ideas
very difficult to follow, little sense of
paragraphing or organization; no sense of
logical sequence difficult to follow
