A. Writing
1. Definition of Writing
There are some definition and explanations of writing proposed by experts. One of them state that Writing is a complicated process which involves a number of cognitive and metacognitive activities, for instance; brainstorming, planning, outlining, organizing, drafting, and revising. Cognitive aspects of writing have received a particular attention, as investigators have attempted to understand the thought processes underlying the compositions of students Flower & Hayes (1981 as cited in Giti page 299).
According to Omaggio Hadley (1993 as cited in Giti page 299), writing requires composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Therefore, it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of writing down on the one end to the more complex act of composing on the other end.
planning, good idea and good grammar to make a good writing. Writing is an important part in language. Learners must realize that writing a language is much more difficult than speaking it.
Lyons and Heasley in Nunan (2000:19 as cited in Mohaddese & Rahimy, 341) state that writing is clearly a complex process and competent. Writing is frequently accepted as being the last skill acquired. Based on this statement, it can be concluded that writing is a complex process. Writing is a continuous activity that has more than one step, but it needs steps. The most important in writing is process not a product.
Another definition proposed by Brown (2001, as cited in Mohaddese & Rahimy, 341). He states that written products are often the result of thinking, drafting, and revising procedures that require specialized skill, skill which not every speaker develops naturally. Writing needs thinking that focuses students on how to generate ideas. In written product it involves thinking, drafting, and procedure. Skills are also important in writing activity.
Nunan (2003: 88 as cited in Mohaddese & Rahimy, 341) defines that writing is the process of thinking to invent ideas, thinking about how to express into good writing, and arranging the ideas into statement and paragraph clearly. It indicates that the learners are expected to explore the ideas and make them into good paragraph. Besides, writing is both a physical and a mental act. It is the physical act of committing words or ideas to some medium, whether it is an object or a symbols or an email message.
Urquhart and Mclver (2005: 5-6, as cited in Pujianto, 2014) state that writing is a recursive process, which means students revise throughout the process, frequently moving back and forth among the stages. Then, students should learn strategies for invention and discovery, and teachers should help students generate content and discover a purpose. Also, it is stated that readers, purpose, and occasion define all types of writing and effective writing fulfills the writer’s intention and meets the readers’ needs. It means that writing is a complex process and it seems reasonable to expect, then, that the teaching of writing is complex as well.
you express your idea in well-organized sentences, which have a good coherence and cohesion. That’s why many peoples and students find it difficult to write.
According to Harmer (2004:31, as cited in Pardosi and Bachtiar page 4), Writing encourages students to focus on accurate language use because they think as they write; it may well provoke language development as they resolve problems which the writing puts into their minds. When writing, students frequently have more time to think than they do in oral activities. Students can go through what they know in their minds and event consult dictionaries, grammar books, or other reference material to help them.
Based on the definitions above, a definition of writing skill can be obtained. Writing is a productive process done through some stages. Firstly, exploring and transmitting ideas, thought and feeling into written form. Secondly, conducting a number of revising process to carry out a grammatically and orderly texts. The writing productions are in the forms of readable texts which should be meaningful to everyone who read the writing.
need to consider the teaching of writing skill well based on their student’s needs, ability and capacity.
2. Importance of Writing
Writing is one of the English skill which is important and crucial as it is a way that can help people to developt their skills and knowledge. Writing also have a role to reflects who you are as a person. Helvy Tiana’s book state that “You are what you write.” It means that from your writing can shows what the characteristics of yours.
In fact, writing is very important in may aspects of life due to some reasons. It is cited from Marquette University website http://www.marquette.edu/wac/WhatMakesWritingSoImportant.shtml based upon brochures in Brown University and the University of Missouri the important of writing are:
1. primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and your intellect will be judged in college, in the workplace, and in the community. 2. makes your thinking visible.
3. helps you move easily among facts, inferences, and opinions without getting confused and without confusing your reader.
4. promotes your ability to pose worthwhile questions.
5. fosters your ability to explain a complex position to readers, and to yourself.
7. helps you refine your ideas when you give others feedback.
8. requires that you anticipate your readers’ needs. Your ability to do so demonstrates your intellectual flexibility and maturity.
9. preserves them so that you can reflect upon them later.
10. writing out your ideas permitd you to evaluate the adequacy of your argument.
11. Writing stimulates you to extend a line of thought beyond your first impressions or get responses.
12. Writing helps you understand how truth is established in a given discipline.
13. equips you with the communication and thinking skills you need to participate effectively in democracy.
14. Writing is an essential job skill.
B. Learning Strategies
1. The Nature of Learning Strategies
ways. The modest definition provided by Brown (1980, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1713, 2013) who talked about learning strategies as processes that may contribute directly to learning. Chamot (1987, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1713, 2013) went further when he attempted to define the term as processes, technique, approaches, and actions that students take to facilitate the learning and recall of both linguistic and content areas of information.
Wenden and Rubin (1987, as cited by Zare page 163, 2012) describe learning strategies as “any sets of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate theobtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information”.
Richards, Platt and Platt, (1992, as cited by Zare page 163, 2012) argue that “learning strategies are intentional behavior and thoughts that learners make use of during learning in order tobetter help them understand, learn, or remember new information”.
Learning strategies are also illustrated by When Rigney (1978, as cited in Griffiths page, 2014 ) came to conduct their research, they used the definition of learning strategies as being “operations or steps used by a learner that will facilitate the acquisition, storage, retrieval or use of information”.
learners think and do during language learning. Furthermore, it was stated by Cohen(1990, as cited by Zare page 163, 2012) that “learning strategiesare processes which are consciously selected by learners and which may result in actions taken to enhance the learning or use of a second or foreign language through the storage, retention, recall, and application of information about that language”.
Oxford (1990, as cited in abdolmaujod page 1713, 2013) defines learning strategies as “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situasions”.
Ghani (2003, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1713, 2013) gives a new dimension to the definition of the learning strategies describing them as a facilitator in successful learning process. She stated that learning strategies are producers, employed by the learners in order to make their own language learning as successful as possible.
2. Language Learning Strategies
Rigeney (1978, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1715, 2013) who defines language learning strategies as the often-conscious steps or behaviours used by language learners to enhance the acquisition, storage, retention, recall, and use of new information.
language learning behaviours such as learning and regulating the meaning of a second foreign language, cognitive theory, such as learners’ strategic knowledge of language learning, and the affective view, such as learners’ motivation, attitude, etc. It is argued that three points of view can improve language learning.
Rubin and Ghani (1987, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1715, 2013) defined language learning strategies as behaviours, steps, or technique that language learners apply to facilitate language learning. Further, Ghani (2003, as cited in abdalmaujod page 1715, 2013) stated that these can be facilitate the internalization, storage, retrieval, or use of new language.
a. O’Malley and Chamots (1985)
O'Malleyand Chamots (1985) divided language learning strategies into three main categories: Metacognitive Strategies, Cognitive Strategies, and Socioaffective Strategies
1. Metacognitive Strategies
self-monitoring, delayed production, and self-evaluation are included among the major metacognitive strategies.
2. Cognitive Strategies
It has been stated (Brown, 2007) that “Cognitive strategies are more limited to specific learning tasks and they involve more direct manipulation of the learning material itself”. Repetition, resourcing, translation, grouping, note taking, deduction, recombination, imagery, auditory representation, key word, contextualization, elaboration, transfer, and inferencing are among the most important cognitive strategies.
3. Socioaffective Strategies
Socioaffective strategies have close relationship with social-mediating activity and interacting with others. The main socioaffective strategies include cooperation and question for clarification (Brown, 2007).
Table 2.1.
O’Malley and Chamots (1985) Classifications of Language Learning Strategies
Groups Subgroups Learning Strategy
Metacognitive Planning Advance organisers, directed attention, selective attention, self-management, functional planning
Monitoring Self-monitoring Evaluation Self-evaluation
auditory representation, keyword method, contextualisation, elaboration,
transfer, inferencing Socioaffective Question for
clarification Cooperation Self-Talk
b. Rubin’s (1987)
Rubin, who allocated a great deal of effort in the field of language learning strategies, made a distinction between strategies contributing directly to learning and those contributing indirectly to learning. Direct strategies include metacognitive and cognitive strategies and indirect strategies include communicative and social strategies. According to Rubin, there are three types of strategies used by learners that contribute either directly or indirectly to language learning. They are: Learning Strategies, Communication Strategies, and Social Strategies.
1. Learning Strategies
Learning strategies which are divided into two main types (Cognitive Learning Strategies and Metacognitive Learning Strategies) contribute directly to the development of the language system created by the language learner.
Guessing / Inductive Inferencing, Deductive Reasoning, Practice, Memorization, Monitoring.
Metacognitive strategies are used to supervise, control or self-direct language learning. They involve different procedures as planning, prioritizing, setting goals, and self-management.
2. Communication Strategies
Communication strategies are not as much of directly related to language learning since their emphasis is on the process of communication through conversation and getting meaning across or clarifying what the speaker intended. Communication strategies are exploited by speakers when they are faced with some troubles regarding their communication and conversation or when confronted with misunderstanding by a co-speaker. A usual communication strategy is to make use of one’s linguistic or communicative knowledge to remain in the conversation.
3. Social Strategies
Table 2.2
Rubin’s (1981) classification of language learning strategies
Groups of strategies Subgroups of strategies
Indirect strategies 1) creating opportunities for practice, 2) production tricks
c. Oxford's (1990)
Oxford divided language learning strategies into two main categories, direct and indirectstrategies which are also subdivided into six classes. 1. Direct strategies,
Direct Strategies which involve the new language directly, are divided into Memory, cognitive and compensation strategies. As Oxford's (1990) says, “all direct strategies require mental processing of the language” (p.37).
a) Memory strategies entail the mental processes for storing new information in the memory and for retrieving them when needed. These strategies consist of four sets that include:
∑ creating mental linkages,
∑ applying images and sounds,
∑ reviewing well, and ∑ employing action.
∑ practicing,
∑ receiving and sending messages,
∑ analyzing and reasoning, and
∑ creating structure for input and output.
c) Compensation strategies enable learnersto use the language either in speaking or writing despite knowledge gaps. These strategies are divided into two sets:
∑ guessing intelligently,
∑ overcoming limitations in speaking and writing.
According to Oxford's (1990), compensation strategies are employed by learners when facing a temporary breakdown in speaking or writing.
2. Indirect strategies
Indirect Strategies include metacognitive, affective and social strategies. Indirect strategies provide indirect support for language learning by employing different strategies such as focusing, arranging, evaluating, seeking opportunities, and lowering anxiety Oxford's (1990).
language task, looking for practice opportunities, self-monitoring and self evaluating.
b) Affective strategies assist students to manage their emotions, motivation, and attitudes associated with learning. They can be achieved through lowering anxiety, encouraging oneself, and taking emotional temperature.
c) Social strategies facilitate language learning through interactions with others. Language is a form of social behavior and learning it involves other people, and it is extremely important that learners employ appropriate social strategies in this process Oxford's (1990). These strategies are divided into three sets, namely:
∑ asking questions,
Creating mental linkages, applying images andsounds, reviewing well, employing action
Cognitive (They involve more direct manipulation of the learning material itself).
Indirect
Centering your learning, arranging and planningyour learning, evaluating your learning
Affective (They help students to regulate emotions, motivations and attitudes).
lowering your anxiety, encouraging yourself,taking your emotional temperature
Social (They help to learn through
interaction with others).
Asking questions, cooperating with others, empathising with others
d. Stern's (1992)
Language learning strategies have been classified into five groups by Stern's (1992). They are as follows:
1. Management and Planning Strategies
These strategies are actually connected with the learner's purpose to control his own learning. A learner has the capability to take responsibility for the improvement of his own planning when the language instructor supports him only as an adviser or a resource person. In other words the learner must:
∑ decide what dedications to make to language learning,
∑ set reasonable objectives,
∑ decide on a suitable methodology, select proper resources, monitor
progress, and
∑ evaluate his success based on previously determined objectives and
2. Cognitive Strategies
These strategies refer to procedures and activities which learners apply to improve their ability to learn or remember the materials, and solve the problems, especially those actions which learners use with specific classroom tasks. According to Stern (1992) the cognitive strategies include, Clarification / Verification, Guessing / Inductive Inferencing, Deductive Reasoning, Practice, Memorization, Monitoring.
3. Communicative - Experiential Strategies
Communication strategies, such as gesturing, paraphrasing, or asking for repetition and explanation are method employed by learners to keep the conversation going. In other words, communication strategies involve t he use of verbal or nonverbal instruments for the useful transfer of knowledge. The purpose is to avoid interrupting the course of communication.
4. Interpersonal Strategies
5. Affective Strategies
Evidently, in the process of language learning, good language learners use various kinds of affective strategies. Sometimes, it can be frustrating to learn another language. It can arouse feeling of unfamiliarity and confusion. In some other cases, learners might not have a positive perspective towards native speakers. On the other hand, good language learners are relatively aware of these emotions, and they try to build positive feelings towards the foreign language and its speakers as well as the learning activities. To a great deal, training can be of assistance to the students to face these controversial feelings and to overcome them by drawing attention to the possible frustrations or mentioning them as they come up (Stern, 1992).
e. Cohen & Weaver (2005)
Language-use strategies can be categorized into four subsets: 1) Retrieval strategies
2) Rehearsal strategies
Rehearsal Strategies is the conscious processes for practicing target language structures before using them. For example, before making a request to a teacher or a boss to be excused for the day, a student could prepare by rehearsing the subjunctive verb form. Some learners rehearse by repeating the pronunciation of a word or phrase out loud before using it to make sure that they are saying it correctly.
1. Communication strategies
can also include conversational interaction strategies such as asking for help, clarification or confirmation, and using fillers and other hesitation devices that are used by those fluent in the language. Learners use cover strategies to avoid looking unprepared.
2. Cover strategies
Cover Strategies is the conscious processes that learners use to create an appearance of language ability so as not to look unprepared, foolish, or even stupid. As a teacher you may spot students using a memorized and partially understood phrase in an utterance in a classroom drill to keep the action going, laughing at a joke that they clearly don’t understand, simplifying a phrase by using only the parts that can be dealt with easily, “complexifying” through an elaborate circumlocution to avoid using a particular verb form or an unknown vocabulary word,or pretending to understand new target language.
students, teachers are able to provide the appropriate learning strategies used by student in learning. Then further students also have benefit from this study presented. They will know the kinds of learning strategies they use and they are also able to evaluate themselves with the learning strategies.
C. Learning Writing Strategies
According to Collins (2006) Writing Strategies are cognitive and metacognitive procedures writers use to control the production of writing. Examples of Writing Strategies are decisions such as:
- Ideas : Showing instead of telling to clarify a report of an Event
- Organization : Using a phrase to connect paragraphs
- Voice : Inserting a personal story to engage reader empathy
- Word Choice : Changing a clichéto an original expression - Sentence Fluency : Using short sentences when action in a
story speeds up
- Conventions : Using a sentence fragment for effect
1. Self-Monitoring Strategies
Self-monitoring strategies mainly dealt with correcting mistakes by reading, rewriting, and noticing mistakes. It also included strategies to be aware of and correct which words or grammar rules give the greatest trouble, strategies of reading text regularly when writing to check the satisfaction of the work, strategies to remember the meanings of words or the patterns by writing them, and strategies to make sure that each sentence was accurate and perfect before writing another sentence.
2. Language-Focusing Strategies
Language-Focusing Strategies including such strategies as thinking about rhetorical steps, the use of language features, and communicative function of the text types when writing, writing various kinds of texts, such as descriptive, narrative, news item, etc. Moreover, Language-Focusing strategies also consisted of strategies of having attention to feedback given by teacher or friends, and strategies of having attention to the use of transition signal within paragraph to show unity of idea.
3. Planning Strategies
outline for the whole content and organization. Moreover, such strategies as trying to have a clear argument before writing, writing right away when the argument and the structure of ideas is clear also contributed to this strategies.
4. Metacognitive Affective Strategies
This Strategies involved strategies allowing students to control their personal feelings when writing, such as trying to relax whenever they feel afraid of using English in writing and giving themselves a reward or treat when they do well in writing. In addition, metacognitive awareness such as thinking about their progress in learning, having clear goals for improving their writing skill, and trying to find out how to be a better writer also provided high loadings to this strategies.
5. Cognitive Compensation Strategies
6. Self-Evaluating Strategies
Self-evaluating strategies dealt greatly with revising process of writing, such as strategies of having revision to improve the clarity, the style,and the content of the writing. Moreover, the layout of the content and the grammar were also the focus of revision.
7. Social Process-Focusing Strategies
Social Process-Focusing Strategies mainly concerned with socialaspects of learning such as discussing the topic with others, asking friends or teacher to correct, and asking for examples of how to use a word or expression in English providing high loadingsto this factor. Moreover, strategies of focusing on the writing process also contributed highloading to this strategies. These strategies included using pictures or other visual aids in writing,thinking about differences between English and Indonesian, and keeping editing while writing. As such, this factor was defined as social process-focusing strategies.
8. Authentic Practicing Strategies
9. Meaning-Focusing Strategies
The items were enormously concerned with meaning-based strategies, like trying to connect shorter sentences into longer sentence to clarify meaning, trying to use a lot of vocabularies, deleting or changing a word, a phrase, or a sentence when the meaning is not clear, trying to make use of complex grammatical structures, and memorizing proverbs or beautiful expressions to enhance and improve the writing.
10. Vocabulary Developing Strategies
This strategy dealt with vocabulary exposure, such as remembering a new English word by making a mental picture of a situation in which the word might be used, using new English words in sentences so that they can be remembered easily,using the English words in different ways, writing new English words several times, and trying to use correct punctuations when writing.
11. Metacognitive Commencement Strategies
12. Mental Processing Strategies
Mental processing strategies with four strategy items providing high loadings to it, including writing the main ideas first as a guideline, writing ideas bearing in mind, writing sentences to apply certain rules, and writing new material over and over.
From the twelve strategies, the researcher will use all the writing strategies to collect data by making all the strategies as a category in the intruments. For more clear information, the researcher makes a blueprint of all the strategies categories below:
Table 2.4
Learning English Writing Skill by Indonesian Senior High School Students” in 2014 at Arab World English Journal.
The research addresses three research objectives: (1) to identify learning strategies of writing skill used by senior high school students in Indonesia, (2) to measure the extent of use of the strategy categories, and (3) to study the differences in the use of the strategies by successful and less successful learners. The subjects of the study were 766 second year senior high school students in East Java, Indonesia.They were asked to complete a questionnaire of strategies of learning writing skill and a self-assessment.
E. Basic Assumption
Writing is a skill that is important in our lives, especially when students in learning English. Through writing students are able to improve vocabulary and grammatical and capable of enriching ideas. Writing also makes us more critical in assessing the new information so we can determine the truth or falsity of the information. But sometimes students feel difficulty while studying the writing itself. Students find it difficult to start writing or also they are confused by something that would be written. For that, some students have a way to solve their problems. One way to make writing easier by using existing strategy or the strategy of their own. Learning strategies is something means used by the students to make their learning process easier and easier also to be understood. This is very helpful in making students more easily in learning languages, especially writing in English. For that, it will be better to know all of the strategies that students use in learning writing English. This meant that by knowing the entire strategy used by students, teachers can adjust their teaching according to the characteristics of their students. So that the learning process will be more effective, more efficient and more easily understood by students.
F. Hyphothesis
