2011/2012 BASED ON THE WRITING EXERCISES OFENGLISH IN FOCUS,AN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADE VII PUBLISHED
BY BENGAWAN ILMU
A Final Project
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Bachelor of Islamic Education
In English Language Education
By
Khiaroh Mawardah Student Number: 073411040
TARBIYAH FACULTY
WALISONGOSTATE INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES SEMARANG
MOTTO
_____“Where there is a will, there is a way”_____
DEDICATION
I have the deepest excitement of dedicating this thesis to:
1 My beloved mother (Siti Anifah) and father (Abdullah Khozin), thanks
for giving me love, pray, support, advice, and everything, love you so
much.
2 My uncle (Drs. H. Musahadi, M.Ag) and my aunt (Dra. Hj. Mahmudah,
M.Pd.), thanks for giving me love, pray, support, advice, guidance and
everything during I stay in Semarang, love you so much.
3 My brothers (mas Kholid, mas Ni’am, de’ Shofi and de’ Roni), thanks for
your supports.
4 My closed friend Wakhidudin (MbahQ_Sy9), thanks for your love,
support, advice and motivation. Reach your best future, boy. Miss and
love you so much.
5 All of my friend in TBI 2007, especially they are in class B (Secha, Fany,
Hanami, Zazak, Sokhi, Reens, De2p, Gus Ecy’, etc.), Love You Guys.
You all are the best for me.
6 M. Abdul Aziz and Mb Nur Laila Hafidhoh, thanks for your support and
inspiration.
7 All of my family and friends who give spirit and motivation to the writer
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Bismillahirrohmanirrohim
The first of all, the writer would like to express his sincere thanks to almighty
Allah SWT who has given health, blessing, inspirations, and guidance to the writer in
finishing this thesis with the title: “Study on the Writings of the First Semester of 7th
Grade Students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in the Academic Year 2011/2012 Based
on the Writing Exercises of English in Focus, an English Textbook for Junior High
School Grade VII Published by Bengawan Ilmu”.
This thesis is arranged or made to fulfill one of requirements to get the degree
of Bachelor of Islamic Education in English Language Department of State Institute
for Islamic Studies Walisongo Semarang (IAIN Walisongo). The aim of this study to
know and describe how the writings of the first semester of 7th grade students of SMP
Negeri 18 Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises
of English in Focus, an English textbook for junior high school grade VII published
by Bengawan Ilmu are.
The writer realizes that she cannot complete this thesis the guidance, advice,
suggestion, and encouragement for many people during the writing on thesis. In
occasion, the writer would like to thank to:
1) The Dean of Tarbiyah Faculty of IAIN Walisongo Semarang Dr. Suja’i, M.Ag.
2) Mr. Daviq Rizal, M.Pd. as the first advisor who always gives attention and good
guidance in arranging this thesis.
3) Mr. Dr. H. Ruswan, M.A. as the second advisor who also gives attention and
good guidance in arranging this thesis.
4) The lectures of the English Department of Tarbiyah Faculty IAIN Walisongo
Semarang that have given knowledge and experiences to the writer.
5) The headmaster of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang, Mr. Drs. Ringsung Suratno, M.Pd
6) The english teacher of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang, Mr. Subihandono who helps the
writer during the research.
7) My beloved mother (Siti Anifah) and father (Abdullah Khozin), thanks for giving
me love, pray, support, advice and everything, love you so much.
8) My brothers (mas Kholid, mas Ni’am, de’ Shofi and de’ Roni), thanks for your
supports.
9) My uncle (Drs. H. Musahadi, M.Ag) and my aunt (Hj. Mahmudah, M.Pd.), thanks
for giving me love, pray, support, advice, guidance and everything during I stay in
Semarang, love you so much.
10)My closed friend Wakhidudin (MbahQ_Sy9), thanks for your love, support,
advice and motivation. Reach your best future, boy. Miss and love you so much.
11)All of my friend in TBI 2007, especially they are in class B (Secha, Fany,
Hanami, Zazak, Sokhi, Reens, De2p, Gus Ecy’, Aziz, etc.), Love You Guys. You
all are the best for me.
12)All of my family and friends who give spirit and motivation to the writer to finish
this thesis and everyone who helps the writer finishing this thesis.
Finally, the writer realizes that this thesis is still less perfect. The writer hopes
any suggestions and criticisms to make it perfect. The writer hopes this thesis can be
useful for the improvement of English teaching learning, especially for the writer
herself and for the readers generally.
The writer,
ABSTRACT
Title : “Study on the Writings of the First Semester of 7th Grade Students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in the Academic Year
2011/2012 Based on the Writing Exercises of English in
Focus, an English Textbook for Junior High School Grade VII Published by Bengawan Ilmu”
Writer : Khiaroh Mawardah Student’s Number : 073411040
The thesis discusses the analysis of the writings of the first semester of 7th grade students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises of English in Focus, an English textbook for Junior High School students grade VII published by Bengawan Ilmu based on content, grammar and vocabulary aspects. The background of study is the importance of a good textbook for a guide in teaching and learning process, and writing exercises are one of the content of textbook to improve the students’ writing skill. This study is aimed at responding
the following question: how are the writings of the first semester of 7th grade students
of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises of English in Focus, an English textbook for junior high school grade VII published by Bengawan Ilmu?
The topic is discussed through the field research in 7th grade students at SMP
Negeri 18 Semarang. The data was gathered through a documentation study and a
test. There were eight classes of 7th grade at SMP 18 Negeri Semarang but the writer
took 1 class to do the writing test. All data then were analyzed using the descriptive analysis applying data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing.
The study shows that there are 199 results of students’ writing based on the writing exercises of English in Focus. Students could do writing exercises on excellent to very good level in term of content, grammar and vocabulary aspects but not at all. It can be concluded that the students had more understanding in vocabulary and content aspects; however, in grammar aspect they tend to less concern on the English grammatical which little bit differs from grammar of their mother language. If they want to master writing, they should master three of aspects perfectly so that their writing will be more understandable.
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE …………...………. i
THESIS STATEMENT ………….………... ii
RATIFICATION NOTE ……….. iii
ADVISOR NOTE ……… iv
MOTTO ………vi
DEDICATION ………vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ………..………. viii
ABSTRACT ………..………... x
TABLE OF CONTENT ………xi
LIST OF TABLE ………. xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES ………. xv
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION A.Background of the Study ………. 1
B.Reasons for Choosing the Topic ………. 4
C.Statement of the Problem ………. 5
D.Objective of the Study ………..……… 5
E.Significance of the Study ………. 6
CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A.Writing ……….. 7
B.Writing Exercise ………... 13
C.Materials of English Writing ……… 21
D.Textbook of Writing ………. 26
1. Definition of textbook ………. 26
2. The role of textbook ……… 27
3. Different kinds of textbook ………. 28
E.The 2006 English Curriculum (KTSP) ……… 30
F.Previous Research ……… 33
CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHOD A. Type of the Research ……...……... 35
B. Time and Place ………...………. 36
C. Population and Sample ……… 37
D. Technique of Data Collection ………. 37
E. Technique of Data Analysis ……… 41
1. Data reduction ………... 41
2. Data display ……….. 42
3. Conclusion drawing/verification ………. 43
CHAPTER IV : RESULT AND ANALYSIS
A. The Analysis of the Writings of the First Semester of
7th Grade Students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in the
Academic Year 2011/2012 Based on the Writing
Exercises of English in Focus, an English textbook
for Junior High School Students Grade VII Published
by Bengawan Ilmu in Term of Content, Grammar and
Vocabulary Aspects ……….…………... 44
B. The Description of the Writings of the First Semester
of 7th Grade Students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in
the Academic Year 2011/2012 Based on the Writing
Exercises of English in Focus, an English Textbook
for Junior High School Grade VII Published by
Bengawan Ilmu in Term of Content, Grammar and
Vocabulary Aspects ………..………...
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND CLOSING
A. Conclusions ………. 92
B. Suggestions ………. 93
C. Closing ……… 94
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.2 Scoring Guidance of Writing Aspect, 17
Table 3.4 The Elements of Writing Assessment, 38
Table 4.1 The Elements of Writing Assessment, 44
Table 4.1.1 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 3 on Page 15 Chapter 1, 49
Table 4.1.2 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 4 on Page 15 Chapter 1, 55
Table 4.1.3 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 2 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 58
Table 4.1.4 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 3 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 67
Table 4.1.5 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 4 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 76
Table 4.1.6 Analysis of the Writing Based on the Writing Exercise of Practice 3 on Page 54 Chapter 3, 80
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendic 1 Instruments of Research, 1
Appendic 2 Syllabus of the 7th Grade Students of SMP 18 Negeri Semarang, 8
Appendic 3 List of Students’ Name of 7F Class of SMP 18 Negeri Semarang, 10
Appendic 4 Students’ Writing of Practice 3 on Page 15 Chapter 1, 12
Appendic 5 Students’ Writing of Practice 4 on Page 15 Chapter 1, 15
Appendic 6 Students’ Writing of Practice 2 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 17
Appendic 7 Students’ Writing of Practice 3 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 20
Appendic 8 Students’ Writing of Practice 4 on Page 36 Chapter 2, 22
Appendic 9 Students’ Writing of Practice 3 on Page 54 Chapter 3, 24
Appendic 10 Students’ Writing of Practice 4 on Page 55 Chapter 3, 29
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
According to Celce and Olshtain in their book, Discourse and Context in
Language Teaching, explain that writing is production of the written word that
results in a text but the text must be read and comprehended in order for
communication to take place.1 So, writing skill are specific abilities which help
writers put their thoughts into words in a meaningful form and to mentally
interact with the message.
Ramelan says, “Like walking or cycling, writing is a matter of habit. The
acquisition of any habit is accomplished through repeating and untiring practice
on the part of learning”.2 It means that the writing skill can be mastered through
repeating action and practicing continually of the skill. However, Richards says
that writing is “decontextualized” and must provide its own context, expressing
meaning explicity.3 Writing is like drawing idea in the paper by means of letter.
We can transfer our idea into writing work so that our idea will not be lost.
Therefore, writing can be considered as a means of communication.
Communication in writing tends to involve a thinking process. Finnochiaro said
that writing has been characterized as written thinking.4 It means that writing is a
way to produce language that comes from our thought. It can be written on a
paper, computer or other electronic media.
1 Marianne Celce and Murcia Elite Olshtain, Discourse and Context in Language Teaching,
(USA: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 142
2 Ramelan, English Phonetics, (Semarang: UNNES Press, 2003), p. 4
3 Jack C. Richards, The Language Teaching Matrix, (USA: Cambridge University Press,
1999), p. 101
4 Marry Finnochiaro, English as a Second Language: from Theory to Practice, (New York:
Writing as one of four skills has always formed part of the syllabus in the
teaching of English. “Writing has always been used as a means of reinforcing
language that has been taught”.5 In other words, writing is a good way for
students who learn English. They can put their idea on paper be paying attention
on grammar rule and vocabulary.
Writing is an activity of developing ideas and feeling to produce an
arrangement sentence that comes from thought. Writing as one of four language
skills after listening, speaking and reading skills that is considered a difficult skill
because the students should fulfill some aspects in writing including content,
organization, purpose, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling in a balance way.
So, writing is not only a matter of expressing ideas in written form but also
concerns with grammar, vocabulary, knowledge about punctuation, conjunction,
preposition, and so on. However, writing is the activity or occupation of writing,
for example books, stories, or articles. We can take more times to think and
choose words in order to express our idea, thought, and feeling. We still can
make revision if it is not so clear to express what we intend to write.
When writing, students need more time to think. Teacher asks students to
focus on accurate language used and what ideas they will write. It can provoke
their language development. Teaching writing for junior high school is not easy
job, because the range of age of junior high school students varies between
thirteen to fifteen years old. They can be named teenagers. Therefore, we need to
choose materials selectively such as textbook, appropriate media, teaching
technique and soon inasmuch as teaching writing is not easy and complicated
skill.
5 Jeremy Harmer, How to Teach Writing, (England: Pearson Education Limited, 2004), p.
Because writing is the most complex skill to learn, teachers should take
seriously the writing exercises in the textbook that they use in the classroom. The
teachers should examine whether the writing exercises in the textbook could
improve the writing skills and they should observe whether the writing exercises
in the textbook could lead students to the goal as stated in curriculum or not. So
the teachers should be selective in choosing the textbook that will be used in the
classroom. The teachers should select the available textbook that is relevant to
the curriculum.
A textbook is the most important resource which teachers use in their
teaching. Therefore, the available of text book is essential in education. The
textbook has a great role in teaching and learning process. It is like a guide for
teacher in teaching and it can be a reference for learners in learning. English
language textbook is considered to be the course of the study, the guide on
methods of instruction and the source of language. The choise of an English
language textbook in language schools worldwide is often taken too lightly,
which can lead to serious repercussions for both teacher and learners. The
English language textbook should be able to adapt materials and exercises to be
suitable for the conditions.6 Thus, whatever the teaching method is used, a
teacher must make a textbook as guidance in the instruction because, basically,
other teaching resources, such as the internet, are originated from the role of the
book.
There are still some English senior high school textbooks which are not
based on principle of school based curriculum. For example, the writing
materials are not appropriate with the level and kind of education (level of
difficulty). English in Focus an English course for junior high school is the
compulsory textbook for seventh graders in teaching learning process. The
6 Razia Fakir Muhammad, “Effective Use of Textbook: Neglected Aspect of Education in
textbook published by Bengawan Ilmu, consists of three volumes, English in
Focus; an English course for junior high school for seventh graders, English in
Focus; an English course for junior high school for eighth graders, and English
in Focus; an English course for junior high school for ninth graders. The writer
conducts a research English in Focus; an English course for junior high school
for seventh graders because seventh graders are the first grade in junior high
school after elementary school.
The writer chooses SMP Negeri 18 Semarang because the school has
national standard. It forces the school to have good curriculum and teaching
learning facilities in all subjects taught. Basically, national standard school force
students and teacher to have good ability in English so the writer has assumption
that the students must be good in English. The other reason why the writer
chooses the school because it is also near from the writer’s house so that she
could run the research easily. It is also saving the time so the research could be
finished on time.
In fact, the 7th grade of the school used textbook of English in Focus so that
the writer can run the research. The textbook is used by the school to make
students have good standard in English. The textbook also has many kinds of
exercise to provide materials for students so the students will be able to develop
their understanding in English. Besides that, we need textbook which is
representative to involve skills in writing.
Based on the reasons above, in this research the writer wants to describe
the writings of the first semester of 7th grade students of SMP Negeri 18
Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises of
English in Focus, an English textbook for junior high school grade VII published
B. Reasons for Choosing the Topic
A numbers of considerations are proposed to show the importance of
conducting this study. The first, teaching foreign language is not easy for teacher.
Many factors influence the success of teaching learning foreign language. One of
the factors that affect it is the teaching materials including textbook. The second
is that learning writing is very complex. It can only be mastered by having a lot
of practice. Here, the writer wants to find out whether the textbook consists of
enough and appropriate exercise. The third is that the textbook is used by the
school to make students have good standard in English. The textbook also has
many kinds of exercise to provide materials for students so the students will be
able to develop their understanding in English. Besides that, we need textbook
which is representative to involve skills in writing. Therefore, it is important to
know whether the writing exercises in the textbook are appropriate with the
students’ need to improve their writing ability. The fourth is that exercise or
practice of the material is a something important to know the students’ ability in
achieving the material which is given. And the fifth is that SMP Negeri 18
Semarang because the school has national standard. It forces the school to have
good curriculum and teaching learning facilities in all subjects taught.
C. Statement of the Problem
This research guided though following major question:
“How are the writings of the first semester of 7th grade students of SMP Negeri
18 Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises of
English in Focus, an English textbook for junior high school grade VII published
by Bengawan Ilmu?”
This research is intended to meet the following objective: “to describe the
writings of the first semester of 7th grade students of SMP Negeri 18 Semarang in
the academic year 2011/2012 based on the writing exercises of English in Focus,
an English textbook for junior high school grade VII published by Bengawan
Ilmu.”
E. Significance of the Study
The result of this study is expected to be able to give the following benefit.
For English teachers, hopefully this research can give a reference to select a
suitable English textbook in term of writing exercises in the language teaching
process. Besides that, it can help teachers to know the students’ ability in writing.
For English textbook authors, it is hoped that in arranging a textbook, they
will present materials and exercises which are suitable with the ideal of textbook
materials.
And for students, hopefully this research can help students to practice more
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Writing
Writing is a creative process in transforming knowledge, idea, though, or
meaning into written language. Based on the writer’s view, it is one of the most
difficult courses in English Department. It focuses on transforming something
inside of mind into written language. Every student tends to have different
written language style. Grammar of a language including its rules such as
punctuation, capitalization, word order, and etc. is a part of written language
elements. Different with consonant writing system, alphabetic writing system
such as English concerns on presenting all kinds of humans’ language sounds.
However, space in alphabetic writing system is used to vary each word within a
language1
Writing gives possibility to students to explore their idea inside their minds
and transform it into real functional communication between her/him as writer
and her /his reader.2 It means that through writing, learners can express thought,
feeling, ideas, experience, etc. to convey specific purpose. The purpose is to give
someone information.
Moreover, Ramelan declares that writing is very important as a part of man’s culture because it can be used it preserve thoughts, ideas, and speech
sound.3 From this statement, it can conclude that the people use writing as a
means of recording what people want to store in the form of written language
(e.g. a lot of great people or philosophers’ ideas in the past). It is so because of
1 Victoria Fromkin, An Introduction to Language, (Boston: Heinle and Thomson, 2003),
p.559
2 Richard Kern, Literacy and Language Teaching, (New York: Oxford University Press,
2000), p.172
our limited remembrance. Besides that, people can also bring about money from
writing (e.g. authors, journalists, etc.).
Usually if we want to write something or transform our idea into written
language we have to understand process of writing. Process of writing has
several which we have to do in order that our writing can be easy to understand
and also well-structured. Process of writing is learning how to write by writing,
or to note. This current emphasis in writing instruction focuses on the process of
creating writing rather than the end product. The basic premise of process writing
is that all students, regardless of age, can write. The initial focus is on creating
quality content and learning writing skill. Whether we know it or not, there’s a
process to writing – which many writers follow naturally. If we are just getting
started as a writer, though, or if we always find it a struggle to produce an essay,
short story or blog, following the writing process will help. When writing,
students work through the stages of the writing process. The creation of writing
occurs in basically five stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
publishing.4
Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage. Drafting refers to time
spent composing a rough draft. Revising is the process of improving the draft.
Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then
make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers. Editing is
the process of correcting mechanical errors. Publishing, or sharing, is
accomplished in a wide variety of ways when the work is in final form. Student
of all agesmove back and forth among these stages while writing; the stages are
not lockstep or sequential.5
According to Meyers, another acts or process of writing includes six
steps. The first action when we are going to write is exploring ideas. This action
4
Ali Hale, ”The Writing Process”, http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-writing-process/ on Thursday 16 December 2010
lets your mind explore freely about the topic you will write, but in exploring
ideas, the writers should focus on the explorations, including something to write
(subject), reason why you write (purpose), and also the person who will read the
writing (audience). Just try to find the subject those are most interesting for the
audiences. In choosing the subject, the writers must know and care about this
subject. This can make the writing more clearly and the writer can explore the
writing confidently in the paper. After determining the subject, the writers should
know the purpose of writing. Usually, the writer’s purpose is to give information
about the subject. When exploring ideas, the writers think about the audiences
too. The subject and the purpose also depend on the audiences. The writers might
need to explain a lot to readers who is never heard of your subject, but just
explain much less to the readers who know about the subject well.6
The second action is pre-writing. After exploring the idea, it is time to
write the thought on paper. In this step don’t worry about grammar, exact word
choice, spelling or punctuation, because maybe there will be a changing of mind
and wording later. This process includes 3 ways, brainstorming, clustering, and
free-writing. You may use one way or more. One way to capture the thought is by
brainstorming, or listing thought as they come to you. This brainstorming might
happen for second or third time to generate more ideas. Besides brainstorming,
the writers also can use clustering to generate ideas. This may looks like branches.
Writing the subject in the middle of the paper and then circle it. Then, just write
related ideas and connect then to the subject circled. To make the thought more
complex, writers can enlarge the branches wider. And the last way of pre-writing
is free-writing. In this way, the form of writing is like the spoken style. Ignoring
the sentences structure, spelling, logic and grammar is allowed. Let the words and
sentences flow naturally. This can make the ideas down fast from your mind. If
6Alan Meyers, Gateways to Academic Writing Effective Sentence, Paragraphs, and Essays,
the writing in free-writing disorganized, it is understandable because later, like
brainstorming and clustering, writers can look at, expand on, change or omit the
words or sentences.7
After the writers do the three ways of pre-writing, now it is the time to
start organizing the writing. Before organizing the writing, the writer should think
again about the purpose and the audience, and then return to the pre-writing step.
Start to select and subtract the best ideas in brainstorming, clustering or
free-writing which have made before by underlining, highlighting or giving circle on
it. Then, rewrite the list and putting the related idea together. Add those best ideas
more complex with expanding the related ideas and focus more specifically on the
subject and add more details. After deciding the best ideas, then make an outline
about the ideas include some supporting details under each choices. Ignore the
parts or ideas which not have correlation with the ideas chosen.8
After the writers do some pre-writing, selecting the best ideas, expanded
them and arranged in some reasonable orders, now the writers can begin the first
draft. Just write fast to record the thoughts. Write just like speak to the readers.
The writers could say something aloud before write in order to remember the
point. New ideas will come up later, and the writer may discover a better
arrangement of new ideas. If an idea occurs that belongs earlier in the draft, make
a note about it in the margin, write it in the second sheet of paper or if you use
computer just click the mouse at the spot where you want to insert it. If using the
paper, try to use only one side of paper and for other side used for space for new
ideas. Or leave wide margins and double space to make room for changes.9
7 Alan Meyers, Gateways to Academic Writing Effective Sentence, Paragraphs, and Essays,
p. 6
8 Alan Meyers, Gateways to Academic Writing Effective Sentence, Paragraphs, and Essays,
p. 8
9 Alan Meyers, Gateways to Academic Writing Effective Sentence, Paragraphs, and Essays,
Every writer has to revise his/her writing after finished writing the first
draft. Revising is among the most important steps of writing. After completing
the first draft, just put it away for a while. Because it is hard to think about
changing and correcting the work immediately after finished the first draft. Better
ideas may come to you the day after you have done the first draft. You also will
probably notice more things to change. Read the paragraph carefully and study
its organization, word choice, and details. In this action the writers probably will
find things to omit and think of some things to add. The writers are expected to
add ideas, remove ideas that do not fit, rearrange sections, say sentences
differently and substitute words. It is automatically that the writing is messy, so
the writers should make a clean copy before going any further. The writers have
to be sure about their writing. They must revise in many times until they are
satisfied or even proud what they have produced. After the writers finished
revising the paragraph, they can begin the final copy. First of all, the writers
should edit their work. Check it carefully on the grammar, word choice, verb
forms, punctuation and spelling. Writers can edit their paragraph by the help of
dictionary and other related references. Read the paper more than once. This
draft should be neat and should represent your best effort. Secondly, writers
should proofread their writing. Proofreading means that carefully examining the
final copy again. Check the corrections which have done. The writers can use
tools to focus in reading, in example using ruler under each line to focus the
eyes.10
Widdowson says that in the case of writing, the movements of the arm and
fingers produce marks which are perceived by the eye.11 To make the writing
well-organized, every writings must have the characteristic of coherence,
cohesion and unity. The paragraph has coherence when the sentences are put in
10 Alan Meyers, Gateway to Academic Writing Effective Sentence, Paragraphs, and Essays, p.
11
11 H. G. Widdowson, Teaching Language as Communication, (Oxford: Oxford University
together so that the reader can understand the ideas easily. Then, cohesion is
when all the supporting sentences in the paragraph connect to each other and
support their topic sentence. In connecting one sentence with others, writer can
use cohesive devices. Cohesive devices mean the method of connecting
sentences to each other. They are connectors, definite articles, personal pronouns
and demonstrative pronouns. The last is unity. Unity here means that all
supporting sentences should relate to topic sentence. If readers find one or more
sentences which do not belong to the paragraph, it can be called as irrelevant
sentence.12
From the explanations above show that writing is a creative process in
transforming either knowledge, idea, though, or meaning into written language.
Based on the writer’s view, it is one of the most difficult courses in English
Department. It focuses on transforming something inside of mind into written
language. Every student tends to have different written language style. Writing is
the series of lesson which writing becomes a subject study. It is aimed at
preparing knowledge about basic principle of writing. Teacher gives writing
knowledge, showing how to do it, and instructing students as the teacher’s idea.
Teacher’s idea is related with the teaching process, especially at teaching model.
The writing skill meets the growing need for writer with training in
application of the theoretical frame work to writing performance. The skill links
the development of expertise in intermediate or advanced writing skills with
critical discussion of theoretical frame work of writing. In addition, the teacher
encourages the development of extensive understanding of notion integration.
Meanwhile, writing is as solution for getting new information from the original language. It happens because students in our country are second language writing
students of English. It means that English as major in our writing course is not
our mother language. It is the teacher’s problem when teaching writing skill. In
12 Cynthia A. Boardman and Jia Frydenberg, Writing to Communicate 2: Paragraphs and
learning foreign language, the most complicated skill that has to be mastered by
learner of language. Because of the differences between first language and
foreign language, especially English, Indonesian students often find problems in
writing using English. It is because writing needs more considerations rather than
three other skills because of the different rules in the way of ordering word into
understandable sentences. It is because writing perquisites students to master the
grammar of language. Without grammar, it is hard for people to understand what
we write because grammar makes a string of words meaningful.
Students are expected to create written product that demonstrates the
mastery of all elements. To be successful, students have to write in some steps.
They will write a phrase, a clause, and sentences correctly when they know the
words order. Afterwards, by using sentences, they are able to communicate a
message using writing system for some purposes, i.e. to give or respond to
information, to record a piece of information, etc.
B. Writing Exercise
Learning English is directed to the development of communication
competence in four language skills; listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Speaking and listening are said to relate to language expressed through the aural
medium and reading and writing are said to relate to language expressed through
the visual medium. Another way of representing these skills is by reference not
to the medium but to the activity of the language user. Thus speaking and writing
are said to be active, or productive skills whereas listening and reading are said to
be passive, or receptive skills.13 All the skills that we learn must be supported by
appropriate exercises.
13 H. G. Widdowson, Teaching Language as Communication, (Oxford: Oxford University
In practice of exercise, there are two kinds of the practice exercise14, they
are: controlled exercise, and guided exercises. Controlled exercise is a practice
exercise in which the learners are told exactly what to do and how to do it. It is
hoped that nearly all the learners will get nearly all the exercise right and will
therefore develop correct habits and gain useful knowledge about the language.
And guided exercise is practice exercise and which the learners are told what to
do and then are given advice on how to do it. The learners have to make same
decisions of their own and to create some of their own expressions. For example:
“Write a paragraph saying which towns you have visited since coming to
Britain. Remember to use the present perfect when you do not refer to a
particular time and the simple past when you do refer to a particular time.
E.g. I have been to Stratford twice. I went there during my first weekend
in England and I went again last weekend.”
Besides that, there are three main approaches to arrange a task in term of
contain of ability15, they are: discrete point testing, communicative tests, and
combination between discrete test and communicative test. Firstis discrete point
testing that means a test which is aims to provide very specific information about
learners’ abilities in particular skills or in a particular language area. This type of
test focuses on one item at a time and therefore tests knowledge of it rather than
ability to use it in real situations. Discrete point testing concentrates on testing
separately different language items and language skills (e.g. grammar, sound
discrimination, listening with comprehension, and writing) and by combining the
result of a number of separate tests or test items build up a picture of the
student’s level of English.
14 Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting ELF Teaching Materials, (London:
Heineman Educational Press,1984), p. 82
Second is communicative test means a test designed to discover the
learners’ abilities to communicate in English rather than to test their knowledge
of particular language items or aspects of the language.16 For example17:
- Now make a paragraph consist list of things in your bedroom or in your
kitchen!
- Write your own messages and announcements!
And the last is combination between discrete test and communicative test.18
For example19:
- Observe the following pictures. Then, work in pairs to list the things in
pictures 1 and 2!
- List the things in your bedroom and your kitchen. Compare your work
with your friend’s!
Therefore, Nunan offers an almost identical list of writing exercise with
slightly titles including; first, goals mean that every exercise which is given to
learner has a purposes or goal about to measure the students’ achievement.
Second, Input means that exercise or assignment is given for students based on
input or materials which are learned by them. Third, Activity means that exercise
has a certain instruction as the guide for students in doing task activity. Fourth,
teacher role20 means that exercise has a certain instruction as the guide for
teachers in monitoring of students’ activity. Fifth, learner role means exercise has
16 Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting., p. 56
17 Artono Wardiman, et. al., English in Focus for Grade VII of Junior High School
(SMP/MTs), (Semarang: PT. Bengawan Ilmu, 2008), 1st Ed., p. 15
18 Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting., p. 56 19 Artono Wardiman, et. al., English in Focus., p. 36
20 Martin Parrot says that the teacher’s task may summarized as; First, to assess the students
aims and learning style, their like and dislike, their strengths and their weakness. Second, to decide what methods and materials are most appropriate given aims of the syllabus, and third, to decide whatever to use, adapt, replace, or supplement the method and materials use in the textbook. See
a guided for students in arrange what the students have to do and what their role
in doing activity. Sixth, settings means that exercise has a guided in the teaching
learning setting, whether it is done either in group or in personal.
We turn once again to a taxonomy of micro- and macroskills that will assist
you in defining the ultimate criterion of an assessment procedure. The earlier
micro skills apply more appropriately to imitative and intensive types of writing
exercise, while the macroskills are essential for the successful mastery of
responsive and extensive writing. Microskills21 include criteria as follow; the first
is producing graphemes and orthographic patterns of English. The second is
producing writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose. Third is
producing an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns.
The fourth is using acceptable grammatical systems (e.g. tense, agreement and
pluralization), patterns and rules. The fifth is expressing a particular meaning in
different grammatical forms. The sixth is using cohesive devices in written
discourse.
Macroskills22 include criteria as follow; the first is using the rhetorical
forms and conventions of written discourse. The second is appropriately
accomplishing the communicative functions of written texts according to form
and purpose. The third is conveying links and connections between events and
communicate such relations as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given
information, generalization and exemplification. The fourth is distinguishing
between literal and implied meanings when writing. The fifth is correctly
conveying culturally specific references in the context of the written text. The
sixth is developing and using a battery of writing strategies, such as
accurately assessing the audience’s interpretation, using prewriting devices,
21 H. Douglas Brown, Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices, (New
York: Pearson Education, 2004), p. 221
writing with fluency in the first drafts, using paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting
peer and instructor feedback, and using feedback for revising and editing.
Therefore, four categories of written performance that capture the range of
written production are considered here.23 Each category resembles the categories
defined for the other three skills, but these categories, as always, reflect the
uniqueness of the skill area.
The first category is imitative. It means that to produce written language,
the learner must attain skills in the fundamental, basic tasks of writing letters,
words, punctuation, and very brief sentences. This category includes the ability to
spell correctly and to perceive phoneme-grapheme correspondences in the English
spelling system. It is a level at which learners are trying to master the mechanics
of writing. At this stage, form is the primary if not exclusive focus, while context
and meaning are of secondary concern.24
The second category is intensive (controlled). It means that beyond the
fundamentals of imitative writing are skills in producing appropriate vocabulary
within a context, collocations and idioms, and correct grammatical features up to
the length of a sentence. Meaning and context are of some importance in
determining correctness and appropriateness, but the most assessment tasks are
more concerned with a focus on form, and are rather strictly controlled by the test
design.25
The third category is responsive. Here, assessment tasks require learners to
perform at a limited discourse level, connecting sentences into a paragraph and
creating a logically connected sequence of two or three paragraphs. Tasks respond
to pedagogical directives, lists of criteria, outlines and other guidelines. Genres of
writing include brief narratives and descriptions, short reports, lab reports,
summaries, brief responses to reading, and interpretation of charts or graphs.
Under specified conditions, the writer begins to exercise some freedom of choice
among alternative forms of expression of ideas. The writer has mastered the
fundamentals of sentence-level grammar and is more focused on the discourse
conventions that will achieve the objectives of the written text. Form-focused
attention is mostly at the discourse level, with a strong emphasis on context and
meaning.26
And the last category is extensive. Extensive writing implies successful
management of all the processes and strategies of writing for all purposes, up to
the length of an essay, a term paper, a major research project report, or even a
thesis. Writers focus on achieving a purpose, organizing and developing ideas
logically, using details to support or illustrate ideas, demonstrating syntactic and
lexical variety, and in many cases, engaging in the process of multiple drafts to
achieve a final product. Focus on grammatical form is limited to occasional
editing or proofreading of a draft.27
Nevertheless, for scoring writing there are five aspects28, which are used as
consideration in scoring. They are content, organization, vocabulary, language use
(grammar), and mechanics. The scoring guidance is as follows:
Table 2.2 Scoring Guidance of Writing Aspect
Categories Score Criteria
26 H. Douglas Brown, Language Assessment., p. 220 27 H. Douglas Brown, Language Assessment., p. 220
28 Sara Cushing Weigle, Assessing Writing, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002),
30-27 Excellent to very good: knowledgeable; substantive; thorough; development of thesis; relevant to assigned topic.
26-22 Good to average: some knowledge of subject; adequate range; limited development of thesis; mostly relevant to topic, but lacks detail.
21-17 Fair to poor: limited knowledge of subject; little substance; inadequate development of topic.
Content
16-13 Very poor: does not show knowledge of subject; non-substantive; not pertinent.
20-18 Excellent to very good: fluent expression; ideas clearly stated/ supported; succinct; well-organized; logical sequencing; cohesive.
17-14 Good to average: somewhat choppy; loosely organized but main ideas stand out; limited support; logical but incomplete sequencing.
13-10 Fair to poor: non-fluent; ideas confused or disconnected; lacks logical sequencing and development.
Organization
9-7 Very poor: does not communicate; no organization.
20-18 Excellent to very good: sophisticated range; effective word/idiom choice and usage; word from mastery; appropriate register.
17-14 Good to average: adequate range; occasional errors of word/idiom form; choice; usage but meaning not obscured.
Vocabulary
9-7 Very poor: essentially translation; little knowledge of English vocabulary, idioms, word form.
25-22 Excellent to very good: effective complex construction; few errors of agreement, tense, number, word order/ function, articles, pronouns, prepositions.
21-18 Good to average: effective but simple constructions; minor problems in complex constructions; several errors of agreement, tense, number, word order/ function, articles, pronouns, prepositions but meaning seldom obscured.
17-11 Fair to poor: major problems in simple/complex constructions; frequent errors of negation, agreement, tense, number, word order/ function, articles, pronouns, preposition and fragments, run-ons, deletions; meaning confused or obscured.
conventions; few errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing.
4 Good to average: occasional errors of spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, but meaning not obscured.
3 Fair to poor: frequent errors of spelling, punctuation,
capitalization, paragraphing; poor handwriting; meaning confused
Mechanics
2 Very poor: no mastery of conventions; dominated by
C. Materials of English Writing
Representative sample of the specified content includes material that is
language instruction which has five important components, the component are
student, a teacher, materials, teaching method, and evaluation. Materials are an
important resource for teacher in assisting students to learn English. Material has
a role as one of the main instrument for shaping knowledge, attitude, and
principles of our young people. For most teachers, materials provide the
foundation for the contents of lesson, the balance of the skill taught, as well as
the kinds of language practice the students engage during the class activities. In
teaching learning process of English writing skill, students are the center of the
instruction. But in many cases, teachers and students rely on materials of English
writing, and the materials of English writing become the center of the
instructions. It is because of the teacher is busy and do not have the time or
inclination to prepare extra materials, textbook and other commercially produced
those materials of English writing are very important in language instructor.
Therefore, it is important for teachers to know how to choose the best materials
of English writing for instruction, how to make supplementary materials for the
class, and how to adapt materials of English writing.29
Materials development is the planning process by which a teacher creates
units and lessons within those units to carry out the goals and objectives of the
course. In a sense, it is the process of making syllabus more and more specific.
However, because a teacher does not have responsibility for choosing materials,
does not mean that she cannot exercise creativity in using them. Teachers can be
29 Kitao, Adapting Materials, retrieved from http://iteslj.org/articles/kitao-materials.html. 4
involved in materials development from the moment they pick up a textbook and
reach from it. This is because a teacher will inevitably have to make decisions
about how long to spend on certain activities, which ones to skip or assign for
homework if there isn’t enough time, which ones to modify so that they are
relevant to that particular group of students.30
For a teacher designing a course, materials development means creating,
choosing or adapting and organizing materials and activities so that students can
achieve the objectives that will help them reach the goals of the course.31 And in
organizing a course involves five overlapping processes: 1) determining the
organizing principle(s) that drive(s) the course (e.g. themes, genres, tasks); 2)
identifying the course units (units, modules, or strands) based on the organizing
principle(s); 3) sequencing the units; 4) determining the language and skills
content of the units; 5) organizing the content within each unit.32
Based on Brian Tomlinson in his book Materials Development in
Language Teaching, there are some basic principles which relevant with
materials development in second language acquisition.33 They are twelve
categories. The first is material of English writing that should achieve impact.
Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable effect on learners that is
when the learners’ curiosity, interest and attention are attracted. Writing material
exercise can achieve impact through: novelty (e.g. unusual topic, illustration, and
activities), variety (e.g. breaking up the monotony of a unit routine with an
unexpected activity, using many different text types taken from many different
types of source ,etc.), attractive presentation (e.g. use attractive color, lot of white
space, use photograph), and appealing content. The second is that materials of
30 Kathleen Graves, Designing Language Courses: a Guide for Teacher, (Canada: Newbury
House Teacher Development), p. 149
31 Kathleen Graves, Designing Language Courses: a Guide for Teacher, p. 150 32 Kathleen Graves, Designing Language Courses: a Guide for Teacher, p. 125
33 Brian Tomlinson, Materials Development in Language Teaching, (Cambridge: Cambridge
English writing should help learners to feel at ease. Materials of English writing
can help learners to feel at ease in number of ways. For example, first, feel more
comfortable with materials of English writing with lots of white space than they
do with materials in which lots of different activities are crammed together on the
same page. Second, are more at ease at ease with texts and illustration that they
can relate to their own culture? Third, are more relaxed with materials of English
writing which are obviously trying to help them learn than they are with
materials which always test them.
The third is materials of English writing that should help learners to
develop confidence. Most materials of English writing developers recognize the
need to help learners to develop confidence but many of them attempt to do so
through a process of simplification. The fourth is what is being taught should be
perceived by learners as relevant and useful. When we teach we don’t forget to
relate our materials of English writing with something that occurs in the students
environment so that they can be easy to understand the material previously given.
The fifth is that materials of English writing should require and facilitate learners
self-investment. We are as teacher also the servant of our students and
absolutelly we have to fasilitate and require good material of English writing
which can grow the ability and capability of students. It means we invest
knowledge which students can improve in the next meeting. The sixth is that
materials of English writing should expose the learners to language in authentic
use. Materials of English writing can provide exposure to authentic input through
the advice they give, the instruction for their activities and the spoken and written
text they include.34
However, the seventh is that materials should provide the learners with
opportunities to use the target language to achieve communicative purposes.
Interaction or communication can be achieved through, for example: first,
information or opinions gap activities which require learners to communicate
with each other and the teacher in order to close the gap. Second, post- listening
and post reading activities require the learners to use information from the text to
achieve a communicative purpose. Third, it is creative writing and creative
speaking activities. Fourth, it is formal instruction given in the target language
either on the language itself or on another subject.
The eighth is that materials should take into account that the positive effect
of instruction are usually delayed. Absolutelly we have to take into account that
we are as teachers need to understand how our material can affect our students in
order that they can achieve maximum result in their learning especially in writing
class. The ninth is that materials should take into account that learners differ in
learning styles. Styles of learning which need to be catered for in language
learning materials include: visual (e.g. the learner prefers to see the language
written down), auditory (e.g. the learner prefers to hear the language),
kinaesthetic (e.g. the learner prefers to do something physical, such as following
instructions), studial (e.g. the learner likes to pay conscious attention to the
linguistic features of the language and wants to be correct), experiental (e.g. the
learner likes to use the language and is more concerned with communication than
with correctness), analytic (e.g. the learner prefers to focus on discrete bits of the
language and to learn them one by one), global (e.g. the learner is happy to
respond to whole chunks of language at a time and to pick up from them
whatever language she can), dependent (e.g. the learner prefers to learn from
teacher and from a book) and independent (e.g. the learner is happy to learn from
their own experience of the language and to use autonomous learning
strategies).35
The tenth is that materials should permit a silent period at the beginning
instruction. As human beings students have maximum capability in doing such
thing so that we have to know it. They need time to take a rest in order that they
can have spirit and new idea in continuing the lesson. So, we have to give them
time to take a breath. The eleventh is that materials should maximize learning
potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement which
stimulates both right and left brain activities. In second language acquisition,
providing interisting materials can give positive effect in encouraging students to
do the best things. So, we have to be selective in choosing materials so that we
can maximize their capabilities, abilities, and interests in the lesson we teach.
The twelfth is that materials should not rely too much on controlled practice. We
have to give material that can make studens freely think and elabote their idea in
order that they will not feel bored. It can be enjoyable. And the thirteenth is that
materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback. Providing good
mterials also means that we give students apportunity to share their difficulties in
their learning suh lesson.36
As we discussed before, materials should support for learning, this can take
the form of vocabulary list, exercise which cover or expand the content, etc. The
equipment of teaching such as photos, visual materials and has become important
component of language teaching materials, and they are becoming easier to
obtain. Materials are getting complicated, and instructional philosophy,
approach, method, and technique are getting more important.
Though there are five elements in language instruction, learners should be
center of the instructions. However, materials often control the instruction, since
teachers and learners tend to rely heavily on them. Materials that is appropriate
for a special class need to have underlying instructional philosophy, approach,
method, and technique which suit the students and their needs. They should have
correct, natural, current and Standard English. Teacher need to look for good
materials.
In these explanations above, the writer wants to focus on materials of
English writing because the writer’s study is on materials of English writing. The
teacher has to maximize the book so that the teaching-learning process of writing
can be maximum result and can give significant result. The result of this study
hopefully can give elaboration of the advantages this book.
D. Textbook of Writing
1. Definition of textbook
As we know that books are the most important resources, which teacher
used in their daily teaching. Therefore, the available of textbook is essential in
education. A teacher must be able to select which textbook he or she should
use in the teaching and learning process, and how he should do with them.
Hornby defines “textbook is a book that gives instruction in a branch of
learning.”37 A textbook is to help the teacher in explaining the lesson and
make his or her students easier in understanding the lesson given. Each lesson
needs at least one textbook and a teacher may use some additional books to
support this textbook and to have his or her students discuss some materials
and exercises.
There is a relation between teacher and textbook. The relation between
teacher and textbook is important and at it is a partnership that share common
goals to which each side brings its special contribution.38 It means that the aim
of the textbook should correspond as closely as possible to the aim of the
teacher, and both should seek to meet the needs of the learners to the highest
degree. The partnership is helped when aims and objectives are well defined,
37 Hornby, A. S., Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1974), p. 893
38 Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting ELF Teaching Materials, (London:
and when the difference but complementary roles of the teacher and textbook
are clearly perceived and well balanced.
It is an interaction that can bring to reach teaching and learning aims.39
A textbook provides a plan for learning, a clear description of what is to be
learned in the classroom as a resource place of materials and exercises. The
textbook is best seen as a resource in gaining objectives that have already
been set in learners’ needs.
Textbook is used in different ways in language programs. For example,
a reading textbook might be the basis for a course on reading skills, providing
both a set of reading texts and exercise for skill a practice. A writing textbook
might provide model compositions and list of topic for students to write about.
A grammar textbook might serve as a reference book and provide examples as
well as exercise to develop grammatical knowledge. A speaking text might
provide passage for students to speak and discuss.
2. The Role of Textbook
A textbook has many functions for teachers in order to run the teaching
and learning process well, or it has an important role for students in teaching
and learning process. Grant in his book, Making The Most of your Textbook,
says that textbook has several useful jobs, there are as follows: the first, it can
identify what should be taught or learned, the second, it can indicate what
methods should be used, the third, it can provide materials needed, the fourth,
it can help the teacher to explain, the fifth, it can act as very useful learning-
aid for the students. 40
In line with it, According to Cunningworth, a textbook is best seen as a
resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in term of
learners needs. They should not determine the aims themselves or becomes
39 Alan Cunningworth, Evaluating and Selecting., p. 1
