ABSTRAK
Teaching Writing Descriptive Text by combining Collaborative Writing with Capitalization Overall-Appearance Punctuation Spelling Strategies at Junior High School
By:
Delvi Yanti *)
*) Dra. Yelliza, M. M.Pd. Staff Pengajar Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat
ABSTRACT
Dalam makalah ini membahas tentang bagaiana membangun keampuan siswa dalam menulis dengan menggunakan deskriptif teks dan siswa diharapkan dapat mengeluarkan idenya, serta berbagi ide dengan temannya. Disamping itu, penulis juga mengharapkan setelah siswa selesai menulis, siswa dapat mengetahui letak kesalahan-kesalahan dalam tulisan mereka. Sehingga mereka dapat memperbaiki dan memahami dengan baik tentang apa yang mereka tulis. Dalam makalah ini, penulis menggunakan penggabungan dua strategi, yaitu: Collaborative Writing (CW) dan Capitalization (huruf kapital, Overall-Appearance (tampilan secara keseluruhan), Punctuation (tanda baca), dan Spelling (ejaan). Strategi ini akan membantu meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam menulis teks. Jadi dalam strategi CW ini, siswa juga diberi kesempatan untuk memberi penilaian atau respon terhadap tulisan temannya. Hal ini dapat dibantu dengan menggunakan aturan dari COPS strategi. Siswa dapat melakukan pemeriksaan atau pengecekan tulisan dengan merevisi kesalahan-kesalahan yang terdapat dalam tulisan temannya, seperti pada penulisan huruf besar, penampilan dari keseluruhan paragraf, penggunaan tanda baca, dan pengecekan ejaan yang benar.
Setelah itu, siwa merevisi salinan yang benar berdasarkan hasil koreksi dan catatan dari temannya.
Dengan demikian, penggabungan strategi ini diharapkan dapat mencapai tujuan pembelajaran menulis, terutama dalam menulis descriptif teks pada siswa menengah pertama (SMP), dan dapat memperkaya kosakata siswa dalam rangka meningkatkan keahlian dalam bahasa Inggris lainnya.
Kata Kunci: Menulis, Deskriptif Teks, Collaborative Writing and Capitalization Overall Appearance Punctuation Spelling.
INTRODUCTION
Writing is a medium communication to explore ideas that will share to the readers based on the writers own. Writing activity is a communication indirectly, because in writing someone can communicate and express their ideas or opinion about something in written form. As we know, writing include as productive skills. In the last writing process, the teacher needs a product to know their students comprehension.
Writing is one of way to express the writers feel in written form. In writing, the writer can share their feeling to the readers. Here, the writer gets free to express their feeling about something, because writing is a media to convey feeling indirectly.
Many reasons that make students have problems in writing. The students get difficult to find the topic that will they write. Besides that, the students cannot develop their ideas. After that, the students have minim vocabulary, and the
students do not interest in learning writing. Actually, the students do not confidence with their writing, because the students do not know about the rules of writing well, for example: appropriate capitalization, punctuation correctly, and also spelling in writing.
In practice, at junior high school, in learning process the students learn many kinds of the text. One of them is descriptive text. Descriptive text is describing something, like: person, place and things. In descriptive text, the students must also learn about generic structure. This is useful to guide the students make a descriptive text well.
In fact, in writing activity, the students must know about spelling, capitalization, and punctuation correctly in writing process. The purpose is to make the students know about the function of using capital word in writing.
Then, students also know about appropriate punctuation in order to their writing can be well. Besides that, the students will be careful about spelling in their writing.
Based on the fact above, the teacher must find good strategy in teaching writing. The teachers can use Collaborative writing (CW) and Capitalization Overall Appearance- Punctuation Spelling (COPS) strategies as their strategies to teach writing in the class. Collaborative Writing (CW)
strategy has useful to make the students interest and the students can be creative in teaching writing. This strategy can be making the students more spirit in writing. After that, Capitalization Overall Appearance-Punctuation Spelling (COPS) strategy can use to help the students check their written with using COPS as roles. This strategy should interest in teaching writing.
REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
There are many definitions about writing. According to Nunan (2003:88) writing is the mental work of inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader. It means that the students can express their opinion, their feeling, their ideas and message in their written. They must organize their ideas into a paragraph that related between each sentences. It will make the sentences get the meaning and the reader will get easy to understand about the students written. Besides that, the students must deliver their purpose in order to the readers knows about what the students want to give to the readers. On the other hand, in the students written, the readers must get the information while they are reading. So, it will not get misunderstanding between the writer and
the readers, because writing is a communication indirectly.
Based on the theories and explanation above, the writer concludes that writing is a skill which means to understand the meaning of the students written. The students need full concentration in writing activity and the students must explore their ideas to the readers in written form to make the readers understand about what the students told in their written. Besides that, the students can also apply their knowledge in this activity. So, the students have ability in writing. It will make good relationship between the writer and the readers. As the result, it will help the writer to avoid misunderstanding with the readers.
1. Process of Writing
The students have different ways in writing process, because the students have variation skills one another. There are various skills from the students who found by the teachers, like: high skill, middle skill, and low skill.
In writing class, many process that will follow by the students.
According to Tribble (1996:19) writing process consists of four stages. There are:
(1) prewriting, (2) composing / drafting, (3) revising, and (4) editing. The meaning is the students must follow all of steps one by one. This is helping the students to make a good writing by guiding from
these stages. Besides that, the teacher can see their ability in writing class. Not only that, all of skill that has been taught by students must be responsibility in written form. As we know, writing activity is a product in learning process.
So, conclude from the explanation above that writing process is the students must apply about the students learn, such as grammar, vocabulary, and so on. Besides that, in writing activity the students can also teach about steps to write something.
Because of that, writing becomes final product among the other skills.
2. Teaching Writing
In teaching writing, there are several ways that can be used by students to make a good writing. Usually, the students must have ability in basic knowledge. In writing process, the students must do step by step to produce a good writing. In this case, the students’
needs full concentration to do.
In teaching writing activity, the students can convey their mind into written form. According to Caswell (2004:3) teaching writing is provides opportunities for students to develop clear thinking skills. When students are granted time to write and process their through, they develop an away to analyze their thinking. The meaning is the students can develop their ideas in their writing skills. Writing activity is one of
ways to explore their thinking and increase writing skill in teaching writing.
All of them must be mastered in writing activity. They can also develop their opinion, argument, and their feeling in teaching writing.
Based on the theories and explanation above, the writer concludes that teaching writing is a medium to transfer their ideas in written form. But, the students must follow rules, principles, and parts in writing. This is useful to relate about background knowledge that has been taught before. Not only that, they can be explorer their feeling while their written in teaching writing itself.
Descriptive Text
Before the students make a descriptive text, the students should be comprehended about descriptive text itself. Then, the students must know about generic structure of descriptive text.
1. Definition of Descriptive Text Before the students begin to write about something, the students must know about kinds of text. Here, the students will learn about descriptive text in teaching writing. There are some opinions by the experts about descriptive text.
Descriptive text is describing something, like person, place, animal, and thing. Mukarno, et al (2004:16) states
that descriptive text is describe something, someone, or place. It means that when the students saw an object, like person, place, or thing. The students can make assumption or perception about object that they saw in written form. Not only that, the students must collect about all of information from the object. With this way, the students can tell about the object in written form.
So, based on the explanation above, the writer concludes that descriptive text is described a person, place, or thing. The students will tell about the object from general to specific.
This make the readers can imagine about what they have written.
2. Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
In teaching writing descriptive text, the students learn about generic structure. This is so important to learn by students itself, because generic structure will helps students to organize their written. In this case, many experts explain about generic structure of descriptive text.
In descriptive text, the students will find about generic structure of descriptive text. Grace (2005:29) explains that generic structure of descriptive text consists of two parts. The first one is identification. Identify phenomenon to be described. The second one is description, to describe parts,
quantities, and characteristic. The meaning is the students must know about each part, because it can help students in writing process. This is guiding the students to make descriptive paragraph to be well.
So, based on the explanation above, the writer concludes that descriptive text has structure identification and description. All of them have different characteristic and students must know about it. Besides that, these structures can help students to make paragraph descriptive in writing class.
Collaborative Writing (CW) Strategy Collaborative Writing is a strategy that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. This strategy can help the teacher to teach writing skill in the classroom. There are definition of Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy according to some experts.
1. Definition of Collaborative Writing (CW) Strategy
Collaborative writing (CW) strategy can help the students to succeed in learning activity. Yarrow et al (2001:16) say that Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy is involves peers writing as a team. In one approach, a higher achieving student is assigned to be the helper (tutor) and a lower achieving student is assigned to be the writer. It
means that this activity needs good team work. The students who higher achieving that can help students who have lower achieving in writing. This is useful to make good relationship as a team, because it will improve spirit the students to write in writing class.
Based on the theories and explanation above, the writer concludes that Collaborative Writing (CW) is a team work in writing activity to make a good relationship with members group.
This is improving responsibility about their project as a team work. Besides that, collaborative writing is one of ways to make students spirit in writing activity.
Not only that, the students will get motivation to write in writing class, because here they have a team
2. Procedures of Collaborative Writing (CW) Strategy
Before the students start learning process with use Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy, the students must know procedures or steps for the strategy that will use in learning process. Falmer (2001:28) says that process of Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy is consists of nine steps. There are:
a) Students write 2 short papers on topics of their choosing.
b) Papers are read aloud to the whole class in order to familiarize everyone with the interests of peers.
c) Students attach a ‘peer critique sheet’ to one of their papers and exchange them.
d) Critique 1: examination of the peers of an ideas and the relationship between them.
e) Critique 2: evaluative feedback and application of lessons derived from critique 1.
f) All materials are submitted to the teacher for comment and grading of papers and critiques.
g) Critique 3: a critique of content.
h) Papers and return to authors who evaluate the criticism received, using an author’s page and may modify their papers in response to suggestions.
i) Critique 4: a critique of the critique. Instructions for critique 3 are followed description, evaluation, and discussion of content.
Based on the explanation above, the teacher takes their students to make groups. In these groups, every student has responsibility with their assignment. The students must follow this process to be good writer in teaching writing. This process can make the students to get easy in learning process. Of course, if the students follow it, they will not confused in teaching writing again, because this process can guide the students to make a write. Besides that, the students can know
about their mistakes in writing class, because their write get the criticism from the other students and also from their teacher.
From the explanation above, the writer concludes that in teaching writing with collaborative writing is make a relationship to discuss about the topic that discussing in writing class. Teacher have role in guide on brainstorming activity. After that, the students collect their ideas with members in their group.
Students and teacher discuss together about topic in writing activity. In this activity, teacher can see their students comprehend about the lesson at that time.
So, this activity made the students work becomes organizing.
Capitalization Overall-Appearance Punctuation Spelling (COPS) Strategy In COPS strategy, the teacher can guide their students to check and diagnose the students writing after they finished make a writing. This strategy can help the students to know about their mistakes in their writing.
1. Definition of COPS Strategy
COPS strategy can also guide the students to edit they work after they produce a written. According to Reid &
Lienemman (2006) COPS strategy is a mnemonic strategy that cues students through an editing process to edit written work for mechanical errors and clarify.
The meaning is a strategy is a strategy to help students in process editing their written itself. This process will make students always check they produce before they give to the teacher.
So, conclude from the explanation above is COPS strategy can be used to make students comprehend about result their written in writing process. Then, they will get more spirit to increase their ability in teaching writing.
They have also more knowledge about editing process in teaching writing.
2. Procedures of COPS Strategy This strategy, we can found several steps to make good written based on rules of COPS strategy. According to Radziewiez et al (2009:155) define that steps of COPS strategy are: the first one is teacher will use circular graphic organizer to show circles. The second one is teacher will teach outlining before writing. The third is teacher will teach students to use the COPS acronym developed, like: C-Capitalization, O- Oral reading, P- Punctuation, and S- Spelling. The fourth is teacher will give the students a checklist to use consistently after writing. The checklist will be more specific than COPS. And the last one is teacher will provide students with an extensive checklist to use for proofreading. The meaning is COPS strategy help only the students to check their work. They can use COPS question
as rules to check they write. This strategy can make easy from the students.
So, based on the theories and explanation above, the writer concludes that steps of COPS strategy has purpose to make students get easy in check their written. Question of COPS strategy can be used to guide students itself. As the result, they can check their written or the other written correctly.
Combining Procedures of CW with COPS Strategies
Teaching writing by combining CW with COPS strategies help the students’ interest in teaching writing, express their ideas, and helps students to check their written while learning process CW and COPS strategies can be used in whilst teaching in teaching activities.
The procedures of CW with COPS strategies in teaching writing from Falmer and Raidziewiez are:
a) Students write 2 short papers on topics of their choosing. (CW) b) Papers are read aloud to the
whole class in order to familiarize everyone with the interests of peers. (CW)
c) Students attach a ‘peer critique sheet’ to one of their papers and exchange them. (CW)
d) Critique 1: examination of the parts of an idea and the
relationships between them.
(CW)
e) Critique 2: evaluative feedback and application of lessons derived from critique 1. (CW) f) All materials are submitted to the
teacher for comment and grading of papers and critiques. (CW) g) Critique 3: a critique of content
and teacher will teach students to use the COPS acronyms develop.
(CW&COPS)
h) Papers are returned to authors who evaluate the criticism received, using an ‘Authors page’ and may modify their papers in response to suggestions. (CW)
i) Critique 4: a critique of the critique. Instructions for critique 3 are followed (description, evaluation, and discussion of content). (CW)
j) Teacher will give the students a checklist to use consistently after writing. (COPS)
DISCUSSION
In teaching learning process, the teacher start give brainstorming the students to identify the topic. After that, the teacher ask the students to make outlining before the students write a descriptive text. After the students finished making outlining, they must make a small group. If the students have
group, they can choose one topics from their teacher given. After they get a topic, they will read aloud their topic to the whole class in order to familiarize everyone. Then, the students will start to write a descriptive text based on their choosing. After their finished make a descriptive text, the students changes their task to the others friends. Next, the teacher and the students discuss together.
In discuss activity, the teacher will guide the students to check their writing by using rules of COPS strategy.
The first step is the students must check and diagnose about relationship between sentences and the picture. The second step, the students will check about appropriate capitalization. The third, the students must check overall appearance on their writing. Then, the students will check punctuation and spelling correctly from their writing. Next, the students may give the paper to author. After that, the author may do revision based on the critique and suggestion from their friends. Finally, the teacher give students a checklist to use consistently after writing.
CONCLUSION
Based on the discussion above, the writer takes some conclusions that writing is one of difficult skills for the students. In writing activity, the students still get some problems. The problems
are students do not confidence with their writing, the students do not have a chance to explore their ideas into written form, and the students do not know about the rules of writing, for example: appropriate capitalization, using punctuation, and spelling correctly. This case makes the students do not confidence with their writing.
Here, the teacher can use combining Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy and Capitalization Overall- Appearance Punctuation Spelling (COPS) strategy to give solution for the students’ problems in learning writing.
Each of these strategies has different advantages in teaching writing.
Collaborative Writing (CW) strategy can be used by the teacher to guide the students to increase students’ ability in team work. In this strategy, the students will be active in learning process.
Capitalization Overall Appearance Punctuation and Spelling (COPS) strategy is a strategy to help the students to check their writing after they finish making a text. COPS strategy can be used to help the students to revise their writing and solve their problem by using correcting the capitalization, overall their writing, punctuation, and spelling. So, combining CW and COPS strategies can increase students self confidence in produce writing.
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