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AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ ABILITY ON USING VERB IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
Musliadi*)
English Department, STKIP PGRI West Sumatera, Jl. Gajah Mada Gunung Pangilun Padang jrmusliadi@yahoo.com
Mayuasti M.Pd **) mayuasti@gmail.com Rika Afriyanti M.Pd **)
rikaafriyanti@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Writing is one of the subjects that should be taught by students at school until university. In teaching writing process, the students should have the ability to write a good and correct sentence.
To make a good and correct sentence, the students should understand the using of grammar especially the using of verb so that the sentence that is wrote by students can be understood by the reader. The kind of this research is descriptive research because the researcher wants to analyze students’ ability on using verb in writing descriptive text. The participant of this research is 40 students in writing 1 subject at STKIP PGRI West Sumatra in academic year 2014/2015 who selected by using purposive sampling technique. The data is collected by student’s document in writing descriptive text. The researcher uses three types of verb on analyzing students’ ability in writing descriptive text such as main verb, primaries auxiliaries, and modal auxiliaries. In this research, the researcher uses verb based on correct and incorrect on using three types of verb.
Referring with the result of this research, the researcher can be concluded that the using of three type of verb such as: the correct percentages on using main verb is 72,4% and then incorrect percentages is 27,6%. Meanwhile, the correct percentages on using primaries auxiliaries is 81,3%
then incorrect percentages is 19,2%. Moreover, the correct percentages on using modal auxiliaries is 77,9% then the incorrect percentages is 22,1%. Based on three percentages of verbs above, the students ability on using of verb in writing descriptive text is good.
Keywords: Writing, verb, descriptive text.
*) Researcher
**) Advisors INTRODUCTION
Writing is an important skill in English beside listening, speaking and reading that should be learned by students at school until university. Meanwhile, writing is one of language competences which should be mastered by students. In order to get a good construction and well arrangement in a written form, the students have to produce a good and correct sentence. To make a good and correct sentence, the students should be comprehended about grammar especially knowing the using of verb. Moreover, verb is essential part of grammar that should be considered by students to make good and correct sentence. In making a good and correct sentence, the students should understand the using of verb. It will assist them
in producing both academic writing and non academic writing such as essays, paper, proposals, and articles as assignment from lecturers. In academic setting, students should master the skill since they have to hand in writing kinds of text like narrative text, procedural text, recount text, spoof, and descriptive text.
Descriptive text is a part of factual genres.
Its social function is to describe a particular person, place or thing. Description in writing is the process of creating visual images and sensory impression through words. More often, description is a part of another piece of writing and is used to inform an audience about how something or someone looked or to persuade an
2 audience to see something from the writer’s
point of view. In making descriptive text, the student should form their writing with grammar form. Because it support their stands, it is really important in students writing so that they will produce a good writing in some kinds of text like descriptive text.
Based on the interview with lectures who teach writing I subject on February 16th 2014, most of the English Department students in STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat especially in second year face some problem in writing exactly in writing descriptive text. Generally the students should be able to write good and correct descriptive text. In line with that, descriptive text that wrote by students should be organized well and hold together, and need good understanding on grammar especially in understanding of verb. Practically the lecturer still found several mistakes in using grammar especially in using verb on their descriptive text. This case may be cause by their misunderstanding.
Referring with the explanation above, there are some problems that are faced by students on using verb in writing descriptive text. So that, the researcher interests to do this research and researcher makes a decision about the purpose of this study is to know how is the ability of the second year English Department Students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatra on using verb in their simple present tense in their descriptive text.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
Verb
Verb is a word or group of word which is used in describing an action, experience or state. It is a part of speech in English grammar.
There are some experts who definite of verb such as: According to Hammer (1998:34) verb is a word or group of word which is used in describing an action, experience or state. It means that verb is a word or word phrase that used to an action or state of being. It is the main part in making a sentence that describing an action.
In addition, Chakraparty (2004:10) states that verb is the main word in the predicate. It means that the word that using in predicate is verb. All of predicates in a sentence that used by writer are verb.
Moreover, Ridwansyah (2009: 122) said that verb is word that conducted an action in sentence. It means that an action in sentence is verb.
From definition above, it can conclude that verb is a word which used to describing an action in a sentence.
Types of Verb
There are several types of verb that conducted by expert such as:
According to Hammer 1998:38) says that there are three types of verb as: auxiliary verb, main verb, and phrasal verb. In addition, Chakravarty (2004: 12) states that there are several types of verb in English grammar such as: action verb, linking verb, helping verb, and verb phrase. Futhermore, Batko (2004:79) says that verb is divided into several types such as:
transitive verb and intransitive verb. Moreover, Nelson and Greenbaum (2009:37) verb is divided into three part of verb such as: main verb, primary auxiliaries, and modal auxiliaries.
Form the explanation kinds of verb above, it can be concluded that there are many experts that express their argument about kinds of verb, in generally it have the same meaning with the other. In this research, the researcher uses Nelson and Greenbaum verb.
RESEARCH METHOD
The design of this research was descriptive quantitative research. According to Subana and Sudjarajat (2005:26) descriptive quantitative research concludes fact, situation, variable, and phenomenon that happen at the time and present it with reality. In describing students’
ability on using verb, researcher gained descriptive quantitative research in which the researcher collected the data, analyzed, and made conclusion.
Furthermore, the source of data in this research is English Department students’ final exam in writing 1 in academic year 2014/2015 about descriptive text. There are five classes at second year students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatera with total of students 198 students.
Then, the researcher chose 40 students as participants because they were selected by using purposive random sampling technique.
3 Moreover, instrument refers to variety of
tools in collecting the data in a research project.
As Gay and Airasian (200:145) states that instrument as tool or something that is used to collect the data. The researcher used analysis document as instruments in this research. The researcher asked the document that is needed in the research from lecture who teaches writing I class. The document consists of students’ final exam about descriptive text at second year students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatra in academic year 2014/2015. In this research, the researcher analyzed students’ ability on using verb in descriptive text. The researcher used Nelson and Greenbaum verb that is divided into main verb, Primary Auxiliaries, and modal auxiliaries. Meanwhile, in collecting the data, the researcher analyzed the data to make conclusion in order to answer the research questions. The researcher analyzed the data of the students’ final exam about descriptive text on using verb. According to Gay and Airasian (2000:239) there are several steps in analyzing data. They are consists of data managing, reading/memoing, describing, classifying, and interpreting.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This research is done by the researcher to find the answer of research question which are developed by the researcher in the previous chapter. The research question is:” How is the ability of second year English Department Students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatra in academic year 2014/ 2015 on using verb in their descriptive text?” based on the result of this research, the answering of the research question is very good. It can be found in the following explanation:
In this research, the researcher used Nelson and Greenbaum type of verb in analyzing students’ ability in Descriptive text such as: Main verb, primary auxiliaries, and modal auxiliaries. The first is main verb. The finding of this type can be found in their percentages. The correct percentages 72,4%
and incorrect percentages 27,6%. It means that students’ ability on using action verb is good because the correct percentages bigger than incorrect.
The second is primary auxiliaries. In this type, the students are expected to be able to use it in their descriptive text because this type can
connect the subject with a word in predicate.
The finding in this types can be found in their correct percentages 83,1% and incorrect 16,9%. Dealing with their percentages, it can be found that students’ ability on using primary auxiliaries is very good.
The last is modal auxiliaries. In this type, the correct percentages 77,9% and incorrect percentage 22,1%. Based on the result of their percentages, it can be concluded that the students’ ability on using modal auxiliaries is good.
To make the finding clear and easy understood, the researcher classifies percentages each type of verb in the table below:
Table: percentages students’ ability on using verb
CONCLUSION
Writing is an important skill in English besides listening, reading and speaking that should be learnt by the students as foreign language. It is one of language competences which should be mastered by students. Many of students find difficulties in writing especially writing descriptive text because they do not know how to produce their idea. Not only that, In order to get a good construction and well arrangement in written form, the students have to produce a good and right sentence. The students have to consider on using grammar
Total of Item
Percentages Main Verb correct Incorrect Tota
l
152 58 210
72,4% 27,6% 100
% Percentages Primary
Auxiliaries
Correct incorrect Tota l
138 28 166
83,4% 16,9% 100
% Percentages Modal
Auxiliaries
Correct Incorrect Tota l
67 19 86
77,9% 22,1% 100
%
4 especially on using verb (simple present tense)
in descriptive text.
In descriptive text, there were three types of verb that should be considered by students in writing descriptive text such as main verb, primary auxiliaries, and modal auxiliary. In this research, the researcher want to find students’
ability on using verb in writing descriptive text at the second year Students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatera in Academic Year of 2014/2015.
Besides that, the researcher used purposive sampling in selecting sample. The total of sample was 40. In getting the data the researcher used document analysis as instruments. Based on the result of this research, the researcher concluded that the students’ ability on using verb especially simple present tense in descriptive text is good.
It can be proved by their percentages. In main verb, the correct percentage is 72,4%
meanwhile the incorrect percentage is 27,6%.
In primary auxiliaries, the correct percentage is 83,1% whereas the incorrect percentage is 16,9%. In modal auxiliary, the correct percentage is 77,9% then the incorrect percentage is 22,1%. Based on their percentages above, it can be concluded that the students’ ability on using verb in writing descriptive text is good. Moreover, the researcher hopes this research can give contribution for the lecturer, students, and researcher.
First, for the lecturer: The data might become a reference for lecturer while teaching writing especially teaching descriptive text.
Lecturer should pay more attention to the verb or sentence structures on the students writing.
Then the lecturer giving some motivations to learn by themselves is one of the solutions for reducing their understanding of descriptive text. Second for the students: By reading this research, students are expected to be able to enlarge their understanding in learning writing especially when use verb in descriptive text.
Students have to focus on the process of verb in writing subject because verb is one of important rules in making a sentence. Students have to increase their knowledge in writing subject. They are expected to produce a good and correct sentence. Third for the researcher through this research, the researcher is able to improve his knowledge in writing good
sentences in this research and mastering with it.
By reading this research, it hoped the reader or other researcher can broaden this research completely to get better development in the education progress, because there is no practice without theory.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdullilahhirabbil aa’lamiin. Firstly, the researcher would like to express his gratitude to Allah S.W.T who has given the researcher mercy, chance and health to finish this research. In addition, thanks to our Prophet Muhammad SAW as inspiration to keep fighting to finish this research that entitles “An Analysis of the Students’ Ability on Using Verb in Writing Descriptive Text (Study at Second Year English Department Students of STKIP PGRI West Sumatera in Academic Year of 2014/2015)”. This research is aimed to fulfill one of requirements to get S1 at English Department of STKIP PGRI West Sumatra.
Then, the researcher also delivers a great thank and appreciation to the advisors Mrs.
Mayuasti, M.Pd as the first advisor and Mrs.
Rika Afrianti, M.Pd as the second advisor who have given much advice, guidance, and suggestion in accomplishing this thesis. His gratitude is also presented to Mr. Syayid Sandi Sukandi,S.S. MA, Mrs. Sesmiyanti, S.S. M.Pd, Mrs. Melati Thresia, S.S. M.Hum as the examiners who have given the correction and clarification for this thesis. The researcher was also gratitude once more to Mrs. Armilia Riza M.Pd as the head of English department and Mayuasti M.Pd as the secretary of English department. The researcher was also gratitude to Dra. Yelliza, M.Pd as academic advisor.
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