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TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPIVE TEXT BY COMBINING QUICK WRITE WITH AUTHOR’S CHAIR STRATEGIES FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS Oleh:
*) VINO HENDRA PRIMA
**) Riny Dwitya Sani Pembimbing atau Pengajar Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat
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ABSTRAK
Makalah ini ditulis bertujuan untuk membantu mengatasi permasalahan siswa dalam pengajaran menulis (writing) pada tingkat sekolah menengah Atas (SMA).
Masalah yang dihadapi siswa SMA diantaranya adalah siswa sulit membuat teks dengan baik karena mereka sulit menemukan ide ketika menulis. Kemudian, ide yang mereka tulis tidak tersusun dengan baik. Dan juga mereka kesulitan dalam pembuat teks pendek atau teks panjang. Selain itu, makalah ini juga bertujuan sebagai masukan bagi guru-guru bahasa inggris dalam melaksanakan pengajaran writing sehingga siswa tertarik dan termotivasi untuk belajar menulis khususnya descriptive text. Dalam makalah ini penulis membahas dua strategi yang dikombinasikan untuk membantu siswa menulis yaitu strategi Quick Write dengan Author’s Chair Strategy. Strategi ini mempunyai langkah- langkah yang sistematis dalam penerapannya. Di mulai dengan guru mendiskusikan dengan siswa bahwa tujuan dari Quick Write adalah untuk membantu mereka dalam menemukan ide-ide untuk menulis dan mengexplor kemampuannya dalam menulis berdasarkan topik. setelah itu siswa menganalisis struktur masalah yang ada dalam teks.
Sebelum menyusun kalimat, guru memberikan sepotong teks sebagai model agar siswa dapat memberikan variasi di dalam teks tersebut. Siswa menggali informasi yang berkaitan dengan topik dan menyusunnya dalam diagram, lalu menambahkan variasi di dalam kalimat. Akhirnya siswa menulis karangan pendek atau panjang dengan menggunakan langkah-langkah strategy yang telah disediakan. Adapun kelebihan penggabungan strategi ini adalah siswa akan memiliki kemampuan menulis kalimat pendek atau panjang secara individual berdasarkan langkah-langkah yang jelas dan dibantu dengan diagram yang menarik dalam menulis sebuah teks yang benar.
Key word : Quick Write with Author’s Cahair Strategies
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*) penulis
**) pembimbing
2 INTRODUCTION
Writing is one of language skills that should be mastered well by all of English learners who want to learn English. In writing, the students can explore their ideas in writing form. Through writing, students can share ideas and information. The students must have many ideas to create a good writing. The teachers also must have much knowledge in order to write easily. In short, writing activity has main purpose to write the ideas and think how to organize it into a paragraph.
Moreover, based on School Based Curriculum (2006), for senior high school students. Teaching writing has purpose to write the ideas, and organize it in to briefly paragraph. Besides that, the students are expected to understand about language features, Generic structure of the text. The students should know about some components of writing, such as: form, topic, grammar, mechanic and vocabulary.
In teaching learning, there are some factors that make the students are failed in writing. Based on writer experience at Senior High School, the writer found the students could not develop their ideas in writing. First, They were confused and did not know what they wanted to write in their writing. Even they did not know how to describe somethings in writing. Then, the students could not be able to find words that they will write in paper.
The last, they did not know the steps in good writing. Of course English as a foreign language makes the students get difficulty in writing the text.
From phenomena above, the writer has possible solutions to solve the conditions.
There are some appropriate strategies that can be used by the teacher in teaching writing. A creative way to get the goal teaching and learning process can be done by combining some strategies to be applied in teaching writing. It is done for making the students interested and more motivated in learning. In other words, the teachers should use the effective combination of two or more strategies in order to make the writing activity runs successfully. So, all the teachers have important role in finding and applying the most interesting combination of strategies to make the students have the ability in writing.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Writing
Writing is a process of communication through written form. Several experts have the definitions of writing. According to Lillis (2001:20) writing is a key assessment tool with students passing or failing courses according to the ways in which they respond to and engage in academic writing tasks. For illustration, when the students have a good mark in speaking, reading and listening skill but low in writing skill it means that the students did not passing the lesson well. In learning English, the students must be able to use writing skill to deliver the information well and makes the reader catch the points and responds it easily.
Meanwhile, According to Carwell and Mahler (2004:4) writing is a developmental process that each student can successfully experience at different levels when it approached systematically
Finally, the writer can conclude that writing is an essential skill to communicate by using several ways to do. Writing will help the students to develop and organize the ideas and also a process of delivering information to the reader with step by step procedure. In other word, Writing is not only a process of arranging several words into written form, but it can transfer the ideas, information, and opinion for the readers.
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Process of Writing
Writing process is an activity that will be done by the students during writing activities begin with the topic until creating a product in written form. Some of students always felt boring in writing activities because they do not know the way to make writing easily especially to explain topic.
According to Browne (1999:4) these are steps in writing, they are:
First,Composition.
Composing involves making decisions about the content of writing.
Second,Transcription.
It is a process of converting composition into marks on the page using recognizable spelling, readable handwriting, punctuation, grammar and layout.
Third,Review.
3 In reviewing involves changing aspects of compositions and transcription in order to improve what already written.
Teaching Writing
Teaching writing in Senior High School is not easy. The teacher has to consider about appropriate strategy, a good instruction, and an interesting way as a preparation before starting teaching and learning process, According to Coffin, Curry and Goodman (2003:78) teaching writing is the effort from the teacher to make the students understand how to write with focus on both the content and the form, that are the language used and text structured, such as the construction of arguments, grammar and punctuation. It means that, in the process of writing the correctness of grammatical become essential attention to produce good writing product. In this case, the teachers have to guide the students in writing process so that the students can improve their ability in writing skill.
In addition, Bright (2007:13) states that in teaching writing the teacher also should share their own experience even admitting to their own feelings of reluctance and ambivalence. It means that instructions and rules are not complete enough in teaching process. Personal approach is one of the essential things to support teaching and learning process. By involving personal approaches it will help the teacher to teach the writing skill easily.
Descriptive Text
Descriptive text is one of the types of texts are studied in high school; some experts explain the definition of descriptive text.
According to Yudantoro (2010:7), descriptive is a text that has purpose to describe a particular person, place or thing. The text tells all information from the person or thing in specifically. Descriptive text purpose to describe of someone or something through the sentences read by someone.
Generic Structure of Descriptive Text In descriptive text, the generic structure divides into two parts. Pardiyono (2007:34), rhetorical structure of this text is identification and description. Identification is
statement contains the object and description has details about the object. This sentence means identification is a part of paragraph which introduces or identifies the object. Then, description is a part of paragraph which describes the object.
Quick Write Strategy
Quick Write Strategy is one of the strategies that can use in teaching writing.
There are many definitions of Quick Write Strategy. According to Bryan and Harris (2011:27) Quick Write is a versatile strategy that offers students a chance to reflect on the key point and objectives of the lesson. Quick Write Strategy makes the students know about key point and summarize about the lesson. The students are expected can respond what the teacher had taught. Besides that, the teacher gives limitation time in writing process.
In addition, Dove and Honingsfeld (2013:145) explain that Quick Write not only for inviting students to jot down some key ideas they have but also to practice writing quick responses content learning. The students are expected to responses what the teacher teach about the lesson quickly. The students can summarize about key point the topic or lesson.
Based on definition above, the writer can conclude that, Quick Write Strategy an effective strategy for the teacher to teach the students how to write their ideas or key point in writing process. The teacher asks the students to share and respond key point of the lesson quickly. This strategy helps the students to write and respond their thinking in limitation time.
Procedure of Quick Write Strategy
On the other hand, Kucer (2013:152) these are the procedures in Quick Write Strategy, there are:
First, Discuss with the students that the purpose of a Quick Write is to help them discover ideas for writing. Emphasize that Quick Writes allow the writer to explore a particular topic or idea by focusing on meaning without concern for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or the quality of the piece. The point here is to keep the pen or pencil moving and the ideas flowing.
4 Encourage the students to cover the page with as much writing as possible.
Second, Ask the students to start writing about any topic that comes to their mind. Tell them how much time they will have for the Quick Write Strategy lesson.
Third, If students have a difficult time thinking of something to write, ask them to write “ I cannot think of anything to write until an idea comes to mind.
Four, Allow the students the opportunity to share the ideas they have explored in their Quick Write.
Five, Discuss with students when it might be helpful for students to engage in Quick Write, such as when they do not know what to write next, when having difficulty thinking of a writing topic, when having difficulty expressing their ideas, etc.
Advantages of Quick Write Strategy
Quick Write Strategy has many advantages for the students and the teacher in writing process. According to Antonacci and O’çallaghan (2011:139) Quick Write Strategy as a way of expanding students’ thinking and communication skills about concepts within the discipline. The students can explore their ideas into a good paragraph. Besides that, the students can do communication skill by sharing the ideas with their groups.
Furthermore, Bryan and Harris (2011:27) expain that Quick Write Strategy helps the students summarize their thoughts; it can serve as a quick and easy assessment tool for the teacher. The students can write key point of the topic that the teacher had taught.
The students are expected to write key point and response what the teacher had taught quickly. Quick Write Strategy helps the teacher to assess students’ understanding in writing process easier.
To sum up, Quick Write Strategy has many advantages in writing process. There are first, the students can share key point or their ideas into several groups. After that, Quick Write Strategy teaches about discipline how to write a good paragraph in limitation time.
Then, the students can summarize about the topic that the teacher had taught. Finally, the students can do interaction in the class.
Author’s Chair Strategy
Many students thought that writing is one of difficult subject in English. As a result the students have low motivation in writing. In this case, the teacher should apply an interesting strategy to increase the student’s motivations in writing. Author’s Chair Strategy is one of the teaching strategies that help the students to be a good writer. It also helps the teacher in delivering the material of the lesson to the students. According to Brunner (49:2011) the purpose of the Author’s Chair Strategy is to provide an apportunity for students to present their writing to peers and evaluate the writing of classmates through the use of constructive feedback.
Furthermore, Sousa (148:2009) explains that Author’s Chair this strategy provides a way for students to share with one another the excitement of particular moments in their own writing. Students sit in the Author’s Chair to share their writing with classmates as the final step for each different stage of the writing process. It means that the students share their writing to the others so that the others students can evaluate theirs writing each other.
Based on some experts’ opinions above, the writer concludes that Author’s Chair Strategy is a teaching strategy that can be applied in teaching and learning process by using a connect the ideas. In applying this strategy, the teacher gives instructions to the students to give plenty attention while teacher delivers the lesson by using a Chair, the teacher asks several simply question to make the students responds the lessons, and finally the teacher lead the students to complete the Autho’s Chair and asks the students to make a complete text based on the chair. This strategy is really appropriate to be applied in teaching learning for English learners.
Procedure of Author’s Chair Strategy Author’s Chair Strategy is one of the teaching strategies that can be used in teaching learning According to Brunner ( 2011 : 49 ) state that the steps for Author’s Chair as follow:
First, Provide students with reading material and question related to the topic.
Second, Tell students to use the questions as a guide for a written response to the reading.
5 Third, Explain that each students will share his writing with the class while sitting in the Author’s Chair. This can be specific Chair in the front of room, or each student’s individual Chair can become the Author’s Chair.
Four, After completion of the writing project, each students present individual writing to the class.
Five, Instruct the audience to make notes and share comments about the writing with the author. Comments may be related to accuracy of content, writing style, interpretation content, suggestion for improvement and so forth.
Advantages of Author’s Chair Strategy Author’s Chair strategy gives advantages for the teacher and the students in writing process. According to Tomkins ( 2004 : 5 ) sharing their writen narrative or imformation text with and audience ( their classmates ) help them view themselves as authors. When children view themselves as authors they develop a better understanding of how authors create their texts as well as their own writing process. More importantly, children are motivated to explore the different types and purposes for writing for various audiences.
Futhermore, Brunner ( 2011 : 49 ) adds several advantages of Author’s Chair Strategy:
First, Supports students accountability since all will be responsible for a class persentation.
Second, Encourages interdependence and civility within the classroom.
Third, Applicable for a variety of subjects.
Four, Supports retention of material and development of writing skills.
Related to the explanations above, the writer can conclude that these are several advantages of Author’s Chair. Firstly, the students are able to achieve the best of their ability by learning in writing. Secondly, the students can apply cooperative learning well.
Besides helps the students to work cooperatively. This strategy could use as a competition in learning to increase the students motivations. Finally, the students will challenge their selves to be better in getting the lesson.
DISCUSSION
The Quick Write Strategy and Author’s Chair Strategy
The writer tries to combine Quick Write Strategy with Author’s Chair Strategy because Quick strategy has weekness can be combining with Advantages of Author’s Chair strategy. After the writer reads each of the procedures in each strategy, the writer decided to combine both strategies. Both strategies which the writer chose from several procedures based on the experts. The writer combines these strategies by choosing each procedure from the experts and unites the procedure into a good strategy as the writer wants. In Quick Write Strategy the writer chooses the procedures from experts, Kucer (2013:152). In Author’s Chair, the writer concludes the procedures from Brunner (2011:49). The writer combines these strategies to help the teacher teaches the lesson about writing skill easily also to help the students more understand in learning by grouping. These strategies will be applied in whilst teaching at elaboration, confirmation and in post teaching, so these are the procedures of the combination both strategies:
First, Discuss with the students that the purpose of a Quick Write is to help them discover ideas for writing. Emphasize that Quick Writes allow the writer to explore a particular topic or idea by focusing on meaning without concer for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or the quality of the piece. The point here is to keep the pen or pencil moving and the ideas flowing.
Encourage the students to cover the page with as much writing as possible. (Quick Write) Second, Provide students with reading material and question related to the topic. ( Author’s Chair)
Third, Tell students to use the questions as a guide for a written response to the reading.
(Author’s Chair)
Four, Ask the students to start writing about any topic that come to their mind. Tell them how much time they will have for the Quick Write Strategy lesson. (Quick Write)
Five, If students have a difficult time thinking of something to write, ask them to write “ I cannot think of anything to write until an idea comes to mind. (Quick Write)
6 Six, Explain that each students will share his writing with the class while sitting in the author’s chair. This can be specific chair in the front of room, or each student’s individual chair can become the author’s chair. (Autor’s Chair)
Seven, Allow the students the opportunity to share the ideas they have explored in their Quick Writes. (Quick Write)
Eight, Discuss with students when it might be helpful for students to engage in Quick Write, such as when they do not know what to write next, when having difficulty thinking of a writing topic, when having difficulty expressing their ideas, etc. (Quick Write)
Nine, After completion of the writing project, each students present individual writing to the class. (Autor’s Chair)
Ten, Instruct the audience to make notes and share comments about the writing with the author. Comments may be related to accuracy of content, writing style, interpretation content, suggestion for improvement and so forth.
(Autor’s Chair)
CONCLUSION
Writing is one of the language skills that should be mastered by the students.
Through writing, the students can express their feeling, opinions and ideas into written form.
There are many texts that can be developed in written form, but in this paper the writer chooses a descriptive text. Descriptive text is kind of text to describe a particular person, place, or thing. The Descriptive text has two parts: the identification and description. The identification identifies the phenomenon to be described, and the description describes parts, qualities, and the characteristics of the person, place, or thing to be described
Moreover, to help the students in producing a good writing, the teacher has to use a suitable and good strategy in teaching and learning process. The teacher can use one strategy or combines two strategies to be applied in teaching and learning process. The teacher can combine Quick Write Strategy and Author’s Chair Strategy to improve student ability in writing. By Quick Write Strategy, can helps the students summarize their thoughts; it can serve as a quick and easy assessment tool for the teacher. Help them discover ideas for writing, emphasize that Quick Writes allow the writer to explore a
particular topic or idea by focusing on meaning without concern for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or the quality of the piece. The point here is to keep the pen or pencil moving and the ideas flowing.
Quick write strategy helps the teacher to assess students’ understanding in writing process easier. Author’s Chair strategy is to provide feedback to students on their writing, it is kind of essential strategy especially in writing skill due to the students not only work by their selves but also with the group which is the students will discuss together and arranging the words chooses into a good paragraph. Beside that, Author’s Chair strategy makes the students be active in teaching learning process especially in writing skill.
REFFERENCES
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