improving students' ability in writing descriptive text using ..., Exercises of English Language

Download improving students' ability in writing descriptive text using ... and more Exercises English Language in PDF only on Docsity! IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT USING CLUSTERING TECHNIQUE (An Action Research at Eight Grade Students of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Cipete- Jakarta) By: Fikri Fauzi Alawi 106014000332 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY JAKARTA 2011 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds who gives the writer guidance and strength, so he could finish this scientific paper (skripsi). Peace and blessing be upon our prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, his companions and his followers. This skripsi is presented to the English Education Department of Tarbiya and Teaching Sciences Faculty of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for Strata 1 (S1). This research could not be completed without a great deal of help of many people, especially Dr. H. M. Farkhan, M. Pd, as his advisor who has patiently given valuable advice and guidance to finish this research paper. His gratitude also goes to those who helped him in finishing his work, among others: 1. His best gratitude to his beloved parents, Drs. H. Ako Komarudin and Hj. Ida Juraidah, and his beloved brother Helmi Rahman Akmali, Fazri Tamami Azhari, and Ahmad Zulfikar Qomara who always give supports, motivations and moral encouragements to finish this research paper. Thanks a lot for all their supports and prays to him. He is nothing without you. 2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd, as the head of English Education Department of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. 3. All lecturers in English Education Department who have taught and educated the writer so he knows many things. 4. Mrs. Neneng Sunengsih, S.Pd, the secretary of English Education Department of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta 5. Prof. Dr. H. Dede Rosyada, MA, as dean of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University. ii Fikri Fauzi Alawi, “Improving Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text Using Clustering Technique (An Action Research at eighth grades of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Cipete-Jakarta)”. Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2011. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa kelas VIII MTs. Darul Ma’arif Jakarta menggunakan teknik Cluster. Dalam melaksanakan penelitian ini peneliti menggunakan Penelitian Tindak Kelas (PTK) sebagai metode peneletian. Penelitian ini terdiri dari dua siklus, yang mana setiap siklusnya terdiri dari empat tahap, yaitu: perencanaan, pelaksanaan, observasi dan refleksi. Setiap siklusnya terdiri dari tiga tatap muka. Peneliti melaksanakan penelitian ini selama satu bulan lebih satu hari. Untuk mengumpulkan dan menganalisa data, peneliti menggunakan informasi dari hasil wawancara, observasi, angket dan untuk menunjang data, peneliti juga menggunakan pre-test dan post-test. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa penggunaan teknik cluster dalam menulis paragraf deskriptif dapat meningkatkan kamampuan menulis mereka. Sedangkan respon siswa menunjukan bahwa bahwa mereka merasa lebih mudah dalam menulis dengan menggunakan teknik cluster. Disamping itu, pencapaian siswa dalam pre-test dan post-test menunjukan peningkatan yang signifikan. Bisa dilihat pada nilai rata-rata siswa ketika pre-test hanya menunjukan angka 49.5%, sedangkan nilai rata-rata pada siklus pertama mencapai 64.8%, lebih jauh lagi nilai rata-rata siswa pada siklus kedua mencapai 74.3 %. Ini menunjukan terdapat peningkatan yang cukup signifikan yakni sebesar 15.2 poin atau 30% antara nilai pre-test dengan nilai rata-rata pada siklus pertama dan terdapat peningkatan sebesar 24.7 poin atau 49.8% dari nilai pre-test dengan hasil akhir pada siklus ke dua. Dari hasil tersebut, peneliti menyimpilkan bahwa pengajaran menulis deskripsi menggunakan teknik cluster pada siswa kelas delapan MTs. Darul Ma’arif dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis mereka Kata Kunci: Kemampuan Menulis, Teknik Cluster v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page THE APPROVAL SHEET OF ADVISOR THE ENDORSEMENT SHEET OF EXAMINATION COMMITTEE ABSTRAC .......................................................................................................... i ABSTRAK .......................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ ix LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................................................................... x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. The Background of Study ................................................ 1 B. The Statement of Problems .............................................. 4 C. The Scope and Limitation of Study ................................. 4 D. The Objective of Study .................................................... 5 E. The Significance of Study ............................................... 5 F. The Organization of Study .............................................. 5 CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. Writing 1. The Definition of Writing ......................................... 7 2. The Writing Process .................................................. 9 3. Purposes of Writing .................................................. 12 4. Types of Writing Taught in Junior High School ....... 14 B. Descriptive Text 1. The Definition of Descriptive Text ........................... 19 2. Purposes of Descriptive Text .................................... 21 3. Kinds of descriptive Text .......................................... 22 4. The Structure and Example of Descriptive Text ....... 25 vi C. Clustering Technique 1. The Definition of clustering ...................................... 27 2. The Definition of technique ...................................... 28 3. The Application of clustering Technique in Writing Descriptive Text ........................................................ 29 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. The Setting of the Study .................................................. 32 B. Subjects and Time of Study ............................................ 32 C. Research Instrument ........................................................ 33 D. The Design of the Study .................................................. 34 E. The Procedure of the Study ............................................. 36 F. The technique of Collecting Data ................................... 38 G. The Technique of Data Analysis .................................... 39 H. The Trustworthiness of Study ......................................... 41 CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS A. Description of Data 1. Findings of the Preliminary Study .............................. 41 a. The Result of Interview .......................................... 41 b. The Result of Pre Questionnaire ............................. 42 c. The Result of Pre Test ............................................ 43 2. Findings of the First Cycle ....................................... 46 a. Planning ................................................................ 46 b. Acting ................................................................... 46 c. Observing .............................................................. 46 d. Reflecting.............................................................. 48 3. Findings of the Second Cycle ..................................... 50 a. Planning .................................................................. 50 b. Acting ..................................................................... 50 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 2.1 The Application of Clustering technique ............................................ 31 Figure 3.1 Classroom Action Research Design of H. E. Mulyasa ....................... 35 Figure 4.1 The Students’ Achievement in Writing Product ................................. 59 x LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix 1a: Interview for the English teacher in the Preliminary Study (Before Classroom Action Research) …………………….. 63 Appendix 1b: The result of interview in the preliminary study ………….. 64 Appendix 2a: Interview for the English Teacher after Classroom Action Research …………… ………………………………………66 Appendix 2b: The result of interview in the last of classroom action research …………………………………………….. 67 Appendix 3a: Questionnaire for Students in the Preliminary Study ………70 Appendix 3b: The Result of Questionnaire in the Preliminary Study …… 71 Appendix 4a: Questionnaire for Students after Classroom Action Research ………………………………………………… 72 Appendix 4b: The Result of Questionnaire after Classroom Action Research ……………………………… 73 Appendix 5a: Instrument of pre-test …………………………………….. 74 Appendix 5b : Students’ Writing Descriptive Paragraph Score in Preliminary Study ………………………………………. 75 Appendix 5c: The Sample of Students’ Descriptive Writing in the Preliminary Study ………………………………………… 77 Appendix 6a: Students’ Writing Descriptive Paragraph Score in the Cycle 1 ……………………………………………. 78 Appendix 6b: The Sample of Students’ Descriptive Writing in the First Cycle ………………………………………… 80 Appendix 7a: The students’ descriptive writing score in the cycle 2 ……. 81 Appendix 7b: The Sample Students’ Descriptive Writing in the Second Cycle ……………………………………… 83 Appandix 8a: Field Notes in the first cycle ……………………………… 84 Appendix 8b: Field Notes in the second cycle ………………………….. 87 Appendix 9: Photographs of the Students’ Participation in xi Writing Activities ……………………………….............. 90 Appendix 10a: Lesson plan in the first cycle ………………………….. 91 Appendix 10b: Lesson plan in the second cycle ……………………… 97 3 Based on the statement above, teachers must be able to organize learning-teaching activities. They have to master the materials, methods and also technique or strategy to make the students understand and apply descriptive writing matters in practice. A good technique can help the students in comprehending and mastering the lesson. One of the teaching failures is caused by an unsuitable method or technique in teaching- learning process. There are a lot of methods and techniques to get the English teaching effectively. According to Edward Anthony in Richards identified that technique is implementation-that which actually takes place in classroom. It is a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective.” 5 To modify positively the situation of the classroom and to make the teaching-learning process lively, the writer would like to propose an alternative technique, that is the one which common known under the term “Clustering Technique”. Clustering technique is a good way to turn a broad subject into a limited and more manageable topic for a short essay. According to John Langan, clustering technique also known as diagramming or mapping, is another strategy that can be used to generate material for a paper. This method is helpful for people who like think in a visual way. In clustering, you use lines, boxes, arrows, and circle to show relationships among the ideas and details that occur to you.” 6 Moreover, the clustering technique can motivate the students to write and to stimulus their ideas. Beside that, this technique will help the students to organize their thinking before they develop in a paragraph. Based on the writer’s experience when he did the observation on MTs. Darul Ma’arif Cipete, the process of teaching –learning in the classroom is still passive. The students do not understand clearly about 5 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approach and Methods……, p.15 6 John Langan, English Skills, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, inc. 2001)6 th edition, p. 25 4 descriptive text, how to identify the descriptive text, and how to describe persons, places, and things in English writing. Beside that, the teacher uses the old technique in teaching descriptive text (Grammar Translation Method) which makes the students felt bored and difficult to understand the material when teaching learning process conducted. Therefore, the teacher needs to be more creative in teaching, including the use of technique. Based on the background above, the writer takes a title of this “skripsi” “Improving Students’ Ability in Writing Descriptive Text Using Clustering Technique”. B. The statement of problem Based on the background presented above, the writer plans to analyze the use of clustering technique in teaching writing of descriptive text at the eighth grades of students of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Cipete. The general question of this research is “how can the use of clustering technique improve students’ ability in learning descriptive writing?” C. The scope and limitation of study In this “skripsi”, the writer only focuses on eighth grades of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Cipete-JakSel at the first semester 2010/2011 academic year, and to make a description of this “skripsi” deeper, the problems will be limited in the implementation of using clustering technique in teaching descriptive writing. 5 D. The objective of study From the previous discussion in the background of the study, the objectives of this study are as follows: 1. To know whether the clustering technique can improve students’ ability in writing descriptive text. 2. To know how the clustering technique can improve students’ ability in writing descriptive text. E. The significances of study The result of this study can provide useful information for: 1. Teachers The result of this study is useful for English teachers at Junior High School level to get information about teaching descriptive writing using clustering technique. 2. Students The result of this study will give an input to the students to improve their ability in writing. 3. Other researcher For further researchers who are interested in teaching descriptive writing at junior high school level can get the basic information from this study to do the further research. F. The organization of study The organization of study facilitates the readers in discussing the problem presentation and helps readers to understand what they read easily. This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is introduction. It consists of six parts: the background of study, the statement of problem, the scope and limitation of the study, the objective of study, the significance of study, and the organization of study. 8 element of mystery and surprise. But we know and believe that writing is a skill that anyone can learn to manage”. 2 Marianne C. Murcia said, writing is “the ability to express one’s ideas in written form is a second or foreign language”. 3 It means that writing is an activity to express our ideas in written form On the other side, Barnet and Stubb’s said that writing as a physical act, it requires material and energy. And like most physical acts, to be performed fully, to bring pleasure, to both performer and audience, it requires practice”. 4 From definitions above, it can be said that writing can be distinguished from other skills as the most difficult one. There are many factors influencing writing to be a good one such as grammatical, vocabularies, punctuation, and spelling knowledge which must be integrated to be a paragraph. From the ideas previously, the writer conclude that writing is more than a medium communication. It is a way of remembering and a way of thinking. Because of that, writing is not easy. It needs a hard work. In writing we have to produce words, phrase, sentences, and paragraph at the same time. It is a way of leaarning. None of us can write much of interest without first thinking, probing, observing, asking question, experimenting, and reading. 2 Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Chooper, The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, (New York: St Martin’s Press, Inc, 1985), p.3 3 Marianne C. Murcia, Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, (Boston: Heinle Publishers, 1991), p. 233 4 Barnet and Stubbs’s, Practical Guide to Writing, (Canada:Brown Company, 4th edition 1983), p.3 9 2. The writing process Writing is a process that involves several steps. At least, there are three steps in the writing process mentioned by Karen Blanchard, and Christine Root in their book; Ready to Write: A first Composition Text. Step one: Prewriting Thinking about your topic and organizing your ideas. Step two: Writing Using your ideas to write a first draft. Step Three: Revising Improving what you have written. 5 If the writers follow the steps, and practice by writing often, they will find it easier to write paragraphs and to improve their writing. a. Prewriting Prewriting is the thinking, talking, reading, and writing we do about our topic before we write a first draft. Prewriting is a way of warming up our brain before we write, just as we warm up our body before we exercise. There are several ways to warm up before start writing: 1) Brainstorming Brainstorming is a quick way to generate a lot of ideas on a subject. The purpose is to make a list of as many ideas as possible without worrying about how you will use them. To brainstorm, follow these steps: a) Begin with a broad topic. b) Write down as many ideas about the topic as you can in five minutes. c) Add more items to your list by answering the questions what, how, when, where, why, and who. d) Group similar items on the list together. 5 Karen Blanchaard, and Christine Root, Ready to Write; A First Composition Text 3ed, (Longman: Pearson Education,Inc., 2003), p. 41 10 e) Cross out items that do not belong. 2) Clustering Clustering is another prewriting technique. It is a visual way of showing how your ideas are connected using circles and lines. When you cluster, you draw a diagram of your ideas. This term will be explained in the next section. On the other hand said that pre-writing is any activity in the classroom that encourages students to write. It stimulates thoughts for getting started. In fact, it moves students away from having to face blank page toward generating tentative ideas and gathering information for writing. The following activities provide the learning experiences for students at this stage: 6 a) Group Brainstorming b) Clustering c) Rapid Free Writing d) WH-Question b. Writing After we have spent some time thinking about our topic and doing the necessary prewriting, we are ready for the next step in the writing process: writing our paragraph. When we write the first draft of our paragraph, use the ideas we generated from prewriting as a guide. As you write, remember to: 1) Begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea. 2) Include several sentences that support the main idea. 3) Stick to the topic. 4) Arrange the sentences so that the order of odeas makes sense. 6 Jack C. Richards and Willy A. Renandya, Methodology in Language teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 316 13 All of us use several common methods of explaining something to another person in our everyday conversation, and these same techniques can provide basic strategies for organizing an explanation in writing. c. Writing to Persuade The most important writing we ever do in our personal life, our work life, and may be our school life will probably persuasion. Complaints to the rent board about our landlord, letters of application for jobs, essay on examinations are all likely to involve writing persuasively. Your task in persuasion is to convince your readers to accept the main idea, even though it may be controversial. 11 d. Writing to Amuse Others Writing to amuse requires that you focus on readers other than yourself. You may enjoy the experience and take pride in what you accomplish, but you cannot settle for amusing yourself alone. Writing to amuse gives you an opportunity to bring pleasure to others. Seize the opportunity and make the most of it. If you find pleasure in writing to amuse, it will come from knowing that you succeed in bringing pleasure to others. When write to amuse, your primary object is to make readers enjoy themselves. You can be funny, but you should also be good- humored. This means having sympathy for human frailty rather than a contempt for anyone or anything that seems different from what you are accustomed to. 12 11 Daniel Brown and Bill Burnette, Connection ‘A Rhetoric/Short Prose Reader, (New Jersey: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984), p. 129 12 Robert Keith Miller, Motives for Writing, (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2006), p.569-570 14 4. Types of Writing taught in Junior High School Based on the competencies standard and basic competencies recommended by the government, there are some types of writing which have to be taught in junior high school, they are; procedure, descriptive, recount, and narrative. a. Procedure 13 A procedure is a piece of text that tells the reader or listener how to do something. Its purpose is to provide instruction for making something, doing something or getting somewhere. Example of procedure texts include: recipes, itineraries, instruction manuals, directions. 1) Features of procedure a) Constructing a procedure A procedure text usually has three sections. There is an introductory statement or title that gives the aim or goal of the procedure, followed by a list of materials that will be needed to complete the procedure. The final section is a sequence of steps, in the order they need to be completed, to achieve this goal. Some procedures have other stages such as explaining, why each step is necessary. b) Grammatical feature of a procedure Procedure texts usually include the following grammatical features: (1) Sentences that begin with verbs and are started as commands. (2) Time words or numbers that show the order for carrying out the procedure. (3) Adverb to describe how the action should be performed. 13 Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, (Australia: MacMillan, 1998), p. 28 15 (4) Precise terms and technical language. 2) Models of procedure Anzac biscuits You will need: 2 cups of rolled oats 1 ½ cups caster sugar 4 tablespoons golden syrup 2 tablespoon boiling water 1 cup plain flour 250 grams butter 1 teaspoon baking soda 1. Turn oven to 160 ْC. 2. Lightly grease oven tray. 3. Mix oats, flour and sugar in a large bowl. 4. Melt butter and golden syrup in a pan. 5. Mix baking soda and boiling water in a cup. 6. Add this mixture to melted butter and golden syrup. 7. Add this to the oats mixture in the large bowl, mix together well. 8. Rolls tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Put on tray 5 cm apart. 9. Press lightly on top of each with a fork. 10. Bake for 20 minutes. 18 1) The Narrative Scaffold a) Orientation In this paragraph the narrator tells the audiences who are in the story, when it is happening, who are in the story, when it is happening, where it is happening, and what is going on. b) Complication This is part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the characters. The complication is the trigger. c) Sequence of events This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the complication. It includes their feelings and what they do. The even can be told in chronological order or with flashback. The audience is given the narrator’s point of view. d) Resolution In this part of the narrative where the complication is sorted out or the problem is solved e) Coda The narrator includes a coda if there is to be a moral message to be learned from the story. 19 2) Language Features in Narrative a) Noun b) Adjective formed noun phrase; long black hair, two red apples, etc. c) Time connectives; then,before, soon, etc. 19 Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, (Australia: MacMillan, 1998), p. 4 19 d) Adverb and adverbial phrase; here, in the mountain, etc. e) Action verb in past tense; stayed, dimed, etc. f) Saying verb and thinking verb; said, told, felt, etc. 20 B. DESCRIPTIVE TEXT 1. The definition of descriptive text Descriptive text is a part of factual genres. Its social function is to describe a particular person, place or thing. 21 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 audience to see something from the writer’s point of view. 22 Description recreates sense impression by translating into words, the feel, sound, taste, smell, and look of things. Emotion may be describing too, feelings such as happiness, fear, loneliness, gloom, and joy. Description helps the reader, through his or her imagination, to visualize a scene or a person, or to understand a sensation or an emotion. 23 As Barbara Fine Clouse said in her book, The Student Writer, “Description adds an important dimension to our lives because it moves our emotion and expands our experience”. 24 Description expands our experience by taking us to place we might not otherwise know much 20 Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Type in English 2, (Australia: MacMillan, 1998), p. 20 21 Artono Wardiman, et. al. English in Focus: for Grade VII Junior High School(SMP/MTs), (Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, DEPDIKNAS, 2008), p. 122 22 Linda Woodson, From cases to composition, (University of Texas: Scott, Foresman and Company), p. 73 23 George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English, (New York: Litton Educational Publishing, 1980), p. 128 24 Barbara fine Clouse, The Student Write , (McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004), p. 142 20 about, which explains the popularity of descriptive travel essay in magazines and newspapers. Traditionally, descriptions are divided into two categories: objectives and subjective. In objective description you records details without making any personal evaluation or reaction. In subjective description, you are free to interpret the details for your reader; your reaction and description can be emotional and value-loaded. The goal when we write subjective description is to create vivid mental images. To do that, we will use concrete sensory detail, which consists of specific words that appeal to the sense (sight, sound, taste, smell, touch). Whether objective or subjective, descriptions can serve a variety of purposes, but in every case it is important to make that purpose clear to your reader. 25 The following list contents descriptive words for each of the five senses. Note that some of the words are more specific than others. Tabel 2.1 List of descriptive words 26 Sight Sound Smell Touch Taste Light Noise Musty Soft Salty Glare Bang Fresh Velvety sweet Moonlight Tinkle Rain washed Sharp Sour Based on the table above, we can convey the essence of the subject by using sensory details to appeal to our reader’s imagination. As much as possible, we should try to evoke all five senses. 25 George Miller, The Prentice-Hall READER, (Prentice-Hall A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1986), p. 105 26 George Brain, Writing from Source, (USA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1996), p. 98 23 2) Impression Unlike the identification, the impression may not identify a person, but it does convey an overall idea of him or her. Many details may be missing, yet the writer does provide in a few broad strokes a general feeling about the subject. Although impression is usually less complete and informative than identification, it may be more effective in capturing an individual’s striking or distinctive traits. 29 3) Character Sketch More complete descriptions of people are usually called character sketch; they may also be referred to as profiles, literary portraits, and biographical sketches. As its name indicates, a character sketch delineates the character of a person, or at least his or her main personality traits. In the process, it may include identification and an impression, but it will do more than tell what people look or seem like: it will show what they are like. A character sketch may be about a type rather than an individual, revealing the characteristics common to the members of a group, such as campus jocks, cheerleaders, art students, religious fanatics, television devotes. 30 b. Description of a place In describing a place for example a room, what should you describe first? The walls? The Floor? Unlike a chronologically developed paragraph, there is no set pattern for arranging sentences in descriptive paragraph. It is not necessary to begin with one area and 29 Michael E. Adelstein and Jean G. Pival, The Writing Commitment, (HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH, INC., 1976), p. 150 30 Michael E. Adelstein and Jean G. Pival, The Writing Commitment, (HARCOURT BRACE JOVANOVICH, INC., 1976), p. 151 24 then proceed to another one. Nevertheless, the sentences should not be randomly arranged. The description must be organized so that the reader can vividly imagine the scene being described. To make the paragraph more interesting, you can add a controlling idea that states an attitude or impression about the place being described. And the arrangement of the details in your description depend on your subject and purpose. 31 c. Description of a things To describe a thing the writer must have a good imagination about that thing that will be describe. Besides, to make our subjects as interesting and as vivid to our readers as they are to us: using proper nouns and effective verbs. 1) Using Proper Noun In addition to filling our descriptive writing with concrete details and figures of speech, we might also want to include a number of proper nouns, which, as we know, are the names of particular persons, places, and things. For example; Arizona, University of Tennessee. Including proper nouns that readers recognize easily can make what we are describing more familiar to them. 2) Using Effective Verb We know how important verbs are to narration, but effective verbs can also add much to a piece of description. Writers use verbs to make descriptions more specific, accurate, and interesting. For instance, “the wind had chiseled deep grooves into the sides of the cliffs” is more specific than “the wind had 31 Regina L. Smalley and Mary K. Ruetten, Refining Composition Skill, (New York: International Thompson Publishing Company, 4th Edition), p.69 25 made deep grooves.” The verb chiseled also gives the reader a more accurate picture of the wind’s action than made does. 32 4. The structure and example of descriptive text The generic structures of a description are as follows: 1. Identification : identifies the phenomenon to be described 2. Description of features : describes features in order of importance: a. Parts/things (physical appearance) b. Qualities (degree of beauty, excellence, or worth/value) c. Other characteristics (prominent aspects that are unique). 33 The generic features of description are: 1. Verb in the present tense 2. Adjective to describe the features of the subject 3. Topic sentences to begin paragraphs and organize the various aspects of the description. 34 The factual description scaffold 1. A general opening statement in the first paragraph a) This statement introduces the subject of the description to the audience. b) It can give the audience brief details about the when, where, who, or what of the subject. 32 Santi V. Buscemi, A Reader for Developing Writers, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002), p 267 33 Artono Wardiman, et. al. English in Focus……………..., p. 122 34 Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Type in English 3, (Australia: MacMillan, 1998), p. 26 28 them. It means that clustering is a technique that can help students to narrow the subject especially for visual learners. On the other hand, Thomas E. Tyner said that, Looping (clustering) is a technique for developing rough outline for a topic by beginning with the most general ideas and moving to more and more specific details. It is beneficial in seeing the relationship between details, in organizing information in an orderly fashion, and in developing specific support for their main ideas. 41 From the definition above, the writer concludes that clustering is making a visual map or new association that allows thinking more creatively and to begin without clear ideas. Clustering can be useful for any kind of writing. Writers use it in the early stages of planning an essay in order to find sub topic in a topic to organize information. Writers can use clustering to plan brief section of an essay as they are drafting. 2. The definition of technique Talking about technique there are three terms that must be differentiated because these terms used in teaching learning activity and people often confuse with these terms, they are approach, method, and technique. From the statement above, Edward Anthony in 1963 identified three levels of conceptualization and organization, which he termed approach, method, and technique. The arrangement is hierarchical. The organizational key is that technique carry out a method which is consistent with an approach. An approach is a set of correlative assumption dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. An approach is axiomatic. It describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. While method is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected 41 Thomas E. Tyner, Writing Voyage, (California: Wadswoth, Inc., 1985), p. 176-177 29 approach. An approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural. Within an approach, there can be many methods. From the idea previously, it can be conclude that a technique is implementation-that which actually takes place is a classroom. It is a particular tricks, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective. Technique must be consistent with a method, and therefore in harmony with an approach as well. 42 Based on the statement above, it can be said that technique is a way of doing an activities derived from an application of principles. This statement is supported by Diane Larsen-Freeman, “technique is the behavioral manifestation of the principles”. 43 So, clustering is one of the techniques in teaching writing because it is a teachers’ strategy which implemented in the classroom. 3. The application of clustering technique in writing descriptive text From the concept stated previously, it can be known that clustering is a strategy that can be used to generate material for a paper. This technique is helpful for the writers who like to do their thinking in a visual way. In clustering, the writers can use lines, boxes, arrows, and circles to show relationships among the ideas and details that occur to them. To begin, take a fresh sheet of paper and write a general subject in the center. Then circle the world. 44 Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way of clustering or diagramming. It is a way to think on paper about how various ideas and details relate to one another. 45 42 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approach and Methods in Language Teachning, (New York:Cambride University Press, 1986), p. 15 43 Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, (New York: Oxpord University Press), p. xi 44 Betty Mattix Dietsch, Reasoning and Writing Well; A Rhetoric, Research Guide, Reader, and Handbook-3 rd ed, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003), p. 26-27 45 John Langan, English with Readings……, p. 25 30 In clustering you write a topic in the center of a piece of paper, then write ideas suggested by the topic around it, connecting these to the topic with lines, follow the same procedure with your subtopics. 46 Furthermore, the application of clustering in teaching begins with a key word or central idea placed in the center of a page (or on the blackboard) around which the student (or teacher using students-generated suggestion) jots down in a few minutes all of the free associations triggered by the subject matter-using simply words or short phrases. Unlike listing, the word or phrases generated are put on the page or board in a pattern which takes shape from the connection the writer sees as each new thought emerges. Complete cluster can look like spokes on a wheel or any other pattern of connected lines, depending on how the individual associations are drawn to relate each other. By having students share their cluster patterns with other students in the class, teachers allow students to be exposed to a wide variety of approaches to the subject matter, which might further generate material for writing. 47 46 Donald Pharr and Santi V. Buscemi, Writing Today Brief Edition, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005), p. 34 47 Marrianne Celce Murcia, Teaching English as a Second Language or Foreign Language, (Boston: Hainle&Heinhle, 1991), p. 253 33 C. Research Instrument Some instruments are applied to obtain the data in this study. The writer uses interview, field notes, and questionnaire sheet dealing with the qualitative data. On the other side, the writer uses the students’ final writing as a pre-test and post-test to obtain the quantitative data. 1. Interview is applied for the English teacher before the classroom action research and after classroom action research. It is applied before classroom action research to know the students difficulties in writing skill, the students’ participation in writing class, and the teaching strategy in teaching writing. Meanwhile, it is conducted after classroom action research to know the teacher’s response about the learning strategy focus on Clustering Technique. 2. Questionnaire is written of questions to be answered by the students. This instrument takes all students as the respondents. It is applied at the preliminary study. It consists of 5 items in order to get the data about students’ liking for learning English particularly in writing skill and the technique used by the teacher in teaching writing. Also, it is used after classroom action research to know the students’ response toward teaching and learning activities through Clustering technique. 3. Field notes is used to record detailed information about the implementation of the study in the. In addition it is used to know the good point from the student and the teacher side and things to consider for the next meeting. The writer and observer record a description of classroom atmosphere, the setting of the class, and the students’ activities during the teaching and learning of writing using Clustering Technique. 4. Test is given to the students focus on writing descriptive paragraph. The result of this test is students’ descriptive paragraph. The aim of this test is to measure the students’ ability in writing descriptive paragraph. The test is used in this study is pre-test and post-test. Pre-test is done before implementing Clustering Technique in preliminary study to know the students competence in writing descriptive paragraph. Post-test is done 34 after implementing the Clustering Technique in teaching descriptive writing. D. The Design of the Study The design of this study is classroom action research. It is called CAR because the study focuses on a particular problem and a particular group of students in a certain classroom. According to Suharsimi Arikunto, classroom action research is an action research which is carried out at the classroom aimed to improve learning practice quality. 1 Mills defines an action research as any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, and school counselors in the teaching and learning environment to gather information about (a) how their particular school operates, (b) how teachers teach, and (c) how well their students learn. 2 Based on the definition above the implementation of classroom action research is enable to give improvement of the quality of teaching and learning of school in education since it can diagnose and solve the problem in teaching learning activity. Furthermore, CAR is a sequence research activity, that has purpose to improve social quality, that is done by collecting data or information systematically through four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Therefore, there are elements in CAR: 1. Research is an activity to improve an object by using an appropriate methodology rules for getting data and information and then analyze to solve problem. 2. Acting is an activity that is done for certain purpose, in cycle sequence form activity. 1 Suharsimi Arikunto, Penelitian Tindakan Kelas, (Jakarta: Bumi Aksara, 2009), p. 58. 2 Geoffrey E. Mills, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher. (2 nd ed), (New Jersey: Merril Prentice Hall, 2003), p. 5. 35 3. Class is group of students when at the same time, receive same lesson from their teacher. 3 The writer uses classroom action research model proposed by Prof. DR. H. E. Mulyasa, M.Pd., which consists of four steps, namely, planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Improvement of the problem in this study is brought about by a series of cycles. The figure can be seen below: SIKLUS I SIKLUS II Figure 3.1 Model of action research. 4 3 Kunandar, Langkah Mudah Penelitian Tindakan Kelas Sebagai Pengembangan Profesi Guru, (Jakarta: PT Raja Grafindo Persada, 2008) p. 45 4 Prof. Dr. H. E. Mulyasa, M. Pd., Praktik Penelitian Tindak Kelas, (Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2009). P. 73 ? PLANNING ACTING PLANNING REFLECTING GG REFLECTING ACTING OBSERVING OBSERVING 38 Ma’arif or not. If the first plan is unsuccessful, proven by students’ achievement, the writer should make the next plan (re-planning) to solve students’ problem and also to get a good result. F. The Technique of Collecting Data There are four techniques of data collecting applied in this study, they are observation, interview, questioner and test in order to support the data of teaching and learning process. On the other side, the writer uses the students’ final writing as a pre-test and post-test to obtain the quantitative data. 1. The writer did the observation directly toward English teaching and learning-process in VIII grade of MTs. Darul Ma’arif students 2010/2011 Academic Year. 2. Interview is applied for the English teacher before the classroom action research and after classroom action research. It is applied before classroom action research to know the students difficulties in writing skill, the students’ participation in writing class, and the teaching strategy in teaching writing. Meanwhile, it is conducted after classroom action research to know the teacher’s response about the learning strategy focus on the implementation of using clustering technique in teaching descriptive writing. 3. The questioner was given to the students of eighth grade of MTs. Darul Ma’arif in order to know their responds toward the process of teaching and learning writing descriptive text using clustering technique and also about their motivations and problems in learning English writing before and after they were taught using clustering technique. 4. Test is given to the students focus on writing descriptive paragraph. The result of this test is students’ descriptive paragraph. The aim of this test is to measure the students’ ability in writing descriptive paragraph. The test is used in this study is pre-test and post-test. Pre-test is done before implementing Clustering Technique in preliminary study to know the 39 students competence in descriptive writing. Post-test is done after implementing the Clustering Technique in teaching descriptive writing. G. The Technique of Data Analysis In analyzing the data related to the students’ test of writing ability, the writer uses analytical scoring rubric adapted from Weigle. There are five components presented in the analytical scoring rubric for writing, i.e., content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. In this study, the writer combined vocabulary and mechanic component. The following table is the analytical scoring rubric used by the writer to analyze the students’ paragraph writing. Table 3.1 Analytical scoring rubric adapted from Weigle. 5 Components of Writing Scores Indicators Content 4 3 2 1 Relevant to the topic and easy to understand rather relevant to the topic and easy to understand relevant to the topic but is not quite easy to understand quite relevant to the topic but is not quite easy to understand Organization 4 3 2 1 most of the sentences are related to the main idea some sentences are related to the main idea few sentences related to the main idea the sentences are unrelated to each other Vocabulary & Mechanic 4 3 2 1 a few errors in choice of words, spelling and punctuation some errors in choice of words, spelling and punctuation occasional errors in choice of words, spelling and punctuation frequent errors in choice of words, spelling and punctuation Grammar 4 3 2 1 a few grammatical inaccuracies some grammatical inaccuracies numerous grammatical inaccuracies frequent grammatical inaccuracies 5 Sara Cushing Weigle, Assessing Writing, (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2002) p. 116. 40 To get the mean of students’ writing score within one cycle uses the formula: 6 Mx : Mean X : Individual score N : Number of students In gaining the class percentage which passes the minimum mastery criteria- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 60 (eighty) uses the formula: 7 P : The class percentage F : Total percentage score N : Number of students Next step, the writer identifies the improvement score on students’ descriptive paragraph from pre-test up to post-test score in cycle 1 and cycle 2 the writer uses the formula: 8 P : Percentage of Students’ Improvement y : Pre- test Result 6 Anas Sudijono, Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan, (Jakarta: RajaGrafindo Persada, 2008), p. 81. 7 Anas Sudijono, Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan …, p. 43. 8 David E. Meltzer, The Relationship between Mathematics Preparation and Conceptual Learning Gains in Physics: A Possible Hidden Variable in Diagnostic Pretest Scores, (Iowa: Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2008), p. 3. ∑X Mx= ── N F P = ── X 100% N y - y1 P = ─── X 100% y 42 learnt by the students. The students usually feel difficult in generating their ideas into a paragraph. It may be caused of lack of vocabulary, grammatical understanding, and choosing suitable word in a sentence. The next question is about the strategy used by the teacher in writing subject, and asking about the clustering technique. The teacher said that she never used clustering technique in writing subject, but she has known about clustering technique. She argued that clustering technique could be an effective strategy in teaching writing because it could facilitate the students in generating their ideas. It also might be able to improve students’ ability in writing. The conclusion of the interview in term of students’ difficulties in writing was the eighth grade students of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Jakarta have problems in writing in term of generating ideas, organizing ideas into paragraph, and grammatical function. (see appendix 1b) b. The result of pre questionnaire The pre questionnaire was conducted to know the students’ response about English lesson especially in writing skill. The questionnaire was given to the eighth year students of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Jakarta on Wednesday, November 10 th 2010. The questionnaire had five questions, the description as follows: 1) The feeling toward in English lesson The result of questionnaire showed that 10% of students like English very much, 56.6% of students like English lesson, 26.6% students felt fair to the English lesson, and 6.6% of students did not like English lesson. It can be shown the conclusion that the most students of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Jakarta like English lesson 43 2) The most difficult skill in English skill The result showed that 50% of students assumed that writing was the most difficult skill; meanwhile 33.3 % of the students consider speaking was difficult skill to learn. It shows that writing was the most difficult skill to be learnt by some students. 3) The feeling toward teaching learning process of writing The result showed that 50% of students felt fair to writing skill, and 33.3% of the students like writing skill. From the data presented above it was indicated that some students should be given the motivation and innovation in studying in order to change their feeling become interest in writing class. 4) The feeling if the students write using English It showed that 83.3% of the students got difficulties in writing skill; Meanwhile 16.6% of the students felt fair dealing with writing. 5) The teacher’s style when teaching writing The result was 50% of the students felt interested in the way of the teacher teach, 36.6% of the students felt fair about it. The conclusion in term of writing problems was their class still got difficult in writing skill and need improvement to reach the Minimum Mastery Criterion-Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). (see appendix 3a) c. The result of pre-test The pretest was conducted on Saturday, November 13 th 2010. In pretest, the students assigned to write descriptive paragraph consisting of five sentences. To get the result of the pre test, firstly, the writer calculated the mean score such following: 44 n x Mx   30 5.1487 Mx 6.49  Mx Next, to know the class percentage that’s passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) using the following formula: %100x N F  30 %1006x  %20 Based on the result of the pre test, the data showed that the mean score of pretest was 49.6. There were only six students or 20% of the students who got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) meanwhile the other 24 students were below that criterion. (See appendix 5b). From that analyzing, it could be seen that almost of the eighth grade students’ of MTs. Darul Ma’arif writing descriptive paragraph was still very low. After analyzing the result of preliminary study, it could be concludes that most of the students at the eighth year of MTs. Darul Ma’arif Jakarta had difficulty in writing skill. So, it needs to find out the solution to overcome this problem. The writer used Clustering Technique in teaching writing as an innovation in teaching learning process. The action needed to improve students’ ability in writing skill. The action research conducted in two cycles. Every cycle followed the procedures of action research 47 generate their ideas into a readable text of descriptive. It caused of most of students had problems in looking for vocabularies and correct grammar. (See appendix 5c) The result of posttest 1 showed that the mean score of the class derived 43.3 in which there were 13 students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) 60 (eighty). The result of students writing To know the result of students’ writing, the writer needs to calculate the mean score firstly. The mean score derived from the following formula: n x Mx   30 1944 Mx 8.64Mx Then, the writer calculated the class percentage whose passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) using the following formula: %100x N F  30 %10013x  %3.43 The data showed that the mean score of posttest 1 was 64.8. There were only thirteen students or 43.3% of the students who got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) meanwhile 48 the other 17 students were below that criterion. It implied that the first criterion has not fulfilled. (see appendix 6a) Based on the result of the students’ writing in the cycle 1, there was a slight improvement of students’ mean score from the students’ writing on the preliminary study to the students’ writing on the first cycle. The mean score of the previous score was 49.6 and the mean score of the students’ writing on the first cycle was 64.8. That means that there was 15.2 points or 30.6% of mean score improvement. The improvement percentage derived from the formula: %1001    y yy P = %100 6.49 6.498.64   P = %6.30 d. Reflecting After analyzing the data by observing and evaluating the result of students writing product showed 43.3% of the students who got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- criteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). From the data above, it can be concluded that the implementation of clustering technique has not given satisfactory result on the improvement of students’ writing ability. The students have not achieved the Minimum Mastery Criterion. Therefore, it needs to be revised before the implementation of the next cycle. So that it could achieve the criterion of success of this study. 49 Table 4.2 The result of First Post-Test Students’ writing score No Students' Number Pre-Test Post-Test 1 1 S1 87.5* 87.5* 2 S2 50 56.3 3 S3 62.5* 87.58 4 S4 37.5 81.3* 5 S5 31.25 50 6 S6 68.8* 75* 7 S7 56.25 62.5* 8 S8 50 56.3 9 S9 50 62.5* 10 S10 25 56.3 11 S11 25 56.3 12 S12 50 56.3 13 S13 31.25 50 14 S14 31.25 56.3 15 S15 87.5* 87.5* 16 S16 37.5 50 17 S17 56.25 62.5* 18 S18 37.5 50 19 S19 87.5* 87.5* 20 S20 43.75 56.3 21 S21 31.25 62.6* 22 S22 56.25 50 23 S23 50 62.5* 24 S24 50 62.5* 25 S25 31.25 56.3 26 S26 31.25 50 27 S27 43.75 56.3 28 S28 56.25 56.3 29 S29 56.25 68.8* 30 S30 62.5* 56.3 MEAN 49.5 64.8 Note: *) students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion (KKM) eighty (60) 52 %100x N F  30 %10027x  %90 Finally, the calculation of the improvement percentage is gained from the following formula: P = %1002   y yy P = %100 6.49 6.493.74   P = %8.49 Based on the result of the students’ writing product, there was better improvement of students’ mean score from the students’ writing in the preliminary study to the students’ writing in the second cycle. The mean score for the first one was 49.6 and the mean score of writing posttest 2 in the second cycle was 74.3. It means that there was 24.7 points or 49.8% of mean score improvement. The students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) were 27 students or 90% if it calculated into class percentage. It indicated that the first criterion of success has been achieved. The following was the table of students’ writing score. 53 Table 4.3 The Students’ Writing Score of Pretest, Posttest 1, Posttest 2 No Students' Number Pre-Test Post-Test 1 Post-Test 2 1 S1 87.5* 87.5* 93.8* 2 S2 50 56.3 81.3* 3 S3 62.5* 87.58* 93.8* 4 S4 37.5 81.3* 87.5* 5 S5 31.25 50 75* 6 S6 68.8* 75* 81.3* 7 S7 56.25 62.5* 68.8* 8 S8 50 56.3 68.8* 9 S9 50 62.5* 75* 10 S10 25 56.3 56.3 11 S11 25 56.3 62.5* 12 S12 50 56.3 75* 13 S13 31.25 50 56.3 14 S14 31.25 56.3 56.3 15 S15 87.5* 87.5* 93.8* 16 S16 37.5 50 62.5* 17 S17 56.25 62.5* 68.8* 18 S18 37.5 50 68.8* 19 S19 87.5* 87.5* 87.5* 20 S20 43.75 56.3 75* 21 S21 31.25 62.6* 62.5* 22 S22 56.25 50 75* 23 S23 50 62.5* 75* 24 S24 50 62.5* 81.3* 25 S25 31.25 56.3 62.5* 26 S26 31.25 50 75* 27 S27 43.75 56.3 75* 28 S28 56.25 56.3 81.3* 29 S29 56.25 68.8* 75* 30 S30 62.5* 56.3 81.3* MEAN 49.5 64.8 74.3 Note: *) The student who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal KKM (60) 54 It could be seen from the table above that the numbers of students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) also increases from preliminary study and each cycle. In the preliminary study there were only six students or 20% of the students who got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM), in the first cycle there were only thirteen students or 43.3% of the students who got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM), and in the second cycle the students who passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) were 27 students or 90%. It proved that the target of the first criterion of success in which minimum 75% of the students passed the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM) could be achieved. (see appendix 7a) d. Reflecting The result of the second posttest showed that 90% of the students got the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). So it has met the first criterion of success that 75% of the students must get the score above the Minimum Mastery Criterion- Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (KKM). So the writer and the collaborator decided to stop the action. 4. Findings after Implementing the Action After the teaching action had been implemented, the writer carried out the interview to the English teacher who acted as observer. It was to know her response about implementation the action. Besides, the writer gave the questionnaire to the students to know their response 57 The result indicated that most of the students accepted clustering technique in teaching descriptive writing. 4. The feeling in writing using clustering technique. The result showed that 90% of the students felt easy in writing after taught using clustering technique, whereas 10% of the students still felt hard in writing. From the data above, it was indicated that clustering technique was easy and interesting to be applied in teaching descriptive writing. 5. Teacher’s style during teaching writing using clustering technique The result showed that 23.3% of the students were very interested in the teacher style during the action, 63.3% of the students felt interested, and 13.3% of the students felt fair about the teacher’s style. It indicated that the teacher had done the action well. (see appendix 4b) 58 B. Interpretation of Data 1. Data of Observation Based on observation conducted by the writer, it was known that English teacher taught writing by analyzing the text, then she asked the students to translate and comprehend the text, after that she asked the students to make a draft as same as possible with the example text that had been taught. Of course, this technique made students felt bored and hard to make a draft. They felt difficult in produced the words, they did not know how to generate ideas or even less organize their ideas into a good paragraph. They need a simple technique to help them in writing, something that make them motivated and felt simple in writing. However, after the students are taught using clustering technique they felt easier to write. They assumed that clustering technique were helped them in making descriptive writing. (see appendix 2b) 2. Data of Interviews The data of interviews with English teacher and the students of eighth grade of MTs. Darul Ma’arif showed that the teacher and the students have some problems teaching and learning English writing. First of all, the teacher has a problems to get students’ attention and participation, they felt writing was a difficult skill to be learnt, so they were not interested to learn it. Consequently, It need the innovation in teaching writing. The writer suggested implementing clustering technique in teaching writing. After conducting the action, the English teacher gave positive responses toward the action. She felt satisfied with the improvement made by the students focus on writing ability and their participation. (see appendix 2b) 59 3. Data of Students’ achievement in the test Based on the result of students’ writing score, it was found that the students’ writing in a descriptive paragraph was gradually improving. It was showed that there was a good impact of clustering technique toward the increasing of students’ ability in writing descriptive text. The students mean in preliminary study was 49.5%. In the first cycle the mean score was 64.8%. Meanwhile, the mean score in the second cycle was 74.3%. It means that there was 15.2 points or 30.6% of mean improvement from the students’ score in preliminary study up to the first cycle, and there was 24.7 points or 49.8% of mean score improvement from the students’ score in the preliminary study up to the second cycle. The students’ improvement in the writing descriptive paragraph from the preliminary study to the second cycle was recapped in Figure below: Figure 4.1 The students’ achievement in writing product 0 20 40 60 80 Preliminary 1st Cycle 2nd Cycle 49.5 64.8 74.3 62 teaching writing. Therefore, clustering technique could improve the students’ ability in writing of descriptive text. B. Suggestion Having concluded the result of this research, the writer would like to propose some suggestions that hopefully will be useful, especially for as follows: 1. The teacher It is suggested that the English teacher implement the clustering technique as an alternative technique in writing subject. 2. Other researcher For further researcher, the result of this study can be used as an additional reference with different discussion. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adelstein, Michael E and Jean G. Pival, The Writing Commitment, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1976. Anderson, Mark and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, Australia: MacMillan, 1997. ________, Mark and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, Australia: MacMillan, 1998. Arikunto, Suharsimi, Penelitian Tindakan Kelas, Jakarta: Bumi Aksara, 2009. Axelord, Rise B and Charles R Chooper, The St Martin’s Guide to Writing, New York: St Martin’s Press, Inc., 1985. Barnet, Sylvan and Marcia Stubbs, Practical Guide to Writing, Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, 1975. Blanchard, Karen and Christine root, Ready to Write: A first Composition Text (3 rd edition), New York: Pearson education, Inc., 2003. Brain, George, Writing from Source, USA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1996. Brown, Daniel and Bill Burnette, Connection ‘A Rhetoric/Short Prose Reader, New Jersey: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. Burns, Anne, Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teacher, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Buscemi, Santi V., A Reader for Developing Writers, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002. Clouse, Barbara Fine, The Student Writer: Editor and critic (6 th edition), New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004. Dietsch, Betty Mattix, Reasoning and Writing Well: A Rhetoric, Research Guide, Reader, and Hand Book, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003. Kunandar, Langkah Mudah Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (Sebagai Pengembangan Profesi Guru), Jakarta: Rajagrafindo Persada, 2008. Langan, John, English Skills with Readings, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Meltzer, David E., The Relationship between Mathematics Preparation and Conceptual Learning Gains in Physics: A Possible Hidden Variable in Diagnostic Pretest Scores, Iowa: Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2008. Miller, George, The Prentice-Hall Reader, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Miller, Robert Keith, Motives for Writing 5 th edition, New York: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., 2006. Mills, Geoffrey E., Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher. (2 nd ed), New Jersey: Merril Prentice Hall, 2003. Mulyasa, H. E., Praktik Penelitian Tindak Kelas, Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya, 2009. Pharr, Donald & Santi Buscemi, Writing today: Context and options for the Real World, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005. Richards, Jack C and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A Description and Analysis, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986. __________, Methodology in Language Teaching (An Anthology of Current Practice), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Tyner, Thomas E, Writing Voyage, California: Wadswoth, Inc., 1944. Ur, Penny, A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory, London: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Wardiman, Artono, et. al., English in Focus: for Grade VII Junior High School (SMP/MTs), Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, DEPDIKNAS, 2008. Weigle, Sara Cushing, Assessing Writing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Wishon, George E and Julia M. Burks, Let’s Write English, New York: Litton Educational Publishing, 1980. Woodson, Linda, From Cases to Composition, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1982. 65 7. Tanya : Strategy apa yang anda gunakan dalam pengajaran writing? Jawab : biasayanya saya hanya menjelaskan teks terlebih dahulu baik dari jenis teksnya, karakteristiknya, maupun garammaticalnya, setelah itu terkadang mereka saya buat kelompok-kelompok untuk bekerja sama dalam mempelajari teks yang diajarkan, atau terkadang saya menggunakan individual work dalam memberikan tugas. 8. Tanya : Apakah anda pernah mendengar teknik clustering dalam pengajaran writing? Jawab : pernah. 9. Tanya : Apakah strategi pembelajaran writing menggunakan teknik clustering efektif diterapkan pada pengajaran skill writing? Jawab : saya belum tahu karena belum pernah saya terapkan dalam pengajaran writing. 10. Tanya : Menurut anda, apakah teknik clustering dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa dalam bahasa Inggris? Jawab : saya belum bisa memastikan, tapi menurut saya tehnik tersebut harus dicoba, karena siswa saya membutuhkan sesuatu yang baru untuk dapat memotivasi mereka kembali dalam pelajaran bahasa inggris. Jakarta, 10 November 2010 Interviewer Interviewee Fikri Fauzi Alawi Dra. Hj. Hasidahh 66 Appendix 2a: Interview for the English Teacher after Classroom Action Research PEDOMAN WAWANCARA DENGAN GURU BAHASA INGGRIS TERKAIT RESPON PENGGUNAAN CLUSTERING TEHNIK 1. Bagaimana kondisi siswa ibu dalam pembelajaran writing (menulis) setelah menggunakan teknik clustering? 2. Bagaimana kemampuan pemahaman menulis siswa ibu setelah menerapkan strategi clustering? 3. Bagaimana partisipasi siswa ketika pembelajaran writing menggunakan teknik clustering berlangsung? 4. Kendala apa yang terlihat ketika belajar writing menggunakan teknik clustering? 5. Menurut anda, bagaimana cara mengatasi kendala itu? 6. Apa pendapat anda, setelah melihat pembelajaran writing menggunakan teknik clustering? 7. Apakah Anda merasa termotivasi setelah melihat penggunaan teknik clustering dalam pembelajaran di kelas? 8. Menurut pendapat anda, bagaimana activitas yang dilaksanakan dalam proses pembelajaran writing dengan menggunakan teknik clustering ? 9. Setelah mengobservasi pembelajaran writing dengan menggunakan teknik clustering, apakah teknik tersebut efektif diterapkan pada pembelajaran skill writing? 10. Setelah menjadi observer, Menurut anda, apakah teknik clustering dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa dalam bahasa Inggris? 67 Appendix 2b: The result of interview in the last of classroom action research HASIL WAWANCARA Kepada Guru Bahasa Inggris (MTs. Darul Ma’arif) Pewawancara : Fikri Fauzi Alawi Pihak yang diwawancarai : Dra. Hj. Hasidah Jabatan : Guru Bahasa Inggris Hari/ Tanggal : 4 desember 2010 Waktu : 09.00 – 09. 30 Tempat : Ruang Guru 1. Bagaimana kondisi siswa ibu dalam pembelajaran writing (menulis) setelah menggunakan teknik clustering? Jawab: sejauh yang saya lihat, tehnik clustering dalam pembelajaran descriptive writing cukup baik ditrerapkan pada siswa dikelas, mereka lebih termotivasi lagi dalam belajar bahasa inggris hususnya pelajaran writing yang mereka anggap sulit untukk dipelajari. 2. Bagaimana kemampuan pemahaman menulis siswa ibu setelah menerapkan strategi clustering? Jawab: basically mereka sangat kurang sekali dalam vocabulary, maupun dalam organizing text, akan tetapi setelah belajar menggunakan tekhnik clustering mereka merasa lebih mudah dalam membuat tulisan dalam bahasa inggris.khususnya dalam menyambungkan satu ide dengan ide yang lain. 3. Bagaimana partisipasi siswa ketika pembelajaran writing menggunakan teknik clustering berlangsung? Jawab: sebagian besar dari mereka sangat cooperative, namun ada beberapa siswa yang memang kurang memperhatikan ketika pembelajaran berlangsung. 70 Appendix 3a: Questionnaire for Students in the Preliminary Study PEDOMAN KUISIONER UNTUK SISWA PETUNJUK: 1. Pertanyaan – pertanyaan berikut ini berkaitan dengan pengajaran menulis pada pelajaran bahasa Inggris. Mohon diisi dengan sebenar – benarnya. 2. Jawaban anda sama sekali tidak akan mempengaruhi nilai. 1. Bagaimanakah perasaan Anda terhadap pelajaran Bahasa Inggris? a. sangat suka b. suka c. biasa saja d. tidak suka 2. Diantara 4 (empat) kecakapan berbahasa dalam bahasa Inggris: menyimak (listening), berbicara (speaking), membaca (reading), dan menulis (writing), manakah yang Anda anggap paling sulit? a. listening b. speaking c. reading d. writing 3. Apakah Anda senang terhadap pelajaran menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? a. sangat senang b.senang c.biasa saja d. tidak senang 4. Bagaimanakah menurut Anda menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? a. Sangat mudah b. Mudah c. Biasa saja d. Sulit 5. Bagaimana cara guru anda mengajar pada pelajaran menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? a. sangat menyenangkan b. menyenangkan c. biasa saja d. tidak menyenagkan 71 Appendix 3b: The Result of Questionnaire in the Preliminary Study RECAPITULATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESULT IN PRELIMINARY STUDY No Questions Score Percentage (%) a b c d a b c d 1 Bagaimanakah perasaan Anda terhadap pelajaran Bahasa Inggris? 3 17 8 2 10 56,6 26,6 6,6 2 Diantara 4 (empat) kecakapan berbahasa dalam bahasa Inggris: menyimak (listening), berbicara (speaking), membaca (reading), dan menulis (writing), manakah yang Anda anggap paling sulit? 3 10 5 15 10 33,3 16,6 50 3 Apakah Anda senang terhadap pelajaran menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? 1 10 15 4 3,3 33,3 50 13,3 4 Bagaimanakah menurut Anda menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? 0 0 5 25 0 0 16,6 83,3 5 Bagaimana cara guru anda mengajar pada pelajaran menulis dalam bahasa Inggris? 2 15 11 2 6,6 50 36,6 6,6 72 Appendix 4a: Questionnaire for Students after Classroom Action Research PEDOMAN KUISIONER UNTUK SISWA PETUNJUK: Pertanyaan – pertanyaan berikut ini berkaitan dengan pengajaran menulis pada pelajaran bahasa Inggris. Mohon diisi dengan sebenar – benarnya. Jawaban anda sama sekali tidak akan mempengaruhi nilai. 1. Apakah anda senang terhadap pelajaran writing (menulis) a. sangat senang b. senang c. biasa saja d. tidak senang 2. Apakah belajar writing dengan menggunakan teknik clustering membantu anda dalam mengembangkan tulisan anda? a. sangat membantu b. membantu c. kurang membantu d. tidak membantu 3. Bagaimanakah perasaan Anda terhadap pembelajaran writing dengan menggunakan teknik clustering? a. sangat senang b.senang c.biasa saja d. tidak senang 4. Bagaimanakah menurut Anda menulis dengan menggunakan teknik clustering? a. Sangat mudah b. Mudah c. Biasa saja d. Sulit 5. Bagaimana cara guru anda mengajar pada pelajaran menulis dalam bahasa Inggris dengan menggunakan teknik clustering? a. sangat menyenangkan b. menyenangkan c. biasa saja d. tidak menyenangkan 75 Appendix 5b : Students’ Writing Descriptive Paragraph Score in Preliminary Study THE RESULT OF STUDENTS' WRITING IN THE PRELIMINARY STUDY No Students’ Number Score Total Score C O V &M G score 1 S1 4 3 3 4 14 87.5 2 S2 3 1 2 2 8 50 3 S3 4 2 2 2 10 62.5 4 S4 2 2 1 1 6 37.5 5 S5 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 6 S6 3 3 2 3 13 68.8 7 S7 3 2 2 2 9 56.25 8 S8 2 2 2 2 8 50 9 S9 2 2 2 2 8 50 10 S10 1 1 1 1 4 25 11 S11 1 1 1 1 4 25 12 S12 2 2 2 2 8 50 13 S13 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 14 S14 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 15 S15 4 4 3 3 14 87.5 16 S16 2 2 1 1 6 37.5 17 S17 3 2 2 2 9 56.25 18 S18 2 2 1 1 6 37.5 19 S19 4 4 2 4 14 87.5 20 S20 2 2 1 2 7 43.75 21 S21 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 22 S22 3 2 2 2 9 56.25 23 S23 2 2 1 2 8 50 24 S24 2 2 2 2 8 50 25 S25 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 26 S26 2 1 1 1 5 31.25 27 S27 2 2 1 2 7 43.75 28 S28 3 2 2 2 9 56.25 29 S29 2 2 3 2 9 56.25 30 S30 3 2 3 2 10 62.5 73 57 50 55 238 1487.5 MEAN 2.4 2 1.7 1.9 7.9 49.5 MINIMUM SCORE 25 MAXIMUM SCORE 87.5 Note : C = Content, 76 O = Organization, V & M = Vocabulary & Mechanic, G = Grammar No Level Number of students Percentage 1 60 ≥ 100 6 20 2 59 ≤ 0 24 80 TOTAL 30 100 77 Appendix 5c: The Sample of Students’ Descriptive Writing in the Preliminary Study SAMPLE OF STUDENTS’ WRITING IN PRELIMINARY STUDY 80 Appendix 6b : The Sample of Students’ Descriptive Writing in the First Cycle 81 Appendix 7a: The students’ descriptive writing score in the cycle 2 The Result of Students’ Writing Score in the cycle 2 No Students’ Number Score Total Score C O V &M G score 1 S1 4 4 3 3 15 93.8 2 S2 4 3 3 3 13 81.3 3 S3 4 4 3 3 15 93.8 4 S4 3 4 4 3 14 87.5 5 S5 3 3 3 3 12 75 6 S6 4 3 3 3 13 81.3 7 S7 3 3 2 3 11 68.8 8 S8 4 2 2 3 11 68.8 9 S9 4 3 3 2 12 75 10 S10 3 2 2 2 9 56.3 11 S11 3 3 2 2 10 62.5 12 S12 4 3 2 3 12 75 13 S13 3 2 2 2 9 56.3 14 S14 2 3 2 2 9 56.3 15 S15 4 4 4 3 15 93.8 16 S16 3 3 2 2 10 62.5 17 S17 3 3 2 2 11 68.8 18 S18 3 3 2 2 11 68.8 19 S19 3 3 3 3 14 87.5 20 S20 3 3 2 2 12 75 21 S21 2 3 3 2 10 62.5 22 S22 3 3 3 3 12 75 23 S23 3 3 3 3 12 75 24 S24 4 3 3 3 13 81.3 25 S25 3 3 2 2 10 62.5 26 S26 4 4 2 2 12 75 27 S27 4 3 3 2 12 75 28 S28 4 3 3 3 13 81.3 29 S29 3 3 3 3 12 75 30 S30 4 3 3 3 13 81.3 TOTAL 101 92 79 77 357 2231 MEAN 3.3 3 2.6 2.5 11.9 74.3 MINIMUM SCORE 56.3 MAXIMUM SCORE 93.8 82 No Level Number of students Percentage 1 60 ≥ 100 23 90 2 59 ≤ 0 3 10 TOTAL 30 100