Name: Silva Noridha Sitompul

NIM: F1021191049

Improving Students Writing Skill by Using Estafet Writing Method in Descriptive Text

Background
Language is a system communication with other people. According Siahaan ( 2008, p.214 )
states that language is a set of rules that is used by its native speakers as the tool of their
communication. It is a system for communicating ideas and feelings using sounds, gestures, signs or
marks. Language is written and spoken words combined to create meaning used by a particular group of
people. It means that language is very important for human life.

There are many languages in the world, one of them is English. English is one of many languages
which is used by almost all people from many different countries around the world as a tool for
communication and also the object of study. In formal way, English is studied from junior high school to
university level as a compulsory subject ; even it is introduced in the elementary school as a local
content. It is also included in national test as a reflection on students English mastery. In informal way,
English is studied in the courses or can be in the English training. It is the reason why English is an
important language used by people in the world.

According to Harmer ( 2007, p. 31 ) states that writing is one of the four skills, beside speaking , reading
and listening. Writing has always formed part of the syllabus in the teaching of English. However, it can
be used for a variety of purpose, ranging from being merely a ‘back up’ for grammar teaching to a
major syllabus strand in its own right, where mastering the ability to write effectively is seen as a key
objective for learners.

Writing is one of way to deliver something that we have it is for expressing idea, opinion, experience, or
information in the mind of the writer into the form of written language. Based on Tiwari ( 2005, p.120 )
states that writing is a method of representing language in visual or tactile form. Writing is a complex
process that allows the writer to explore thought and ideas and make them visible and concrete.

Based on syllabus for senior high school, students are expected to be able to write some genre of text.
One of the genres is descriptive text. Descriptive Text is a kind of text with a purpose to give
information. The context of this kind of text is the description of particular thing, place, animal, person,
or others, for instance: our pets or a person we know well. According to Oshima And Hoque ( 2007, p.
61 ) descriptive writing appeals to the sense., so it tell how something looks, feels, smell, tastes, and / or
sound. A good description is a word picture ; the reader can imagine the object, place, or person in his
or her mind.
However, writing descriptive text is not easy. Students must be able to generate, develop their ideas and
also to arrange the events in a chronological order. To make it easier for students in writing descriptive
text, the teacher has to find the effective and interesting method. As Langan ( 2003, p.134 ) said that
writing is skill so, it can be learned by using many kinds of technique. There are so many techniques and
method to make writing in descriptive text more interesting. One of them is estafet writing method.
Estafet writing method is one of method in teaching writing process. Estafet writing is one of the active
learning technique and also an innovative learning model in which one the students starts writing a
short story which is continued again one after another. It’s one of the techniques that is easy to learn
and can be effective way to teach writing descriptive text. Descriptive text is a type of genre, which has
a social function to retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining. So, Estafet Writing can
help the students easily to write and identify the descriptive text. In learning descriptive text, students
may have difficulties in learning it. Students may be confused what to write although they know the
topic which has been given by the teacher. They are confused to write their idea about the topic. Based
on the problems identified, the writer conducts an action research using Estafet Writing at the tenth
grade of SMA. It is expected that the writer as a teacher will be able to motivate the students to learn
the materials, enjoy to the lesson and make them not to get bored.

Reasons why the research is important to be conducted

The researcher has found some references of the importance of the writing

activities states, there are a lots the reason why the writing is very important, as

follows:

1. Writing help us to organize our ideas, we can arrange them into the coherent form.

2. Writing down ideas allows us to distance ourselves when we write the topic.

3. Writing is a tool of discovery, we stimulate our though process by act of writing

into information and image who have our unconscious mind.

Existing problems in a particular classroom

that student need new strategy to mastery the writing skill. Thus, the

researcher chooses think-talk-write strategy in writing learning in

order to make student interest in writing learning.

General problems existing in the population

Based on the background above the researcher will conduct the

research in teaching English to Junior high school. The researcher focuses

on practice teaching English Writing by using strategy. And the strategy

will be using Think Talk Write (TTW) strategy.

In this study, the researcher focuses on how is the effectiveness of the

application of Think-Talk-Write strategy towards on students’ writing skill

with the material is descriptive text which appropiet with the book of

seventh grade students. So the limitation of this research uses the Think

Talk Write strategy.

Based on the classroom research result, the writer gives some suggestion as follows: 1. In learning
writing skill, the teachers are hoped more creative in teaching their students in order to maximize
teaching learning process, and makes the students are not boring.

Teachers should not teach their students monotonously because it may make them bored. Teachers
may use the other innovations in teaching and learning process to improve students' academic
achievement.

Research Gap Identification

The writer identifies and limits his study in teaching the writing material stated in the English Module.
This study focuses on the improvement achieved by students in writing ability of descriptive text
through guided questions.

Form of the research

Writing has several genre or forms. According to Robert Scholes and Nancy R. Comley (1985), the forms
of writing fall into three categories. They are writer-oriented forms, reader-oriented forms, and topic
oriented forms.

a. Writer-Oriented Forms, it means the forms of writing in which the writer is the center of attention.
There are two forms of these categories. They are Expression and Reflection.

1) Expression. In this form the writer writes to express their feeling or thoughts."

2) Reflection. In reflective writing, the writer's self is doubled. In reflection we look back that is, our
present, writing self looks back upon some previous self and measures, in some way, the distance
between then and now. Reflection allows us to discover significance in the events of our own lives."
b. Reader-Oriented Forms. There are two forms of reader-oriented writing. They are Direction and
Persuasion.

1) Direction. It provides information and arranges the information in the most useful and
comprehensible order such as cook book and instruction book.

2) Persuasion. It is designed to persuade or to motivate the reader to do something

c. Topic-Oriented forms. The six forms of topic-oriented writing are narration, description, classification,
argumentation, analysis, and synthesis.

1) Narration is the writing form which shared to the reader about an event that happens in time.

2) Description is to take a scene or an object and capture it in language.

3) Classification is the form that puts a premium on organization. It uses category or subtopic.

4) Argumentation differs from persuasion by being more rational. It includes a thesis to be argued and
the evidence to support the thesis.

5) Analysis is both a way of observing and a way of writing about what writer have observed.

6) Synthesis is the fullest and most complete form of academic writing

Significance of the research

hopefully, the findings of the study are expected to be useful for English teacher and students. For the
teacher, it is hoped this study can give them knowledge in teaching writing, especially in teaching
descriptive text and can apply it in the classroom. Furthermore, for the students, it can be used to
improve their writing especially writing descriptive text and hopefully this study can make them enjoy to
write.

research hypothesis

The hypotheses of the study are formulated as follow :

Ho : There is no significant difference in writing skill of writing descriptive text between the
students who are taught by using Estafet writing method and that of those who are not.

Ha : There is a significant difference in writing skill of writing descriptive text between the students
who are taught by using Estafet Writing method and that of those who are not.

The Question of the Research

1. How are students’ achievement descriptive writing skills in experiment

class using Think-Talk-Write (TTW) strategy?

2. How are students’ achievement descriptive writing skills in control class

using Think Talk Write (TTW) strategy?

3. Is there any positive and significant effect on students’ achievement in

writing descriptive text by using Think Talk Write strategy?

The purposes of the Research

The purposes of the research this research is as follows;

a. To explain means to explain the reader about a subject. For example: a science writer will describe the
shape of an airplane wing to help explain to readers how mechanized flight is possible.

b. To persuade means the writer describes something to make readers interested. For example: an
attorney might deseribe the damage done to a bedroom window to help prove forced entry and thereby
persuade the jury that accused committed burglary.

c. To re-create means make reader making something. For example: the description allows the reader to
re-create the experience - particularly the sensory pleasures of that experience - in their own minds,
thereby enhancing their delight in the subject at hand.

d. To demonstrate means the writer wants to demonstrate something to a reader. When a writer
describes the thawing of Walden Pond after a long, cold winter is to demonstrate the animated quality
of nature and how its processes are more complex and beautiful than non observers can realize.

Terminology

The observation result shows that the students' participation are more interested in learning descriptive
paragraph through guided questions in the classroom. Based on the questionnaire result it can be
concluded that the students' perception and impression about process of learning writing skill of
descriptive text through guided questions is more enthusiastic, From the result of research on the
previous chapter shows that Guided Questions method makes students easier in making descriptive
paragraph, and makes them easier in exploring their idea in making descriptive paragraph. The method
also can improve students achievement significantly in writing skill of. Based on the questionnaire result
it can be concluded that the students' perception and impression about process of learning writing skill
of descriptive text through guided questions is more enthusiastic. From the result of research on the
previous chapter shows that Guided Questions method makes students easier in making descriptive
paragraph, and makes them easier in exploring their idea in making descriptive paragraph. The method
also can improve students' achievement significantly in writing skill of descriptive paragraph.

References

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