IMPROVING STUDENT ABILITY IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE

TEXT THROUGH CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING

“skripsi”
Presented to the faculty teacher training and education science
In a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of S.pd

Oleh:

Nama : Brilliant al barqi

NPM : 191014288203007

PRODI: PBI

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYYAH MUARA BUNGO

2022
 ABSTRACT

This study aims to describe the influence of contextual learning model and critical
thinking ability toward argumentative writing skill on university students. The results of the
research indicate that; group of contextual learning model has more significant influence than
group of non-contextual learning model, there is an interaction between learning model and
critical thinking ability, there is a significant difference of argumentative writing skill
between group of contextual learning and non-contextual learning for the group with high
critical thinking ability, and there is also significantly different argumentative writing skill
between contextual learning and noncontextual for the group of low critical thinking ability.
Based on this finding, the researcher concludes that critical thinking ability and contextual
learning model have significant influence toward argumentative writing skill.
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. BACKGROUND

Introduction Language is a human communication instrument. Almost every day humans

use language, receptively or productively. By using language, humans present their feelings,
ideas, inspirations, imaginations, and convey everything to everyone else. Beside, language is
not only a medium of communication, but also a means of representing human intelligence.
This is why language is often considered an indicator of intellectuality.

Campbell et al. (2002) states that language is an example of primary intelligence of

human being. They also maintained the rhetoric aspect of language, as an ability to convince
someone, a potential tool to remember a list or process, the capacity to explain concepts,
metaphors’ values, and it is used to analyze language in terms of “metalinguistic”. These
language abilities need to be taught in order to engender human’s language skills. There are
several aspects of these skills (Adejimola and Ojuolape, 2013), and these are: 1. Listening
and comprehending 2. Speaking 3. Reading, 4.Writing.

Of these skills, writing is the most complex ability compared to others. When writing,
one must have indirect communication ability, language structure, writing techniques, and the
ability to extract ideas form text. The complexity of writing activity requires systematic and
well-ordered thinking that must be mastered by students and which finally will be the way of
their behavior (Gonye et al., 2012). The behavior of thinking orderly will lead students to
deliver messages, ideas and feelings systematically, and foreseeable in writing activity then.

Rather than to teach writing theory, writing instruction should be focused on writing
activity. Teaching only focused on writing theory will cause passivity and unproductivity,
even though students have retained knowledge of various techniques of writing. Many
scholars in linguistics and literature programs are not productive in writing (Alwasilah and
Alwasilah, 2005). It means that mastery of writing theory is not sufficient condition for
someone to be active and productive in writing.

Writing skills are not gifted skills or not categorized as cultural knowledge, nonetheless
they can be achieved by learning and training processes. In the study of Paas and Sweller
(2011), this kind of knowledge was classified in secondary biological knowledge, which
cannot be achieved by “naturally” process. In other word, to attain this skill, someone has to
train continually and be guided by expert (Magogwe, 2013). This kind of learning, principally
is of learning that borrows knowledge and skill from others (Paas and Sweller, 2011; Sweller
and Sweller, 2006). With this method.

students can learn other ideas through sentences which are expressed in the form of
writing. Furthermore, by this method students attempt to explain to themselves the ideas,
opinions, thoughts, feelings, desires, or expressions which are written in other writings (Chi
et al., 1989; Chi et al., 1994; Johnson and Mayer, 2010). By this method also, students drive
to express the sentence connections and finally are able to generate the meaning of others
thinking thoroughly. Learning this way, students can develop critical thinking in writing by
learning from others. One important type of writing to be learned in school and in the
university is argumentative writing (Alarcon and Morales, 2011; Nippold, 2000; Preiss et al.,
2013).

It has an effect on the success of learning (Preiss et al., 2013). At university, students
usually write argumentative writing when they create a paper for daily routine tasks or thesis.
They use these argumentative writings because a paper deals with new and original ideas, and
it must be written with strong and convincing argumentation. Faraway, argumentative skill is
very important when students engaged in professional working environment, they have to
convince and persuade colleagues related to their professions in well-behaved argumentation.

B. research problems.

Related to the previous background, the question of the study is how to improve the
student’s ability in writing argumentative text through contextual teaching and learning.

C. destination

The students are struggle to express their thought on essay because they have limited
words and ideas. Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) Approach through REACT
(Relating, Experiencing, Applying, Cooperating and Transferring) strategies to overcome the
issue. This approach helps students think critically and understand the material they are
learning by connecting their subject with their lives' context. This study aimed to investigate
the effectiveness of CTL approach through REACT strategies on developing the students'
writing skill.
 CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Definition of Writing

“Writing is clearly much more than production of graphic symbols, just as speech is
more than the production of sounds. The symbols have to be arranged, according to certain
convention, to form words, and words have to be arranged to form sentences, although again
we can be said to be ‘writing’ if we are merely making of words, as in inventories of items
such as shopping list” (Byrne, 1988). According to Oshima and Hogue (2007) “writing is
never a one-step action, it is an ongoing creative act”.

In addition, “writing is complex and sometimes difficult to teach, requiring mastery

not only grammatical and rhetorical devices but also of concept and judgmental elements”
(Heaton, 1988). Writing is process to make a group of word that discusses a smaller idea
(Meyers in Raichar, 2013). When all word of a sentence works together and related to main
idea. That mean each idea is related to develop the central idea. Furthermore, like an essay,
the paragraph generally contains introduction, body, and conclusion. 2. Purpose of Writing
Purpose refers to the writer reason of writing which can be stated. It is important for writer to
determine and identify her purpose of writing early.

By knowing the purpose of writing, it can help us more easily to organize ideas in
writing and keep writing on track ,, agree with the writer purpose of writing. According to
Dietsch (2005), there are three purposes of writing that describe the kinds of students writing;
informative, expressive and persuasive. Informative writing is intended to give information,
ideas, knowledge or directions. Example of informative writing includes describing events or
experiences, analyzing concept, speculating on causes and effect and developing new ideas or
relationship. Expressive writing is intended to express the writer feelings, experience and
opinion.

This type of writing also has the purpose to entertain the reader. It can be said that
expressive writing related to the writer’s expression which is expressed in the story or essays.
Example of expressive writing includes poems, diaries, journal writing, and fiction.
B. Component of Writing

There are five significant components of writing according to Heaton (1988) they are
content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanic. They are as follows:

1. Content Content of writing should be clear for the readers so that the readers can
understand the message conveyed and get information from it. In order to have a good
content of writing, the content should be well unified and completed. This term is usually
known as unity and completeness which become the characteristics of the good writing.

2. Organization In organization, the writing concerns with the ways the writer to arrange and
organize the ideas or the messages in the writing. Organizing the material in writing involves
coherence, order of importance, and general to specific, specific to general, chronological
order that happened from the beginning to the end.

3. Vocabulary The effective use of words will always result good writing both specific and
technical writing, the dictionary is very considerable vocabulary is one in writing. To express
ideas we always deal with vocabulary. The lack of vocabulary makes it difficult to express
ideas.

4. Language use Language use in writing description and other form of writing involves
correct language and point of grammar. An adequate grammar should be one that is capable
of producing ,. grammar. We should not able to do anything more than utter separate items of
language function and also grammar can help the students to improve the use of formal
language.

5. Mechanics There are at least two parts of mechanic in writing, namely punctuation and
capitalization. Punctuation is important as the way to clarify meaning in English writing
capital letters have to participles. First they are used to distinguish between particular and
proper things. Second, it is used as first word in quotations, a formal statement
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter deals with research design, research variabel, research subject, research
target, research instrument, data collecting procedures, data analysis techniques.

The researcher conducts Classroom Action Research (CAR). It is conducted by the teachers
or lecturers who want to help their students master the materials. The main purposes of
Classroom Action Research are to identify and to solve the students’ problem in the class.
Classroom Action Research is an effective media in improving the quality of English teacher’
performance in instruction as well as students’ achievement in learning English in classroom.

Classroom Action Research start from teacher’s serious concern about their success in
their own instructions, their students’ learning progress, their students’ behavior, their
students’ learning problems, and the learning environment, which they always assess
throughout the whole process of instruction for purpose of planning, implementing and
evaluating.