THESIS Chapter I


ABSTRACT

Hendrap Pakpahan, 220808794. Improving Students’ Writing Recount Achievement through Peer Review Technique. A Thesis. Medan: English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, State University of Medan. 2013.

This study aims at finding out whether the application of Peer review Technique can improve students’ achievement in writing recount text. This study was conducted by using classroom action research. The subject of the research was X-4 class Madtasah Aliyah Medan Medan which consisted 40 students. The research was carried out in two cycles. There were four meetings in cycle I and three meetings in cycle II. The instruments used to collect the data were writing tasks as quantitative data while observation sheet, questionnaire sheet, diary notes and interview as qualitative data. The result of quantitative data showed that the percentage of the competent students kept improving. In the orientation test, there was only 20% of the students who got the score up to 70, in the cycle I, there was 65% and in the cycle II, it was improved to be 95%. Based on the observation sheet, questionnaire sheet, diary notes and interview, it was found out that the teaching learning process ran well. The result showed that Peer Review Technique gives contribution to improve students’ achievement in writing recount text.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT................... ……………………………………………….. ...      i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..……………………. ......................................      ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………       iv
LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………...       vi
LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………        vii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………...       1
      A.  The Background of the Study ……………………………................         1
      B.  The Problem of the Study …………………………………………..         4   
      C.  The Objective of the Study ……………………………………..…..   .     4
      D.  The Scope of the Study ……………………......…………………....        4
      E.  The Significance of the Study ………………………………………          4

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE …………………………..         6
      A.  Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………..  6
            1. Students’ Achievement .................…………...……......................        6
            2. Writing …………………………………………………………...       7   
                 a. Writing Process ………………………………………………..       8
                 b. Types of Writing ........................................................................       10
            3. Genres of Writing ………………………………………………...       12              
           4. Recount Text ……......……………...………………….................        14
                a. Generic Structure ……………………….....…………………..        14
                b. Language Features …………….................................................        14 
            5. Peer Review Technique ……………………………………….....        16
                 a. The Procedure of Peer Review Technique ................................         18
                 b. The advantages of Peer Review Technique ..............................          18
      B. Conceptual Framework ……………………………………………….      19

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD ………………………………....      21
  1. The Research Design  ................……………………………………..      21
  2. The Location and Time of Research  ……...…………………...........  22
  3. The Subject of Research.....................………………………..............      22
  4. The Instrument of Collecting Data ……...…………………………… 22
  5. The Procedure of Data Collection ……….……………………...........      23
            1. Cycle I .............................................................................................     25
                a. Planning .......................................................................................      25
                b. Action ..........................................................................................     26
                c. Observation .................................................................................      28
                d. Reflection ....................................................................................      29
            2. Cycle II ............................................................................................     29
a.    Planning .....................................................................................      29
b.    Action .........................................................................................     30
c.    Observation ..............................................................................       32
d.    Reflection .................................................................................        32
      F.  The Scoring of Writing .......………………………………………...    .     33
      G.  The Technique of Data Analysis .......................................................          36

CHAPTER IV: THE DATA AND DATA ANALYSIS …………….......          38
      A. The Data ……………………………………………………………...     38
           1. The Quantitative Data ………………………………………........... 38
           2. The Qualitative Data ………………………………………………. 40
      B. Data Analysis …………………………………………………………      41
          1. Analysis of Quantitative Data ............................................................ 41
          2. Analysis of Qualitative Data .............................................................. 45
a.    Observation sheet ..........................................................................     45
b.    Questionnaire sheet .......................................................................      48
c.    Diary notes ....................................................................................     50
d.    Interview .......................................................................................     50
          3. Research Account ..............................................................................     51
a.    Cycle I ...........................................................................................    51
1)   Planning ...................................................................................      52
2)   Action ......................................................................................     52
3)   Observation ..............................................................................     53
4)   Reflection .................................................................................     53
b.    Cycle II .........................................................................................     53
1)   Planning ...................................................................................      53
2)   Action .......................................................................................    53
3)   Observation ..............................................................................     54
4)   Reflection .................................................................................     54
      D. Research Findings …………………………………………………...  55

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ………………….  57
      A. Conclusion …………………………………………………………..  57
      B. Suggestion …………………………………………………………..  .     57

REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………       59

APPENDICES .............................................................................................       61





LIST OF TABLES
                                                                                                                           Page
Table 3.1 Teacher’s and Students’ Activities in Cycle I ……….....…………          26
Table 3.2 Teacher’s and Students’ Activities in Cycle II………….....………         30
Table 3.3 The Scoring of Writing Test …………………….......…………….        33
Table 4.1 Students’ Writing Scores …………………….......………………..       39
Table 4.2 The Range of Score Improvement ……………...........................       42
Table 4.3 The Comparison of Students’ Writing Score ..................................         44
Table 4.4 The Percentage of the Students’ who Got Score up to 70 ...............        45
Table 4.5 The Result of Observation Sheets .....................................................      46
Table 4.6 The Result of Questionnaire Sheet ..................................................        49     

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A.           The Background of the Study
  As the main vehicle of human communication, language is indispensable. Language stands at the center of human affairs, from the most prosaic to the most profound (Clark & Clark, 1977:3). It is because language is a system of arbitrary conventionalized vocal, written or gestural symbols that enable members of a given community to communicate intelligibly with one another (Brown, 2000:5). It  is used to express intention, ideas, feelings, even in oral and written way.
Today, we live in the era of globalization; full of challenges and competition among other people either in or out of our country. Because of that, a global language connecting all people around the world is needed. English is one of the most common languages used by people having different native language. The presence of English as a universal language makes everybody relizes that this language is needed to be learnt. That is why Indonesian government set English as one of the compulsory subjects at the schools. This means that everybody in our country is expected to be capable in using English as foreign language.
In learning English, there are four skills that should be well-mastered by students. They are listening, speaking, reading and writing. As one of the four skills, writing also holds important role in our life, considering that it is used extensively in education and in the workplace. Moreover, many assignments and exams require students to write short answers or longer essays as a way of assesing what they have learnt.
Writing is as one of the four basic language skills that should be well-mastered by students has been taught from the Elementary school level up to the higher level of education. It is expected that the students will be able to communicate in written way. The schools in Indonesia mostly use Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP – Educational Unit-Oriented Curriculum) as their educational orientation. Based on the curriculum, it is expected that the students are able to master the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and also have ability to do communication both in written and oral language in order to achieve functional and informational literacy.
Unfortunately, the facts are different. Many students want to be able to communicate in written way but they do not know how to transfer their ideas or knowledge and write them into words on paper in appropriate and accurate ways. In addition, based on the writer’s interview with one of SMA Negeri 21 English teachers, it was found out that many students at that school also face difficulties in writing a text even after being taught. Students’ difficulties occured either because writing is a process to get a product is influenced by some elements such as vocabulary, grammar, organization, spelling, and punctuation.
However, based on the English syllabus for Grade X of Senior High School students, recount text is as one of genres in writing that should also be well-mastered by the students. They must be able to write a recount text related to their real life. In daily life, recount text is used to retell past events. During the whole life, we have many happened experiences that we left behind and want to share them with other people in written way but the way in writing it, is not acceptable that sometimes makes the meaning of the writing obscure. Therefore, the appropriate way to make it in a written form is by recount text. That is why recount text is also important to be learnt.
Considering the facts above, there is a need to solve the problem between the curriculum expectation and students’ low writing ability especially in writing a recount text. There are many ways that can be done, one of them is through peer review technique.
Peer review technique is a technique for language learning refers in which students can share their creative works with peers for constructive feedback and then use the feedback to revise and improve their work. Peer review technique is an essential part of the writing process.  It is utilized between the drafting and revision stages, considering the process of writing involves four elements: planning, drafting, editing, and final version. By peer review technique, students can get the four elements in the writing process. By applying peer review technique, it will help students to know what are the strengths and weaknesses or what are missing from their writing so they can revise and improve it.
Therefore, to achieve writing competence, responding meaning and rhetorical structures of recount text accurately and appropriately in the context of daily life, it is expected that students’ achievement in writing will be improved if they are taught by using peer review technique, especially in writing recount text.



B.       The Problem of the Study
 Based on the background of the study, the problem of this study is formulated as follows:
Is students’ writing recount achievement significantly improved if they are taught by using peer review technique?

C.      The Objective of the Study
       This study is aimed at finding out the improvement of students’ achievement in writing recount text through peer review technique.

D.      The Scope of the Study
 There are many techniques that can be applied in teaching English. In line with the applying of a technique in teaching writing English, this study is focused on the application of Peer Review technique in teaching writing recount text. Another limitation is that this study focuses on the Senior High School students grade X at SMA Negeri 21 Medan. The number of the students is fourty students.

E.       The Significance of the Study
        As this thesis is concerned with the application of peer review technique to improve students’ achievement in writing recount text, the findings of this research are expected to be useful and relevant theoretically and practically.
1.        Theoretically, the results of this study are expected to be able to enrich and enhance the theory of teaching writing on a recount text through peer review technique. The results of this study can be used as a reference for those who want to conduct the same research in improving writing ability.
2.        Practically, the results of this study are expected to be useful for English teachers, as one of the alternative technique in improving the quality of students’ writing by using peer review technique. It is hoped that the students can write well, help them to develop their knowledge in writing, and able to build their critical thinking.
 



        
















LIST OF APPENDICES
                                                                                                                      Page     
APPENDIX A LESSON PLAN ……………………….....……………...     61       
APPENDIX B STUDENTS’ WRITING SCORES ……......……………       88 
APPENDIX C OBSERVATION SHEET …….....………....……………      102
APPENDIX D QUESTIONNAIRE SHEET ....……................................       116
APPENDIX E DIARY NOTES ……........................................................      123
APPENDIX F INTERVIEW SCRIPT …………....……….......…………     129
APPENDIX G PEER REVIEW FEEDBACK SHEET .............................       134