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TEACHING WRITING DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS BY USING

WHOLESOME SCATTERING GAME TO THE EIGHTH GRADE

STUDENTS OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL 16 OF PALEMBANG

1. Background

The goal of teaching English is as a foreign language (TEFL) in

Indonesian is to enable students to use English for communication.

Whereas, communication itself may accur in oral and written forms. In

other words, the students are expected to be able use English not only in

speaking but also in writing. English is compulsory subject in Indonesia. It

is start given from the first Junior High School until the first grade of

University. When learning English as a foreign language, the learners are

required to be able to communicate with other people by using the

language, such as understand them, talk to them, read what they have

written and write to them. From this, we can see how important of English

is.

There are four skills that students need to have in order to concern

about in learning English.. The four language skills are listening, speaking,

reading, and writing. These skills are related to each other. Moreover,

English competence is important in career development, therefore students

need to understand and use English to improve their confidence to face

global competition. Writing is one of the most important skills in learning

English as a foreign language.


Writing is the most dominant skill in learning every subject.

Writing also is a process that must be attended to and intergrated in every

class. Writing is an activity which imagine what are in their mind and then

there are expressions to the written form. In other words, it can be said if

someone has a good writing skill, their may increase their knowledge into

writing. In writing, a writer transfering their thoughts into a written form,

by following some certain rules according the type of text writer want to

create. The writing skills are very important for some reason. The first

reason is writing is important for all grade in the school, because this skill

can brings them to understand about written language. Through writing,

the students can share information and ideas. Secondly, they can compose

their stories. Furthermore, writing can help the students to fokus on

accurate language use, such as grammar and vocabulary. It may well

provoke language development of the students because they think as they

write.

According to Jeremy (2007:113) writing is used as an

aidememoireor practice tool to help students practice and work with

language they have been studying. For example, ask a class to write five

sentences using a given structure or using five of the new words and

phrase they have been learning. According to Brown (2000:335) a written

product is a product of thinking, drafting, and revising that requaires

spesialized skill on how to generate ideas, how to organize them

coherently, how to use discourse makers and rhetorical conventions to put


them cohesively into a written text, how to revise text for the clearer

meaning, how to edit text appropriate grammar, and how to produce a final

project.

Teaching writing is not so easy because many students still have

problems to write such as, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and

vocabulary. It is because English language is not common in our country,

so that’s why the students have difficulties when they want to write.

Teaching a foreign language is considered one of the most

challenging teaching practices. Students are usually afraid to joining

foreign language classes. They may feel unmotivated, discouraged easily.

Their mind set say foreign language is difficult to learn. Teachers in this

case need to be responsive in the classroom situation in order to take an

accurate measure. The classroom atmosphere should be sufficiently relax,

so that the learners can engage in actively in every activity.

Games in foreign language clasess may be to motivated students

and to creat more relaxing foreign language clasess. Sometimes students

are involved in playing the games and they do not realize that they are

practicing language. Games facilitate language learning because they can

help language learning to be more meaningful, for example by using

games we can know how words can related to each other and more

memorable, and involving many approaches to how language is stored as

possible, such as mime and movement, the use of color, pattern, and

personalization.
The teachers should give students new methods in order to make

them enjoyable, easy, and memorable about the material especially in

writing skill. In this case, the writer wants to introduce a method in

learning writing descriptive text by using Wholesome Scattering Game.

The researcher will be introduce the method to the students at SMP Negeri

16 Palembang by conducting a research in title “Teaching Writing

Descriptive Text by using Wholesome Scattering Game to the Eighth

Grade Students of State High School 16 of Palembang”.

2. Problem of the Study

There are some problems to find in writing activity. The problem

first is many students were lack of the vocabulary, because the students

have diffrent capabilities how to mastery the vocabulary. Second, the

students lack of the grammar, because they have problems how to write

the word correctly. And the third, students were not interested in the

strategy from the teacher. The main purpose of learners writing activity

was to catch gramar, spelling, and punctuation error.

2.1 Limitation of The Problem

In this study, the writer focused on teaching writing descriptive

paragraphs with the theme is “My Idol” by using Wholesome Scattering

Game to the eight grade students of state high school 16 of Palembang.


2.2 Formulation of Problem

The problem of this study was formulated in the following

question: “Is it effective teaching writing descriptive paragraphs by using

Wholesome Scattering Game to the eighth grade students of state high

school 16 of Palembang?

3. Objective of the Study

The objective of this study was to find out whether or not is it

effective teaching writing descriptive paragraphs by using Wholesome

Scattering Game to the eighth grade students of state high school 16 of

Palembang.

4. Significance of the Study

This study is expected to be useful for the following:

1) For the Teachers

The result of this reseach can give teachers alternative strategy to

teach writing. The teachers can create enjoyable atmosphere in

teaching activities in order the students will be motivated and

interested in learning activities. The teachers can find the best way to

teach writing by using wholesome scattering game strategy.

2) For the Students

The process of teaching learning activities during the research is

expected to be able to improve the students’ descriptive writing


achievement. The students are expected to be more motivated to leran

descriptive writing by using wholesome scattering game strategy, and

it is expected to be useful in improving students’ proficiency in writing

descriptive paragraphs and as their alternative way.

3) Other Researchers

The result of this research will be a source of the material in

conducting similar studies and future studies. It also can be useful

source and information for other researchers who are also investigating

about wholesome scattering game strategy to improve writing

achievement, especially for descriptive writing.

4) For the Writer Herself

In this research, the writer will be be able to get valuable

experience to increase her knowledge in teaching descriptive

paragraphs. The writer is expected to got knowledge and experience in

educational research.
5. LITERATURE REVIEW

5.1. The Concept of Teaching

Teaching is an activity or process of transfering and delivering a

knowledge to the students. There are many definition of teaching such as

the one given a guide book by Dewi kartika Sari (Introduction to

linguistic, 2014:5) state that teaching is “showing or helping someone to

learn how to do something, giving instruction, guiding in the study of

something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand.

According to Brown (2000:7), teaching is guiding and facilitating

learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the condition for the

learning. It means that the teachers have function are as facilitator, guide,

motivator, and manager. As a facilitator, a teacher provides facilities such

as circumtances, equipment, that make students are possible or easy learn.

As a guide, a teacher shows or helps students to learn how to do something

and understand knowledge. As a motivator, a teacher stimulated the

interest of learners and as manager, a teacher arranges information and

environment for students to learn.

Based on explanation above the writer can be concluded that,

teaching is the process to delivering and transfering the knowledge to the

students by teacher as facilitator, guide and motivator using the

combination of art, science and skill.


5.2. The Concept of Writing

Writing is one of four skills that is reputed hardest for some

people. In fact, it is not easy as we always think. Among the skills, writing

is the most difficult skill to be learnt, because it needs hard thiking in

producing words, sentence and paragraph at the same time. Sometimes

students feel difficult to organize their ideas. Furthemore, many students

make some mistake and face difficulties to build and develop their

imagination.

According to Taylor (2009:12), writing is not marely a skill we

employ to record our knowledge, but the very moment at which we

confront what learning and understanding are all about. It means that,

when you first write something, you have already been thinking about

what you want to say and how to say it. Than after you have finished

writing, you read over what you have written and make changes and

corrections. You write and revise and write and revisi again until your

writing has certain characteristics of writing exactly. Sharples (1999:121)

states: Profesional writing is a solitary activity. The writer must rely on

their own mental resources and find the time for uninterrupted work. The

successful they become, the more they need to create a structure to the

working day, one that forms a barrier againts interruption by publisher,

agent, jurnalist, and readers and allow them to slide rapidly into a

productive frame of mind.


From the ideas previously, the writer concludes that writing is an

activity to share our knowledge or an activity to share or explore the

writer’s ideas or something that we have thought into written form by

using the rules of writing exactly. It is really not easy work to do. In

writing a paragraph we need to thinking, asking question and reading

many sources to know the truth of the information when we will write.

5.3. The Concept of Paragraph

According to Oshima and Hogue (2007:3) a paragraphs is a group of

related statement that a writer develops about a subject. The first sentence

states the spesific point, or idea, of the topic.

A paragraph has three parts namely: a topic sentence, supporting

sentence and concluding sentence. In a paragaraph the topic sentence is the

most important sentence in a paragraph. It tells about the topic which is

going to discuss. Oshima and hogue (2007:39) state that topic sentence has

two parts, a topic and a controlling idea. The topic names the subject to the

paragraph will say about the topic. The position of the topic sentence is

usually in the first sentence in a paragraph.

The following are the tips to help write a good paragraph based on

oshima and Hogue (2007:47):

a) Begin with a conclusion signal.

b) Remind what you have read by use the following methods:


 Repeat the idea in the topic sentence in the diffrent word. Don’t

just copy the topic sentence

 Summarize end a paragraph of points of the paragraph

c) Never end a paragraph of poits of the paragraphs

Based on the explain above, the writer can be concludes that

paragaraph is a group that has related sentences one each other and has

three part: 1) Topik sentence, 2) Supporting sentence, and 3)

concluding sentence. And paragraph also is the collection from the

sentences that has meaning which is related of one each other.

5.4. The Concept of Descriptive Paragraphs

Descriptive text is a text which gives a description about something or

someone. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a particular person, place, or

thing.

According to Pardiyono (2007:34), Descriptive text is a type of

written text, which has specific the function to give description about an

object (human or non human). According to Hami (2011:16), there are two

keys to write good description. The first key is to use space order, and the

second key is to use specific detail. In space order, students might describe

something from top to bottom or from left to right. For example, when

they describe a person, they could start from the person’s head until the

person’s feet. The second key to writing good description is to the specific
detail. It’s means that when students describe something, they must be

ilustrate the things detail until the reader can imagine the things itself.

Accrording to Pardiyono (2007:36), there are some Generic Structures

of Descriptive Text:

1) Identification

 The form of statements that describe the object to be

described.

 The statements should be interesting, capable to

provoking the readers to be interested to read the

description completely.

 The use of adjectives or degree of comaprison is

helpful.

2) Description

 Given the picture of the condition of the object can been

reviewed from some aspect, such as: Location, means

of transport, people, weather, size, etc.

 Grammatical Patterns:

a. Present tense, present perfect tense

b. Verb, be ( is,are), have linking verbs ( seems, looks,

sounds, like)

c. The use of the adjectives that have a fuction to

describe or ilustrate the condition of the object.


Based on the explain above, the writer can be conclude that

Descriptive text is a kind of text that describe about something. The

purpose is to describe and reveal a particular person, place, or thing. This

text have a two generic structur, Identification and Description.

5.5. The Concept of Wholesome Scattering Game

Wholesome scatering game is one of game that is interesting and

useful to increase the students’ writing ability. In this game the students

are given some keywords to stimulate their writing ability. The students

can find ideas to write sentence or paragraphs from keyword.

Wholesome scattering game is a game which students predict the

content of passage and duplicate sentence by using single word that have

been given by the teacher. According to Hess as copied in Hami

(2011:23), students on occasion not only predict the content of the passage

they are about to read, but also almost duplicate sentences, which actually

appear in it. Teachers might find that the first step of arranging the words

in weird and unusual ways is fun and takes quite a while. It is worth the

effort. Students will not quickly forget these words.

According to Hami (2011:23), before the teacher performs the main

activities in playing wholesome scattering game, the teachers should be

prepare the instrument early. The teachers can chooses tweleve to the

sixteen keyword from the paragraph that is going to read with the students

in the class.
5.5.1. The Adventages and Disadvenatges of the Wholesome Scattering

Game

According to Hess (1991), There are some adventages of

wholesome scattering game in teaching writing descriptive paragraph,

namely:

1) To stimulate students’ ideas to write sentence. Students usually

have the blank idea when they are thought material. In this game,

students will be given some keyword to stimulate their brain. They

hoped can get some ideas in writing descriptive paragraph.

2) Easy to be prepared. When teachers want to use a media in their

learning activities, they have to decide whether it is difficult to

prepare or not, and wholesome scattering game is a simple game

because this game easy to be prepared. The teachers prepare some

keyword appropriate for material.

3) The students can develop their text based on keyword that have

been given by the teacher.

Although Wholesome Scattering Game has many adventages,

Wholesome Scattering Game also has some limitation or

disadventages as follows:

1) The teachers need more time to collect and prepare the keyword

appropriate for material before teaching and learning process.

2) The students still have limitation by the keyword that have been

given by the teacher in organizing sentences.


5.6. Procedure of Teaching Writing through Wholesome Scattering

Game

This following is procedure of Wholesome Scattering Game:

1) Ask three to five students to come in the board. Their task is to write

down the words related with descriptive text that the teacher dictates.

Every students write each word, so that each word is written as many

times as there are students at the board. They scatter the words in the

board randomly. Some will be written horizontally, vertically, others in

shapes, and others upside down. Don’t comment on spelling in the

stage. Some students will change their spelling as they observe how

the students nxt to them has spelt a word or as they are corrected by

others in the class.

2) While the students in the board are doing this game, the others students

in their seat can produce their own arranggaments of the word on paper

or their notebook. They can arrange the words into a good desciptive

paragraphs.

3) When the teacher has finished dictating the words, the students who

write down in the board return to their seat.

4) The teachers ask to the students, if anyone in the class have a produce

particularly unusual arrangement of the word. If there are volunteers,

the teacher ask them to display their arrangements.

5) The teachers goes over the words on the board, eliciting correct

spelling and meaning.


6) The teachers ask to the students (in pairs, group or individually) to

write as many sentences as possible using the words on the board.

They should try to put more than one of the words in each sentences.

Tell them that they have only twenty five minute to arrange descriptive

text.

7) The teachers should stop them, when the time is up and ask them to

tell in front of the class, how many sentence they have succeeded in

writing.

8) At the end of the game, the players who has score the most point is

declared is the winner. This score based on the matrix assessment for

students’ writing ability.

In this part the writer divided procedure of teaching learning into

three steps, such as: Pre-Activities, Whilst-Activities, and Post-Activities.

Lesson plan to teach Wholesome Scattering Game:

1) Pre-Activities

 Greeting

a. The teacher greeted the students

b. The teacher checked the students attendance

c. The teacher told the objectives of the lesson writing

d. The teacher told the theme and asked the students about

some question just to have warming up activities.


2) Whilst Activities

 Presenting the materials

a. The teacher explain about descriptive paragraph

b. The teacher explain about Wholesome scattering Game

c. The teacher showed to the students about the example of

Wholesome scattering Game

d. The teacher ask to the students to discuss and predict the sentence

that the teacher have been given keyword that related with

descriptive paragraph

3) Post-Activities

a. The teacher and the students make a conclusion about the

connection between Wholesome scattering Game and Descriptove

Paragaraph

b. The teacher give a chance to the students to ask about the material

that they still confused or they have not understand about that.

c. The teacher evaluated the students achievement

5.7. Related Previous study

In this part, the writer describe the similarities and diffrences between

the writer’s study and other’s study done. The title of the thesis is

“Teaching writing descriptive text by using Sentence race Game to the

tenth Grade students of Tri Dharma senior high school Palembang.


There are many the similarities and differences between the previous

study and this study. The similarities between the writer’s study and the

previus related study is same in the pre-experimental design. While, the

differences both of the study is population and strategy. In the previous

study, Lia’s thesis took the population of the tenth Grade students of Tri

Dharma senior high school Palembang. The writer will take the Eighth

grade students of the state junior high school 16 of Palembang. The writer

has the strategy “Wholesome Scattering Game” and Lia was used

Sentence Race Game. According Lia’s thesis, the result of teaching

writing descriptive paragraph by using sentence race game to the tenth

Grade students of Tri Dharma senior high school Palembang. There, t-

obtained was high than t-table. It means that teaching writing by using

sentence race game to the tenth Grade students of Tri Dharma senior high

school Palembang was effective.

5.8. Hypotesis of the Study

According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1990:40), Hypotheses is a

prediction of some sort regarding the possible outcomes of a study. The

hypotheses of this study are in form null hypotheses (Ho) and the

alternative hypotheses (Ha), as a stated below:

a. Null Hypotheses (Ho)


It is not effective to teach writing descriptive paragraph through

Wholesome Scattering Game to the eighth grade students of state

high school 16 of palembang.

b. Alternative Hypotheses (Ha)

It is effective to teach writing descriptive paragraph through

Wholesome Scattering Game to the eighth grade students of state

high school 16 of palembang.

5.9. The Criteria of the Testing the Hypotheses

In this study, the hypotheses would be tested by critical value of t in t-

distribution table (Hacth and Farhady, 1982:272). The creteria for testing

hypotheses depends on number of sample analyzed, they are with 0,05

significance level and with one-tailed test, with 30 students as a number

of sample and critical value is 1,699.

If t-obtained is equal or higher than t-table, it means that the study

hypotheses (Ha) can be acceptable or successful and null hypotheses (Ho)

should be rejected. In other words, if –table is higher than t-observed, it

means that the null hypotheses (Ho) can be acceptable and the alternative

hypotheses (Ha) should be rejected.


6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6.1. Research Variabels

According to Fraenkel and Wallen (2012:77), Variable is a concept

a noun that stands for variation within a class of objects, such as chair,

gender, eye color, achievement, motivation, or running speed.

There are two kinds of research variables. They are the

independent variable and the dependent variable. The independent

variable is pressumed to have an effect on, to influence somehow

another variable and the dependent variable is a variable that the

independent variable is pressumed to effect. In this study, the

independent variable is the application of Wholesome Scattering Game

in writing descriptive paragraphs, and dependent variable is the

achievement of the eighth grade students in writing descriptive

paragraph.

6.2. Operational Definition

There are four word will be use in this study : Teaching, Writing,

Descriptive Paragraph, And Wholesome Scattering Game. These four

key words in operationally defined to avoid misinterpretation.

1) Teaching

Teaching is an activity or process of transfering and

delivering a knowledge to the students

2) Writing
Writing is an activity which imagine what are in their mind

and then there are expressions to the written form

3) Descriptive Paragraph

Descriptive text is a text which gives a description about

something or someone. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a

particular person, place, or thing.

4) Wholesome Scattering Game

Wholesome scattering game is a game which students

predict the content of passage and duplicate sentence by using

single word that have been given by the teacher

6.3. Metode of Research

In this study, the writer will be use pre-experimental method with

the one group pre-test and post-test design. According to Arikunto

(2010:123), the pre-experimental is not a real investigation, it is not

full of condition experimental and does not allow the certain rules.

In thus case, the writer will be use one of pre-experimental

categories, it is the one group pre-test and post-test design.

The formula of one group pre-test and post-test design, as follow:

O1 X O2
Where: O1 = test before treatment (pre-test)

X = treatment

O2 = test after treatment (post-test)

In doing this research, the writer will be take the following steps:

1) Surveying the literature relating to the topic investigation

2) Identifying the reserach problem

3) Formulating research hypothesis

4) Determining the subject of the research

5) Determining the technique for collecting data

6) Constructing the experiment data

7) Choosing the appropriate data that can represent the

experimental group and control group

8) Doing the try out estimet the realibility of the instrument

9) Conducting the experiences in teaching in the experimental

group and control group

10) Collecting data through post-test

11) Analyzing the data

12) Drawing
6.4. Population and Sample

6.4.1. Population

As Arikunto (2014:173) states that population is the entire

subject of researh. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (2012:92)

states that population is the group of interest to the researcher, the

group to whom the researcher would like to generalize the results

of the study. The population this study will be take all the eighth

grade students of State High School 16 of Palembang. The

distribution of the population in show in the table 1.

TABLE 1

THE POPULATION OF THE STUDY

No Class Total

1 VIII.1

2 VIII.2

3 VIII.3

4 VIII.4

5 VIII.5

6 VIII.6

7 VIII.7

8 VIII.8

9 VIII.9

10 VIII.10

Total
6.4.2. Sample

According to Arikunto Sample is a part of the population

that will be investigated (2014:174). According to Fraenkel and

Wallen (2012:91) A sample is a group in a research study on which

information is obtained. The sample of the research is not all the

population.

In this study, the writer will be use the cluster random

sampling method. According to Arikunto (2013:185), cluster

random sampling is the selection of groups, or cluster subjects

rather than single individual. In this study, the writer use lettery

system in taking a sampling. First, the writer will be take a piece of

paper then, divided it into ten pieces. Second, she write down each

classes on paper then rolled them. Third, filled them into a glass,

after that, she shuffeled all roll papers and then take ane paper as

the sample of the study. As a result, class of VIII.2 as a sample of

this study. The sample of this study can be see on the table 2

below:

TABLE II

THE SAMPLE OF THE STUDY

No Class Number of the students

Total
6.5. Techniques for Collecting Data

In collecting the data, the writer will use a written test. According

to Arikunto (2013:193), a test is any series of question of exercises or

other means of measuring skills, knowledge, intellegence, and

capacities for an individual group.

The students will be given the test, it is pre-test and post-test.

1) Pre-test will be given before doing the teaching experiment to

the students.

2) Post-test will be given after the teaching experiment (treatment)

is conducted.

The use of Wholesome scattering game strategy will be applied by

the writer. The pre-test will be given to know a measure the students’

ability in the material, and the post-test will be given to the students

after the treatment to measure whether the strategy is effective or not.

The writer will be comparing the students’ score before and after the

treatment to know that the implementation of the method success or

not.

6.5.1. Validity of the Test

The validity of the test materials are checked through the

content validity. Fraenkel and Wallen (2012:147) state that validity

is the most important idea to consider when preparing or selecting


an instrument for use. Validity refers to the approprietness,

meaningfulness, correctness, and usefulness of the inference a

researcher makes. Therefore, the validity of the test is the extent to

which the test measures what is intended to measure. In order the

test is valid, the writer will make a planning of the test in the table

of specification below:

TABLE III

TEST OF SPECIFICATION

Basic of Number Test


Material Indikator direction
competence of item format

To measure Descriptive The 1 Writing Write a

the text students test descriptive

students’ are able to paragraph

writing skill write a based on

descriptive the

paragraph keyword

with the that have

theme been a

“My idol” teacher

consisting given.

of 100

words.
6.5.2. Reliability of the test

The quality of instrument use in this research very

important. According to Fraenkel et al (2012:154), reliability refers

to the consistency of the scores obtained how consistent they are

for each individual from one administration of an instrument to

another and from one set of one items to another. Consistently

shoul occurs with the test itself and scores of the test. So, between

pre-test or post-test should be same in the total number and the

score of the test.

In investigation Kuder Richardson Reliability Coefficient

estimed the internal consistency reliability. It is one formula to

estimate the reliability of the test. Reliability also shoul be at 0,070

and probably higher.

The formula is:

𝐾 𝑀 (𝐾−𝑀)
KR21= [1 ]
𝐾−1 𝐾 (𝑆𝐷)2

Means:

KR-21 = Kuder-Richardson Reliability Coefficient

K = Number of Items in the Test

M = Mean of the Set of Score

SD = Standart Devition of the Test Score

The formula is:


∑(𝑋− ̅𝑋)
̅̅̅2
SD = √
𝑁

Where :

SD : Standard Deviation of Set Test score

X : Number of Correct Answ'er

𝑋̅ : Students’ means score

N : Number of the students

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