USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZER TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ NARRATIVE

TEXT WRITING ABILITY IN NINTH GRADE OF SMPN 2 NYALINDUNG

(A Class Action Research in a Junior High School in Nyalindung, Sukabumi)

Research Proposal

Gissa Mariani Dewi, S.Pd.

19020615710152

Class A

PPG ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE EDUCATION

INDONESIA EDUCATION UNIVERSITY

2019
I. Tittle of the Research
Using Graphic Organizer to Improve Students’ Narrative Text Writing
Ability in Ninth Grade of SMPN 2 Nyalindung.

II. Introduction
A. Background of the problem
In learning English language is aim at improving the student language skill.
For the reason, the English language learning should consist of four aspects of
skill: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is belong to productive
language skill. Through both of them, idea and thought can be expressed to
others. This activity is a productive one, reprocessing the information obtained
to be redelivered to the information receiver. as Bryne (1991:1) states that
“writing is one of the language skills, which is use for medium of communication,
especially in direct communication”. Likewise, Richard (2003:8) defines that
“writing is written communication that work much on ability to generate
expression in particular purpose”. Those experts above put down the perception
of writing based on the real activity which prefers conveying the ideas,
information, thought, and even argument through the written language. Having
good English writing skills will give some benefits for them in their future life.
In this global literate community, it is possible for the students to communicate
with others in foreign countries. Since English is an international language, by
having good writing skills will help them with their personal communication.
In order to achieve those purposes, the students should be able to
communicate well in written language. A good written work is indicated by five
aspects of writing. There are content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and
mechanics of writing. In junior high school level, English is one of the
compulsory subjects that has to be taught to the students. For writing skills,
students are expected to write a cohesive and coherent composition, and they
have to understand how to use the language forms from each text genre
(procedure, report, and narrative). In fact, their writing ability is still low;
students often face some difficulties in someaspects.
The students’ low writing ability indicates that they still find some
difficulties in writing. It is difficult for the students to get and to develop an idea.
The lack of vocabulary also contributes to their difficulties in writing. With
regard to the condition, the researcher decided to conduct action research to solve
the problems using graphic organizers. Graphic organizers are visual
representation of knowledge. It is a way of structuring information, or arranging
important aspects of a concept or topic into a pattern using labels.

B. Formulation of the problem

According to the background of the study above, the researcher formulates the
question;
1. How can graphic organizer improve the students’ narrative text writing
ability?
2. How do the students respond in using graphic oragnizer to improve the
students’ narrative writing ability?

C. Objective of the research

Based on the research problems above, the objectives in this study are:
1. To improve the students’ narrative text writing ability in ninth grade of SMPN
2 Nyalindung.
2. To investigate the students’ respond in using graphic organizer to improve the
students’ narrative text writing ability in ninth grade of SMPN 2 Nyalindung.

D. Significance of the research

The result of the study is expected to give some benefits to the following parties.
1. The research can be a reference for the teacher in improving students’ writing
skill.
 2. The research is useful for the school in terms of the improved quality of
students, particularly in the skill in concern, writing.
3. The research can be a good reference for other researchers that are planning to
have research studies in the same areas.

III. Literature Review

A. Writing

Writing is a skill which not all people can do. Someone needs a skill to
write and the skill does not come by itself so that one has to learn to write to have
the skill. “. . . that human beings universally learn to walk and to talk, but that
swimming and writing are culturally specific, learned behavior.” (Brown, 2001).
The statement tells that writing is a special skill which is different from the other
productive skill, speaking. Unlike speaking, which universally people learn and
they do not need to be taught to be able to speak as long as they have devices for
speaking, writing needs to be learned so that one have the ability to write.
Although both spoken and written languages, to some extents, are the same
that they need to be learned, they remain different in this case. In learning spoken
language, it is enough for someone to be exposed to the language. On the other
hand, someone has to really learn to be able to write and commonly it also needs
to be taught. Harmer (2004) seems to agree with the idea as he says that “spoken
language, for a child, is acquired naturally as a result of being exposed to it,
whereas the ability to write has to be consciously learned.”
B. Steps of Writing
Farmer (1993: 13) states that there are four steps in writing, those are: (1)
prewriting, (2) organizing, (3) writing, and (4) revising. Prewriting means the
preparation before writing. It includes making a plan what to write, getting ideas,
and selecting the similar ideas and supporting ideas. Organizing includes making
a draft and arranging the ideas into hierarchical order. Writing is the main
activity. It is done to develop the draft into a good composition of writing. The
last is revising which is used to correct the product of writing in order to be more
perfect and more understandable.
Meanwhile, Ackley (1986: 3) states that there are three steps in writing,
those are: (1) pre-writing, (2) writing a first draft, and (3) revising or post-writing.
It means that these three steps are almost the same as the above opinion. Pre-
writing is the preparation of writing, writing a first draft can be the same as
organizing and writing, and revising or post-writing is the last step. So, revising
or post-writing is the product which will be consumed by the readers.
Ramirez (1995: 300) says that writing can be done through some phases as
the following quotes:
“Writing activities can be structured along developmental, process-
oriented, and proficiency-based models. A process oriented approach would call
for a prewriting phase, a drafting or writing stage, and a revising phase. Each
phase would enable students to focus their attention on different aspects of
written communication: content, organization, purpose, audience, and
grammatical accuracy.”

From the statements above, it can be concluded that writing is a skill that
needs a process in expressing an idea or opinion that is written on a paper or other
media. A good writing process can be done by preparing and determining the
subject, then making drafts, and revising or post-writing.
Furthermore, Ackley (1986: 3) says “Whatever your thoughts about it, may
be the act of writing is a process. When you engage in the writing process, you
gradually learn what ideas, what you have about people and things. You then
select ideas you want to express”. From this statement, it means that the most
important thing in writing is the process. Therefore, in learning writing, students
are trained to write down their ideas through the right steps, so that they will
produce a better and readable writing.
C. Narrative Text
1. Definition of Narrative Texts
Anderson and Anderson (1997: 8) say that narrative text is a piece of text
which tells a story and in doing so entertains and informs the reader or listener.
Meanwhile, Percy in Permana and Zuhri (2013: 2) state that narrative is a type of
essay that tells a story or a series of events in which they occur. Its purpose is to
give meaning to an event or a series of events by telling story. From these
statements it can be inferred that narrative texts is concerning with a story. The
story includes some events which is presented to amuse the readers or listeners.
So, written narrative texts are aimed to entertain the readers. According to Ayres
(2008), narrative texts are a form of discourse that has been fixed by writing.
In addition, Keraf (1989: 136) states that narrative is a form of composition,
which has the main objectives in the form of activities that are tied together to
become an event that happened in a certain time. From these opinions, it can be
said that a narrative text is usually a product of writing which is developed and
tied together to become a story which happened in a certain time in the past.
Kane in http://www.englishindo.com/2013/08/narrativetext.html gives a
definition of narrative as the following quotes:
“A narrative is a meaningful sequence of events told in words. It is
sequential in that the events are ordered, not merely random. Sequence always
involves an arrangement in time (and usually other arrangements as well). A
straightforward movement from the first event to the last constitutes the simplest
chronology.”

From the statements above, it can be concluded that a narrative text is a

text which contains a story ordered chronologically. In order that the text can be
enjoyed by the readers, the writer should arrange the text interestingly. The
purpose of telling the story is to give meaning, and to entertain the readers.
2. Generic Structure of Narrative Texts
Derewianka (1990: 32) states that the steps for constructing a narrative are:
1) Orientation, in which the writer tells the audience about who the character in
the story are, where the story is taking place, and when the action is happen.
2) Complication, where the story is pushed along by a series of events, during
which we usually expect some sort of complication or problem to arise. It just
would not be so interesting if something unexpected did not happen. This
complication will involve the main character(s) and often serves to (temporally)
toward them, for 24 reaching their goal. Narratives mirror the complications we
face in life and tend to reassure us that they are resolvable.
3) Resolution, in a “satisfying “narrative, a resolution of the complication is
brought about. The complication may be resolved for better or for worse, but it
is rarely left completely unresolved (although this is of course possible in
certainly types of narrative, which leave us wondering (how is the end?).
In addition, Koffman and Reed (2010: 1) state that narratives have been
described as having several common components including a setting, plot (series
of episodes based on goals, attempts, outcomes), resolution or story ending.
D. Graphic Organizer
1. Definition of Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers are some of the most effective visual learning strategies
for students and are applied across the curriculum to enhance learning and
understanding of subject matter content. In a variety of formats dependent upon
the task, graphic organizers facilitate students’ learning by helping them identify
areas of focus within a broad topic, such as a novel or article. Because they help
the learner make connections and structure thinking, students often turn to
graphic organizers for writing projects.

A graphic organizer, also commonly referred to as a content or a concept

organizer, a map, or a web, has been defined as a visual representation of
knowledge. It is a way of structuring information, or arranging important aspects
of a concept or topic into a pattern using labels (Bromley, Irwin-DeVitis, and
Modlo, 1995:6). There are some benefits that the writer will get after
implementing graphic organizers as visual pre-writing tool. The use of modified
graphic organizers can arouse motivation and attract student’s attention to writing
class. They also can be used as tools to plan writing projects. Through graphic
organizers, the students can explore their imagination and explore their creativity
in writing. Next, they also can be used to help students in developing and
organizing the ideas.

2. Types of Graphic Organizers

Webs, concept maps, mind maps and plots such as stack plots and Venn
diagrams are some of the types of graphic organizers used in visual learning to
enhance thinking skills and improve academic performance on written papers,
tests and homework assignments.

a. Concept Maps

Concept maps graphically illustrate relationships between two or more

concepts and are linked by words that describe their relationship.

Concept Map Example

b. Webs
Brainstorming webs show how different categories of information relate to one
another.

Web Example

c. Mind Maps

Mind Maps are visual representations of hierarchical information that include a

central idea or image surrounded by connected branches of associated topics or
ideas.

Mind Map Example

IV. Research Methodology
This chapter presents the research methodology. This chapter elaborates
how the researcher conducts his research.
A. Site and Time Line of the Research
This research will be conducted in SMPN 2 Nyalindung Sukabumi, school
year 2018/2019. The research will be conducted for two months. It will starts
from 15 May - 29 April 2019 with a week in action per cycle.

B. The Participants
The population of this research is the 9th graders of a Junior High School
that consists of 32 students.

C. Model of the Research

The model of this research based on the research question, the researcher
decides that the appropriate model of the research is Class Action Research.
According to Burns (2010: 2) action research is a part of a broad movement that
has been going on in education generally for some time. It is related to the ideas
of ‘reflective practice’ and ‘the teacher as researcher’. Furthermore, Elliot in
Burns (2010: 5) defines action research as the study of a social situation with the
view to improving the quality of the action in it. So, this research was done to
look for the weaknesses and tried to get the way to improve the quality of the
activities.
Nunan in McKay (2006: 29) says that action research has three major
characteristics: it is carried out by practitioners (i.e., classroom teachers), it is
collaborative, and it is aimed at changing things. It means that action research
can be done by a teacher in a classroom with the help of other teachers to discuss
what and how to improve the classroom activities so that the students’
achievement will be better.
 From the definitions above, it can be concluded that action research is
research done by individuals on their own fields to improve their skill or job, for
example, a teacher who wants to improve their teaching. The research is
evaluative and reflective which means that the action can be evaluated then can
be used to be reflection to make a better result. Besides, the research needs at
least one collaborator to record and discuss the action that has been done.
In action research, there are some processes. According to Kemmis and
McTaggart in Burns (2010: 7), action research typically involves four broad
phases in a cycle of research. The four phases in a cycle are: (1) planning, (2)
action, (3) observation, and (4) reflection.

D. Procedure of the Research

In this research, the researcher uses the qualitative approach in collecting
and processing the data. The researcher not only does one cycle of the research,
but also will repeat it again until the purposes of this research are obtained. The
cycles of this research are planning-action-observation and reflection.
Kemmis and Taggart. (1988 as cited in Khanisah 2013:109) states that the
research is started by planning for an action. Then the
plan is implemented as an action in classroom and the action is then
observed. The reflection is done to analyze the data obtained during the
action. Based on the Kemmis’s simple model of the cyclical nature of the typical
action research process, the researcher designs the research as follows:
Identifying initial idea
Improving students’ writing ability by using graphic organizer technique.
Pretest
• Preparing instruments.
• Introducing herself to the students.
• Explaining her aim in conducting the research to the students.
• Asking students to do the test individually.
 • Collecting the data.
• Evaluating the pretest and discussing them with English teacher.
Cycle 1
a. Planning
• Selecting the material. It is based on the material for Junior school for
curriculum first semester.
• Making lesson plan which is used graphic organizer technique.
• Making students’ worksheet.
• Making classroom action research sheet.
b. Action
• Applying the teaching learning process based on the lesson plan.
c. Observation
• Monitoring the action.
• Collecting the data by using field notes.
d. Reflection
• Evaluating the action which covers the quality of the action.
• Evaluating the students’ worksheet to gain quantitative data.
• Discussing and evaluating them with English teacher.
e. Revised plan
• Making revised plan.
• Selecting the material. It is based on the material for elementary school for
curriculum first semester.
• Making lesson plan which is used graphic organizer technique.
• Making students’ worksheet.
• Making classroom action research sheet.
Cycle 2
a. Action
• Applying the teaching learning process based on the lesson plan.
b. Observation
• Monitoring the action.
• Collecting the data by using field notes.
c. Reflection
• Evaluating the action which covers the quality of the action.
• Evaluating the students’ worksheet to gain quantitative data.
• Discussing and evaluating them with English teacher.
Post-test
• Preparing the instruments.
• Asking students to do the test individually.
• Collecting the data.
• Evaluating the post test and discussing them with English teacher to make
conclusion.

E. Method of Data Collection

To gain data and information in this research, the researcher uses multiple
sources. The techniques in collecting the data are:
1. Observation
Based on the research question, the researcher uses observation to collect
data from the research object. Driscoll, D.L. (2011:160) states observations can
be conducted on nearly any subject matter, and the kinds of observations you will
do depend on your research question. Meanwhile, Philips and Carr (2014:75)
state that observation is to observe as a student teacher-researcher is to critically
and deliberately watch, as a participant in the classroom. The researcher observes
the participants of the project attitudes during the teaching learning process.
While the researcher took the role as the teacher in the research, the
collaborators observed the teaching and learning process in grade IX. They took
notes on what happened in the classroom, particularly those that were related to
behavior shown by the students in the classroom – specifically in learning
writing, actions performed by the researcher, and problems in the teaching and
learning process. The data were used for the basic consideration of the next
actions.
2. Test

A test supposed to be able to measure learning outcome which distinguish

the every single student’s ability between students already mastered and not yet
the learning material. Therefore, testing is one of the powerful tools to measure
students’ abilities as well as enhance their attitudes towards learning. This notion
is supported by Hughes (2003) stated that a test is a tool to measure language
proficiency of students. In the same line, Anthony J Nitko (1983:6) defined test
is systematic procedure for observing and describing one or more characteristics
of person with the aid of either a numerical of category system. In short, a test as
an instrument of evaluation is a systematic procedure of description, collection
and interpretation in order to measure the test taker’s achievement ability,
knowledge, and performance what they have been learned in learning process
and to get a value judgment. The purpose of a test is able to give the valid
information on the students’ abilities and knowledge. Hence, the successfulness
of the teaching and learning can be seen in the test’s results.

3. Questionnare

According to Sugiyono (2009:199) "The questionnaire is a data collection

technique is done by giving a set of questions or a written statement to the
respondent for answered". In this case the questionnaire is used to obtain data of
students who take English courses (𝑋1 ) and students who do not take English
courses (𝑋2). Questionnaire method chosen in this study is a rating scale, it is a
statement and a question followed by answer’s option that show the levels.
4. Document Analyses
 Bowen, G.A. (2009:27) states document analysis is a systematic procedure
for reviewing or evaluating documents—both printed and electronic (computer-
based and Internet-transmitted) material. In this research, the researcher collects
and reviews the participant of the projects’ documents such as score sheet,
students’ journal, anecdotal record etc.

F. Method of Data Analyses

In this research, data analysis involves two types. They are qualitative and
quantitative data analysis. This analysis will be intended to the improvement of
the ninth grade students’ narrative text writing ability at SMPN 2 Nyalindung
using graphic organizer technique. In analyzing the qualitative data, the
researcher does some steps proposed by Burns (2010: 104-105). The first step is
assembling the data. In this step, the researcher starts to look for broad patterns,
ideas, or trends that seem to answer the questions. The next step is coding the
data. In this step, the researcher groups the data into more specific categories and
identify which data are qualitative and which one are quantitative. The third step
is comparing the data. In this step, the researcher compars the categories of
different sets of data to see whether the data has the same thing or whether there
has contradictions. The fourth step is building meanings and interpretations. The
researcher analyzes the data several times to post questions, rethink to
connections, and develop explanation of the situation. The fifth or the last step is
reporting outcomes. In this step, the researcher describes the context of the
research, outlining findings, and considers how she will organize the whole
research not only the analysis and findings.
To analyze the quantitative data, the result scores of the pre-test before the
research is done are compared with data of the post-test after the research. The
data are then analyzes whether their writing results are reaching the minimum
 standard or not, and having improvement or not. From the comparisons, the
researcher make conclusions in the form of descriptions whether the students’
ability in ninth grade of SMPN 2 Nyalindung in writing narrative texts is
improved by using of graphic organizer or not.
V. Schedule of the research
The table below will show the schedule of the research:

No Date and Time Activities

1 April 15th 2019
2 April 16th 2019
3 April 18th 2019
3 May 2nd 2019
4 May 9th 2019
5 May 16th 2019
6 May 28th 2019
8 May 29th 2019
Arranging the car proposal
Planning research
Pre-test 1
Cycle 1 (first meeting)
Cycle 1 (second meeting)
Cycle 2 (first meeting)
Cycle 2 (second meeting)
Post- Test

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