TEACHING ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING USING MIND MAPPING TECHNIQUE AT THE ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF MA YPIA CIKERIS BOJONG-PURWAKARTA
(In Academic Year 2012/2013)
Reindy Gunadi Noviansyah (09.22.0283)
E-mail:
English Education Study Program Language and Arts Department
Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan(STKIP) Siliwangi Bandung
2013
ABSTRACT
The objective of this research entitled “Teaching Argumentative Writing Using Mind Mapping Technique at the Eleventh Grade Students of MA YPIA Cikeris Bojong-Purwakarta” was to find out whether or not teaching writing argumentative text using mind-mapping technique was effective to improve students’ writing ability. This research used one group pretest-posttest and quantitative method. The population of the research was two classes consisted of 65 students of the eleventh grade students of MA YPIA Cikeris Bojong-Purwakarta in academic year 2012-2013, and the sample was class XI Social contained of 31 students selected using cluster random sampling technique. The data of this research was collected by giving writing test to the students’ sample. The collected data was analyzed using t-test for non-independent. The results of the data analysis showed that mean score of pretest was 78.7, mean score of posttest was 83.87, and the t-observed was 2.34. The t-critical value with df = n-1 (31-1 = 30) and significance level at 0.05 was 1.70. Based on the data analysis above, the alternative hypothesis of this research was accepted because the t-observed was bigger than t-critical value (2.34 > 1.70). It can be concluded that the mind-mapping technique in learning writing argumentative text could improve the students’ writing ability.
The Key Words: Teaching Writing Argumentative Text Ability
5
A. BACKGROUND
English is important language and it is used by people all over the world as a means of communication it becomes International language. Nowadays, English is regarded as essential language in globalization era and English grow rapidly, for instance, many available material resources are written in English and English becomes a means of communication in business as well as social interaction in internet.
In learning English, there are four main skills that consist of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is essential skill that becomes complex skill to master for the learners because writing is a productive skill that deals with the way to generate arid organize the ideas. Hoover (2008:1) emphasized that writing is vital component of comprehensive synergy of literacy.
Writing deals with other three skills, those are reading, listening, and speaking. On the other hand, writing is the way to express the ideas in literacy form. In addition, Troyka (1987:12) stated that writing is thinking process that involves a series of activities presented in final draft.
There is no doubt that thinking process becomes the foundation of writing. Besides, writing depends on individual intellectual and language skills to explore the ideas; it also deals with the creativity.
Writing becomes an essential part in learning English. In conducting the research, the writer only focuses on argumentative writing that seems familiar for the students. According to Junior Skill Builders (2008) “argumentative (persuasive) writing is to convince the reader of your point of view on some subject; alternatively, you may be required to convince the reader to take some particular action as agreed of your opinion”.
It is rather for the students to generate the ideas to start writing and the teachers have not found the proper technique in teaching, argumentative writing encourages the students to write by exploring the ideas that they have. There is the technique to develop the ideas in teaching writing, namely mind mapping. The target of mind mapping is to build students’ activity and creativity.
Northern Ireland Curriculum (2000:48) published that mind mapping is just like the brain stores information by connecting tree-like branches.
Mind mapping involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas that radiate out from the centre. By focusing on key ideas written down in students’ own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, students are mapping knowledge in a manner that will help them understand and remember new information.
So teaching argumentative writing using mind-mapping technique is appropriate to use.
B. LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Teaching
Language teaching means exposing a language many times to the student. Harmer (2002:24) said that language learning is:
“The children and adults are usually exposed to language which they more or less understand even if they can’t produce the same language spontaneously, the student are motivated to learn the language in order to be able to communicate, and the student have opportunities to use the language they are learning, thus giving themselves chances to flex their linguistic muscles and check their own progress and abilities”.
Teaching is a social process, to define it is very difficult, because the teaching influenced by the political and social backgrounds of the country. Teaching also is a process that improves the students’ seeking level more easily and it might be overcome any situation as an easy way.
According to Hogan (2003) “two broadly-conceived characterizations of teaching that remains prominent in the educational discourse of our own day: teaching as ‘a vocation’ and teaching as ‘just a job’”.
This signifies that if we teach our lesson based on this way, we may give a change to the children to learn language in a better way.
2. Writing
a. The Nature of Writing
One of basic skills in mastering English is writing. Cooper argued that a model of writing guided primarily by ‘writing is thinking’ is an inadequate representation of the writing process. Rather, ‘writing is a social activity, dependent on social structures’.
Research on writing in the workplace points to a number of issues is for writing instruction.
Hoover (2008:1) emphasized that writing is vital component of comprehensive synergy of literacy.
Troyka (1987:12) stated that writing is thinking process that involves a series of activities presented in final draft.
The most important concept of writing is reached the point at which express the ideas without worrying about mechanical details, sentence structure, and other formal writing techniques.
b. The Purpose of Writing
The purposes of writing are to distribute information, to give instructions or order, to respond to memos and letters, to complete forms for record keeping, and to propose new alternatives and options.
According to Logan (1972):
“In creative writing, the phases of the creative process can be clearly discerned. A reexamination of these from the viewpoint of creative writing will bring in to focus the relationship of the teacher, the child, and the stimuli. There are 5 phases: cognition, conception, combustion, consummation, and communication”.
Generally, the purposes of writing are to build students’ ability and create students’ creativity, and give stimulus to the materials that students are needed.
c. Assessing Writing
On-going assessment of writing is integral to the effective teaching of writing to students with learning disabilities. Curriculum-based assessments can be used to assess the writing process and product and should take into account purpose as well. The writing process can be assessed through observational and self-observational checklists. The writing product can be evaluated on five product factors: fluency, content, conventions, syntax, and vocabulary.
Table 2.1
Assessing Writing
Fluency / - Number of Words & Approximate TimeContent / -Structure (Beginning, middle, ending; story schema or other text structure)
-Cohesion (Adherence to topic; use of key words)
-Originality (Unique point of view; attempts at humor)
Convent / - % Correct Word Sentences
- Spelling Problems, punctuation or capitalization errors, grammar, other
Syntax / - Fragment : A group of words that does not make a complete sentence
- Repetitious use of a single pattern (simple sentences)
- Use of a variety of simple sentence patterns.
- First expansions: (a) addition of an adverbial or gerund phrase, or (b) the making of a compound sentence by combining two simple sentences with the word and.
- Complex sentences (transformations in which one sentence is embedded within another as a subordinate clause)
Vocab / - Unique/Mature Words
3. Argumentative Text
Text is a part of writing skills to show students ability in sharing their ideas in a letterform. Then, to improve the ability of students, the writer takes the writing of argumentative text to help them increasing the ability of learning English.
According to Junior Skill Builders (2008):
“Argumentative (persuasive) writing is to convince the reader of your point of view on some subject; alternatively, you may be required to convince the reader to take some particular action as agreed of your opinion”.
Argumentative text is writing ability to make the readers or audiences deal with the writer opinion. The text should be accurate with common phenomena in the environment to make the opinion believed as the readers needs.
The basic purpose of argumentative is to persuade, for example to gain and hold the reader’s interest in writer’s point of view. However, argumentative may also seek to teach or inform, to embody the writer’s reflections on opinion, and perhaps most important to nourish and extend the reader’s argumentation. The argumentative is suggestion or persuasion, or amusing the readers/listeners and it can increase the student’ cognitive, affective and social development about the educational value of argumentative.
4. Mind Mapping
Mind-mapping is technique to help students in doing argumentative writing that the writer uses.
Tony Buzan (1994:59) shared:
“The mind map is an expression of Radiant Thinking and is therefore a natural function of the human mind. It is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain. The mind map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance”.
Mind mapping involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas that radiate out from the centre. By focusing on key ideas written down in students’ own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, students are mapping knowledge in a manner that will help them understand and remember new information.
C. RESEACH METHODOLOGY
1. Research Method
In carrying out the study, the writer used quantitative method. “Quantitative research methods are used to examine questions that can be best answered by collecting and statistically analyzing data that are in numerical form” (Crowl, 1996:10). The writer would decide to employ a pre-experimental design because the design could be applied within a shorter period.
2. Research Instrument
In this research, the writer uses a common issue as a topic that is familiar to test the variable. In collecting the data, the writer used writing test (pre-test and post-test). The researcher gives an explanation about the topic to make the sentences. According to Hughes (1989:10) “the purpose of the test is to establish how successful individual student, group student, or courses themselves have been in achieving objectives”. The test uses explanation of ‘global warming’ issue as general topic of teaching writing argumentative text and explants structure and technique of writing argumentative text.
3. Population and Sample of The Research
a) Populations
Burns (2000:83) stated that populations are an entire group of people, objects, or events that have at least one characteristic in common and must be defined special and unambiguous.
The populations of the research are the eleventh grade students of MA YPIA Cikeris Bojong-Purwakarta.
b) Samples
Burns (2000:83) defined that sample is any part of population regardless whether it is representative or not.
The samples of the research are one-group students at the eleventh grade of MA YPIA Cikeris Bojong-Purwakarta. The samples are 31 students.
4. Research Data Collection
The following procedures of the research are: first, give the subject without treatment. Second, carry out the pre-test to each class. Third, give the special treatment to the student. Forth, carry out the Post-test to each class. Fifth, for acknowledge the significances of the compare data collection. Sixth, conclude the research. This research is going to be held by following the step below:
a. Pre-test.
b. Giving treatment using mind-mapping technique.
c. Post-test.
d. Conclude the data.
5. Research Data Analysis
The writer uses written text, it can be used a variety of ways either language test like activities. In this research, the writer uses a common issue ‘Global Warming’ and then the students describe that issue as the topic for arguing explanation to form composition of writing text.
6. Research Design
a. Research Design
Crowl (1996:290) told that the design of the research is as follows:
One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design
Group / Pre-test / Treatment / Post-testA / O1 / X / O2
Time
Figure 3.1
“The one-group pretest-posttest design differs from the one-shot case study in that the questionnaire is administered twice: once as a pretest (O1) before students start writing with the word processor (X) and again as a posttest (O2) after students have used the word processor. The result that is examined is a change from pretest to posttest”.
b. The Data Analysis
· Mean
According to Crowl (1996:135) “the mean is the arithmetic average of a set of scores”.
The formula of mean is as follows (Crowl, 1996:140):
M= XN / M = Mean∑X = The sum of the scores
N = The number of scores
Figure 3.2
· Standard Deviation
“Standard deviation is the square root of the average squared difference between each score and the mean score”, (Crowl, 1996:138).
The formula of standard deviation is as follows (Crowl, 1996:140):
σ=x2-(X)2NN-1 / σ = Standard Deviation∑X = The sum of the score
x2 = The sum of the squared scores
(X)2 = The sum of the scores squared
N = The number of scores
Figure 3.3
· T-test for Non-independent (or Correlated) Means
Crowl (1996:174) shared that T-test for non-independent (or correlated) means is the appropriate test of statistical significance.
The formula of T-test for non-independent (or correlated) means is as follows (Crowl, 1996:179):
t= ĎD2-(D)2NN(N-1) / Ď = Mean of experimental class (sets of scores)∑ = Summation (Sum Up)
D = The difference between the scores of one person (matched pair)
D2 = The squared difference between the scores of one person (matched pair)
∑D2 = Square each difference and sum the squares
(∑D)2 = Sum the differences and square the sum
N = The number of differences (score experimental class)
Figure 3.4