CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This chapter presents the data obtained from students texts, classroom observations, and interviews. The data are presented in line with the research questions and analysis procedure which are formulated in Chapter III. To do with the research questions, the data from the three sources are presented in two themes: students problems in accomplishing Writing Task 1 of IELTS Academic Module, in terms of the assessment criteria for Writing Task 1 of IELTS Academic Module; and the solutions to overcome the problems. To address the first research question, the data are taken from students texts. Meanwhile, to answer the second research question the data are taken from the interviews with both the students and teacher. 4.1 Students Problems in Accomplishing Writing Task 1 of IELTS Academic Module Based on the task below, the students wrote a summary asked. You should spend 20 minutes on this task. The chart below gives information about global population percentages and distribution of wealth by region. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. 80
Write at least 150 words. Then, the students texts were analyzed, in terms of the four criteria of assessment for Task 1 of IELTS Academic (Module) Writing. Note: For detecting the problems of students in each aspect, the researcher used two symbols: V and X. The symbol of V means that the respondent had fulfilled what was needed and the symbol of X means that the respondent had a problem with that aspect. PS stands for Possible Solution. 4.1.1 In terms of Task Achievement Task achievement covers several aspects: interpreting the task (IT), summarizing significant features of the graph (SF), including key data to support the summary (KD), using complete sentences/not using bullets (CS), and writing at least 150 words (WW) 81
No. Name Task Achievement IT SF KD CS WW 1 R#1 V V V V V 2 R#2 V X V V V 3 R#3 V V V V V 4 R#4 V X V V V 5 R#5 V X V V V 6 R#6 V X V V V 7 R#7 V V V V V 8 R#8 V X V V X 9 R#9 V X V V X 0 6 0 0 2 As can be seen on the table above, the students had difficulty in summarizing significant features of the graph and writing the minimum length of words. 4.1.1.1 Summarizing significant features R#2, like R#4, R#5, R#6, R#8, and R#9 had problems with it. They did not summarize the significant features of the graph; they tended to put the details. For example, R#2 wrote: The parts of the world who had higher global wealth than percentages of population were North America (34% Global wealth and just 6% population), Rich Asia-Pacific (24% Global wealth and just 5% population) and Europe (30% global wealth and 15% number of population). 82
The parts of the world that had higher percentages of global wealth than that of population were North America, Rich Asia-Pacific and Europe. The other part of the world, who had a higher percentages population than the percentages of Global Wealth were other Asia Pacific (population 16% and just 4% Global wealth), Africa (pop. 10% and 2% for global wealth) and latin America & Caribbean (8% for population and less 5% for Global wealth). On the other hand, the parts of the world that had higher percentages of population than that of global wealth were other Asia-Pacific countries, Africa, Latin America & Caribbean. And there were two countries with sama situation, China and India, China had 24% percentages of population but just had less 5% Global wealth; and India had 16% population yet had just 1% global wealth. And there were two countries with the same situation, China and India. Both China and India had higher percentages of population than that of global wealth. 4.1.1.2 Fulfilling the minimum length of words R#8 and R#9 wrote underlength texts. The minimum length of the text was 150 words but they wrote 84 words and 129 words respectively. 4.1.2 In terms of Coherence and Cohesion Coherence and cohesion comprises such aspects: using suitable subject-verb agreement (SV), using right tenses (TN), using correct articles (AR), using right pronouns (PN), using right conjunctions (CJ), writing the introductory paragraph (IP), developing body paragraphs (BP), creating concluding paragraph (CP), and using suitable linking words (LW). 83
No. Name Coherence and Cohesion SV TN AR PN CJ IP BP CP LW 1 R#1 X V V V V V V V X 2 R#2 V X X V V V V X V 3 R#3 V X V V V V V V X 4 R#4 X V V V V V V X V 5 R#5 V X V V V V V V V 6 R#6 V V V V X V V X V 7 R#7 X V V V V V V V V 8 R#8 V V X V V V V V V 9 R#9 V V V V V V V X V 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 4 2 The table shows the students had problems with subject-verb agreement, tenses, articles, conjuntion, concluding paragraph, and linking words. 4.1.2.1 Deciding subject-verb agreement R#1, R#4, and R#7 still made mistakes. For instance, R#1 wrote: Meanwhile, the number of percentages of global wealth in these two regions are 30% and 24% respectively. Meanwhile, the numbers of percentages of global wealth in these two regions are 30% and 24% respectively. R#4 said : On both of them is the lowest percentages Both of the countries had the lowest percentages of The number slightly decrease in India with 15%. 84
R#7 wrote: In India, the number of decreased, from to 15%. The region wich have small global wealth is India and Europe. The regions that had small percentages of global wealth were India and Europe. 4.1.2.2 Using suitable tenses Related to tenses, R#2 and R#3 faced problems in using right tenses in their writings, such as R#3 who wrote: While the wealth was received by the people get 30% totally. Furthermore, Latin America & Caribbean have opposite pattern to Europe; they have 7% population with almost 4% global wealth. While the percentage of global wealth of the people there was 30% in total. Furthermore, Latin America and Caribbean had different pattern from Europe s. They had 7% of population with almost 4% of global wealth. SR#3 mixed the use of past and present tenses in her sentences, although the data referred to the same setting of time. 4.1.2.3 Using right articles In using right articles, R#2, R#8, and R#9 faced problems. They did not put articles where they should be inserted. In his introduction paragraph, R#2 wrote: The chart illustrates about number percentages of population and wealth distribution in some parts of the world. The chart illustrates about the number of percentages of population and wealth distribution in some parts of the world. 85
R#8 stated: The chart illustrates information about global population percentages and distribution of wealth in 8 regions. R#9 wrote: The chart illustrates the information on global population and distribution of wealth percentages in eight regions in the world. The chart shows proportions of global popolation and distribution of wealth of eight regions in the world. The chart shows the proportions of global population and distribution of wealth of eight regions in the world. 4.1.2.4 Making concluding paragraph R #2, R#4, R#6, and R#6 still had problems with making concluding paragraph. They did not make any concluding sentences. For example, at the end of his writing R#2 wrote: And there were two countries with sama situation, China and India, China had 24% percentages of population but just had less 5% Global wealth; and India had 16% population yet had just 1% global wealth. R#4 wrote: In addition the chart seem if the percentages is dropp for all countries. The number slightly decrease in India with 15%, but dramatically down on Africa with 105. The lowest percentages is Rich Asia-Pasific with 5%. R#6 wrote: The other countries population and Global wealth in percentage are China (28%, 4%), other Asia-Pacific (16%, 4%), Latin America and Caribbean (7%, 4%) and Rich Asia-Pacific (5%, 24%). More important information is the two countries (other Pacific and India) have the same population, but they have different data about global wealth. 86
R#8 wrote: According to the chart, nothing the same percentage both population and global wealth. The region wich have small global wealth is India and Europe. 4.1.2.5 Using linking words Not all students could use right linking words in their texts, R#1 and R#3 still made mistake. R#1 wrote: Subsequently, it is clearly seen that other five regions including China, India, Africa as well as Latin America & Caribbean, on the other hand, have opposite situation compare to the previous regions. China, where they have more than 22% of population. R#3 wrote: Subsequently, it is clearly seen that other five regions including China, India, Africa as well as Latin America & Caribbean have opposite situation compared to the previous regions. China has more than 22% of global population. Contrary with China which have population involved almost 24% of world population achieved only approximately 3% of total wealth distribution in the world. On the contrary, China that had almost 24% of world population achieved only approximately 3% of total global wealth. 4.1.3 In terms of Lexical Resource Lexical resource includes these aspects: using varied words/vocabulary (VV), paraphrasing the information in the graph (PI), using right word forms /parts of speech (WF), and using correct spelling and punctuation (SP). 87
No. Name Lexical Resource VV PI WF SP 1 R#1 V V X X 2 R#2 X X V X 3 R#3 V V X X 4 R#4 X X V X 5 R#5 X V X X 6 R#6 X X V X 7 R#7 X X V X 8 R#8 V X V X 9 R#9 V X V X 5 6 3 9 The table illustrates the students problems in all aspects of lexical resource. The students encountered difficulty in using varied words/vocabulary, paraphrasing the information in the graph, using right word forms /parts of speech, and using correct spelling and punctuation. 4.1.3.1 Using varied words/vocabulary Most students had problems with it; R#2, R#4, R#5, and R#6 used wrong words or repeated certain words to state certain meanings. R#2 wrote: The parts of the world who had higher global wealth than percentages of population were North America (34% Global wealth and just 6% population), Rich Asia-Pacific (24% Global wealth and just 5% population) and Europe (30% global wealth and 15% number of population) 88
The parts of the world that had higher percentages of global wealth than that of population were North America (34% and just 6%), Rich Asia- Pacific (24% and just 5%) and Europe (30% and 15%) R#4 wrote: On global population any two percentages which have simillar number, there are is China and other Asia pasific with 4%. In terms of global population, there were two regions having similar percentages: China and other Asia Pasific, with 4%. R#5 wrote: In conclution, developing regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions whole worldwide. In conclusion, developed regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions in the world. The chart reveals the comparation between percentage of global population and distribution of welfare in 8 different regions. The chart reveals the comparison between the percentages of global population and distribution of welfare in eight different regions in the world. R#6 wrote: The North America is the greatest global wealth. The second wealth is Europe. The members of European countries have level of wealthness in 30% Although amount of people in Europe (15%) hyger than USA, percentage North America had the greatest percentage of global wealth. The second wealthiest region was Europe. 89
The members of European countries had 30% of global wealth. Although the percentage of population in Europe (15%) was higher than USA, the percentage R#7 wrote: The lowest income are happening in India and Africa, The regions with the lowest income were India and Africa, 4.1.3.2 Paraphrasing the information in the graph Most students seemed encountered difficulty with paraphrasing. R#2, R#4, R#6, R#7, R#8, and R#9 could not paraphrase the information given; they just repeated the words from the instruction. For his introduction paragraph, R#2 wrote: The chart illustrates number percentages of population and wealth distribution in some parts of the world. R#4 said: The chart reveals information about percentages of global population and distribution of wealth by region in eight countries. R#6 said: The graph describes information about number population percentage and evidence of wealth by region. R#7 said: The chart illustrates about percentages of population and global wealth in some regions in the world R#8 said: The chart illustrates information about global population percentages and distribution of wealth in 8 regions 90
R#9 said: The chart shows proportions of global popolation and distribution of wealth of eight regions in the world. The bar chart illustrates the difference in population and distribution of global wealth in eight regions in the world. 4.1.3.3 Choosing right part of speech Some students had problems with using right parts of speech, as can be seen in their sentences. R#1 wrote: It is also noticeable that both Europe and Rich Asia-Pacific have equally pattern, where about 15% of global population R#3 wrote: It is also noticeable that both Europe and Rich Asia-Pacific have equal patterns, in which about 15% of global population The chart reveals two kind of information that are percentation of global population and disparate of global wealth. R#5 wrote: The chart reveals information on percentages of global population and disparity of global wealth. In conclution, developing regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions whole the worlwide. In conclusion, developed regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions in the world. 91
4.1.3.4 Using right spelling and punctuation All students faced difficulty in spelling and punctuation. R#1, R#2, R#3, R#4, R#5, R#6, R#7, R#8, and R#9 mispelled some words. R#1 wrote: however, this area has the highest percentages of global wealth at approximately 34%. R#2 wrote: However, this area has the highest percentages of global wealth at approximately 34%. The other part of the world, who had a higher percentages population than the percentages of Global Wealth were other Asia Pacific (population 16% and just 4% Global wealth), Africa (pop. 10% and 2% for global wealth) and latin America & Caribbean (8% for population and less 5% for Global wealth). And there were two countries with sama situation The other part of the world that had higher percentages of population than that of global wealth were other Asia Pacific (with 6% and just 4%), Africa (with 10% and 2%) and Latin America and Caribbean (with 8% and less than 5%). And there were two countries with the same situation R#3 wrote: Turning to the middle group that have a similar trend in both of measurement, are Europe and latin America & Caribbean. All in all, The global wealth is still powered by some country in America and Europe, and only a little that was involved by rich Asia-Facific. Turning to the middle group that has a similar trend in both of measurement, Europe and Latin America and Caribbean 92
R#4 wrote: All in all, the global wealth is still powered by some country in America and Europe, and only a little that was held by rich Asia-Pacific. For global population it can be clearly seen that the higest percentages In addition the chart seem if the percentages is dropp for all countries. Meanwhile, In India and Africa with 1%. R#5 wrote: AS: For global population it can be clearly seen that the highest percentages In addition, the chart showed that the percentages of dropped for all countries. Meanwhile, in India and Africa. with 1%. The most distinguished feature is Nort America, which is only have 5% of global population, Rich Asia Pacific have better welfare with arround 24% than Europe with 30%. India is as bad as cindition with China, where arround 17% people compare with only 1% of wealth distribution. In conclution, developing regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions whole the worlwide. R#6 wrote: The most distinguished feature is North America, which only had 5% of global population, Rich Asia-Pacific had less welfare with around 24% than Europe with 30%. The condition in India was as bad as in China, having around 17% of global population compared with only 1% of wealth distribution. In conclusion, developed regions have better condition of wealth compared with other regions in the world. The graph describs information about number population percentage and evidence of wealth by region. 93
Although amount of people in Europe (15%) hyger than USA, percentage The graph describes information on the number of population and the evidence of wealth by regions. Although the percentage of population in Europe (15%) was higher than USA, the percentage of R#7 wrote: which is about 24% of population of the world, followed by other Asia Pasific, India, and Europe which is about 24% of population of the world, followed by other Asia Pasific, India, and Europe R#8 wrote: R#9 wrote: Followed by other Asia-Pasific and India 16%, and Europe 15%. The higher percentage of global wealth than other region is North America, 34% and than followed by Europe 30%, and Rich Asia- Pacific 24%. Followed by other Asia-Pacific and India 16%, and Europe 15%. The region which had higher percentage of global wealth than other regions was North America with 34% and then followed by Europe with 30%, and Rich Asia-Pacific with 24%. The chart shows proportions of global popolation and distribution of wealth of eight regions in the world. Generally, the highest distribution of wealth was in North America with almost 35% although its popolation was only just over 50%. Than followed by Europe and Rich Asia-Pasific with 30% and just under 25%, respectively, and the popolation was 15% and 3%, respectively for popolation percentages. China s distribution of wealth was only 3,5% although its popolation percentage was the highest in the world with almost 25%. 94
The highest popolation percentage had the lowest distribution of wealth and the reverse side. The chart shows proportions of global population and distribution of wealth of eight regions in the world. Generally, the highest distribution of wealth was in North America with almost 35%, although its population was only just over 50%. Then, it was followed by Europe and Rich Asia-Pasific with 30% and just under 25%, respectively, and 15% and 3%, respectively for population percentages. China s distribution of wealth was only 3,5% although its population percentage was the highest in the world with almost 25%. The highest population percentage had the lowest distribution of wealth, and vice versa. 4.1.4 In terms of Grammatical Range and Accuracy Grammatical range and accuracy are about: using correct active form and passive voice (AP), using right prepositions of time and place (PR), using simple sentences (SS), using compound sentences (CP), and using complex sentences (CX). No. Name Grammatical Range and Accuracy AP PR SS CP CX 1 R#1 V X V V X 2 R#2 V X V V X 3 R#3 X X V V X 4 R#4 V X X X X 5 R#5 V V V V X 6 R#6 V V V V X 7 R#7 V V V V X 95
8 R#8 V V X V X 9 R#9 V V V V X 1 4 2 2 9 The table indicates that the student faced difficulty in all aspects of grammatical range and accuracy. They had problems with active form and passive forms, prepositions of time and place, simple sentences, compound sentence, and complex sentences. 4.1.4.1 Using active and passive forms Almost all students found no difficulty with active and passive voice. As can be seen from the table it was only R#3 who made mistake in this area. She wrote: In Europe, the growth of population was taken 15% on the whole. In Europe, the growth of population took 15% of that of global. 4.1.4.2 Using prepositions of time and place Related to using right preposition of time and place in sentences, some students faced difficulty. R#1 wrote: All in all, both India and Africa have the least percentages of global wealth (approximately 2%) in all over the regions. All in all, both India and Africa had the least percentages of global wealth (approximately 2%) over the regions. 96
R#2 wrote: The parts of the world who had higher global wealth than percentages of population were North America (34% Global wealth and just 6% population), Rich Asia-Pacific (24% Global wealth and just 5% population) and Europe (30% global wealth and 15% number of population) R#3 wrote: The parts of the world that had higher percentages of global wealth than percentages of population were North America (with 34% of global wealth and just 6% of population), Rich Asia-Pacific (with 24% of global wealth and just 5% of population) and Europe (with 30% of global wealth and 15% of population) In Europe, the growth of population was taken 15% on the whole. R#4 wrote: In Europe, the population took 15% of the whole population in the world. The number slightly decrease in India with 15%, but dramatically down on Africa with 105. In India, the number slightly decreased from to 15%, but it was dramatically down in Africa from to 4.1.4.3 Making simple sentences Two students could not make up right simple sentences. They made uncompleted sentences. R#4 wrote: Meanwhile, In India and Africa with 1%. Meanwhile, India and Africa with 1% R#8 wrote: 97
Followed by other Asia-Pasific and India 16%, and Europe 15%. It was followed by other Asia-Pasific and India with 16%, and Europe, with 15%. 4.1.4.4 Making compound and complex sentences In terms of compound and complex sentences, many students had problems with them. R#1 wrote: Subsequently, it is clearly seen that other five regions including China, India, Africa as well as Latin America & Caribbean, on the other hand, have opposite situation compare to the previous regions. China, where they have more than 22% of population. It is also followed by India and other three areas where other Asia-Pacific area has similar percentages of population at around 16%. Subsequently, it is clearly seen that other five regions including China, India, Africa as well as Latin America & Caribbean have opposite situation compared to the previous regions. China has more than 22% of global population. It is also followed by India and other three areas. Other Asia-Pacific areas have similar percentages of population, that is at around 16%. R#2 wrote: There are some parts of the world that had global wealth percentages higher than percentages of population. The parts of the world who had higher global wealth than percentages of population were North America (34% Global wealth and just 6% population), Rich Asia-Pacific (24% Global wealth and just 5% population) and Europe (30% global wealth and 15% number of population) The other part of the world, who had a higher percentages population than the percentages of Global Wealth were other Asia Pacific (population 16% and just 4% Global wealth), Africa (pop. 10% and 2% for global wealth) 98
and latin America & Caribbean (8% for population and less 5% for Global wealth). And there were two countries with sama situation, China and India, China had 24% percentages of population but just had less 5% Global wealth; and India had 16% population yet had just 1% global wealth. There are some parts of the world that had higher global wealth percentages than that of population. R#3 wrote: R#5 wrote: The parts of the world that had higher global wealth than that of population were North America (with 34% and just 6%), Rich Asia-Pacific (with 24% and just 5%) and Europe (with 30% and 15%). The other part of the world that had higher percentages of population than that of global wealth were other Asia Pacific (with 16% and just 45), Africa (with 10% and 2%) and Latin America & Caribbean (with 8% and less than 5%). And there were two countries with the same situation: China and India. China had 24% percentages of population but just had less than 5% of global wealth; whereas, India had 16% of population yet had just 1% of global wealth. Contrary with China which have population involved almost 24% of world population achieved only approximately 3% of total wealth distribution in the world. On the contrary, China which had almost 24% of world population achieved only approximately 3% of total wealth distribution in the world. The most distinguished feature is Nort America, which is only have 5% of global population, while having approximately 36% distribution of wealth. India is as bad as cindition with China, where arround 17% people compare with only 1% of wealth distribution. The most distinguished feature is Nort hamerica, which had 5% of global population and approximately 36% of distribution of wealth. 99
R#7 wrote: R#9 wrote: The condition in India was as bad as in China, having around 17% of global population compared with only 1% of wealth distribution. If we look at the population of the region, China has a highest population, which is about 24% of population of the world, followed by other Asia Pasific, India, and Europe with percentages of population between 15 to 16. If we look at the population of the regions, China has the highest population, which is about 24% of population of the world, followed by other Asia Pasific, India, and Europe with percentages of population between 15% and 16%. Than followed by Europe and Rich Asia-Pasific with 30% and just under 25%, respectively, and the popolation was 15% and 3%, respectively for popolation percentages. Then, it was followed by Europe and Rich Asia-Pasific with 30% and just under 25%, respectively; and the percentages of population were 15% and 3%, respectively. 4.1.5 Synthesis The findings from students texts show that the students had most problems in area of lexical resource. All students made mistakes in all aspects of lexical resource, with 23 problems out of 36 possibilities, especially in spelling and punctuation. The fewest problems are found in task achievement, with 8 problems out of 45 possibilities. This means that the students are relatively able to fulfill this criterion. Related to coherence and cohesion, the students had 15 problems out of 81 possibilities. Meanwhile about grammatical range and accuracy, there were 17 problems out of 45 possibilities. 100
Despite their excellence in interpreting the task, including key data to support the summary, and avoiding using bullets in their texts, in task achievement the some students had problems in summarizing significant features of the graph and writing at least the minimum 150 words. In coherence and cohesion, all students could use right pronoun. Unfortunately, they still faced difficulty in using suitable subject-verb agreement, using right tenses, using correct articles, using right pronouns, using right conjunctions, writing the introductory paragraph, developing body paragraphs, creating concluding paragraph, using suitable linking words. Lexical resource seemed to be the most difficult aspect of Writing Task 1 of IELTS Academic Module. All students had problems here, although it was not in the same areas. They had difficulty in using varied words/good vocabulary, paraphrasing the information in the graph, using right word forms, and using correct spelling and punctuations. The last was the area in which all students made mistakes. Related to grammatical range and accuracy, all students had problem with making complex sentences. Besides, they encountered difficulty in using correct active form and passive voice, using right prepositions of time and place, making simple sentences, composing compound sentences. It can be concluded that the biggest problems all students encountered were using right spelling and punctuation and making complex sentences. Lacking of practice of writing was probably the cause of these problems. On the other hand, all the students could cope with interpreting the task, including key data to support 101
their summary, using no bullets in their compositions, using right pronoun, making introduction paragraph and creating body paragraphs. 4.2 Solutions to Overcome the Students Problems Based on the classroom observations and the interviews with both the teacher and the students, it was found out that the teacher and the students employed several ways to cope with the students problems in order to improve the students writing ability. They were teacher s self-initiated solutions, student s self-initiated solutions, and students peer-feedback. 4.2.1 Teacher s self-initiated solutions In line with Nation (2009: 139), the teacher did several ways to solve the students problems. She gave different feedbacks. She sometimes gave feedback to individuals, to small groups, or to the whole class in written and spoken forms. 4.2.1.1 Written feedback The teacher gave the students different written feedbacks. Nation (2009: 137) says that positive feedback on the content of the learner s writings can do a lot to increase the amount of writing that learners do and to improve their attitude to writing. She sometimes gave feedback to individuals by correcting their works, to small groups when there were group works, or to the whole class when she corrected the students writing written on the white board, especially where there 102
are common problems in the class, feedback to the whole class can save a lot of time. The activities above were seen in the classroom observations. The teacher did those activities alternatively during the observations. Since the students had common weaknesses and strength in their writing, the teacher used written report that was handed out to the class. It was an efficient way of giving feedback. The report could detail what the best pieces of writing were like, what the common errors and weaknesses were, and what to do about them. Nation (2009: 140) defines that the teacher may also make individyal written comments on each piece of writing but these need not to be so extensive if they are accompanied by a class handout. The sheet also provides a useful record that can be looked at again by the teacher for later pieces of writing or for other times to see if the strengths and weaknesses are the same or have changed. 4.2.1.2 Spoken feedback Nation (2009: 140-141) states that a very effective way to give feedback on writing is to get permission of two or three students to put their pieces of writing on the overhead projector transparency and then go through them orally with the whole class. In effect, the students watch the teacher when she marks a piece of work and this can help the students see what the teacher is looking for and what the teacher values in a piece of writing. The teacher can also ask the students to comment and can interact with them on points in the piece of writing. 103
This obviously has to be done tactfully and with praise for the writing playing a large part in the commentary. The name of writer could be kept confidential, but this is unlikely to be successful in a small class where students know each other reasonably well. Besides, when monitoring students works both individual and group works in the class, the teacher also gave spoken feedback to the students. Spoken feedback works more when the teacher gave feedback to the whole class. While being given the feedback, the students always paid full attention to the teacher s explanation. It is worth remembering that when the good points and bad points are mentioned, it is better to end with the good points so that the writer is left with a positive feeling about a piece of writing. 4.2.2 Student s self-initiated solutions To improve students writing, it is not only the teacher who should help the students but also the students themselves should do self-help or self-initiated solutions. In this study, the researcher found out that the students did those ways by doing editing and proof-reading. As encouraged by the teacher, they edited and proof-read their own works. Those activities were seen in the class observations and also revealed from the interviews with the students. 104
4.2.2.1 Editing Editing is one stage in writing process, but it also one stage of composing process. The activity forces the writers to check, to revise and to rewrite what they have written. On the other hand, Foster (1988: 83) states that in general editing means making changes in sentences, structures, and wording. This stage is very important to check by giving the checklist and to give the correction. The checklist is very useful to spot and correct possible errors in the draft of the students writing. In the classroom observations, editing was done by the students almost every time when they were working on the writing tasks asked by the teacher. Based on the interview with the students, they said that when they practiced their writing out of the classroom, they also applied this stage. 4.2.2.2 Proof-reading Proof-reading is the actually other stage in writing process. It is to read against the original manuscript for correction. So, by reading against their own composition, the students can correct the mechanical problems. General proofreading means checking for errors in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. This stage is very effective to correct spelling errors, misplaced capitalization, and misused punctuation marks. Based on the classroom observations and interview with students, the students did proof-reading. They said that doing both editing and proof-reading were a very helpful in improving their writing. 105
4.2.2.3 Conferencing Conferencing on a portfolio involves a one-to-one meeting between the teacher and the student to talk about the student s writing. The major strength of conferencing is that the students can provide an explanation of what was involved in their pieces of writing, and can seek clarification from the teacher about the teacher s evaluation of them (Nation, 2009: 142). Conferencing allows the opportunity to look at weaknesses and strengths which appear in several pieces of writing and thus deserve comment. It also allows the opportunity to see improvement across several pieces of writing. This improvement can be in the quantity written, the quality of the writing, and quality and range of the content. It was clearly shown in the pieces of writing written by those who actively took part in the conference with the teacher. Since the time limit in the classroom, the conference was held after class and at the break-time. Conferencing indeed takes a lot of time but its focused one-to-one interaction results in many benefits. 4.2.3 Students peer feedback The use of peer feedback can reduce the teacher s load but it is also very valuable in helping writers develop a sense of audience. The use of selfassessment encourages meta-cognitive awareness of the writing process and the qualities of good writing (Nation, 2009: 139). A major problem with peer evaluation is that learners may not value the comments of their peers and see them as being far inferior to the teacher s 106
comments (Zhang, 1995, cited in Nation, 2009: 141), but there are several ways of dealing with this. First, peer evaluation can be a step before teacher evaluation. If learners see that peer evaluation can result in an eventual better evaluation by the teacher, peer evaluation will be valued. Second, the quality of peer evaluation can be raised by providing training in evaluation (Min, 2005 and 2006, cited in Nation, 2009: 143) and by providing written guidelines to use during the evaluation. These written guidelines can be questions to ask or a checklist. Min s (2006) study shows that training learners in doing peer review results in many more comments being incorporated into the revision, peer comments becoming by far the greatest source of revisions, and in better revisions. A peer evaluation sheet and a correction marking sheet (Griffith, 2011) are attached in the appendices as examples. 4.2.4 Synthesis Data from classroom observations and interviews showed that the ways that could overcome the students problems were teacher s self-initiated solutions in the forms of different types of feedback, student s self-initiated solutions in the forms of editing, proof-reading, and conferencing with the teacher, and also students peer-feedback in the forms of peer-correction and peer-evaluation. Besides, good classroom atmosphere in teaching-learning encouraged the students improvement. Working individually, in pair, in group gave the students opportunity to experience different ways of learning. They also seemed 107
comfortable with discussion since it enabled them to share with their friends. Sharing experience and knowledge is indeed a good teacher for any learner. 108