AN ANALYSIS OF THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN WRITING MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES AT SMA ADABIAH 2 PADANG

Abstrak

INTRODUCTION Language is one of the important media of communication for human beings. By using language someone can express ideas or thoughts and share some information. English as one of the international languages has become an essential language in the world. Many people use it as a medium for communication when they visit another country. In many countries, English has been taught in schools. Especially in Indonesia, English has been taught from junior high school until university. There are some skills that should be noticed in English, they are; listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Based on the curriculum at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang, writing is one of the four basic language skills that has to be learnt by the students. The tenth grade students, especially, learn to write 3 types of genres or texts; they are descriptive text, narrative text and recount text. Recount text is a piece of text that retells past events, usually in the order in which they happened [1]. There are many kinds of recount text such as personal recount, factual recount, imaginative recount, procedural recount, and literary recount texts. The tenth-grade students of SMA Adabiah 2 Padang have learnt personal recount, factual recount, and imaginative recount texts. When they studied personal recount text, they learnt about writing memorable experiences. The researcher found some previous-related research that correspond to this research. First, the study done by Harris (2015) related to the tenth grade students’ ability in writing recount text at SMAN 1 Sungai Limau found that the tenth grade students had weak ability in writing recount text [2]. Second, the study done by Afriani (2017) related to the first year students’ ability to write generic structures in writing imaginative recount text at SMAN 7 Padang found that the first year students had high ability in writing generic structure [3]. Third, the study done by Gultom (2019) related to the tenth grade students’ ability to use language features in writing recount text at SMAN 1 Siberut Selatan Mentawai found that the tenth grade students were still confused about the use of language features [4]. Fourth, the study done by Putri (2014) related to the tenth grade students’ ability to apply mechanics in writing recount text at SMA Adabiah 1 Padang found that the tenth grade students made some mistakes in applying mechanics [5]. Based on related research above, the researcher was interested in investigating the tenth grade students’ ability in writing memorable experiences at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang. METHOD The researcher used descriptive method for this research. Descriptive study involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or to answer questions concerning the current status of the subject of the study [6]. The population of this research was the tenth grade students of SMA Adabiah 2 Padang. There were 5 classes of MIPA and 3 classes of IPS. The total number of students was 260 students, and they were distributed into eight classes. The researcher used stratified random sampling to take the sample, and the number of samples was 62 students. Based on the result of the correlation process, it was found that the correlation coefficient is 0.97, so it can be concluded that the instrument was very reliable. To collect the data, the researcher firstly gave several topics to the students. Secondly, the researcher explained the direction and asked the students to write their memorable experiences. Third, the researcher collected the students' writing sheets. After that, the researcher copied the entire writing sheets of the students. The original answer sheets were for the researcher and the other ones were for the second scorer. Then, the researcher and the second scorer gave score based on scoring criteria. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS The result of this research showed that in general, the tenth-grade students’ ability in writing memorable experiences at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang was high because 41 (66.1%) students had high ability in writing memorable experiences while 21 (33.9%) students had low ability in writing memorable experiences. In detail, 54 (87.1%) students had high ability and 8 (12.9%) students had low ability to write generic structures in writing memorable experiences. Moreover, 41 (66.1%) students had high ability and 21 (33.9%) students had low ability to use language features in writing memorable experiences. Last, 27 (43.5%) students had high ability and 35 (56.5%) students had low ability to apply mechanics in writing memorable experiences. It means the students of SMA Adabiah 2 Padang had problem to apply mechanics in writing memorable experiences. It can be seen in Diagram 1 below: Diagram 1. Students' Ability in Writing Memorable Experiences The result of data analysis show that 54 students (87.1%) had high ability in writing memorable experiences. Besides, 8 students (12.9%) had low ability in writing memorable experiences. It was not in line with study conducted by Harris (2015). He found that 2% had very good ability in writing recount text with the score range 3.3 – 4. Besides, 35% students had good ability in writing recount text with the score range 2.5 – 3.2. Moreover, 56% had weak ability in writing recount text with the score range 1.9 – 2.4. In addition, 7% had very poor ability in writing recount text with the score range 1 – 1.8 [2]. 1. The Tenth Grade Students’ Ability to Write Generic Structure in Writing Recount Text at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang After calculating the scores of generic structures, it was found 54 (87.1%) students were categorized into a high ability group and 8 (12.9%) students were categorized into a low ability group. In line with this research, Afriani (2017) also found that 48 students (80%) had high ability in writing generic structures, while 12 students (20%) had low ability in writing generic structures [3]. It can be seen in Diagram 2 below: Diagram 2. Students' Ability in Writing Generic Structures 2. The Tenth Grade Students’ Ability to Use Language Features in Writing Recount Text at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang In term of language feature, they had high ability because 41 (66.1%) students were categorized into a high ability group and 21 (33.9%) students were categorized into a low ability group. It was not in line with study conducted by Gultom (2019). He found that the students were still confused in using language features [4]. It can be seen in Diagram 3 below: Diagram 3. Students' Ability in Using Language Features 3. The Tenth Grade Students’ Ability to Apply Mechanics in Writing Recount Text at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang In terms of mechanics, they had low ability because 27 (43.5%) students were categorized into a high ability group and 35 (56.5%) students were categorized into a low ability group. In line with this research, Putri (2014) also found that the tenth grade students at SMA Adabiah 1 Padang made some mistakes in applying mechanics [5]. It can be seen in Diagram 4 below: Diagram 4. Students' Ability in Using Mechanics CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that the tenth grade students’ ability in writing memorable experiences was high ability. However, a few students at SMA Adabiah 2 Padang still had problems in writing the generic structures and they were still confused to use language features. The majority of them did not apply correct mechanics (capitalization, spelling, punctuation). Therefore, the teachers are suggested to give more exercises in using mechanics and to give more explanation about how to use language features, especially past tense. The students are suggested to learn more about how to apply language features, especially past tense, and to use mechanics in their correct position when writing memorable experiences. The next researchers are suggested to study the reasons why the students had a serious problem in using mechanics. Keywords: Writing, Memorable, Experiences