USING CUE CARDS TO IMPROVE THE WRITING ABILITY OF 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AT SMPN 1 REMBANG IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2013/2014

摘要

This research is aimed at improving the writing ability of 8th grade students at SMPN 1 Rembang in the academic year of 2013/2014 by using cue cards.udThe research was carried out through action research that consisted of two cycles. Each cycle consisted of two meetings. The researcher worked collaboratively with the English teacher, the students, and the collaborator. The data were obtained from the observation during the implementation of the actions; interview with the teacher and the students of VIIID; the pre-test and post-test; the discussion with the English teacher; and the questionnaire given to the students. The data were in the form of field notes, observation checklists, interview transcripts, the students’ writing scores, questionnaire results, and photographs. The validity of the data was gained by applying democratic, outcome, process, and dialogic validity. To get the trustworthiness, the researcher used a triangulation technique. It was done by gathering data from different points of view, including the students’, the teacher’s, and the collaborator’s.udThe results of the research show that there is improvement on the students’ writing ability through the use of cue cards. The students made improvement in some aspects, including generating ideas, vocabulary, text organization, and motivation. They were able to generate ideas by themselves because of the clear visualization portrayed in the cue cards. They learned many new vocabulary items. They could organize their texts correctly. They were motivated in joining the activities in the classroom. Moreover, they were not reluctant anymore to ask the teacher questions, especially when the teacher walked around the class and looked at the students’ writing work personally. The research findings were also supported by the result of means of the students’ writing scores that improved from 68.36 in pre-test to 80.37 in post-test.