Improving Students’ Writing Ability through the Use of Cue Card at Grade Eight Of SMPN 4 Yogyakarta in the Academic Year of 2015/2016

Abstract

The aim of this research was to improve the students’ writing ability at grade eight of SMPN 4 Yogyakarta in the academic year of 2015/2016 using cue card. This research was categorized into Action Research (AR) employing the four steps namely: planning, action, observation, and reflection. The types of the data were qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative data were obtained from interviews, observations, and documentation during the process of the research. The quantitative data were obtained from tests and questionnaires. The scores of the tests were analyzed by using descriptive analysis in the form of mean scores and the questionnaires were analyzed by counting the frequency and the percentage. In reference to the actions conducted in two cycles, the use of cue card improved the students’ writing ability as justified in the following results. First, the students’ motivation in learning writing increased. They seemed more enthusiastic during the teaching and learning process. They also actively participated in class activities by asking some questions. Second, there was a significant improvement from some aspects of writing such as content, organization, language use, vocabulary, and mechanics. The students’ writing score also increased. It can be seen from the comparison between the means of each score from the pre-test to the post-test. Based on the students’ writing scores in pre-test and post-test, the gained score for the content was 4, the organization was 5, the vocabulary was 5.5, the language use was 11, and mechanics was 1.5.