19 students’ should choose the appropriate words to make the
sentences. While in terms of the language use, it should show few errors of agreement, tenses, articles, pronouns, and
prepositions. The last, in mechanics aspect, it should demonstrate mastery of conventions which shows few errors
of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
4. Teaching Writing in Junior High School
The focus of teaching English in junior high school is to achieve informational level, since the students are prepared to continue their
study to a higher education level. From what is described in BSNP Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan, the aims English lesson in
junior high school are: 1 Developing communicative competence in oral and written
form to achieve the level of informational literacy 2 Having awareness about the nature and importance of
English to improve the nation’s competiveness in the global community.
3 Developing an understanding of students about the relationship between the languages with culture.
In fact, writing in junior high school has several rules. Those rules are based on Standard of Competency and Basic
Competences of English curriculum of English for Junior High School. In this case, the researcher collected the research data at
20 SMPN 2 Depok which deal with the curriculum that is used in
standardized school. She focused on Grade VIII in the second semester. The Standard of Competency and Basic Competences
of writing for the Grade VIII in the second semesteris presented below.
Table 1: Standard of Competency and Basic Competences of Writing Skill for Junior High School Students at the
Grade VIII Semester Two
Standar Kompetensi Kompetensi Dasar
Menulis
12. Mengungkapkan
makna dalam teks tulis fungsional
dan esei
pendek sederhana
berbentuk recount dan narrative
untuk berinteraksi
dengan lingkungan sekitar
12.1 Mengungkapkan makna dalam bentuk teks tulis fungsional pendek sederhana dengan
menggunakan ragam bahasa tulis secara akurat, lancar dan berterima untuk berinteraksi dengan
lingkungan sekitar
12.2 Mengungkapkan makna dan langkah retorika dalam esei pendek sederhana dengan
menggunakan ragam bahasa tulis secara akurat, lancar dan berterima untuk berinteraksi dengan
lingkungan sekitar berbentuk recount dan narrative
From the table above, the researcher can conclude that the standard competency of writing in junior high school is producing the
meaning of simple writing production related to several text types in written form in the context of daily life and academic purposes to
interact with the environment. In this case, the researcher focused on one text type that was recount text.
21 The important case of teaching writing in junior high school is also
about the students’ age range. The age range of students in junior high school is between thirteen and fifteen that is also called as
puberty Brown, 2001:91. It makes them categorized into teenager learners who are in the age of transition, confusion, self-
consciousness, growing and changing bodies and minds. They also have developed their attention spans as the result of their intellectual
maturation but those can be easily shortened sine there are many diversions within teenagers’ life.
As the result, the characteristics of teenagers stated previously will become teachers’ concerns in teaching their students. According to
Brown 2001:92, one of the most important concerns of the secondary school teacher is to keep self-esteem high by 1 avoiding
embarrassment of students at all costs 2 affirming each person’s talents and strengths 3 allowing mistakes and other errors to be
accepted 4 de-emphasizing competition between classmates, and 5 encouraging small-group work where risks can be taken more easily
by a teen. In summary, the teaching of writing focused on the recount text. The
decision was based on the standard of competency and basic competence of the Grade VIII in the second semester. The teaching
of writing also focused on the psychological condition of the students. Thus, the teaching of writing can be done effectively.
22
5. T-A-D Transition-Action-Details strategy a. Definition
