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3.2 Object of the Study
Object of the study is source from whom or which we can obtain the data.
3.2.1 Population
According to Best 1981:8, population is any group of individuals that have one or more characteristics in common, while according to Encyclopaedia of
Educational Evaluation as quoted by Arikunto 1998:115, Population is defined a set or collection of all elements possessing one or more attributes of interest.
The research target is a group of objects, phenomena, or tendencies that called population in research term Saleh, 2001:7. The objects in a population
are, then, investigated, analysed, concluded and then the conclusion is valid to the whole population.
The population to which I would like to generalize the result was the eight- year students of “SMP Negeri 13 Semarang” in the academic year 20062007. The
total number of the population was 268 students divided into 6 classes. The reason for choosing the eight-year students is that the students had
been taught writing text, especially writing a descriptive text. Another reason is that the eight-year students are not in preparation for the Final National
Examination.
3.2.2 Sample
A sample is a small proportion of a population selected for observation and analysis Best, 1981:8. Based on Arikunto 2002:109, sample is a part that
can represent all the population observed. It is called sample research when we want to generalise the sample research result.
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In selecting the sample, I used cluster random sampling. If the population is more than 100 persons, we may take 10-15 percent or 20-25 percent or more
from the population. Therefore, I took 22 percent out of 268 students as the sample for this study or equal to 60 students. The sample then divided into two
groups consisting of 30 students each, experimental and controlled group. The groups I took for the research were class VIII B as the experimental group, while
class VIII C as the control group. Both classes were selected based on the consideration :
a. These classes were given the same English materials by same English
teacher. b.
The students of those classes were equal in level of English, because the average score of their English test were the same.
3.3 Experimental Design
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