40 To improve the students’ writing ability, the researcher used the action
research model developed by Kemmis and Mc. Taggart as cited in Burns 2010: 7-9. This model consists of four main steps in each cycle : 1 planning; 2 acting;
3 observing and 4 reflecting.
Figure 1: Scheme of Action Research by Kemmis and McTaggart
B. Research Setting
The research was conducted at SMP Negeri 2 Wonosari which is located in Jl. Veteran No. 8, Wonosari, Gunungkidul. The actions were carried out in
March - May using the students of class VIII D as the subjects of the research. The research study was conducted in the second semester of the academic year of
20132014. The observation was done on January 22
nd
, 2014. After the observation, a pre-test was conducted and Cycle I of the research was done for
three meetings which were on March 19
th
, 20
th
, and April 3
rd
. The Cycle II was
41 also conducted for three meetings. They were on April 30
th
, May 14
th
and May 21
st
.
C. Research Subject
The subjects of the research were Grade VIII D students of SMPN 2 Wonosari who were in the second semester by the academic year of 20132014.
Class VIII D consisted of 30 students. They were chosen based on the observation and discussion done with the English teacher that they have problems in writing
especially in generating and developing the ideas.
D. Instruments
1. Observation checklist The observation checklist was used to gather the information during the
teaching and learning process. It was given to the collborator who observed the researcher during the teaching and learning process. It was also used to gather the
information about what happened in the teaching and learning process, how the researcher taught and
the students’ responses. The data of the observation checklist were taken from the information collected by the collaborators.
2. Interview Guidelines The researcher used interview guidelines in the reconnaissance stage and
also in the end of every meeting. In the reconnaissance stage, the researcher interviewed some of the students and the teacher to know the problems faced by
42 the students in learning English especially writing and to gather the information
about the teaching and learning process. The researcher also conducted some interviews with some students and the English teacher at the end of every meeting
to gather the information about the actions implemented in the teaching and learning process and used it as the reflection for the next meeting.
3. Camera and Recorder The photograph and video were taken during the teaching and learning
process by the collaborator. They were used to know about the stituation happened in the teaching and learning process.
4. Writing Rubric The writing rubric was used to score the students’ work. There were
some categories which were scored using the writing rubric. They were content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, m
echanics. The students’ writing were scored by the researcher and the English teacher. The scores that were used were gotten
from the pre-test and post-test done by the students. The scores showed whether there was an improvement before the actions were implemented and after the
actions were implemented. The writing rubric that was used was writing rubric by H. Jacobs et al. 1981 in Reid 1993: 236-237.
E. Data Collection Techniques
The data were collected in the form of qualitative data and quantitative data. The qualitative data were in the form of vignettes, interview transcripts,
