The effectiveness of teaching writing recount text by using facebook: a quasi-experimental study at tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 4 Kota Tangerang Selatan

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHING WRITING RECOUNT TEXT BY
USING FACEBOOK
(A Quasi-Experimental Study at Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 4 Kota
Tangerang Selatan)
A “Skripsi”
Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training in a Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Strata 1 (Bachelor of Art) in
English Language Education

By:
PUTRI AISAH NINGSIH
NIM: 1110014000124

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
JAKARTA
2015

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHING WRLTING RECOUNT TEXT BY
USING FACEBOOK

(A Quasl-Experimental Study at Tenth Grade Students aJ'SMA Negeri 4 Kota
Tangerang Selatan)

The'Skripsi'
prcsenred to Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers' Training in a Partial FulfiIlment

of the Requirements for the Degree of Strata

t

in English Language Education

By:
PUTRI AISAH NINGSIH
1110014000124

Approved By:

Advisor

I

Advisor

II

NrP.19631010 199103 2 003

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
PACI,ILTY OF TARBTYAH AND TEACIIERS' TRAINING
SYARIF HMAYATULLAII STATE ISLAMIC UI{IVERSITY

JAKARTA
2014

ENDORSEMENT SHEET

The Examination Committee of the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers' Training certifies that the

'oskripsi" (Scientific Paper) entitled"THE EFFECTMNESS OF TEACIIING \ilRITING

RECOUNT TEXT BY USING FACEBOOK" (A Quasi-Experimental Study at Tenth Grade
Students of SMA Negeri 4 Kota Tangerang Selatan)written by PutriAisahNingsih, studsnts'
registration number 1110014000124 was examined by the Committee on December 15& 2014.
The "skripsi" has been accepted and declared to have fulfilled one of the requirements for the
degree of "S.Pd" (Bachelor of Arts) in English Language Education at the English Department.
Jakarta, Decemberl sth 2Al4

EXAMINATION COMMITTEE

:Drs. Svauki, M.Pd.

CHAIRMAN

NIP. 19641212199103 I 002
SECRETARY

:

Zaharil Anasy. M.Hum.

NIP. 19761007 2047101 002
EXAMINER I

:Drs. Svauki, M.Pd.

NIP. 19641212199103
EXAMINER II

I

002

:Ertin, MA., TESOL.
NIP._

Acknowledged By
The

Jarbiyah and Teachers' Training

198603 2 00r

Ho5kumen

XENIIENTEruAN AGAMA
UIN JAKARTA
FITK
Jl. h. H. Juada l,!o 95

ANH

:

FITKFR-AKD-082

tgl.Terbit :'1

FORM (FR)

Maret 2010

15412 lndonasia

SUnNT PERNYATAAN KARYA SENDIRI

Saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah

ini,

Nama

Putri Aisah Ningsih

Tempat/ Tanggal Latrir

Jakarta,

NIM

I I 10014000124

Jurusan / Prodi

Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

l8 April

1991

Judul Skripsi

The Effectiveness of Teaching Writing Recount Text by Using Facebook
Study at Tenth Grade Students af SMA Negeri 4 Kota
(A
Quasi-Experimental

Tangerang Selatan)
Dosen

Pembimbing

: l. Dr. Farida Hamid M,Pd.
2. Yenny rahmawati M, Ed.

Dengan ini menyatakan bahwa Skripsi yang saya buat benar-benar hasil karya sendiri
dan saya bertanggung jawab penuh secara akademis atas apa yang saya tulis'

Jakarta, 24 Novembet 2014

Mahasiswa Ybs.

Putri Aisah Ningsih

NIM: 1l10014000124

ABSTRACT

PUTRI AISAH NINGSIH, 2014, The Effectiveness of Teaching Writing
Recount Text by Using Facebook at Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri
4 Kota Tangerang Selatan, Skripsi, English Education Department,

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training UIN Syarif Hidayatullah
Jakarta.
Advisors:

Dr. Farida Hamid, M.Pd
Yeni Rahmawati, M.Ed

Key words: Recount Text, Facebook
The objective of this research is to obtain the empirical evidence whether
or not Facebook has good effect in improving students’ writing Recount Text.
This is a quasi experiment research. The experimental group is treated by
using Facebook and the controlled group is treated without Facebook. The writer
took a pre-test that the classes have relatively the same background knowledge in
the research variable and a post-test is to find out the growth of score as
measurement of achievement. The writer used ttest to calculate the data and then
tested hypothesis.
The research finding shows that to > ttable. It means that the test
hypothesis is Null Hypothesis (Ho) is rejected and the Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)
is accepted. The interpretation of data is teaching Writing Recount Text by using
Facebook is more effective that teaching Writing Recount Text without using

Facebook.

i

ABSTRAK

PUTRI AISAH NINGSIH, 2014, The Effectiveness of Teaching Writing Recount
Text by Using Facebook at Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 4 Kota
Tangerang Selatan, Skripsi,Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris,
Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif
Hidayatullah Jakarta.
Dosen Pembimbing: Dr. Farida Hamid, M.Pd
Yeni Rahmawati, M.Ed
Kata Kunci: Recount Text, Facebook
Tujuan penilitian ini adalah untuk mendapatkan bukti empiris apakah
Facebook dapat memberikan dampak yang bagus dalam peningkatan pemahaman
siswa dalam pelajaran Writing Recount Text atau tidak.
Ini adalah penilitian quasi eksperimen. Kelompok eksperimen diajar
dengan menggunakan Facebook dan kelompok kontrol diajar tanpa menggunakan
Facebook. Penulis menggunakan pre-test untuk mengetahui bahwa kedua

kelompok mempunyai latar belakang pengetahuan yang relatif sama dalam
variable penelitian dan post-test untuk menemukan peningkatan nilai sebagai
ukuran prestasi. Penulis menggunakan ttest untuk menghitung dan menghipotesis.
Hasil dari perhitungan penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa to > ttable. Itu
berarti bahwa hipotesis tes adalah Null Hypothesis (Ho) ditolak dan Alternative
Hypothesis (Ha) diterima. Interpretasi data adalah pengajaran Writing Recount
Text dengan menggunakan Facebook leabih efektif daipada pengajaran kosakata
tanpa menggunakan Facebook

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful
Alhamdulillah, the writer thanks to Allah SWT, The lord of the word. He
always gives strong and favor in completing this “Skripsi” by the title “The
Effectiveness of Teaching Writing Recount Text by Using Facebook” without any
obstacles. Blessing and salvation be upon beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW and
his family, his companions, and his followers.
The writer wants to thank a lot to all people who support and help her.
She realizes without their support and help, she could not be able to finish this
“skripsi”.
In this opportunity, the writer would like to express her gratitude to Dr.
Farida Hamid, M.Pd and Yeni Rahmawati, M.Ed., for their valuable advice,
guidance, dedication, corrections, and suggestions in finishing this “skripsi”.
There are also some people that the writer would like to thank to:
1. Dra. Nurlena, M.A., Ph.D., the Dean Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers
Training the State Islamic University Jakarta.
2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd., the head of English Education Department.
3. ZahrilAnasy, M.Hum., the Secretary of English Education Department.
4. All lecturer of English Education Department who have already taught
the writer during his study at UIN SyarifHidayatullah Jakarta.
5. Suhermin, S. Pd., M. Si., the Headmaster of SMA Negeri 4 Kota
Tangerang Selatan who has allowed the writer to conduct and observe the
research at the school.
6. The writer wants to give her sincerest gratitude to her beloved parents
(M. Sidik and Sariyah) for their support and always pray her until the
Degree of Strata–I (S1), her beloved sister (Erna Rahmawati S.Pd and
RostikaSE.i), and her beloved little sister (Annisa Rizki Mulyasari).

iii

7. Her best friends: Gadis, Saa, Nurul,Tazka, Ade, Rini, Rustini, Wiwin,
Febri, Yusri, Uswah, Ida, Alvi, Tami who always give her support and
courage through these years and thanks for being good friends.
8. Her friends in English Education Department 2010, class A, B, and C.
thanks for giving support, sharing their time and being good friends..
9. All people who have given their help in writing this “Skripsi” that the
writer could not mention it one by one.

The words are not enough to appreciate for their help and contribution in
writing this “Skripsi”, may Allah SWT., the almighty bless them all. Finally, the
writer realizes that this “Skripsi” is not perfect yet. Therefore, the writer would
like to accept critics and suggestion from everyone who reads this “Skripsi”
Finally, the writer expects this “Skripsi” will give valuable information for
development of scientific education and become the inspiration for people who
read it.

Jakarta, November 2014

The writer

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
APPROVEMENT SHEET
SURAT KETERANGAN KARYA SENDIRI
ENDORSEMENT SHEET
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... i
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................... viii
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study .................................................................... 1
B. Identification of The Problem ............................................................. 4
C. Limitation and Formulation of the Problem ....................................... 5
D. Objectives of the Study ....................................................................... 5
E. Significance of the Study .................................................................... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Writing ................................................................................................ 7
1. The Definition of Writing ............................................................. 7
2. The Writing Process ...................................................................... 8

v

3. The Purposes of Writing ............................................................... 9
B. Recount Text ...................................................................................... 9
1. The Definition of Recount Text .................................................... 9
2. The Kinds of Recount Text ........................................................... 10
3. The Generic Structures of Recount Text ....................................... 12
4. The Language Feature of Recount Text ........................................ 14
C. Facebook ............................................................................................. 15
1. The Definition of Facebook .......................................................... 15
2. The History of Facebook ............................................................... 16
3. The Features of Facebook ............................................................. 17
4. Positive and Negative Influence of Facebook. .............................. 19
D. Facebook as a Medium of Language Learning ................................... 21
E. Teaching Recount Text Through Facebook ........................................ 22
F. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using
Facebook in Teaching Writing Recount Text ..................................... 23
G. The Relevant Previous Study .............................................................. 24
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Time and Place of the Study ............................................................... 25
B. Method of Study ................................................................................. 25
C. The Population and Sample ................................................................ 25
D. Technique of Data Collection ............................................................. 26
E. Technique of Data Analysis ................................................................ 26
F. Statistical Hypothesis .......................................................................... 31
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND
INTERPRETATIONS
A. Data Description ................................................................................. 33
B. The Test of Hypothesis ....................................................................... 38
C. Data Interpretation. ............................................................................ 38

vi

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion ......................................................................................... 40
B. Suggestion ........................................................................................... 40
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 42
APPENDICES ................................................................................................ 45

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table 2.1 Example of Generic Structure of Recount Text ............................. 13
Table 3.1 A Scoring Rubric for Writing ........................................................ 27
Table 4.1 The Test Result of Experimental Class .......................................... 33
Table 4.2 The Test Result of Controlled Class .............................................. 34

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Page
Figure 2.1 The Timeline Profile ..................................................................... 17

ix

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page
Appendix 1 Lesson Plan of Experimental Class (First Meeting) ................... 46
Appendix 2 Lesson Plan of Experimental Class (Second Meeting) .............. 50
Appendix 3 Lesson Plan of Experimental Class (Third Meeting) ................. 55
Appendix 4 Lesson Plan of Experimental Class (Last Meeting) ................... 59
Appendix 5 Lesson Plan of Controlled Class ................................................ 63
Appendix 6 Pre-test ........................................................................................ 78
Appendix 7 Post-test ...................................................................................... 79
Appendix 8 Pre-test Scoring Format of Experimental Class ......................... 80
Appendix 9 Post-test Scoring Format of Experimental Class........................ 81
Appendix 10 Pre-test Scoring Format of Controlled Class............................ 82
Appendix 11 Post-test Scoring Format of Controlled Class .......................... 83
Appendix 12 Surat Bimbingan Skripsi .......................................................... 84
Appendix 13 Surat Permohonan Izin Penelitian ............................................ 85
Appendix 14 Surat Keterangan Telah Melakukan Penelitian ........................ 86
Appendix 15 Fungsi Distribusi pada Distribusi Probabilitas t-Student ......... 87

x

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents and discusses background of study, limitation and
formulation of the problem, objective of the study, significance of the study,
method of research, hyphothesis of the research and organization of the writing.

A. Background of the Study
English is an international language spoken in most countries in the world.
It is used as a mean of communication. Many countries use English for many
occasions such as diplomatic, social, education, etc. some countries consider
English as their native language, but in Indonesia English is considered as a
foreign language. As a foreign language, English is not normally used as a
medium of instruction, but English is used in formal setting, such as school
and university. It means that English in Indonesia is not used for daily
interactions, and it is learned in school as one of subjects in school.
Studying English as a foreign language is gradually getting more
important. In Indonesia, English is considered as a first foreign language and
compulsory subject to be taught in high school. One of the aims of teaching
English is developing the ability to communicate. The ability involves the
four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The writer is mainly focused on writing skill, because writing is
considered the most difficult and complicated language skill to be learned.
Writing needs hard thinking to produce idea, words, sentences, paragraph,
and composition.
Writing is one of the important skills that should be mastered by the
students. In writing, they need to express their feeling in a good way. They
need to express their ideas and emotion creatively, so the reader can
understand their writing.

1

2

Based on Competency Standard in 2013 curricullum, the students are
expected to be able to analyze the social function, structure, and language
features of recount text. Besides, they should be able to develop recount text
in the form of work report, history, and personal experiences.1
Based on the writer’s experience, the most difficult skill to learn is writing.
The writer has observed some students in SMA Negeri 4 Kota Tangerang
Selatan about the students’ problems in writing English text. There are three
problems that they have, they are: first, they lack of vocabularies. Second,
they do not know how to make a good sentence. Third, they do not know how
to organize writing.
According to Elanneri Karani, there are four problems encountered by the
students when they are ordered to write a text. They are problems in content,
organizing, vocabulary, and grammar.2 First is content. It means that the
students cannot produce an effective text because they cannot construct the
main idea and supporting detail into a paragraph. Second is organizing. In
organizing, the students cannot organize paragraph into a good text. Third is
vocabulary. Sometimes, the students lack of vocabulary for constucting a
good paragraph, so the students cannot convey their ideas and opinions
smoothly. Fourth is grammar. A good text describes a sentence structure
correctly, and the paragraph has a good order of the words in sentence
sequence. In other word, the students face many problems in writing English
text. Their problems focus on the writing procedures, and they usually lack of
vocabulary and grammar mastery to start writing English text.
These problems can be influenced by some factors. Based on the writer’s
experience while teaching in SMA Negeri 4 Kota Tangerang Selatan, these
problems come from the teaching technique that is used by teacher.
Sometimes, the English teacher uses a boring teaching technique in teaching
writing. The teacher just gives some explanations and exercises from the
1

Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Kurukulum 2013 Kompetensi Dasar Sekolah
Menengah Atas dan Madrasah Aliyah, 2013, p. 160
2
Elanneri Karani, Area of Problems in Writing Recount Text, Jurnal Pendidikan Inovatif,
Jilid 4, No. 1, September 2008, p. 11

3

textbook. It makes the students less comprehended the material, and the
students cannot produce their own sentence in English in the end of the class.
Some students can consider English subject as a boring class because of the
teaching technique that is used by the teacher.
In this case, the writer suggested Facebook as a medium of instruction in
teaching writing to be more effective. There are some reasons why using
Facebook is really effective for students to write. The first reason is because
Facebook is free. There are many social media, such as Blackberry
Messenger, WhatApps, Twitter, Instagram, and Path that spent a lot of
money, but Facebook is free. The second is because Facebook is flexible.
Facebook can be accessed in anywhere and anytime, and Facebook can also
be accessed through cell phone and computer. This flexibility makes
Facebook more special than other social media. The other reason is that the
students can show and tell what they will talk about. The students can show
some pictures and share it on Facebook, so the others can also see it.3
As the most popular sites in Indonesia, Facebook can be a meaningful
environment for improving students’ writing skill. If some students can make
a new post on Facebook for a day, so it will be effective if they write their
post in English in order to practice English writing. According to Rita,
Facebook can have a positive influence in improving students’ literacy.4 She
states in her paper that the students can comment and get a good feedback
from others. She describes that comment and peer feedback can be a positive
influence for students to learn English. It can be concluded that Facebook can
be a positive influence to improve students’ writing skill on recount text.
When the students can comment to each other, they can take a good response
and feel more open to be a better writer.

3

50 Reasons to Invite Facebook Into Your Classroom,
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/07/18/50-reasons-to-invite-facebook-into-your-classroom/,
accessed on January 10, 2014.
4
Rita Inderawati Rudy, From classroom to peer comment in Facebook: bridging to
establish learners’ literacy. International conference “ICT for language learning”, Palembang:
Pixel, 4th edition , 2011. P. 1

4

To help students to solve these problems, it needs another technique in
teaching writing to be more interesting for the students. In this case, the
writer used Facebook as a medium of instruction. As the writer explained
above that there are many advantages in using Facebook for the students, the
writer hoped that Facebook can improve their writing skill.
On Facebook, the students can share their ideas about something. Their
friends can also take a look and give some arguments to each other. Their
vocabulary items will improve if they write it in English. By using peer
feedback, the students learn how to correct their friend’s work. Some
researchers describe that avoiding face-to-face interaction can lower down
students’ anxiety. Even though they write the sentence grammatically
incorrect, they are still confidence to use English on their writing on
Facebook. Furthermore, when the students discuss on Facebook, they do not
have to use their real name, so they can give comment and feedback to each
other without any anxiety. In other hand, the students who might not speak up
can contribute on Facebook where they may be more comfortable.
Sometimes, when teacher asks this kind of students they will not answer the
question because they are not confident enough in class. In other word,
Facebook makes shy students can shine.5
Based on the background above, the writer conducted a research on The
Effectiveness of Using Facebook in Teaching Writing Recount Text. This
research was conducted on tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 4 Kota
Tangerang Selatan

B. Identification of the Problem
Based on the background above, the problems are:
1. Teacher who teaches recount text only use students’ textbook for teaching
recount text.

5

50 Reasons to Invite Facebook Into Your Classroom,
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/07/18/50-reasons-to-invite-facebook-into-your-classroom/,
accessed on January 10, 2014.

5

2. Students only do the exercises from textbook. Therefore, it makes
students less comprehended the materials.
3. Many students have Facebook account for updating their status, but they
use Bahasa Indonesia for updating their Status.
4. Students have anxiety in writing English. In other hand, while it comes to
Facebook, they will have confidence in writing English.
5. Teachers usually use traditional technique for teaching writing recount
text.
6. Facebook is assumed to be one of the effective media for teaching writing
recount text.

C. Limitation and Formulation of the Problem
1. Limitation of the Problem
To make the study deeper, the problem which is going to be
discussed in this study is limited to the effectiveness of using Facebook
in teaching writing recount text. This research was conducted on tenth
grade students of SMAN 4 Kota Tangerang Selatan.
2. Formulation of the Problem
In line with the background of the study, the writer formulates the
research question as follows: “Is Facebook effective in teaching writing
recount text on tenth grade students of SMAN 4 Kota Tangerang
Selatan.?”

D. Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to find out empirical evidence about the
effectiveness of using facebook in teaching writing recount text.

E. Significance of the Study
The result of this study can provide useful information for:
1. Teachers

6

The result of this study is useful for English teachers at Senior High
School level to get information about teaching writing recount text using
Facebook.
2. Students
The result of this research may be able change students’ point of view of
Facebook as a medium in improving writing skill on recoumt text.
Furthermore, this research can help students in improving their skill on
writing recount text using Facebook.
3. Other researcher
For further researchers who are interested in teaching writing recount text
using Facebook at Senior High School level can get the basic information
from this study to do the further research, and also for researcher who
wants to make Facebook as one of variables.

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter presents and discusses theory that is connected with the
study. The discussion focusses on writing and Facebook. In writing, it will discuss
about definition of writing, the writing process, and the purpose of writing. In
recount text, it will discuss about definition of text, the definition of recount text,
the kind of recount text and the schematic structures of recount text, the language
features of recount text, and the example of recount text. In Facebook, it will
discuss the definition of Facebook, the advantages of Facebook, the disadvantages
of Facebook. Then, the last is about teaching class using Facebook.

A. Writing
1. Definition of writing
Writing is one of the important skills to master by the students. They use it
to communicate to each other, as means of ideas and emotional expression.
According to Tricia Hedge, writing is about expressing idea that a writer is
unable to express what a speaker able to express, such as gesture, body
movement, facial expression, pitch and tone of voice, stress and
hesitation.1Thus, a writer has to be able to write an effective writing in order
to make a reader understand by developing and organizing ideas, a careful
vocabulary choice, grammatical pattern, and sentence structure to make
which is appropriate to the subject matter and the eventual readers. As far as I
am concerned, writing is the most difficult skill in English. The first reason is
because the writer should master English grammar, and the language use in
writing is completely different from the language use in spoken language.
Another reason is because the word choice in writing is strictly chosen to
make the writer’s idea make sense. In concussion, writing skill is a skill that
1

Tricia Hedge, Resource Books for Teachers Writing, (Hongkong: Oxford university
press, 1988), p. 5

7

8

combines some language competences, such as grammar and vocabulary.
Furthermore, writing is about how the writers convey their idea, so the writer
should be able to understand how to develop and organize the idea.

2. The Writing Process
Writing is not an instant process. It takes time and engages so many
activities. The activities are prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.
According to Barbara Fine Clouse, in the process of writing, the writers do
not easily move from step to step. The writers sometimes need to double
check before going to the next process, or sometimes they need to move
backward if they have an idea to add in their writing.2
a. Prewriting
Prewriting can be defined as the use of random ideas in developing
text when the writer has lack inspiration. The activities in prewriting
are brainstorming, free writing, collecting data, note taking, outlining.
b. Drafting
Drafting can be defined as writing down some ideas that come into
mind. Then, this draft can be shaped and refined in the next stage.
This first draft is usually rough, which is why it is called the rough
draft.
c. Revising
Revising is a process when writer rework the rough material of the
draft to get it in shape. This process is a time-consuming, difficult part
of the process because the writer should express the ideas in the best
order and in the best way, so the reader can get the writer’s idea.
d. Editing

2

Barbara Fine Clouse, A Troubleshooting Guide Strategies and Process for writers,
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005), p. 5-6

9

Editing is the last process of writing. In this process, the writer should
hunt for errors, especially in grammatical errors. The writer should
edit more than once, so the writing can be free of errors.3

3. The Purpose of Writing
Every written text has purpose. Even the text that is written in simple word
such as advertisement has purpose: to persuade the reader to buy the thing
that they sell. According to Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt, there are five
common purposes of writing; they are to instruct, to inform, to persuade, and
to narrate, to response.4
Each purpose of writing has different characteristics, and the example of
the text is also different. Instruction text can usually be found on Recipe text,
Science Experiment, Direction Text, Rules, and so on. Its characteristic is that
there are lists or steps presented in the specific order. Description text, such as
The Body of a Blue Whale is one example of the text which purpose is to
inform. The text such like advertisement, letter, poster, brochure, and debate
are the example of persuading text.5 Its characteristic is that there is writer’s
argument by using supporting fact and evidence. Another purpose of writing
is to narrate. It is where the writer well-developed setting, events, details, and
ending. The last is responding text, and the example is like the text response
to literature, response to academic prompt, and response to personal
communication.

B. Recount Text
1. The Definition of Recount Text
One kind of texts that is learned by Senior High School Students is
recount text. Recount text is one of text types that retells past events.
According to Anderson, a recount is a piece of text that retells pasqt
3

Ibid, p. 5
Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt, A Guide of Teaching Nonfiction Writing, (Portsmouth:
Greenwood Publishing Group, 2011), p. 13
5
Ibid, p. 13
4

10

events, usually in order in which they happened.6 Thus, the special
features of recount text could be found in its sequence of events in which
the past event is written chronologically. The purpose of the text is
usually to give the reader a description of event. Besides, its most
common purposes are to inform and to entertain.
In other word, recount text is one type of texts that retells some
events in the past in order to inform and entertain the reader. Recount text
includes eyewitness account, newspaper report, letter, conversation,
television interviews, and speeches.7

2. The Kinds of Recount Text
According to UC High School Kaleen Writing Handbook 2011,
recount text is classified into three; they are personal recount, factual
recount, and imaginative recount.8
a. Personal Recount
A personal recount is where the writer is recounting the personal
event that they were involved directly. It means that the writer is
actively involved in the activity of the event. The purposes of personal
recount are to inform and to entertain the reader. The example of this
text as follows:
Please Send Me a Card9
Postcard always spoil my holidays. Last summer, I went to
Italy. I visited museums and sat in public gardens. A friendly
waiter taught me a few words of Italian. Then he lent me a book. I
read a few lines, bt I did not understand a word. Every day I

6

Mark Anderson and Katy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, (South Yarra: Macmillan.
1997), p. 48
7
Ibid, p. 49
8
University of Canberra, UC High School Kaleen Writing Handbook, (Canberra:
University of Canberra, 2011), p. 26
9
L. G. Alexander, Practice and Progress: An Integrated Course For Pre-intermediate
Students, (England: Longman, 1990), p. 17

11

thought about postcards. My holidays passed quickly, but I did not
sand any cards to my friends. On the last day I made a big decision.
I got up early and bought thirty-seven cards. I spent the whole day
in my room, but I did not write a single card!

b. Factual Recount
A factual recount is a list of record of a certain event. It can be
used to retell the particular incident or event, such as an accident
report, eyewitness, science experience, historical events, and
newspaper report. Its purpose is just to inform the reader about what
was going on in the past. The example of this text as follows:
The X Files10
The X Files is one of television’s most popular shows
watched each week by millions of people in over sixty countries.
The show was created by Chris Carter a former magazine
editor, who always wanted to make a cool and scary television
series. His idea for The X Files came after he saw the result of a
survey that said three of every hundreds Americans believed that
aliens had captured them.
Carter’s next step was to produce a pilot episode, which
was to be the beginning of the series. When it was shown on
American television, it received poor reviews.
After a while the audience grew and The X Files became
popular with both adults and teenagers. By this time carter was
able to spend more on production.
The X Files has been nominated for many awards and
continues to attract a growing audience.

10

Mark Anderson and Katy Anderson, op. cit. , p. 52

12

c. Imaginative Recount
An imaginative recount retells an imaginative story through the
eyes of a fiction character. It means, the event that happened in the
text do not occur in the real life. Its purpose is usually to entertain, and
it usually can be found in textbook.
From those three kind of recount text, it can be seen that there is
one typical characteristic that is the text is retell the event in the past
chronologically. The example of this text as follows:
As It happened11
One very spooky encounter with UFO (unidentified flying
object) occurred in May 1974 involving a couple driving from
Zimbabwe to South America.
As they carefully drove throughout the night they saw a
flashing blue-white light that was going on an off in a slow, steady
rhythm. Shortly after noticing this, the car was covered in a bright
circle of light.
Inside the car it suddenly became very cold. The couple
wrapped themselves in thick blankets and turned on the heater but
they still shivered.
Then their car began to act very strangely. Suddenly the
headlights went off, the brakes failed, the steering wheel locked
and the fuel gauge showed empty. Next the car began speeding up
and raced along the road at 190 kilometers an hour. To one side of
the car, the UFO continued to follow.
The drier and his passenger lost consciousness. When they
awoke they were near the small town of Fort Victoria. The car’s
odometer showed that only 12 kilometers had been traveled, yet
the distance from where they first saw the UFO to Fort Victoria
was 290 kilometers.
11

Ibid., p. 50

13

Although the couple’s description of what happened
contained plenty of details, many people find it hard to believe that
UFOs do exist.

3. The Generic Structures of Recount Text
To make an effective recount text needs standard that is used to
guide a writer to make a good writing. Recount text has several
significant

characteristics

which

the

writer

may

use.

The

genericstructures of recount text consist of: orientation, sequence of
events, and reorientation.12

a. Orientation
Recount begins by telling the reader who was involved, what
happened, where the event took place, and when it happened.
Orientation gives reader background information needed to understand
the text, and the reader will recognize about scene setting and context of
the text.
b. Sequence of Events
Event is the main activities that occurred in the story of the text. In
writing recount text, events are ordered in a chronological sequence.
Sometimes, additional detail is added to the text to give some
information for reader.
c. Reorientation
Reorientation is a closing statement that may include elaboration.
Some recount texts also have a concluding paragraph. In this
concluding paragraph, the writer can give his/ her personal comment or
statement, but it is optional one.

12

Lancashire County Council, Primary Framework Support for Writing, non-fiction,
(Lancashire County Council, 2008), p.6-7

14

Table 2.1
Example of Generic Structures of Factual Recount Text
The X Files13

Title
Orientation

The X Files is one of television’s most
popular shows watched each week by millions of
people in over sixty countries.

Sequence of Events

The show was created by Chris Carter a
former magazine editor, who always wanted to
make a cool and scary television series. His idea for
The X Files came after he saw the result of a survey
that said three of every hundreds Americans
believed that aliens had captured them.
Carter’s next step was to produce a pilot
episode, which was to be the beginning of the
series. When it was shown on American television,
it received poor reviews.
After a while the audience grew and The X
Files became popular with both adults and
teenagers. By this time carter was able to spend
more on production.

Reorientation

The X Files has been nominated for many
awards and continues to attract a growing audience.

4.

The Language Features of Recount Text
There are some language features of recount text, as follows:
a. Usually written in the past tense. Some forms may use simple
present tense, e.g. informal anecdotal storytelling (Just imagine –
I’m in the park and I suddenly see a giant bat flying towards me!).
13

Mark Anderson and Katy Anderson, op. cit., p. 52

15

b. Words that show the order of events (then, next, first, afterwards,
just before that, at last, meanwhile).14
c. The subject of a recount tends to focus on individual or group
participants (third person: they all shouted, she crept out, it looked
like an animal of some kind).
d. Personal recounts are common (first person: I was on my way to
school ... We got on the bus).15
e. Using action verbs and circumstance such as adverb of place and
adverb of time to show the action and detail information of events
that occur in the story.16

C. Facebook
1. The Definition of Facebook
Facebook is one of social networking media. Social networking is
that the use of a website to connect each other who has similar interest,
hobby, school, etc.

Since Facebook was invented in 2004 by Mark

Zuckerberg, it has been widespread used in all around the world.
Facebook as one of social media is very usefull for people to
communicate to each other. The Education Foundation of The UK’s
Education Think Tank defines Facebook as a social utility that can
connect us to people, brands, and organizations we care about. 17 It means
Facebook is not only to connect people to people, Facebook can also as a
medium to share our feeling, product, brands, and organization.
The Education Foundation of the UK’s Education Think Tank
explores about the usefulness of Facebook as a medium of digital
learning. They explain that many people nowadays can use many digital
14

Ibid., p. 50
Lancashire County Council, op. cit., p. 7
16
Goverment of South Australia, Engaging in and Exploring Recount Writing: A
Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers,(Australia: Government of South Australia Department
for Education and Child development, 2012), p.2
17
The Education Foundation, The UK’s Education Think Tank, Facebook Guides for
Educators: A tool for Teaching and Learning, (New Zealand: The Education Foundation, 2013),
P. 2
15

16

media to communicate to each other even for young people. The people
can use their digital devices through mobile and static devices. This
digital technology can also be accessed in real time, cheap, and flexible.
As a result, this foundation tries to make the education on Facebook more
social.18 It can be concluded that many people use Facebook for many
reasons, and Facebook can be a good medium for teaching and learning.
Many people feel an enjoyment in updating status on Facebook
because other people can see their status and give some argument. This
kind of application is the reason why many people usually use Facebook.
It makes many people can still connected even they feel close to each
other because they can share their feeling and affection. The users can
also post their updates safely with privacy setting. The users have to make
sure that their post is not widely spread,so with the privacy setting, the
users can enforce the audience.19
In term of writing, Facebook has become a media for students to
write, but it is different from the writing that has been done in school. The
students usually use informal language in Facebook, and they unable to
consider writing as an engaging activity. They also cannot recognize that
Facebook can be their medium for improving their writing to become a
better writer. As a result, they write on Facebook with no purpose of
improving their writing skill.

2. The History of Faccebook
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook. He has been
good at programming since he was in elementary school. While he was
studying in Harvard, his talent on programming was outstanding other
than his friends. Mark had made Coursematch.com once in Harvard for
the students to register their courses through online.

18

Ibid, P. 4
The Facebook Team, Facebook for Educators and Community Leaders, A Practical
Guide to Help Teens Navigate Facebook, (Facebook Family Safety Center: 2013), p.5
19

17

Facebook was launced in February, 2014 by Mark Zuckerberg as a
media to connect and interact among Harvard university students.20 Two
weeks after it was launched, half of Harvard University Students have
registered and owned an account in Facebook. At first, Mark wanted to
make Facebook as a social networking among Harvard students, so only
Harvard students could join and access it through their Harvard email id.
However, Mark and the other founders changed their mind. They thought
it was good to make Facebook widespread. Now, Facebook can be
accessed by many people who have an email id

3. The Features of Facebook
Facebook provides many interesting features for its user such as,
teenagers and adult. They like to use Facebook because Facebook make
them easy with the features that Facebook has. The features are Wall,
Profile, Inbox, Photo, Video, Group, Event, Games, Chat, and Blog.
a. Wall is a way to connect to your friends.21 This is the page that gives
some information about the user’s activity. The user can share his
status, so his status can be seen by other users and can be
commented.The Wall section is wildly popular item in Facebook.
Here you can not only leave messages, but you can also leave links or
videos for others.
b. Profile is the general information of the user. Steven Holzner stated
that the Profile is our public face on Facebook.22 In the profile section,
it includes Homepage, Status, Network, and Birthday.23 The newest
feature of Profile section for the user is Timeline, most of the

20

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Facebook, accessed on November 10, 2014

21

Steven Holzner, Facebook Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business Marketing,
(New York: Que Publishing, 2009), p. 25
22
Ibid, p. 12
23
Jason Alba & Jesse Stay, I’m on Facebook Now What???, (Califonia: Happy About,
2008), p. 8-9

18

Facebook users have changed their profile setting into Timeline
Profile. The Timeline Profile as follows:

Figure 2.1
The Timeline Profile

c. Inbox or Message is the section where the user can find all of the
messages that people send through Facebook.24This service makes it
possible for the users to send or receive message to or from anyone’s
email address.25 Some people seem to think using the Inbox is better
than using Wall to send message because the user can secretly talk
about everything to his friend on Inbox because the message that is
sent in Inbox cannot be seen by other users.
d. Photo is a section where the photo of the user is appeared. In this
section the user can upload as many photos as they can, and they can
create their photos into an album. Each album consists on sixty photos
as maximum. When the users post a photo or video, share a link, or
Jason Alba & Jesse Stay, I’m on Facebook Now What???, (Califonia: Happy About,
2008), p. 11
25
Anne Collier and Larry Magid, A Parents’ Guide to Facebook, (ConnectSafely.org,
2012), p.24
24

19

write a status update, they can choose the appropriate audience for that
post. It means that the user can choose the audience with whom they
want to share.26
e. The user not only can upload their photos, they also can upload their
video. Furthermore, this Video can be shared and tag to other users.
f. Group is a Facebook page where members can interact with each
other and start discussions.27 In Group, the user can collect and get
some people to join his group to discuss about certain topic. Group
initiated by bloggers or authors, or special interest Groups.28
g. Event is a place to invite your friends into some interesting events. In
Facebook, an event is a free page that publicized an upcoming
occasion of note for your company or group.29It is very effective
because it is very economical and it is not wasting your time.
h. Game is another interesting feature on Facebook. All users can play it
online. The user can also invite his friend to play the same game as he
does.
i. Chatting on Facebook is a real time activity among Facebook users.
Chat is known as instant messaging.30 This feature’s function is very
similar to other messaging program, such as Google Chat, yahoo
Instant Messenger, and MSN Messenger. The users are very
enthusiastic with this feature because it is easy to access. In Chatting,
the user can invite one or more people to join conversation. This
Chatting will connect the users to each other wherever they are.
j. Blog in Facebook is a feature where the user can share other users’
quote or status. This Blog is very useful to share some information
that other users have not known before.

26

The Facebook Team, Facebook for Educators and Community Leaders, A Practical
Guide to Help Teens Navigate Facebook, (Facebook Family Safety Center, 2013), p.5
27
Steven Holzner, Op. cit., p.45
28
Jason Alba & Jesse Stay, Op. cit., p. 18
29
Steven Holzner, Op. cit., p. 101
30
Todd Kesley, Social Networking Site: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything in
Between, (Apress: United States of America, 2010), p. 28

20

4. Positive and Negative Influence of Facebook
Facebook has both negative and positive influence. The positive
influence that the user can get are:
a. Socializing.31 This is one of the positive influences from Facebook.
Sometimes, the user can meet his old friends through Facebook, or he
can meet someone that he has known before.
b. Facebook for business. These days, many people use Facebook not
only for chatting to each other, but they also use Facebook to promote
their products, brands, and institutions. The users need to make a
homepage to share their brands or products on Facebook.
c. Facebook Group.32 There are many groups that the users can join.
They can share information, interest, and hobby in that group. The
member of Facebook group can from many Facebook friends, such as
member of family, schoolmates, a sport club, or any other grouping
that the users desire.
However, Facebook also has negative influence for the users,
especially for students. The negative influences of Facebook as follow:
a. Facebook makes the user addict to use it. He can spend a lot of time
using Facebook, and sometimes he ignore the people around them.
The user prefers to spend time with their friends on Facebook rather
than to communicate with his friend directly. If this condition usually
happens, it can decrease the verbal communication ability of the user
b. The students spend more time to use Facebook rather than to study. it
makes them becoming less responsible to do their homeworks. The
more time they spend on using Facebook, the more irresponsible they
become.
Anne Collier and Larry Magid, A Parents’ Guide to Facebook, (ConnectSafely.org:

31

2012), p.3
32

Ibid, p.23

21

c. If those two bad influences always happen, it causes the decreasing of
students’ achivement. The students become lazy to do their duty from
their school. Their concentration on studying is also decreasing
because they overuse Facebook in their daily life.

D. Facebook as a Medium of Language Learning
There are many websites that demonstrate and guide teachers on how to
use Facebook for classroom teaching and learning process. Facebook with its
many unique features such as online games and chat room can encourage
people to engage and interact with anyone all over the world. However, since
most of features are in English, the users have to understand in order to be
active in using all of the features.
Using media such as Facebook, students can read and listen to a story
before writing and recording their own version of similar story. This media
provides the multiple modalities needed to meet the needs of students with
different learning styles and strategies. The aural, visual, tactile, and
kinesthetic learners have access to a variety of computer-based activities that
are well suited to their preferred learning style.33
Many researchers found out how Facebook can be useful in improving
students’ language learning. In a conceptual paper, Blattner and Fiori
examine how Facebook can provide opportunities to enhance the
“development of socio-pragmatic competence in language learners” and “the
sense of community in language classroom”.34In addition, Alhomod and
Shafi also point out that Facebook can be utili