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process of writing descriptive texts, the teacher should be smarter to choose the technique used in the teaching learning process of writing descriptive texts.
There are some strengths of collaborative writing technique, they are as follows:
a More than one student has more ideas, more works are done and thus the goals
are achieved more efficiently and collaborative writing technique stimulates students to creative new ideas and new directions.
b It gives fun and happiness for the students to write a descriptive text.
c The finished product may be better, etc.
In spite of the fact that there are some strengths of collaborative writing in the teaching learning process, collaborative writing technique has weaknesses as
follows: a
Pair work is likely noisy. b
Sometimes between the helper and the writer have different opinions or arguments in developing paragraph. So it can make a conflict between them.
c Not all the students got the chance to consult and performed their writing to
the teacher because the time is limited in the class sessions, etc.
C. Descriptive Writing
One of the text types that should be learnt by the students in junior high schools level is descriptive writing. Descriptive writing is a skill that needs extra
attention Soejatmiko and Taloko, 2003: 62. A descriptive writing is used to create a vivid image of a person, place, or thing. It draws on all of the senses, not
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merely the visual. Its purpose is to enable the reader to share the writer’s sensory experience of the subject. Descriptive writing portrays people, places, things,
moments, and theories with enough vivid detail to help the reader create a mental picture of what is being written about Abisamra, 2001: 6.
Tompkins 1994: 111 points out that descriptive writing is painting pictures with words, meaning that in writing a descriptive paragraph, a writer
should try to visualize something or someone using vivid words in order to show a clear picture of what he or she is describing. Good description then should begin
with close observation. The observation should be recorded with specific details to touch the reader’s senses, to picture out clearly of what is being described.
In addition, Smalley, et al., 2001: 66 support that descriptive writing uses sensory details to paint a picture of a place, a person, or an object. The details in
descriptive writing should not only be logically arranged but also vivid. As a painter with words, we want to give the reader as precise a picture as possible;
otherwise, the reader will have only a vague sense of what we are describing. To make the details more vivid, we need to modify them Modify means to restrict or
narrow down the meaning. According to Anderson and Anderson 1998: 26 a factual description describes a particular person, place or thing. Its purpose is to
tell about the subject by describing its features without including personal opinions. A factual description differs from an information report because it
describes a specific subject rather than a general group. The general characteristics of descriptive writing include: elaborate use of
sensory language – what is heard, seen, smelt, felt, and tasted; rich, vivid, and
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lively details; figurative language such as simile, hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism, and personification; showing, rather than telling the reader what
somethingsomeone is like through the use of active verbs and precise modifiers. According to Doddy, et al., 2008: 119 the structure of descriptive text is divided
into two parts: identification and description. The identification part is the part where the writer of descriptive text identifies phenomenon to be described. The
description part describes parts, qualities, and characteristics. Description text focuses on specific participants. It normally uses simple present tense.
From the opinions above, it can be concluded that descriptive writing is used in all forms of writing to create a vivid impression of a person, place, object
or event e.g. to describe a special place and explain why it is special, describe the most important person in our life, and describe the animal’s habitat in our report.
Descriptive writing is usually used to help a reader and writer develop an aspect of their work, e.g. to create a particular mood, atmosphere, or describe a place so
that the reader can create vivid pictures of characters, places, objects etc. Descriptive writing can be used in the following ways: to make scenes
realistic and memorable, to help readers experience an emotion, to share your feelings more clearly, to bring characters to life, to convey key ideas, especially
complex ones, and to help readers feel like they are on the scene. Therefore, these guidelines can be followed when we write descriptive pieces: 1 start by deciding
on a method of organization, spatial organization, for example, works especially well if your details are mainly visual. If we are describing an animal, consider
parts of the animal; 2 select a point of view, the vantage point from which we
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will relate details; 3 clearly identify the subject; 4 use details to create a strong mood or feeling about the subject; 5 as we write, draw on all five senses: sight,
touch, hearing, taste, and smell; and 6 consider including figures of speech, those imaginative comparisons that evoke feelings in our readers.
D. Rationale
