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people consider that writing is difficult skill to develop because the components are related each other.
Writing is more than a medium of communication. Writing is a way to remember and to think as well.
4
Meyers said that writing is a way to communicate to others through paper or through a computer screen. Writing is a kind of talent,
but it‘s mostly a skill, it improves with practice like another skill. Writing is also an action which has a process such as discovering and organizing ideas, putting
them on paper, and reshaping and revising them.
5
Therefore as mention before, people who want to increase their skill espesially in writing should do an exercise
regularly. Lyons and Kroll stated in Weigle‘s book, Assessing Writing, that writing is
an action which completes some particular purpose in a context that established for signified audience.
6
Still in the same book, Sperling notes that writing is a meaning-making activity which is formed by social and cultural, and have some
purpose for individual and social such as language in general.
7
Based on the definitions above, it can be concluded that writing is an important element in teaching and learning process. Writing is a way to share
unspoken idea or feeling through paper. In writing there are some language components such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation that related
each other to make writing meaningful and the purpose of writing is achieved.
3. Definition of Writing Skill
Writing is one of four language skills. Writing is a way to communicate and to give some information to other people by using a language in written form. As
mentioned above, skill is a result of learning activities, training, and experiences and it as same as a writing skill. Writing skill
is an outcome of students‘ activity
4
James C. Raymond, Writing: Is Unnatural Act, New York: Harper Row, 1980 p. 2.
5
Alan Mayers, Gateways To Academic Writing: Effective Sentences, Paragraphs, and Essays, New York: Longman, 2005 p. 2.
6
Sara Cushing Weigle, Assesing Writing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002 p. 19.
7
Ibid,.
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in doing some writing task. There are some ways to improve students‘ writing skill:
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a. Keep a journal
b. Participates in writing prompts
c. Rewrite blog posts
d. Rewrite newspaper and magazine articles
e. Activate google alerts
f. Read beyond what normally read
g. Comment on favorite blog posts.
h. Join a writer‘s group
i. Attend a writer‘s conference or workshop
j. Write
4. Characteristics of Good Writing
In making a good writing, there are some characteristics that students have to know. Andelstein and Pival in their book define the characteristics ofgood
writing as follows:
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―a Good writing is interesting. This is true regardlessbof whether it is designed to amuse, inform, or persuade the reader. Writers generally
stimulate interest by presenting some knowledge or insight that is new and important to readers what is abvious or already known. b Good writing is
clear. Its ideas have been organized so logically, words selected so carefully, and sentences crafted so skilfully that readers do not need to
struggle to understand what the writers mean. c Good writing is concise. It contains no unnecessary words, phrases, or sentences; consequently, readers
will not feel that their time is wasted. d Good writing is effective. It conveys a message to readers in such a way that it will achieve the effect
that the writer intended. To achieve this objective, writers must choose wisely the ords, sentences, and a paragraph structures that will best
communicate to their readers. So that readers will not be distructed from the messege, good writers also follow the accepted conventions of spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, and so on. e Good writing reflects the authentic voice of the writer. It conveys the sound of someone talking with
8
Cited from http:www.ragan.comMainArticles10_ways_to_improve_your_writing_skillsquickly_
46142.aspx on March, 27.
9
Michael E. Adelstein and Jean G Pival, The Writing Commitment, San Diego: Harcout Brace Jovanovich, 1984, p. 4.
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another person; however, good writers adapt that ―speaking style‖ to suit the relationship appropriate to the purpose and audience of the writing
occasion. ‖
5. Writing Process
