In doing this purpose, slow readers usually need long time for understanding the text.
c. Reading to integrate information, write and critique texts. This purpose can be said as the complex purpose. It
requires critical evaluation of the information being read so that the reader can decide what information to integrate and how to
integrate it for the reader’s goal.
9
Meanwhile, reading to write and reading to critique texts may be task variants of reading to
integrate information. Both of them reading to write and reading to critique require abilities to compose, select, and critique
information from text, and readers redescribe information that they have gotten to integrate other information in the text.
d. Reading for general comprehension. The notion of general reading comprehension has two
reasons.
10
First, it is the most basic purpose for reading, underlying, and supporting most other purposes for reading.
Second, it is actually more complex than commonly assumed. It means that the term of “general” here does not mean „simple’ or
„easy’. Reading for general comprehension, when done by a
skilled fluent reader, it may require very rapid and automatic processing of words, strong skills in forming a general meaning of
text. It is sometimes more difficult to master generally than reading to learn
Based on the explanation above, it can be summarized that main purpose of reading is for increasing knowledge by various ways
such as making critical thinking, taking lesson from the text, just for searching simple information, etc.
9
Ibid., p. 8
10
Ibid., p. 8
Furthermore, regarding the importance of reading comprehension in educational field, students of Junior High school are
expected to be able to understand the meaning of short functional text and simple essay in the form of narrative, descriptive, recount,
hortatory exposition. However, the researcher limits this research only focusing on descriptive text which is explained in the next topic.
4. Descriptive Text
As already pointed out in the chapter 1 point B that this research is limited to the relationship
between students’ anxiety and their achievement in reading comprehension, the researcher already limits the scope of this
research on reading the descriptive text. It is necessary for the researcher to briefly discuss the descriptive text.
Descriptive text is a part of factual genres. Anderson and Anderson define description as “Describing a particular person, place or thing, its
purpose to tell the subject by describing its feature without including personal opinion. A factual description differs from an information report
because it describes a specific subject rather than a general group.”
11
It means that descriptive text is a factual genre which describes a specific
subject and usually tells its characteristics. Further, Wishon and Burks define “description also gives sense
impressions such as the feel, sound, taste, smell and look of things. Emotion feelings may be described too, like happiness, fear, loneliness,
gloom, joy, comport, etc. Then, description helps the reader through hisher imagination to visualize a scene or a person, or to understand a
sensation or an emotion.”
12
It means that descriptive text describes a specific subject and its characteristics that include the feel, sound, taste,
smell and look of things.
11
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson , Text Type 3, South Yarra: McMillan, 1998, p. 26
12
George E. Wishon and Julia M. Burks, let’s Write English, New
York: Litton Educational Publishing International, 1980, p. 128
Barbara Fine Clouse divides the objective of description into six, they are:
13
a. To entertain b. To express feeling
c. To inform for a reader unfamiliar with the subject d. To inform to create a fresh appreciation for the familiar
e. To persuade to convince the reader that some music degrade women Descriptive text usually includes the following grammatical
features:
14
a. Verbs in the present tense b. Adjectives to describe the features of the subject
c. Topic sentences to begin paragraphs and organize the various aspects of the description
Whatever the type of text student reads, it cannot be denied that there are several factors which influence the quality of student’s
comprehension. Factors that influence reading comprehension are discussed in the following topic.
5. Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension
There are many factors that can influence students’ reading comprehension. Larry A. and Carl B. Smith argue that there are five
factors that are identified as the primary determinants of reading comprehension, they are : background experience, language abilities,
thinking abilities, affection interest and motivation, attitude and beliefs, and feelings, and reading purpose.
15
a. Background experience
13
Barbara Fine Clouse, The Student Writer, New York: Mc-Graw Hill, 2004, p.143
14
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson , Text Type 3, South Yarra: McMillan, 1998, p. 26
15
Larry Harris and Carl B. Smith, Reading Instruction: Diagnostic Teaching in Classroom, New York: Richard C Owen Publisher, Inc., 1980, p.207
