Improving Students' Reading Comprehension of Report Text through SQ3R Technique (A Classroom Action Research at the Eleventh Grade Students of SMAN 1 Parung))

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION OF
REPORT TEXT THROUGH SQ3R TECHNIQUE
(A Classroom Action Research at the Eleventh Grade Students of SMAN 1 Parung in
2016/2017 Academic Year)

A “Skripsi”
Presented to the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of S.Pd. (S-1)
in English Education

Akira Puteri
1112014000006
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
JAKARTA
2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful

All praises be to Allah, the Lord of the world, who has given the writer His
mercy, guidance and strength to finish this research paper. Peace and salutation be
upon to the prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, as well as his followers.
In this occasion, the writer would like to express her greatest appreciation,
honor, and gratitude to her beloved parents for all support, motivation and guidance
during doing this research.
Secondly, the writer would like to address her thank and great gratitude to the
advisors, Nasifudin Jalil, M.Ag. and Devi Yusnita, M.Pd. for the valuable advice,
suggestion, comment and support during conducting this research.
Thirdly, the writer thought that she would never finish this research paper
without their supports and helps. Therefore, her sincere gratitude also goes to:
1. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Thib Raya, M.A., as the Dean of the Faculty of Educational
Sciences.
2. Dr. Alek, M.Pd., as the Head of Department of English Education.
3. Zaharil Anasy, M.Hum., as the Secretary of Department of English
Education.
4. Ikhwan Setiawan, S.Pd., as the Headmaster of SMAN 1 Parung for giving
permission to the writer to conduct the research.
5. H. Badrudin, S.Pd., as the English Teacher of SMAN 1 Parung, for all
sincere help, time and guidance.

6. The students of XI IPS 1who are willing to contribute their effort during this
research.
7. Eka Putri Wibawanti, Aisyah Athifa Dieny and Azka Zakiyah who always
give supports and helps whenever needed.

v

8. All beloved friends of DEE A 2012 and HMJ-PBI who have accompanied
the writer’s life during the study in university.
9. All members of Barbar family; Fadhilah Nur Rohmah, Ummi Nurul
Hasanah, Desrinna Noer Lailitsani, Inten Mujizat, Siti Nur Solikha, Nur
Millah Mutsliah, Rizxi Amaliyah, Syara Shidrati and Iyan Cahriyani who
always support the writer to finish this research.
9. All of people, whose name cannot be mentioned for their contribution to the
writer during finishing this research.
Finally, the writer admits that her writing is still far from being perfect.
Therefore, she hopes some suggestion and constructive critique from the reader for
this better research paper. Hopefully, this research paper will be useful not only for
the writer, but also for the reader.
Ciputat, Oktober 10th, 2016

The Writer

Akira Puteri

vi

ABSTRACT
AKIRA PUTERI (1112014000006), Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension
of Report Text through SQ3R Technique (A Classroom Action Research at the
Eleventh Grade Students of SMAN 1 Parung in 2016/2017 Academic Year),
“Skripsi”, Department of English Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, State
Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2016.
Keywords : SQ3R Technique, Reading Comprehension
The purpose of this study is to see the empirical evidence about the improvement of
the students’ reading comprehension by using SQ3R Technique. The subject of this
study was XI IPS 1 of SMAN 1 Parung. The Classroom Action Research (CAR)
based on Kurt Lewin Design was used to solve students’ problem in comprehending
text. The Classroom Action Research based on Kurt Lewin’s Design consists of four
phases; planning, acting, observing and reflecting. Further, there are two kinds of data
in this study; qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data is derived from

the observation and interview. Meanwhile, the quantitative data can be had from the
pre-test and post-test. The result of observation showed that the students were more
active and motivated. It can be proven from the students that involved themselves
during the learning process actively. They also could answer the question given by
the teacher. Moreover, the result of interview showed that students’ reading
comprehension of report text has improved. This technique made them easier to
comprehend the text. Furthermore, the test results showed that in the pre-test there
were only 3 students or 8.3% students passed the KKM with 60 as the mean score.
Then, in post-test 1, there were 13 students or 36.1% students passed the KKM with
74.7 as the mean score. Next, in post-test 2, there were 30 students passed the KKM
with 83.6 as the mean score. It showed significant improvement where 83.3% of the
students could reach scores more than seventy six (76) and has achieved the criterion
of success. Based on the result above, it is concluded that the students’ reading
comprehension could be improved by using SQ3R technique.

vii

ABSTRAK
AKIRA PUTERI (1112014000006), Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension
of Report Text through SQ3R Technique (A Classroom Action Research at the

Eleventh Grade Students of SMAN 1 Parung in 2016/2017 Academic Year), Skripsi,
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam
Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2016.
Kata Kunci : Teknik SQ3R, Pemahaman Membaca
Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat bukti empiris mengenai peningkatan
kemampuan membaca siswa dengan menggunakan teknik SQ3R. Subjek dari
penelitian ini adalah kelas XI IPS 1 SMAN 1 Parung. Penelitian Tindakan Kelas
berdasarkan pada desain Kurt Lewin digunakan untuk mengatasi masalah siswa
dalam memahami teks. Penelitian tindakan kelas berdasarkan desain Kurt Lewin
terdiri dari empat fase; perencanaan, pelaksanaan, pengamatan dan refleksi.
Selanjutnya, terdapat dua jenis data dalam penelitian ini; data kualitatif dan
kuantitatif. Data kualitatif didapatkan dari observasi dan wawancara. Sedangkan data
kuantitatif didapatkan dari pre-test dan post-test. Hasil observasi menunjukan bahwa
siswa terlihat menjadi lebih aktif dan lebih termotivasi. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari
jumlah siswa yang melibatkan diri mereka selama proses pembelajaran secara aktif.
Mereka juga dapat menjawab pertanyaan yang diberikan oleh guru. Selain itu, hasil
dari wawancara menunjukan bahwa kemampuan membaca siswa telah meningkat.
Teknik ini membuat mereka lebih mudah memahami teks. Selanjutnya, hasil dari teks
menunjukan bahwa pada pre-test hanya terdapat 3 siswa atau 8,3% siswa bisa
melampaui KKM dengan nilai rata-rata 60. Kemudian, pada post-test 1 terdapat 13

siswa atau 36,1% siswa bisa melampaui KKM dengan nilai rata-rata 74,7.
Selanjutnya, pada post-test 2 terdapat 30 siswa bisa melampaui KKM dengan nilai
rata-rata 83,6. Hal tersebut menunjukan peningkatan yang signifikan dimana 83,3%
siswa mendapatkan nilai lebih dari tujuh puluh enam (76). Berdasarkan data diatas,
dapat disimpulkan bahwa kemampuan membaca siswa dapat ditingkatkan dengan
menggunakan teknik SQ3R.
viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL SHEET .......................................................................................... ii
ENDORSEMENT SHEET ................................................................................ iii
SURAT PERNYATAAN KARYA SENDIRI ................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................. v
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRAK .......................................................................................................... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... ix
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study .................................................... 1
B. Identification of the Problem .............................................. 4
C. Research Focus ................................................................... 4
D. Research Questions ............................................................. 4
E. Objective of the Study ......................................................... 4
F. Significances of the Study ................................................... 5

CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................ 6
A. Reading ............................................................................... 6
1. Definition of Reading ...................................................... 6
2. Definition of Reading Comprehension ............................ 7

ix

3. Purpose of Reading ......................................................... 8
4. Reading Activities ........................................................... 9

5. Teaching Reading ........................................................... 10
B. SQ3R Technique ................................................................. 11
1. Definition of SQ3R Technique ....................................... 11
2. The Steps of SQ3R Technique ........................................ 11
3. The Advantages of Using SQ3R Technique ................... 14
4. The Disadvantages of Using SQ3R Technique ............... 14
C. Report Text ......................................................................... 14
1. Definition of Report Text................................................. 14
2. Purposes of Report Text .................................................. 15
3. The Generic Structure of Report Text ............................. 15
D. The Previous Study ............................................................. 17
E. Thinking Framework ........................................................... 18
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................... 20
A. The Place and Time of the Study ........................................ 20
B. The Method and Design of the Study ................................. 21
C. The Subject of the Study ..................................................... 21
D. The Writer’s Role on the Study .......................................... 22
E. The Research Procedure ...................................................... 22
F. The Technique of Data Collecting ...................................... 24
G. The Technique of Data Analysis ......................................... 25

H. Trustworthiness ................................................................... 27
I. The Criterion of Action Research ......................................... 27

x

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDING .......................................................... 28
A. Research Finding ................................................................ 28
1. Pre-Implementing the Action ........................................... 28
2. The Implementation of Classroom Action Research ....... 32
3. Post-Implementing the Action ......................................... 42
B. Research Interpretation ....................................................... 49
1. Pre-Implementing the Action ........................................... 49
2. The Implementation of Classroom Action Research ....... 50
3. Post-Implementing the Action ......................................... 52
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ................................... 54
A. Conclusion .......................................................................... 54
B. Suggestion ........................................................................... 55
REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 56
APPENDICES .................................................................................................... 59

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The Schedule of the Study ................................................................. 20
Table 4.1 Students’ Score in Pre-Action Test .................................................... 31
Table 4.2 The Comparison Scores of Pre-Action Test, Post-Action Test 1 and
Post-Action Test 2 .............................................................................. 47

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figures 3.1

Kurt Lewin’s Classroom Action Research Design .................................... 21

Figures 4.1

The Percentage of Successful and Unsuccessful Students Passing the

KKM ........................................................................................................... 45

Figures 4.2

The Students’ Score Improvement ............................................................. 47

xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Syllabus ........................................................................................ 59

Appendix 2

Classroom Observation Checklist ................................................ 80

Appendix 3

Transcription of Classroom Observation ...................................... 82

Appendix 4

Interview Guidelines Before and After CAR) ............................... 88

Appendix 5

Interview Transcript ..................................................................... 92

Appendix 6

Examples of Report text ............................................................... 100

Appendix 7

Pre-Test ........................................................................................ 105

Appendix 8

Post-Test 1 ..................................................................................... 106

Appendix 9

Post-Test 2 ..................................................................................... 107

Appendix 10 SQ3R Worksheet .......................................................................... 108
Appendix 11 SQ3R Scoring Rubric ................................................................... 110
Appendix 12 Students’ Score ............................................................................. 112
Appendix 13 Lesson Plan ................................................................................... 115
Appendix 14 Surat Bimbingan Skripsi .............................................................. 123
Appendix 15 Surat Permohonan Izin Penelitian ................................................ 124
Appendix 16 Surat Keterangan Pelaksanaan Penelitian ..................................... 125
Appendix 17 References Examination Paper ..................................................... 126
Appendix 18 Pictures ......................................................................................... 130

xv

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In Indonesia, the growing demand of English as International language is high, it
is reasonable that Indonesian government places English as a crucial subject in
education system. Therefore, English is learnt as a local-content subject for
elementary school, and as a compulsory subject for secondary school. There are many
objectives of teaching English subject stated both in school-based curriculum (KTSP)
and 2013 curriculum. One of the objectives is that students are able to communicate
using the language in written and oral forms in the four basic language skills:
listening, speaking, writing, and reading.
Reading is one of the basic language skills that the students need to develop in
learning English. The ability to read in English becomes one of the important
requirements for those who need to update their knowledge about everything, as a lot
of media present information in English. Therefore, having a good reading skill is a
must for the students nowadays. In addition, in the syllabus 2013 curriculum, reading
skill is also determined as one of basic competencies in English lesson. For the
eleventh grade students, they have to comprehend the content of various types of text,
such as procedure, exposition, biography, and report.
Report text is one of types of text that the students have to comprehend. It is
stated in English syllabus of eleventh grade point 3.9 and 4.14. “Analyzing text
structure and linguistic features to conduct social function of report text by telling and
asking about short and simple factual report text of people, animals, things, natural
and social phenomenon, related to another lesson in grade 11” and “Comprehending
oral, written and simple factual report text of people, animals, things, natural and
social phenomenon, related to another lesson in grade 11”.1 However, students often
have barriers to comprehend the report text they read.

1

Kemendikbud, 2013 Curricullum Syllabus, (Jakarta: Kemendikbud, 2013), p. 15.

1

2

There are some barriers faced by students in reading based on the preliminary
study in SMAN 1 Parung. The first factor is lacking of motivation and reading
interest. Lacking of interest in reading makes the reader unmotivated to go to the
whole text. Therefore, reader’s motivation and interest are an important aspect. In
comprehending a text, reader should have those aspects in the content being read.
Motivation and reading interest affect how readers read and how successful those
reading experiences are.2 The second factor is that the students do not have any
sufficient vocabularies that make them difficult to guess the meaning from the text.
The more words in a text that students do not know, or the more difficult the
vocabulary, the more likely they will not fully comprehend what they have read. The
third factor is the low fluency of the student. Inadequate fluency makes the reader
difficult in figuring out words of the text that they had read. In addition, their brain
cannot attend to the meaning of what they read well.3 In short, there are many barriers
faced by the students in learning reading that becomes the teacher’s obligation to
decrease these factors.
Teacher has a very important role to improve students’ reading comprehension.
As Carbo states that the main goal of reading instruction is comprehension.4 By
having good comprehension, students will thoroughly understand the text, remember
important parts of what they had read, and can use the knowledge that they gain from
reading. Therefore, to gain the main goal of reading instruction, the teacher should
have various techniques that could improve the achievement of students’ reading
comprehension and also help the students to get their maximum result in reading. In
fact, reading techniques help students to become systematic readers, since the
techniques can enable the students to select out what is important to remember from
the text they read. Regarding to this, teacher should select a suitable technique to
teach each material. There are many reading techniques that can be used by the

2

John S. Hedgcock and Dana R. Ferris, Teaching Readers of English: Students, Texts and
Contexts, (New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009), p. 63.
3
Marie Carbo, Becoming a Great Teacher of Reading, (United States, Corwin Press, 2007),
p.36.
4
Ibid., p. 41.

3

teacher to improve students’ reading comprehension such as Suggestopedia, Prequestioning, Survey-Question-Read-Recite-Review (SQ3R) and so on.
As mentioned above, one of the reading techniques that can be used by the
teacher is SQ3R technique. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and
Review. The goal of this technique is to increase students’ engagement with the text
when studying content material. In comprehending the text using SQ3R technique,
the students not only know how to comprehend but also become more active and
more critical in comprehending a text. Besides, the steps in SQ3R technique give
numerous exposures to the new material being covered.5
Furthermore, there have been some previous studies which investigated the use
of SQ3R technique in teaching reading, for instance, an experimental study conducted
by Baier,6 Nurmiasih,7 Silalaho and Siregar.8 Then, the result of those studies
revealed that the use of SQ3R technique can help the students to improve their
reading comprehension.
Regarding to the explanation above, the writer is interested in using CAR
(Classroom Action Research) to apply SQ3R technique in teaching reading. The CAR
(Classroom Action Research) used in this study is Kurt Lewin’s design which
consists of four phases: planning, acting, observing and reflecting. Hopefully using
SQ3R technique can be helpful to solve the students’ problem in reading
comprehension. Therefore, the writer is then encouraged to conduct a research
entitled “Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension of Report Text through SQ3R
Technique (A Classroom Action Research at the Eleventh Grade Students of SMAN

Pamela J. Farris et al, Teaching Reading: A Balanced Approach for Today’s Classrooms, (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), p. 356.
6
Kylie Baier, The Effects of SQ3R on Fifth Grade Students' Comprehension Levels, Thesis,
Bowling Green State University, 2011, pp. 1—97.
7
Suci Nurmiasih, The Effectiveness of SQ3R Technique on Students’ Reading Achievement to the
Eighth Grader at MTs Miftahul ‘Ula Kertosono, (Tulungagung: Perpustakaan Sekolah Tinggi Agama
Islam Tulungagung), 2012, pp. 1—64.
8
Pranata Royganda Sihaloho and Masitowarni Siregar, The Effect of Applying SQ3R Methods on
Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension, (Medan: Perpustakaan Universitas Negeri Medan),
2013, pp. 1—16.
5

4

1 Parung)”. In addition, the writer chooses the report text in order to differentiate with
the previous studies, since those previous studies used expository text.
B. Identification of the Problem
From the background of the study, the problems are highlighted on some points:
1. Students lack of motivation in reading activity.
2. Students have limited number of vocabulary that makes them difficult to
comprehend the text.
3. Students have difficulty to get the main idea of report text.
4. Students lack of background knowledge about the text.
5. Teacher uses methods that make students bored in reading activity. It does not
increase students’ interest in reading.
C. Research Focus
The limitation of this study focuses on using SQ3R technique to improve
students’ reading comprehension at the eleventh grade students of SMAN 1 Parung.
D. Research Questions
Based on the background of the limitation above, the problem is formulated as
follows:
1. How does SQ3R technique improve students’ reading comprehension at the
eleventh grade students of SMAN 1 Parung?
2. To what extent is the improvement level of students’ reading comprehension using
SQ3R technique?

E. Objective of the Study
Thus, the objective for conducting this study is to know how SQ3R technique
improve the students’ reading comprehension of report text and to know how far
SQ3R technique can improve students’ reading comprehension of report text.

5

F. The Significances of the Study
This study hopefully can give contribution to students, teachers and other
researchers. They are described as follow:
1. For Students
The students can understand the text they read well by applying the technique
given in order to improve their reading comprehension.
2. For Teachers
This study can help the teacher to teach reading skill by using new technique
which is more interesting.
3. For Other Researchers
This study is expected to give information in leading other researchers to further
study about this certain issue.

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Reading
1.

Definition of Reading
Reading is regarded as an important skill for everyone, because through reading

people can have a lot of knowledge, information, pleasure, etc. Moreover, reading
becomes an important skill in formal education because through reading, learners’
linguistic competence can be assessed.
Reading is a complex activity because some factors are involved and interrelated
to each other. According to Smith, reading is an activity that involves a combination
of visual and nonvisual information. Visual information refers something that the
reader read through eyes, while nonvisual information refers to something behind the
eyes such as knowledge and experience. The more nonvisual information that the
reader has, the less visual information the reader needs.1
In addition, reading is a process that involves both comprehension and
interpretation of idea in printed language, as Snowling and Hulme state, reading is an
informational processing that transforms a printed form into meaning by involving
comprehension.2 Furthermore, Flynn and Stainthorp state that reading is an activity to
decode and to comprehend the printed form.3 In short, when reader reads to have the
meaning of the printed written selection, it is needed a great number of mechanical
skills and comprehension skills as thinking process. Therefore, the reader and the
written text are the two physical necessities.

1

Frank Smith, Understanding Reading, (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004), p.

74.
2

Margaret J. Snowling and Charles Hulme, The Science of Reading: A Handbook, (Malden:
Blackwell Publishing, 2005), p. 6.
3
Naomi Flynn and Rhona Stainthorp, The Learning and Teaching of Reading and Writing,
(Chicester: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2006), p. 42.

6

7

Furthermore, Alyousef states in his journal that reading is an interactive activity
between the reader and the text which bring the reader to reading fluency. 4 In this
activity, the reader interacts with the text to elicit the meaning. Besides that, the
reader also uses various kinds of knowledge, for instance linguistic or systemic
knowledge and also schematic knowledge.
In short, it can be synthesized that reading is a process that brings a concept to
the text and relates it with the meaning had from the text including understanding the
material and giving interpretation that involves the eyes and brain.

2.

Definition of Reading Comprehension
Reading activity cannot be separated from comprehension. It is important that the

reader can comprehend the text well in order to understand and interpret the written
symbol. In other words, it can be said that the result of reading activity is
understanding what has been read.
Reading comprehension is a complex process because the readers are not only
read the text correctly, but also they have to understand the text that they read. It
means, reading process involves the combination between reading and thinking. As
Carbo states, good readers are purposeful readers, because their brains are working
and thinking at the same time while they read.5
Snow states that reading comprehension is the process of simultaneously
extracting and constructing meaning from the written text.6 Furthermore, Klingner et
al also state that reading comprehension is a multicomponent, because it involves not
only what the readers bring to the text such as their prior knowledge, but also the

4

Hesham Suleiman Alyousef, Teaching Reading Comprehension to ESL/EFL Learners, Journal
of Language and Learning Vol. 5 No.1 2006, p. 64.
5
Marie Carbo, Becoming a Great Teacher of Reading, (United States, Corwin Press, 2007), p.
39.
6
Catherine Snow, Reading for Understanding Toward an R&D Program in Reading
Comprehension, (New York: RAND Education, 2002), p. 11.

8

variables related to the text such as the readers’ interest in text and also the
understanding of text types.7
Moreover, reading comprehension includes the understanding of the written
word and also the construction of the text meaning. The reader must be able to go
beyond the literal meaning of the text and think critically about the content of the
text. Since the reader must use information already acquired to filter, interpret,
organize and connect the new information from the text. Further, in order to
understand text, the reader must be able to identify words rapidly, know the meaning
of the words and be able to combine units of meaning into a coherent message.8
Therefore, reading comprehension has been described as a complex intellectual
process involving a number of abilities.
In short, it can be synthesized that reading comprehension is a power to know
main idea from the written text, understand it according to prior knowledge, and
interpret it based on the readers’ purpose.
3.

Purpose of Reading
In real life, people read something because they have a purpose to achieve. As

the readers begin to read, they have to decide the purpose of reading itself, it is
important to make successful of reading comprehension. According to Grabe and
Stoller the purposes of reading are:9
a. Reading to search information
b. Reading for general comprehension
c. Reading to learn new information
d. Reading to synthesize and evaluate information

7

Janette K. Klingner, Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Learning Difficulties,
(New York, The Guilford Press, 2007), p. 8.
8
Peter Westwood, Reading and Learning Difficulties, (Victoria: Acer Press, 2001), p. 10.
9
William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller, Reading for Academic Purposes: Guidelines for the
ESL/EFL Teacher, (Boston: Heinle Cengage, 2001), p. 187.

9

4.

Reading Activities
a. Pre-reading activities
Pre-reading activities prepare students to read the next selection. In this
activity, students could get their reading interest and remind the things they
already known to help them understand and enjoy the selection. According to
Alyousef in his journal, pre-reading activities can increase students’ motivation
before the actual reading takes place. Further, pre-reading activities also can
activate students’ prior knowledge.10
In addition, according to Philippot and Graves, pre-reading activities include
motivating, activating and building background knowledge, providing textspecific knowledge, relating the reading to students’ lives, pre-teaching
vocabularies, pre-teaching concepts, pre-questioning, predicting, and direction
setting, suggesting strategies, using students’ native language, and involving
English language learners’ communities and families.11 For students who are
familiar with the content of the passage, relating background knowledge to the
text is easy, but for the other who has limited background knowledge, it may be a
big problem. They may fail to make connections between what they know and
what they are learning. Therefore, pre-reading activities help students to make a
connection between their background knowledge and what they are learning in
order make them comprehend the text well.
b. During reading activities
During reading activities refer to activity when the students focus on
particular aspect of a text as they read it. According to Philippot and Graves,
during reading activities include silent reading, reading to students, supported
reading, oral reading by students, and modifying the text.12 In short, during
reading activities is the part when the readers are focus to read and try to
comprehend the whole text or passage.
10

Alyousef, op. cit., p. 68.
Raymond Philippot & Michael F. Graves, Fostering Comprehension in English Classes,
(New York, The Guilford Press, 2009), p. 31—32.
12
Ibid., p. 36—38.
11

10

c. Post-reading activities
Post-reading activities refer to the activities that provide opportunities for
students to evaluate the author’s message. Beside that, the students can
synthesize and organize information from the text. In addition, post-reading
activity can enhance reading comprehension by giving some activities to
students. According to Philippot and Graves, there are some post-reading
activities, for instance, discussion, writing, drama, artistic, graphic, and nonverbal activities, building connections, and reteaching.13 In short, post-reading
activities allow the reader to evaluate their reading comprehension.
5.

Teaching Reading
According to Harmer, there are five basic stages in teaching reading as receptive

skill.14
a. Lead-in
In this stage, the students and the teacher prepare themselves for the task and
familiarize themselves with the topic of the reading exercise. Lead-in makes
expectations and arouses the students’ interest in the subject matter of written
text.
b. Teacher directs comprehension task
The teacher makes sure that the students know what they are going to do. The
teacher will explain and direct the students’ purpose for reading.
c. Students read for a task
In this stage, the students read the text to perform the task that the teacher has
set.
d. Teacher directs feedback
After performing the task given by the teacher, the students will have
feedback to see if they have completed the task successfully and find out how
well they have done.

13

Ibid., p. 39—41.
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, (New York: Longman
Publishing, 2007) p. 271.
14

11

e. Teacher directs text-related task
In this stage, the teacher will organize some kind of follow-up task related to
the text.

B. SQ3R Technique
1.

Definition of SQ3R Technique
There are some understanding related to SQ3R technique. In the SQ3R, the

reading process is broken down into separate study steps that can make the readers
become more active. According to Farris, SQ3R technique is a reading technique that
gives numerous exposures to the texts being covered.15 In short, SQ3R technique is a
way to read a material that involves reader actively. It is also an effective series of
technique for reading that can increase the readers’ comprehension by its five steps.
As students do the whole steps of SQ3R technique, they will get numerous exposures
to the new materials. Moreover, SQ3R technique can help readers to set study goals
and separate important information from irrelevant one.

2.

Steps of SQ3R technique
a. Surveying
Surveying is the first step in the SQ3R technique, it is a kind of pre-reading
activity. In this step, the reader has the general outlines of the text by skimming
the text for an overview of main ideas. Further, it is recommended for reader to
skim the section headings and the first sentences of each paragraph to find the
main points that will be developed.
Surveying also helps the reader to focus their attention; making prediction
about what will be discussed and how the material will be organized. As Farris et
al state in surveying, the reader will have acquainted with the boldfaced heading,
subheadings and title to have general idea of the text contents.16 Furthermore,
surveying prepares students to read an upcoming selection which can make

Pamela J. Farris et al, Teaching Reading: A Balanced Approach for Today’s Classrooms,
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), p. 356.
16
Ibid., p. 367.
15

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students remind the things they already know. It will help them understand and
enjoy the reading activity.17 Since surveying a text means reading to obtain a
general idea of its content, therefore the readers should know which part of the
text that can help them.
b. Questioning
In this step, readers have to make some questions about the things they
found in surveying the text and keep these questions in their mind while they are
reading. Questioning is an essential component of reading comprehension.
Making questions help readers to have better comprehension, as Elder states that
question can grab readers’ attention and concentration.18 It happens because
when the readers read to find answer to specific question, the readers’ brain will
try to comprehend the text well. Moreover, questioning is a very important steps,
as Farris et al state that questioning gives students opportunity to get higher level
thinking.19 As a result, questioning help students clarify and deepen their
understanding of the text they are reading.
c. Reading
In this step, readers have to read the text in order to have the information that
is useful for them. The main purpose of this step is finding answer to the
questions formed in the question step. Further, readers should read the text in
order they can answer the question in the next step. Reading to answer question
has purpose to improve the ability to note the important detail from the text.
d. Reciting
In this step, the readers have to recite the answer to the questions that they
made. The purpose of reciting is making the logic comprehension. The readers
can do reciting by asking themselves questions from the previous step, then
summarizing the answer in their own words. Beside that, they also can take notes
from the text but they have to write the information in their own words. Reciting
17

Philippot and Graves, op.cit., p. 31.
Janet Elder, Entryways into College Reading and Learning, (New York: McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc., 2007), p. 386.
19
Farris et al, op. cit., p. 355.
18

13

is an effective way to grasp complex material because the readers have to answer
the important question that they made before in order to comprehend the text.20
e. Reviewing
In this step, the readers have to check whether or not their answers are true.
Furthermore, in this step, they review their comprehension by telling the most
important ideas contained in a paragraph or the gist. Getting the gist means the
students are able to state the main idea of a paragraph using their own words, as
succinctly as possible.
Reviewing can make the readers remember and make their comprehension
clearer by synthesizing and organizing information from the text. By reviewing,
the readers also can integrate the content and get useful idea. As a result, the
students can evaluate the understanding of the text well.
To sum up, SQ3R technique consists of five steps i.e. surveying,
questioning, reading, reciting, and reviewing. Surveying step requires students to
preview the text, as well as predict the text. Questioning step requires students
make their own questions related to the text they are going to read. The next step,
they have to read the text and try to answer the question they have made. Then,
they have to review it to check their comprehension.

20

Ibid., p. 357.

14

3.

The Advantages of Using SQ3R Technique
SQ3R as a reading technique has some advantages to increase students’ reading

comprehension. By using SQ3R technique, students can monitor or measure how far
their reading comprehension is on the text that they have read. Besides, SQ3R
technique also can build students’ reading motivation. In doing survey and question
parts, it will increase students’ curiosity related to the material and build their
motivation in reading. Moreover, by questioning from the context, it can increase
students’ interest about the reading itself. Asking question before starting to read a
section gives the most effective mental set for selecting, retaining, and generalizing
the important facts.

4.

The Disadvantages of Using SQ3R Technique
Beside having some advantages, SQ3R technique also has disadvantage, for

instance, it takes a lot of time when applying SQ3R as a reading technique. Stepherd
as cited in Baier argues the process is too long and time consuming.21 Besides,
because this technique requires several steps, the students are not enjoying in using
this technique if they are not reinforced in their effort.22 As a result, it affects
students’ desire to participate actively in reading activity.
C. Report Text
1.

The Definition of Report Text
There are many types of text that used by readers and writers to communicate for

a particular purpose. One of the text types is report text which is a kind of text that
presents information about natural and social phenomena in the environment.
Furthermore, it presents information after getting careful observation, as Paterson
state, this type of text presents information in a structured manner about a subject by
giving facts.23
Kylie Baier, The Effect of SQ3R on Fifth Grade Students’ Comprehension Level, (United
State: College of Bowling Green, 2011), p. 26.
22
Farris et al, op. cit., p. 357.
23
Heather Paterson, Text Type Book, (Campbell: Campbell High School, 2015), p. 26.
21

15

2.

The Purposes of Report Text
Report text has a function to classify and describe something by giving facts.24

Report text can classify many things around environment such as animal, plant,
natural phenomena and social phenomena. In addition, report text also describes
something generally. The scope of the description will differentiate the report text and
descriptive text. Report text commonly describes things generally, while descriptive
text tends to explain the characterization of a specific thing. In short, it can be
synthesized that the function of report text is to give a truth account of something or
some activity after investigating and collecting the facts.

3.

The Generic Structure of Report Text
The generic structure term refers to the text organization to guide readers in

identifying the main information.25 The generic structure of a report text includes two
main parts; they are general classification and description. General classification tells
the reader about what is discussed, meanwhile description tells the reader about the
detailed features such as part, qualities, habits, and behavior.26

24

Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Bahasa Inggris Kelas XII, (Jakarta: Pusat
Kurikulum dan Perbukuan, 2015), p. 84.
25
Klingner, op,cit., p. 76.
26
Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. loc. cit.

16

The example of report text:
Antibiotics
General
Classification

Antibiotic is a drug produced by certain microbes. Antibiotics
destroy other microbes that damage human tissues. They are used to
treat a wide variety of diseases, including gonorrhea, tonsillitis and
tuberculosis.
Antibiotics are sometimes called ‘wonder drugs’ because they
can cure diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia and scarlet fever. But
when the antibiotics are overused, or misused, these drugs make a
person sensitive being attacked by a superbug. Antibiotics do not
always distinguish between harmless and dangerous microbes. If a
drug destroys too many harmless micro-organisms, the pathogenic
ones -the dangerous microbes- will have a greater chance to multiply.

Description

This situation often leads to the development of a new infection
called superinfection. Extensive use of some antibiotics may damage
organs and tissues. For example, streptomycin, which is used to treat
tuberculosis, has caused kidney damage and deafness.
Resistance to antibiotics may be acquired by pathogenic
microbes. The resistant microbes transfer genetic material to nonresistant microbes and cause them to become resistant. During
antibiotic treatment, non-resistant microbes are destroyed, but resistant
types survive and multiply.
To avoid the side effect of antibiotics, you'd better not urge
your doctor to prescribe antibiotics. Keep in mind that antibiotics are
only useful for bacterial infections and have no effect on viruses, so
they cannot be used for children pox, measles, and other viral diseases.

17

D. The Previous Study
There are many researches that have been conducted to find out the effectiveness
of SQ3R technique in teaching reading comprehension. However, there are only three
previous studies which are used as references for this study.
First, it is a research that is conducted by Baier,27 the title is “The Effect of SQ3R
on Fifth Grade Students’ Comprehension Level”. The aim of this study is to reveal
whether the use of SQ3R technique can improve students’ reading comprehension.
The researcher gave treatment to 32 fifth grade students using SQ3R technique in
teaching reading comprehension of expository text. After giving the treatments, the
researcher tried to examine the result of this study. Then, the mean score of the preassessment was 54.4, meanwhile the mean score of the post-assignment was 64.1. It
meant that there was a significant effect of using SQ3R technique in teaching reading
comprehension of expository text. Beside, it was found that 68.7% of students in this
research would apply SQ3R technique in the future. It can also concluded that SQ3R
technique was useful for them to comprehend the text.
Another reference is a research that is conducted by Nurmiasih28 by the title “The
Effectiveness of SQ3R Technique on Students’ Reading Achievement to the Eighth
Graders at MTs Miftahul ‘Ula Kertosono”. The researcher gave treatment to 21
students of eighth grade by using SQ3R technique. The result of this preexperimental study showed that the students’ mean score was increased after applying
SQ3R technique. Students’ mean score before applying SQ3R technique was 64.
Meanwhile, their mean score after being taught by using SQ3R technique was 91.
Furthermore, the T count was 10.254, meanwhile the T table with significance level 5%
was 1.725. The T count was greater than T table. It means that the alternative
hypothesis (Ha) is accepted. Therefore, there is significant effect of using SQ3R
technique in teaching reading to the Eighth Graders Students at MTs Miftahul ‘Ula
Kertosono.
27

Baier, Op. cit., pp. 1—97.
Suci Nurmiasih, The Effectiveness of SQ3R Technique on Students’ Reading Achievement to
the Eighth Grader at MTs Miftahul ‘Ula Kertosono, (Tulungagung: Perpustakaan Sekolah Tinggi
Agama Islam Tulungagung), 2012, pp. 1—64.
28

18

The other previous study is a thesis written by Sihaloho and Siregar29 which
entitled “The Effect of Applying SQ3R methods on Students’ Achievement in
Reading Comprehension”. The aim of this research was discovering the effect of
applying SQ3R method in reading comprehension of expository text. He conducted
the research in SMA Nasrani 2 Medan and used quasi-experimental as the research
design. There were 2 classes chosen as the sample with 30 students in each class.
Those classes were divided into experimental and control group. The instrument used
to collect the data was a set of multiple choice tests, divided as pre-test and post-test.
The result of the research was analyzed by using t-test formula. The result showed
that t-test was higher than t-table (4,23>2,00) at the level of significant 0,05 with
degree of freedom (df) 58. It means that hypothesis alternative (Ha) is accepted which
shows that SQ3R technique significantly improves the students’ reading
comprehension.
In conclusion, the three previous studies proved that the use of SQ3R technique
can improve students’ reading comprehension. Those previous studies guide the
writer to conduct a study about SQ3R technique. Furthermore, the writer used
different research design which is classroom action research. The writer also used the
text that did not use in previous study, report text. In addition, the instrument that
used in this study was totally different with the instrument used in the previous
studies.
E. Thinking Framework
Reading is one of the basic skills that the students need to develop in learning
English, but for some students, reading is difficult because they have to take meaning
from the text from writer that involves their prior knowledge. In fact, in reading
activity the students just read without knowing or comprehending the text. In other
words, they do not get the main goal of reading activity which is comprehension.

29

Pranata Royganda Sihaloho and Masitowarni Siregar, The Effect of Applying SQ3R Methods
on Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension, (Medan: Perpustakaan Universitas Negeri
Medan), 2013, pp. 1—16.

19

Regarding to that problem, the writer applies SQ3R technique to solve the
students’ problem in comprehending the reading material by making their
comprehension clearer. This technique supposed to decrease their boredom, because
they should participate actively in that process. In addition, by using SQ3R technique
which consists of five steps and combines pre-reading, during reading, and postreading activities, the students involve actively in reading to comprehend. Therefore,
if SQ3R technique which consists of five steps is used in teaching reading
comprehension, it will give a better reading comprehension for students.

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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

A. The Place and Time of the Study
This study was conducted at SMAN 1 Parung which is located at Jl. H. Mawi no. 17.
Post Code 16330 Parung, Bogor. In addition, this study was carried out from August 2nd
until September 6th 2016. The writer did preliminary study on August 2nd 2016. Then, the
instruments were made after the preliminary study. After having the instruments, the preaction test was conducted before the cycle 1 and cycle 2. In the last meeting of each cycle,
the post-action test was given to the students.
Table 3.1
The Schedule of the Study
Month and Week
No

Activities

August
1

1

2

2

3

X

X

X

September
3

4

4

X

X

1

1

1.

Pre-Observation

X

2.

Pre-Action Test

X

3.

Pre-Interview

X

4.

Cycle 1

5.

Cycle 1 Post-Action Test

6.

Cycle 2

7.

Cycle 2 Post-Action Test

X

8.

Post-Interview

X

X
X

B. The Method and Design of the Study
In this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. Qualitative method is
focused on collecting and analyzing information in non-numerical form. It also tends to
focus on the process.1 In addition, according to Verma and Mallick, the aim of qualitative

1

Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight, How To Research, (New York: Open University
Press, 2006), p. 64.

20

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method is investigating the quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials.
Conversely, the aim of quantitative method is gathering data that can be quantified; it can be
counted or measured in numerical scores.2
Moreover, in this study, the Classroom Action Research (CAR) is us