Barbara Fine Clouse divides the objective of description into six, they are:
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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:
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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.
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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
Experience is a process of gaining knowledge or skill over a period of time through seeing and doing things. When the printed
message related to the experience, which student has not had, he would fail to comprehend. The student who has limited experience
may have difficulty in comprehending many ideas in the text. In other word, the reader’s background experience can be said as
connector of the information gap between reader and writer. b. Language abilities
A good knowledge of language is necessary in preparation for reading. Students’ language ability is an important factor in
beginning reading. Semantic the meaning of words and syntax the way that words and phrases are put together are important to deliver
the meaning. They are related to the reading comprehension. If the students find the printed page which presents too many new words,
they will not get comprehension because the words are strange for them.
c. Thinking abilities When students read, they associate what they read with
previous knowledge or experience; their thinking abilities or intelligence influence it.
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The student who has good intelligence will be better in hisher understanding in reading, but student who
has low intelligence will find the difficulties in reading. d. Affection Interest, Motivation, Attitude, beliefs, feeling
Educators and parents recognize that the child’s interest, motivation, attitudes, beliefs, and feeling are important factors that
cannot be taken for granted or ignored in the educational process.
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The affective domain means of feeling or emotion of the reader. It determines what heshe reads and how heshe interprets the meaning
of the text.
16
Harris, 1980, op.cit., p. 210
17
Ibid., p. 210
1 Interest motivation Student who is not interested in reading or if their motivation is
low to read, shehe will get failure in comprehending. Shehe will not get any fun in reading, because herhis first impression does not
like reading, so when she he reads, shehe does not have the process of thinking, which is a basic in reading. Thus the
comprehension will not occur. 2 Attitudes and beliefs
Attitudes and beliefs are frequently closely linked to their interest. Attitudes and beliefs usually reflect background experience. They
also play important role in a comprehension. 3 Feeling
Emotion is fact of life. Feeling develop early when infants find some things pleasant and other unpleasant.
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Emotional factors like feeling or mood and concentration will influence student’s reading
comprehension. To get comprehension students always have to be in a good condition.
e. Reading Purpose This fifth factor also determines the comprehension ability,
student could also have difficulties to understand the text if shehe reads it without particular purpose in mind. Comprehension is always
directed and controlled by the needs and purposes of an individual. The purpose of reading is to get the meaning from the written
symbols. One of the most important tasks of the readers to find out what the writer said. For junior high school, reading is used to
understand textbook.
Based on the explanation above, the researcher summarizes that there are many factors which influence reading comprehension,
such as background experience, language abilities, thinking abilities,
18
Ibid., p. 210
