38 difficulties in using the appropriate grammar rules for a certain text and they also
had limited vocabulary mastery. Many of them also did not really excited to participate in the teaching and learning process.
Therefore, the researcher wanted to overcome the problems by using picture series in the writing class. They have many benefits as media in teaching
writing. They can help the students to generate their ideas. By looking at them, it can help the students express their ideas of what they are going to write. They also
can help the students to organize their writing because they are in the form of sequences.
39
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
A. Research Type
This research was a type of action research study. Action research is a form of self reflective inquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in
order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices both social and educational practices, as well as their understanding of these practices and the
situations in which practices are carried out Carr and Kemmis : 1986 in Burns 2010: 5. In line with Carr and Kemmis, Koshy 2005: 9 considers action
research as a constructive enquiry, during which the researcher constructs his or her knowledge of specific issues through planning, acting, evaluating, refining
and learning from experience. Burns 1999 in McKay 2006: 30 states some characterictics of action
research. First, action research is contextual, small-scale and localized, and identified and investigated problems within a specific situation. In this research,
the researcher identified the problems faced by the students related to writing. Second, it is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and
improvement in practice. Third, action research is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of colleagues, practitioners, and researchers.
In this research, the researcher collaborated with the English teacher in conducting the research. Fourth, changes in practice are based on the collection of
information or data which provides the impetus for changes.
40 To improve the students’ writing ability, the researcher used the action
research model developed by Kemmis and Mc. Taggart as cited in Burns 2010: 7-9. This model consists of four main steps in each cycle : 1 planning; 2 acting;
3 observing and 4 reflecting.
Figure 1: Scheme of Action Research by Kemmis and McTaggart
B. Research Setting
The research was conducted at SMP Negeri 2 Wonosari which is located in Jl. Veteran No. 8, Wonosari, Gunungkidul. The actions were carried out in
March - May using the students of class VIII D as the subjects of the research. The research study was conducted in the second semester of the academic year of
20132014. The observation was done on January 22
nd
, 2014. After the observation, a pre-test was conducted and Cycle I of the research was done for
three meetings which were on March 19
th
, 20
th
, and April 3
rd
. The Cycle II was
