1. Short sentence: the students will be given a simple picture. They are
then required to produce a brief sentence based on the picture given. 2.
Picture description: the students will get a more complex picture with a specific theme, for example a picture of a library room. And then, the students
are asked to describe the library portrayed in the picture. 3.
Picture sequence description: the pictures given are in the form of a series of pictures that are related one another. Those pictures tell some event,
for example the ways of how something is done. The students are required to describe the step-by-step process to achieve the goal or to come to the final
picture. Using pictures or cue cards offers some advantages that are also the
reasons the researcher picked it as the media to help the students to improve their writing ability. The advantages of using pictures according to
Chayanuvat 1996 are the followings: 1.
They come in a wide variety and are often striking, beautiful and colourful, lending themselves as an important element for fun and motivation.
2. They enable the students to mobilize their own imagination and
interpretation using their life experiences. In this way, students are challenged to show their creativity.
3. Pictures offer a rich source of contextualization. Not only what is in
the picture is seen, the background and the context linked with it are portrayed as well.
4. They offer a base for the students to build up their language.
5. More importantly, they transfer the real world into the classroom as
best as they can. They help the students to use a language in meaningful ways.
6. They help students to be personally involved, an element of a
learner-centered approach. 7.
For the teacher, this media is very easy to find. There are very interesting pictures in daily newspapers and magazines.
Based on the explanation above, cue cards with pictures as the main elements, offer some advantages that will help the teacher in teaching writing for junior high
school students, especially in the aspect of generating ideas, and vocabulary items. It is also suitable for the given context where the adolescent students need some
excitement in the classroom which they can relate to that will also arouse their motivation in learning and producing the language.
C. Related Studies
Cue card is one of the media that is usually used to improve students writing skills. There are some other researchers who have conducted similar
studies. The result of the research is described as follows. The first research is conducted by Hikmah 2012. The title of the research
was Improving Students Writing Skill by Using Cue Card. The subject of the research was class VIII A of SMPN 2 Barat. From the research, it can be seen that
the use of cue card media in the classroom improved the students writing skills. It was proven by the students post-test score that was improved after the action was
implemented. Furthermore, the students became more motivated, enthusiastic and
creative. Another research was conducted by Sahliya 2013. The title of the
research was Improving Students Achievements in Writing Descriptive Text by Using Cue Cards. From the research, it can be seen that the mean post-test
score of the students were improved compared to that of the pre-test score. Huang 2009 also conducted similar research by using wordless pictures
in teaching writing. Based on the result, there were some advantages of using wordless pictures including the enhancement of enjoyment of the writing process,
promotion of creative writing and thinking skills and the fostering of cooperative learning where the students learn to work together with their peers. The students
were also enjoying the process of writing using wordless pictures. Most of them said that using wordless picture books can improve their creativity in critical
thinking skills. They are more independent in writing whatever they have in mind. Based on those previous research conducted, it can be concluded that cue card is
the media that the teacher can use to teach writing. There several advantages that the teacher can gain from using the media. That is the reason why the researcher is
interested in conducting a research on Using Cue Cards to Improve the Writing Ability of 8
th
Grade Students at SMPN 1 Rembang in the Academic Year of 20132014
D. Conceptual Framework
As stated in the previous chapter, there are problems to be solved related to the students writing ability ideas, vocabulary items, and organization in class
VIII D of SMPN 1 Rembang. From the literature review that has been discussed
above, it can be inferred that cue cards can be used as the media in teaching writing to improve the students writing skills, especially the ones that are related
to the process of generating ideas content, vocabulary mastery and organization of the text, and motivation.
Cue cards can solve the students problem in generating ideas because it also involves the use of pictures in the process of writing. Pictures are effective as
media to teach writing since it offers an input in order to stimulate the students mind and attract their attention to the text that is going to be taught. Furthermore,
by using pictures, the students will be able to have clearer visualization on what they will write. It also provides a good basis for the writing tasks where the
students can analyse their methods in organizing ideas they got from the pictures. As mentioned earlier, pictures in cue cards offer some advantages in teaching
writing. Pictures also help the students in generating ideas. It is because a picture is better than a thousand words. Undoubtedly, pictures are powerful visual aids.
Pictures here include everything ranging from postcards, drawing, photographs, paintings, wall pictures and slidesvideos Chayanuvat, 1996.
Moreover, pictures in cue cards can also help the students in improving their vocabulary mastery and organization of the text. The reason is because the
activities done using cue cards can be done in groups. By cooperating with their peers, the students will gain more confidence in doing the writing activity. By
doing the cooperative work, the students are also able to share their knowledge that they will eventually gain the ability in the two aspects. According to Raimes
1983:27, with a picture, the students will need to use appropriate vocabulary and
