The influences of learning activities in critical reading and writing 2 class on students' critical reading and writing skills

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THE INFLUENCES OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES
IN CRITICAL READING AND WRITING 2 CLASS
ON STUDENTS’ CRITICAL READING
AND WRITING SKILLS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKANTHESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Clara Yudith Maharani
Student Number: 091214037

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013

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THE INFLUENCES OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES
IN CRITICAL READING AND WRITING 2 CLASS
ON STUDENTS’ CRITICAL READING
AND WRITING SKILLS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKANTHESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By
Clara Yudith Maharani
Student Number: 091214037

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work
or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, December 6, 2013
The Writer

Clara Yudith Maharani
091214037

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Clara Yudith Maharani

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 091214037

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE INFLUENCES OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES
IN CRITICAL READING AND WRITING 2 CLASS
ON STUDENTS’ CRITICAL READING
AND WRITING SKILS
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian, saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau
media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya
maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 6 Desember 2013
Yang menyatakan

Clara Yudith Maharani

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I dedicate this thesis to:
My beloved parents
My sister and brothers
My big family
My friends

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ABSTRACT

Maharani, Clara Yudith. 2013. The Influences of Learning Activities in Critical
Reading and Writing 2 Class on Students’ Critical Reading and Writing Skills.
Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma

University.
This study aimed to find out the influences of learning activities in Critical
Reading and Writing 2 Class on students’ critical reading and writing skills of the
students of the English Language Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma
University. Because critical reading and writing is an important subject developed
by many educational institutions, the researcher regards it as an important issue.
Moreover, the English Language Education Study Program has designed Critical
Reading and Writing Class to facilitate students to extend their knowledge and
develop their critical reading and writing skills.
There were two research problems formulated in this study. The first one
was “How are the learning activities in Critical Reading and Writing 2 Class
conducted?”. The second one was “What are the influences of learning activities
in Critical Reading and Writing 2 Class on students’ critical reading and writing
skills?”.
To answer the questions, the researcher employed survey as the method
and observation checklist and questionnaire as the instruments. The researcher
analyzed the results of the observation by categorizing the learning activities into
three part, pre-activities, main activities, and post-activities. Then, the results of
the questionnaires were analyzed by calculating the percentage of scales of
agreements.

The results of the observation showed that watching a video and
introducing a topic were the pre-activities for reading skill. Then, explaining the
steps in critical reading and discussing the text were the main activities. The postactivities were reviewing the lesson and summarizing the discussion. For writing
skill, the pre-activities were discussing an article and explaining the materials. The
main activities were stating topics and having consultations. Then, the postactivities were writing outlines and drafts. The results of the questionnaires
showed that discussing a text and doing exercises helped the students to develop
their critical reading skill. Then, making critical questions helped the students to
develop their critical thinking. Besides, brainstorming ideas and having
consultation helped the students to develop their critical writing skill. However,
most students still had difficulties in critical reading and writing. They found it
difficult in critical reading because the vocabulary of the texts were difficult for
them. Besides, they found it difficult to organize their ideas in writing.
Keywords: learning activities, critical reading, critical writing, critical thinking

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ABSTRAK

Maharani, Clara Yudith. 2013. The Influences of Learning Activities in Critical
Reading and Writing 2 Class on Students’ Critical Reading and Writing Skills.
Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma
University.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh kegiatan
pembelajaran di kelas “Critical Reading and Writing 2” pada kemampuan critical
reading dan criticalwriting mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris
di Universitas Sanata Dharma. Karenacritical readingandwriting adalah mata
kuliah penting yang dikembangkan oleh berbagai institusi pendidikan, peneliti
menganggap hal ini sebagai permasalahan yang patut diteliti. Selain itu,
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris telah merancang kelas Critical
Reading and Writing untuk membantu mahasiswa memperluas pengetahuan
mereka dan mengembangkan kemampuan critical reading dan criticalwriting
mereka.
Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini. Yang pertama adalah

“Bagaimana kegiatan pembelajaran di kelas Critical Reading and Writing
2berlangsung?”. Yang kedua adalah “Apa pengaruh kegiatan pembelajaran di
kelas Critical Reading and Writing 2 pada kemampuan critical reading dan
criticalwriting mahasiswa?”
Agar dapat menjawab permasalahan tersebut, peneliti menggunakan
metode survey dan lembar observasi dan kuesioner sebagai instrumen penelitian.
Peneliti menganalisa hasil observasi dengan menggolongkan kegiatan
pembelajaran menjadi tiga bagian, pra-kegiatan, kegiatan utama, dan kegiatan
penutup. Kemudian, hasil kuesioner dianalisa dengan menghitung persentase
skala persetujuan.
Hasil observasi menunjukkan bahwa menonton video dan
memperkenalkan topik adalah pra-kegiatan untuk kemampuan membaca.
Penjelasan langkah-langkah dalam critical reading dan mendiskusikan teks
adalah kegiatan utama. Kegiatan penutup adalah menyimpulkan pelajaran dan
hasil diskusi. Untuk kemampuan menulis, pra-kegiatannya adalah mendiskusikan
artikel dan penjelasan materi. Kegiatan utama adalah menyampaikan topik dan
konsultasi. Kemudian, kegiatan penutupnya adalah menulis bagan dan konsep
tulisan. Hasil kuisioner menunjukkan bahwa mendiskusikan teks dan mengerjakan
latihan soal membantu mahasiswa mengembangkan kemampuan critical reading.
Membuat pertanyaan membantu mahasiswa mengembangkan pemikiran kritis.
Selain itu, mendiskusikan ide dan konsultasi membantu mahasiswa
mengembangkan kemampuan critical writing.Bagaimanapun juga, sebagian besar
mahasiswa masih kesulitan dalam critical reading and writing. Mereka kesulitan
dalam critical reading karena kosakata dalam teks sulit dipahami. Selain itu,
mereka kesulitan untuk mengembangkan ide mereka dalam menulis.
Kata Kunci: learning activities, critical reading, critical writing, critical thinking
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank my savior, Jesus Christ, for His blessings
and everything in my life. I also thank Him for His help by giving many people
who help me to finish my thesis.
My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor, Christina Kristiyani, S.Pd.,
M.Pd. for her guidance, support, and patience in helping me finishing this thesis. I
thank MadeFrida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd., Ed.D
and Adesti Komalasari, S.Pd., M.Pd.forhelping me during my study. My deep
gratitude also goes to all lecturers in the English Language Education Study
Program who always help me in my study. I am also thankful to the Secretariat
Staff for their best services.
I would like to say thanks to my beloved parents, Papa and Mama, for
their unconditional love for me. I am really thankfull for their prayers, supports,
and helps for me. My sincere thank goes to my late brother, Mas Robert, for his
love, prayers, and support in my lifetime eventhough I cannot share my happiness
with him now. I deeply thank my sister, Mbak Avin, who bolsters my confidence
to finish my thesis in time. I am also thankfull to have Mas Gerard as my brother
for his care for me. My special thanks go to my aunties, Mbak Vera, Mbak Sulis,
and Mbak Novi for their supportduring my study. I also thank my uncle, Pakdhe
Tjip, for his care.
Then, I would like to say thanks to my lovely best friends, Vivi, Efri, Rius
and Okta for the nice friendship we have. I thank them for the knowledge, joy,

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and sorrow that we share together. I also thank my friends in Class A of ’09 for
their shared knowledge and happiness. My special thankfulness goes to Romo
Anton for being my proof reader.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all people whose names cannot be
mentioned here who have helped me and been my part of life during my study in
Sanata Dharma University and also their contribution to this thesis.

Clara Yudith Maharani

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ....................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGES ........................................................................................... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .................................................... iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ...................................................... v
DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................................................ vi
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... xi
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................... xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................... xv

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1
A. Research Background .................................................................................. 1
B. Research Problems....................................................................................... 4
C. Problem Limitation ...................................................................................... 4
D. Research Objectives..................................................................................... 5
E. Research Benefits......................................................................................... 5

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F. Definition of Terms ...................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .................................... 9
A. Theoretical Description................................................................................ 9
1. Integrated Learning ................................................................................. 9
2. Critical Reading .................................................................................... 11
3. Critical Writing ..................................................................................... 13
4. Critical Thinking................................................................................... 15
B. Theoretical Framework .............................................................................. 16

CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 18
A. Research Method ....................................................................................... 18
B. Research Setting ........................................................................................ 20
C. Research Participants ................................................................................. 20
D. Instruments andData Gathering Technique................................................. 21
1. Observation Checklist .......................................................................... 21
2. Questionnaire ....................................................................................... 22
E. Data Analysis Technique ........................................................................... 23
F. Research Procedure .................................................................................... 24

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CHAPTER IV : RESEARCH RESULTS AND FINDINGS ............................... 27
A. The Learning Activities in Critical Reading and Writing 2 Class ............... 27
1. The Learning Activities in Class E ....................................................... 27
a. Learning Activities for Reading .......................................................... 28
b. Learning Activities for Writing........................................................... 33
2. The Learning Activities in Class D ........................................................ 34
a. Learning Activities for Reading .......................................................... 34
b. Learning Activities for Writing........................................................... 36
B. The Influences of Learning Activities in Critical Reading and Writing 2
Classon Students’ Critical Reading and Writing Skills ............................... 38
1. Developing Students’ Critical Reading Skill ......................................... 39
2. Developing Students’ Critical Thinking ................................................ 41
3. Developing Students’ Critical Writing Skill .......................................... 43

CHAPTER V : CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................... 51
A. Conclusions ............................................................................................... 51
B. Recommendations...................................................................................... 54

REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 57

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Page

4.1 The Influences of Discussing Text with Friends ........................................... 39
4.2 The Influence of Doing Exercises................................................................. 40
4.3 The Influence of Having Critical Questions.................................................. 42
4.4 The Influence of Brainstorming Ideas with Friends ...................................... 43
4.5 The Influence of Having Consultation with Lecturer .................................... 44
4.6Example 1 of the Student’s Topic.................................................................. 46
4.7Example 1 of the Student’s Outline ............................................................... 47
4.8Example 2 of the Student’s Topic.................................................................. 48
4.9Example 2 of the Student’s Outline ............................................................... 49

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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix

Page

Appendix 1. Permission Letters ........................................................................ 60
Appendix 2. Observation Sheets ....................................................................... 63
Appendix 3. Questionnaire................................................................................. 72
Appendix 4 Questionnaire Blueprint .................................................................. 76
Appendix 5 The Results of Close Ended Questions ............................................ 78
Appendix 6 Raw Data of Open Ended Questions ............................................... 82
Appendix 7Examples of Students’ Outlines ....................................................... 97

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The first chapter discusses background information and rationale for the
research. It consists of research background, research problems, problem
limitation, research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms.

A. Research Background
According to Fisher (2011, p. 1), teachers used to focus on teaching
content, but nowadays, teachers have become very interested in teaching thinking
skills of various kinds in contrast with teaching information and content. Because
of that, critical reading and writing becomes an important subject in many
educational institutions these days. It is strengthened by Yen (2011, p. 41) stating
that university students should develop their critical literacy as the fundamental
value to improve their social ability in their own society at the university and their
society in the future. Moreover, she said that critical literacy should be taught in
reading and writing because those skills are the most important skills for nonnative speakers. Therefore, critical thinking is developed in reading and writing
skills because those skills are important in learning English especially for English
Foreign Language students.
The importance of teaching critical reading has been examined by many
researchers. They define critical reading as an important skill to be learnt because
students can understand the ideas in text deeply by learning critical reading. It is
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strengthened by Kurland (2000) defining critical reading as a skill that discovers
information and ideas described by the writer. He also states that critical reading
refers to a careful, active, reflective, and analytic reading. In critical reading, the
students do not only read to find the information and the content of the text but
they also analyze the information within the text.
Wallace (2003, p. 69) also states that critical reading encourages learners
to think about and analyze the information in the text critically. Then, he explains
that reading the text critically means that the learners are able to understand the
context of the text with a wider perspective connected to their critical
understanding. Additionally, Khabiri and Pakzad (2012, p. 76) say that learners
will gain the chance to evaluate the context they face in critical reading.
Therefore, critical reading encourages learners to read any text critically by
thinking and analyzing the information of the text.
Critical writing is similar to critical reading because learners use critical
thinking in both critical reading and critical writing. In critical reading, the
learners use critical thinking to analyze the text whereas critical thinking is used to
elaborate ideas in writing. Wrobleski (2007, p. 1) defines critical writing as a skill
that makes the writer to be active in order to comprehend the topic well so that the
writer can write an objective paper. In critical writing, learners are expected to
write well by supporting arguments of the topic. Learners should elaborate their
ideas logically in writing. It means that they should give strong arguments to
support their ideas.

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Based on the definition of critical reading and critical writing, it can be
concluded that critical thinking is important in both reading and writing skills. In
reading and writing courses, critical literacy aims to help learners acquire critical
understanding and make them conscious so that they can read the world and be
able to connect the world with the word (Freire, 1991, p. 142). Critical reading
and writing helps learners to think critically about current issues discussed in
society. Therefore, students should have critical reading and writing skills in order
to solve many problems in society.
Based on the importance of learning reading and writing, the English
Language Study Program (ELESP) considers reading and writing as important
subject. In order to develop reading and writing skills in this era, ELESP has
designed “Critical Reading and Writing”. “Critical Reading and Writing (CRW)
2” is designed as a project-based class to facilitate students to access into a large
amount of reading through which students acquire information, which thus
enhances the progress of their knowledge and the development of their critical
reading and writing skills (ELESP Sanata Dharma University Academic
Guidelines, 2011). ELSP designs “Critical Reading and Writing 2” to develop
students’ critical reading and writing skills in order to analyze issues in society.
From the short description of critical reading and critical writing above,
the researcher decided to conduct the research on critical reading and critical
writing. The researcher conducted this research in the English Language
Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University because the researcher
would like to observe the real learning situation in the class. Furthermore, the

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researcher would like to find out the influences of learning activities on students’
critical reading and writing skills.

B. Research Problems
Based on the discussion on the background of study, the researcher
formulates two research problems in this study.
1. How are the learning activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class
conducted?
2. What are the influences of learning activities in “Critical Reading and Writing
2” Class on students’ critical reading and writing skills?

C. Problem Limitation
The focus of this study is to find out the influences of learning activities in
“Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class of the English Language Education Study
Program at Sanata Dharma University on students’ critical reading and writing
skills. Firstly, the researcher focuses on the learning activities in “Critical Reading
and Writing 2” Class. The researcher observed the learning activities in the class
to find out the learning activities applied in the class. Moreover, the researcher
would like to find out how the learning activities were conducted. Then, the
researcher focuses on the students’ critical reading and writing skills. The
researcher would like to find out whether the learning activities helped the
students to develop their critical reading and writing skills or not. Furthermore,

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the researcher did not focus on the students’ scores because the researcher did not
evaluate the students’ works.

D. Research Objectives
The research aimed at answering the two questions stated in the research
problem. Through this research, the researcher would like to find out the learning
activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class of the English Language
Education Study Program in Sanata Dharma University and the influences of
learning activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class on students’ critical
reading and writing skills.

E. Research Benefits
This study will be beneficial for lecturers, especially lecturers of “Critical
Reading and Writing 2” in Sanata Dharma University, and future researchers who
are going to conduct research in the same topic, namely critical reading and
writing.
1. Lecturers
This research is expected to give valuable contribution to the lecturers who
teach “Critical Reading and Writing 2” subject. By presenting the answers of the
problems, the lecturers are expected to know the influences of their leaning
activities on students’ critical reading and writing skills so that the lecturers may
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2. Future researchers
This research is expected to inspire future researchers to conduct research
in other critical reading and writing class. The answers of the problems are
expected to encourage future researchers to design materials for “Critical Reading
and Writing 2” so that the subject will influence the students to develop their
critical reading and writing skills.

F. Definitions of Terms
In an attempt to clarify concepts and avoid misinterpretation of the
research conducted, some technical terms will be defined in this section. The
researcher defined the terms of influence, critical reading, critical writing, and
critical thinking. The definitions of terms are described based on the concept of
this research.
1. Influence
The definition of influences was the influences of learning activities in
“Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class on the students’ critical reading and
writing skills. The researcher would like to find out how the learning activities
helped the students to develop their critical reading and writing skills.
Furthermore, the researcher would like to find out how the students’ critical
thinking are developed during the teaching learning process because the students
should develop critical thinking to be able to read and write critically.

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2. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is defined as the “intellectually disciplined process of
actively analyzing and evaluating information gathered from experience,
observation, or communication as a guide to belief and action”, according to the
National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction (Scriven, 2004,
p. 1). In this study, critical thinking refers to the ability to read and write by
analyzing information of text and construct ideas critically. In critical reading,
critical thinking refers to ability to analyze the topic of the text by evaluating the
author’s argument using knowledge the student had before related to the topic. In
critical writing, critical thinking refers to ability to write logical arguments by
supporting those using previous theories or research.
3. Critical Reading
Critical reading is a skill for discovering information and ideas within a
text and it refers to a careful, active, reflective, and analytic reading (Kurland,
2000). In this study, critical reading refers to a reading skill which uses critical
thinking in order to analyze any text. It means that the students are able to read
beyond the text. The students are able to relate their knowledge about the topic of
the text in order to analyze the text.
4. Critical Writing
Wrobleski (2007, p. 1) defines critical writing as a learned skill that
involves active participation by the individual to understand the topic well enough
to write a balanced and well communicated paper. In this study, critical writing
refers to a skill that needs critical thinking in writing to elaborate ideas of a topic

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critically by analyzing the topic first. It means that the students are able to write
their arguments of a topic by supporting their arguments with reasonable ideas.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two sections, namely theoretical description and
theoretical framework. In the theoretical description section, the writer elaborates
the theories which are related to this research. They are the theories of integrated
learning, critical reading, critical writing, and critical thinking. Furthermore, in the
theoretical framework section, the writer describes the correlation between the
theories and this research.

A. Theoretical Description
In this section, the writer explains the theories of integrated learning,
critical reading, critical writing, and critical thinking that were used in this study.
1.

Integrated Learning
Teachers used to teach the four main English skills (reading, listening,

writing, and speaking) separately in some classes. However, nowadays, many
people develop integrated strategy of English language teaching. Brown (2007, p.
285) indicates that “although the four language skills are treated separately as
described in the curriculum, there is a recent trend toward teaching language skills
integrative”. Moreover, he conceptualizes integrated strategy of English language
teaching by designing a class or course by applying a whole language approach.
For example, teachers used to teach reading as one skill that stand alone without
relate it with another skill. However, in integrated strategy, reading will be one of
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two or more interrelated skills in a class. It means that the teacher may integrate
reading with writing to develop an integrated learning.
Johnson (1982, p. 108), who also examines the integrated learning,
underlines that the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are connected
into integrative learning. Furthermore, he explains that when the students develop
one skill, they also develop another skill in integrated skills learning. It means that
in integrated learning, there are two or more skills that are developed. One skill is
related to another skill in the same topic at one time. Therefore, the learning
process will be effective because the learners can develop two skills or more in
one class.
The concept of integrated learning is also explored by Kolb and Kolb
(2008, p. 5) who conceptualize integrated learning as an idealized learning cycle.
Furthermore, they explain that in integrated learning, the learner learns the subject
actively by experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting continuously that is
related to the learning situation. It means that integrated learning is designed to
encourage students to be active learners. The learners should develop their
thinking skill in order to learn the subject critically. They also should learn by
doing so that they will understand the subject very well.
Integrated learning is also designed to help the learners learn in a holistic
way. It means that they will correlate the material in one skill to another one.
Therefore, the learning process will be effective because the learners will correlate
the material easily between two skills or more. The teacher can also organize the
classroom activities well because the teacher focuses on one topic.

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2.

Critical Reading
Critical reading becomes an important skill these days because it is useful

to analyze information in any text. Many researchers examine critical reading to
develop critical reading in education. Kurland (2000) defines critical reading as a
skill that discovers information and ideas described by the writer. He also states
that critical reading refers to a careful, active, reflective, and analytic reading.
Kurland (2000) gives clear understanding on critical reading, saying that critical
reading is reading skill that needs high skill to know the truth of any information.
A critical reader reads the text not only to get the written information but also to
discover information beyond the text. Hence, the reader should be an active reader
that analyzes the text deeply.
The concept of critical reading is also investigated by Wallace (2003, p.
69), who states that critical reading encourages learners to think about and analyze
the information in the text critically. Then, he explains that read the text critically
means that the learners are able to understand the context of the text with a wider
perspective connected to their critical understanding. Furthermore, Khabiri and
Pakzad (2012, p. 76) say that learners will get the chance to evaluate the context
they face in critical reading. From the study of critical reading by Wallace (2003)
and Khabiri and Pakzad (2012), it can be concluded that the critical readers need
to develop their critical thinking in order to criticize information described in the
text. It is important to develop critical thinking because it helps the reader to
analyze text in specific context. Critical thinking helps the reader to relate the
information in the text with broader information in the same context.

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The importance of critical thinking in reading is supported by Shannon
(1991, p. 519 as cited in Jongsma, 1991, p. 518), who views critical reading which
is helpful “for understanding one’s history and culture and their connection to
current social structure . . . and for fostering an activism toward equal
participation for all the decisions that affect and control our lives”. It means that
the reader should understand the former information to obtain the whole
understanding. The reader is not allowed to judge the truth of information only by
connect the information with the current situation. The reader should also connect
the former information with the current issue to analyze the issue.
In order to have good critical reading skill, some researchers suggest some
strategies or steps to read critically. Wallace and Wray (2011) indicate “a key
critical reading skill is that of identifying author’s underlying aims and agendas so
that the reader can take them into account in evaluation of the text” (p. 29).
Therefore, critical reader should be able to identify the aims of the text that are
written by the author. By identifying the aims of the writing, the critical reader
can understand the ideas described in the text. Moreover, Wallace and Wray
(2011) also suggest critical readers to evaluate what they have read by
“identifying author’s arguments and judging the adequacy of the backing they
offer for their claims” (p. 30). It means that the reader should think about the
arguments developed by the writer. The reader should analyze the author’s
arguments in order to evaluate the reliability of the writing.
Daiek and Anter (2004) also propose that critical reader should identify
and evaluate argument of the text. Identifying arguments allow the reader “to

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understand the framework of a piece of writing and see how its ideas are
connected to one another” (p. 399). By identifying arguments, the reader will see
how the writer organizes the ideas of the text so that the reader can understand the
whole meaning of the text. In addition, identifying arguments also helps the
readers to notice the connection of ideas within the text.
Then, after identifying arguments, the readers should evaluate the
arguments. In evaluating arguments, the readers can apply some strategies. Daiek
and Anter (2004, p. 412) recommend the strategies: determine dependability,
distinguish facts from opinions, and detect fallacies. By applying those strategies,
the readers can evaluate the validity of the arguments made by the writer. Then,
the readers can decide the reliability of the information.
3.

Critical Writing
Wrobleski (2007, p. 1) defines critical writing as a skill that makes the

writer to be active in order to comprehend the topic well so that the writer can
write an objective paper. It means that the writer has to understand the topic well
first. To understand the topic well, the writer should gather a lot of information on
specific topic so that the writer has enough references. Furthermore, by
understanding the topic well, the writer will write a good writing because the
writer can develop the writer’s arguments very well based on the writer’s research
on the topic. In addition, to have good critical writing skill, the writer should
develop critical thinking to write convincing arguments. It is important to develop
critical thinking in critical writing because critical thinking is used to write fair
claim so that the writer will not be subjective.

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Before the writer begins to write, the writer should apply some strategies
in prewriting. According to Dietsch (2006) states that strategies in prewriting are
brainstorming, clustering, questioning, and keeping a journal. Brainstorming is
important “to find a topic for a paper, to narrow a topic, and to find supporting
details” (p. 40). After brainstorming, the writer should make cluster. Clustering is
“uncensored brainstorming combined with doodling” (p. 40). It means that the
writer writes some supportive points related to the topic to make mind map of the
topic. The next strategy, questioning, enables the writer to “take notes on
significant incident or event and transform them into an essay” (p. 41). The last
strategy, keeping a journal, helps the writer to have ideas for writing that can be
used in the future. Additionally, a journal is “useful for recording observations,
impressions, reactions to a piece of literature, or incidents” (p. 42). Therefore,
journal helps the writer to develop ideas of a topic.
Moreover, to write effective arguments, Seyler (2008, p. 233) proposes
some steps in critical writing. The steps are knowing the audience, understanding
the writing purpose, moving from topic to claim to possible support, drafting the
argument, and revising the draft. Knowing the audience helps the writer to
develop the best defense of his/her claim and to introduce the topic well. Then, the
writer should understand the writing purpose to develop different types of
arguments.
After knowing the audience and understanding the writing purpose, the
writer should move from topic to claim to possible support. It means that the
writer should understand the topic to make a claim. After the writer made a claim,

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the writer should present logical arguments to support the writer’s claim. Then,
the last two steps in critical writing, drafting the argument and revising the draft,
are similar to the steps in general writing. Drafting the argument helps the writer
organize the arguments in the writing. Finally, the writer should reflect on the
draft to revise the draft.
4.

Critical Thinking
Critical thinking as the base of critical reading and writing is the high level

of thinking. Critical thinking is very important for college students to help them
criticize other’s works. The importance of critical thinking is strengthened by Yen
(2011, p. 41), who states that university students should develop their critical
literacy as the fundamental value to improve their social ability in their own
society at the university and at their society in the future. By developing critical
thinking, students can have extensive knowledge because they learn to analyze
any issue. The extensive knowledge will be useful for them to discuss current
issues.
Freire (1991, p. 142) also indicates the importance of critical thinking
especially in reading and writing course because critical thinking helps learners to
obtain critical understanding in order to make them to be aware of the current
issues and relate the current issues to the words within others’ writing. It can be
concluded that critical thinking helps students to understand and analyze current
issues. Moreover, critical thinking helps students to decide whether the
information of any issue is valid or not.

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B. Theoretical Framework
In this section, the writer would like to present the relation between the
theories described in the previous section with this research. The theories support
this research and help the writer to solve the research problems.
The theory of integrated learning by Johnson (1982, p. 108) is used to
analyze the learning activities in the class during the observation. This theory is
used in this research because integrated learning is different from the common
method used in teaching learning process. The teacher used to teach basic skills
separately. However, integrated learning is designed to help the students learn
effectively. It is because integrated learning means that the students learn in a
holistic way. Therefore, the researcher used this theory to measure the integrated
learning strategy applied in the class.
The theory of critical reading proposed by Wallace (2003, p. 69) is used to
define critical reading. Critical reading means that reading the text to get more
information than the information written in the text. This theory is used to
compare the concept of critical reading with the condition in “Critical Reading
and Writing 2” Class in the English Language Education Study Program, Sanata
Dharma University. Furthermore, by understanding the concept of critical reading,
the researcher would find out the implementation of the concept in “Critical
Reading and Writing 2” Class and the influence to the students.
The next theory, critical writing, is also important in this research. The
theory of critical writing by Wrobleski (2007, p. 1) is also used to compare the
concept of critical writing with the condition in “Critical Reading and Writing 2”

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Class in the English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma
University. Then, the researcher can identify the influence of writing activities on
students’ critical thinking in writing.
Then, the theory of critical thinking by Freire (1991, p. 142) is used to
analyze the students’ critical thinking in reading and writing. By understanding
the concept of critical thinking, the research can see the development of students’
critical thinking in the class.

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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research method of the study. It consists of the
research method, the research setting, the research participants, the instruments
and data gathering technique, the data analysis technique, and the research
procedure.

A. Research Method
This research was qualitative research since it focuses on understanding
social phenomena from the perspective of the human participants in the study
(Ary et al, 2002, p. 22). In this study, the researcher tried to find out the influences
of learning activities on students’ critical reading and writing skills from the
students’ experience. This research also belonged to descriptive research since the
data were gathered and analyzed deeply. According to Best (1977, p. 70), the
descriptive

research

involves

the

description,

recording,

analysis,

and

interpretation of conditions that now exist. In this study, the researcher did not
present the data in raw but in depth-analysis.
Moreover, the approach employed in this study was survey. According to
Wiersma (1995), surveys are used to “measure attitudes, opinion, or
achievements---any number of variables in natural settings” (p. 169). It was
appropriate with this research which was conducted in a natural setting, in
“Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class. The researcher conducted the research
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during the teaching learning process. During collecting the data, the researcher did
not manipulate the situation in the class. Furthermore, Wiersma (1995) stated that
“data analyses can be quantified but qualitative description may also be done” (p.
177). For this research, the researcher used qualitative analysis to answer the
research problems well. However, the researcher used the quantitative data to
support the qualitative analysis.
In addition, Singh (2006) maintained that survey concerning with
“conditions or relationships that exist, practices that prevail, beliefs, points of
view or attitudes that are held, processes that are going on, influences that are
being felt, and trends that are developing” (p. 102). It meant that this research was
included in survey because the researcher would like to find out the influences of
learning activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” class. Furthermore, the
researcher would like to find out the influences on students’ critical reading and
writing skills.
This research was a survey because this research had characteristics of
survey. There are three major characteristics of survey based on Fraenkel and
Wallen (2008, p. 445): information is collected from a group of people, the main
way in which the information is collected is through asking questions, and
information is collected from a sample. In conducting the research, the researcher
collected the data from students in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class D and
E. Moreover, the researcher observed the learning activities in the class to answer
the first research problem. Then, the researcher also collected the data by
questionnaire to answer the second research problem.

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B. Research Setting
The research was conducted in even semester of Academic Year
2012/2013. Moreover, the researcher gathered the data in April-May 2013. This
research took place in Sanata Dharma University because the researcher carried
out the research in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class, a subject in the
English Language Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University. In
addition, the researcher collected the data in Class D and Class E of “Critical
Reading and Writing 2” classes.

C. Research Participants
The total participants of the research were 49 students from Class D and
Class E. Class D consisted of 25 students and Class E consisted of 24 students.
Moreover, Class D consisted of 15 female students and 10 male students. Class E
consisted of 16 female students and 8 male students. The students who were
taking “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class passed “Critical Reading and
Writing 1” class as the prerequisite subject.
The method of sampling used in this research was cluster sampling. The
cluster sampling was used to choose the participants because the researcher
collected the data from groups of students in “Critical Reading and Writing 2”
Class D and Class E rather than chose some students from one class. Then, the
researcher chose two classes randomly out of five classes. Therefore, any class of
“Critical Reading and Writing 2” Classes had chance to be the participants.

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However, the researcher chose Class D and Class E because the schedule of the
classes was suitable with the researcher’s schedule.

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
There were two instruments employed in this research. The instruments
were observation checklist and questionnaire. The observation checklist was
employed to answer the first research problem. Then, the questionnaire was
employed to answer the second research problem.
1.

Observation Checklist
The observation checklist was employed as the instrument to gather the

data by observation. The researcher used the observation checklist to observe the
learning activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2” Class D and Class E. the
researcher observed the two classes twice for each class. The use of the
observation checklist was to answer the first research problem, how the learning
activities in “Critical Reading and Writing 2�