2. The Story-mapping Technique
a. Definition
Pre writing is a very important step in writing. In this step, the writer has to gather ideas and decide the plot that he wants to apply in the story.
The writer has to make the outline first and arrange the outline based on the plot that they want to develop. As Gerrold 2001 stated that all writing is
list-making, nothing more. The trick is knowing what to put next on the list. It is can be implied that in developing the plot of the story was in some way
similar to the act of writing a list. A story map could be viewed as a visual depiction of the settings or the sequence of major events and actions of story
characters with the aim of enabling students to relate story events and to perceive structure in literary selections. The Story Map interactive includes
a set of graphic organizers designed to assist teachers and students in prewriting and post reading activities. Li 2007 noted that a story map is a
graphic organizer used to identify the main elements of the story and categorize the main events in sequential order. After completing individual
sections or the entire organizer, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment.
Figure 1: An example of a story map b.
Advantages of the story-mapping technique
The story-mapping technique can be used to improve the students’ writing ability by enabling them to visualize story characters, events, and
setting. It can be used with both fiction i.e., defining characters; events and nonfiction i.e., main ideas; details. Furthermore, the technique could be
used to increase students’ awareness that story characters and events are interrelated. The story map question provided by the teacher also can
provoke the student’s imagination so that they can produce a good text.
Story maps can be used with the entire class, small groups, or for individual work. The use of story maps as a comprehension strategy can be
beneficial for all students, and are especially helpful for students needing the additional support of a graphic organizer.
B.
Relevant Studies
There are some relevant studies related to the use of the story-mapping technique in improving students’ writing ability. The first is a study conducted
by Daqi Li. He studies the effect of story mapping and story map questions on the story writing performance of students with learning disabilities. He conducts
the research to four 4th andor 5th grade students with learning disabilities from two elementary schools in Texas. The aims of this study is to know what is the
effect of the instructional strategy of using story maps and story map questions on the fluency of story writing by students with learning disabilities. The finding
of the research shows that the strategy of story mapping and story map questions was effective in increasing the story writing fluency of three of the four subjects
in the study. Following the intervention of the strategy, the three subjects were able to produce longer stories than before.
The second is a study conducted by Salem Saleh Khalaf Ibnian on a research entitled The Effect of Using the Story- Mapping Technique on
Developing Tenth Grade Students’ Short Story Writing Skills in EFL. His study attempted to answer the following questions: What are the short story writing
skills needed for tenth grade students in EFL And what is the effect of the using the story-mapping technique on developing tenth grade students’ short story
writing skills in EFL. This study is an experimental study conducted in Jordan which use 84 tenth grade male students as sample classified into four classes,
two served as an experimental group and the other ones as control. The result of this research proved that the story-mapping technique had a positive effect
on developing Jordanian tenth grade students short story writing skills in terms of content and organization, mechanics of writing, language use as well as in
skills emerged from creative abilities fluency, flexibility, novelty and elaboration.
From the study above, it can be concluded that the story-mapping technique has an effect on improving the students’ writing ability, either on
normal students, or on the students with learning disabilities. So, I believe that the story-mapping technique can be regarded as an effective way to improve
students’ writing ability.
C. Conceptual Framework
This study begins with the problem that occurs in English teaching and writing process. The problem is the low writing ability of the students grade
VIII in SMP N 2 Gamping. Review of related theories has been presented above as references for dealing with the problem. This section then will present
the conceptual framework of the research study. The low writing ability of the students grade VIII in SMP N 2 Gamping
is affected by many factors. One of the factor is the teaching technique. There
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