4 number of related composite picture linked to form a series of sequences. Hence,
its main function is to tell a story or sequence of events.
”
Because picture series contain a story or a sequence of events, they can help students to generate and
develop their ideas. They also can help the students to organize their writing as they consist of a series of pictures that can help them to see the steps and the
order. They will help the students to develop their imagination and integrate their paragraphs to produce coherent and well organized writing.
Considering the problems above and the advantages of using picture series to improve the
students’ writing ability, it is necessary to conduct research on improving the writing ability of the students of SMPNegeri 2 Wonosari by
using picture series.
B. Identification of the Problem
Based on the result of the observation conducted in SMPN 2 Wonosari on January 22
nd
, 2014, there were four problems faced by Grade VIIID students in learning writing.
The first problem is the difficulty of generating ideas. The students had difficulties in it. The idea was one of the very important aspects in writing. The
writers’ ideas were reflected in the content of their writing so to make a good writing, students had to be able to generate and develop their ideas. Meanwhile,
many of the students of class VIII D found it difficult to find the ideas in writing their story. They often felt confused at what to write and needed a long time to
5 generate the ideas. The difficulty of generating the idea was also shown in the
result of their writing where they could only write some sentences without fully developed the content of their writing.
The second problem is about the organization of the text. The students had difficulties in organizing their writing. The organization of the text was one of
the important aspects that had to be paid attention to make a good piece of writing. The students had to be able to make a coherence, cohesive, and well-
organized text. Based on the result of the observation, they had difficulties in writing well-organized writing. Many of them were not able to organize their
ideas in logical order so their writing was not cohesive and coherent. The third problem is in terms of grammar and vocabulary. Grammar and
vocabulary were very important to express the students’ ideas into a readable text.
However, the students found it difficult to apply the appropriate grammar in their writing. In the observation, they were asked to write a recount text but many of
them still used the present tense in their writing. Meanwhile, in term of vocabulary, the students had limited vocabulary mastery. They also had
difficulties to choose the appropriate words for a certain context in their writing. The fourth problem is related to the media used in the teaching and
learning process. T he media that were used could not attract the students’
attention and made them less motivated in learning English. In fact, media were very useful
to bridge the teacher’s explanation to the students and make the teaching and learning process more interesting.
6 In short, many problems were faced by the students in learning writing
which were also became obstacles for them to be able to produce a good writing. Based on these problems, the researcher decided to conduct a classroom action
research to overcome the problems. She proposed to use picture series as media in teaching writing as they could help the students generate and organize their ideas.
C. Limitation of the Problem
Related to the actions, the researcher limited the space, the time, and the topic of the research. She chose one class of grade VIII. The class was Class D.
The research was conducted in two cycles during semester 2 in the academic year of 20132014. The text taught in this research was a narrative text containing two
main topics. The topics were Stories from Other Countries and My country’s Folk
Tales. The researcher believed that there are many media that can be used to
solve the problems. In this case, she proposed to use picture series as the teaching aid in teaching writing. The reason why she chose them is because they give the
detail of the events of each picture. They can help the students to generate their ideas by looking at the pictures. They also can help the students to organize their
writing as they can see the order from the pictures. They are also attractive visual media that can attract the students’ attention. Implementing picture series was
hoped to improve the students’ writing ability.
7
D. Formulation of the Problem
Based on the identification of the problem and the limitation of the problem presented above, the research question can be formulated in this
question. How can picture series be used to improve the writing ability of the eighth grade students at SMPN 2 Wonosari?
E. The Objective of the Study
Related to the formulation of the problem, the aim of the study is to improve the writing ability of the eighth grade students at SMPN 2 Wonosari by
using picture series.
F. Significance of the Study
1. For English teachers of SMPN 2 Wonosari
The research can be used as a reference for teachers in selecting appropriate media in teaching writing in order to improve
the students’ writing ability.
2. For the students of Grade VIII in SMPN 2 Wonosari
The result of the research can be used to give the students new experience and motivation to help them to improve their writing ability.
3. For further research
This study can be a useful source for other researchers who conduct research on using picture series to improve the writing skill or other skills.
