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Definition of terms
This research has the title as “the implementation of weekly diary to improve students‟ writing abilities of VIII D in SMPN 1 Wungu in a recount text”
using classroom action research.
1. Classroom Action Research
Schmuck 1997 describes action research as “an attempt to study a real school situation with a view to improve the quality of actions and results within
it” as cited in Schmidt, 2002, p. 1. Parson Brown 2002 add that “the clear strength of action research is that it is reflective and collaborative and that it can
ultimately lead to improvements in educational practice ”. It means that this type
of research was appropriate to help the researcher to find the answer of the problem formulation.
There are some types of classroom action research. In this research, the researcher used
Margaret Riel‟s 2007 action research to solve the problem of students of class VIII D of SMPN 1 Wungu. The cycles consisted of planning,
taking action, collecting evidence, and reflecting.
2. Writing
According to Lingulinks 1999, writing is “specific abilities which help
researchers to put their thoughts into words in a meaningful form and to mentally interact with the message
” as cited in Khomariah, 2012, p. 20. Hampton 1989, p.1 also divides writing skills in three kinds. They are :
- Comprehensibility skills for writing include understanding that writing is
communicating messages or information.
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- Content skills for writing include recognizing the linear sequence of
sounds, mastering writing motions and letter shapes, recognizing the chunking of words, recognizing the need for space between words
- writing quickly
- Creativity skills for writing include the ability to write freely anything the
learner wants to write. In this research, the researcher worked in writing text, especially the
recount text. The students produced their writing in the form of a recount text through the weekly diary assignment.
3. Weekly Diary
According to Tatum 2003, diary is A diary, or journal, is a permanent personal record that is kept of events,
thoughts, and ideas associated with an individual. While some cultures think of diaries as being mainly a female pastime, the fact is that journaling
or keeping a diary is an activity that people of both genders engage in regularly p. 1.
From the explanation above, the diary is the same as journal which can help people to keep their memories in a written form. That is an uncommon way
to attract the students ‟ attention to write. Both male or female students can
conduct this assignment. Besides, the form of diary assignment is appropriate to tell the
students‟ past experiences in the form of a recount text. People usually use a diary as the media to write their past experiences.
Th e students‟ diaries would be submitted twice a week followed by the
teachers‟ feedback. According to Irons 2010, feedback is “information a student receives after they have completed a piece of work and can be provided in a range
o f formats”p. 1. This research would help the students of VIII D to improve their
writing abilities in the recount text.
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The researcher hoped that this strategy could motivate them to have some good willingness to write better. The improvement would appear from their
diaries week by week.
4. Recount Text
