Background of the Study

D. Formulation of the Problems

This research has formulated the problems as follows: 1. What are the needs of the tenth grade students of SMA PIRI 1 Yogyakarta for improving their writing skills based on the Genre-Based approach? 2. How are the writing materials based on Genre-Based approach which are suitable for the tenth grade students of SMA PIRI 1 Yogyakarta developed?

E. Objectives of the Study

In order to overcome the problems formulated above, this study intends: 1. to identify the needs of the tenth grade students of SMA PIRI 1 Yogyakarta for the suitable writing materials through the Genre-Based approach, and 2. to develop the English writing materials which are suitable with the Genre- Based approach for the tenth grade students of SMA PIRI 1 Yogyakarta.

F. Significances of the Study

The study is expected to have significant contribution theoretically and practically for: 1. The tenth grade students of senior high schools The results of this research are aimed at providing useful inputs for students to have more practice in writing. 2. The teachers of senior high school The results of this research are expected to be one of the resources to inspire teachers of senior high schools in developing appropriate materials for their students in order to improve their English teaching and learning process. 3. Course designers or materials developers The results of this research are of great use for course designers or materials developers in developing specific materials that meet students’ needs. 4. Other researchers The results of this research can be used as a reference for other researchers to conduct a similar study but in different focus discussion. 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Review

1. Writing

a. The Definitions of Writing Writing is one of language skills which are kind of productive skills. It has crucial functions for communication in daily life. That is why this skill is important to be learnt. There are some definitions of writing by experts. Based on the Oxford Advance d Learner’s Dictionary Hornby, 1995: 1383, writing is the activity or occupation of writing e.g. books, stories, or articles. As Heffernan and Lincoln 1986:3 states, writing is a mean of communication. It can be said that people can exchange information through written forms. The examples of real communication in written forms are public signs, instructions, newspaper, magazines, brochures, and so on. In line with this statement, Raimes 1983: 11 states that writing means a connected text and not just a single sentence, which writers write for a purpose and a reader. It is clearly shown that writing is connecting some sentences into a text. Writers, of course, have some purposes in writing the text that is to communicate with readers. That is why each sentence has its own meaning which functions to deliver messages. Bell and Burnaby in Nunan 1989: 36 point out that writing is an extremely complex cognitive activity in which the writer is required to demonstrate control of a number of variables stimultaneously in a sentence level.