WRITING 1 1. Credit
: 1
2. Description : This course aims to help the students to develop their ability
to write grammatically acceptable sentences and to write simple passages
3. General Objectives
: The students are able to:
a. write grammatically acceptable sentences b. use punctuation correctly
c. write simple passages
4. Course Progress
:
No Course Objectives
Topics CH
1 The students are able to write sentences with
complete sentence elements subject, predicate, and other necessary elements.
Sentence 1
2 The students are able to write sentences with a
correct choice of tense. Assignment 1: The students are to write a short passage about
themselves personal identity, family, high school, and hometown.
Tense 1
3 The students are able to write sentences with a
correct article determiner before a common noun. Peer evaluation
: the students are to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on their biography.
Article and Deterniner
1
4 The students are able to write sentences with a
correct from personal pronouns. Assignment 2: the students are to write an unforgettable
experience which they had. Personal
Pronoun 1
5 The students are able to write verbal yesno and
pronominal wh-word questions. Peer evaluation
: the students are to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on unforgettable experiences.
Question 1
6 The students are able to write sentences with noun
phrases which contain two or more modifiers. Noun
Modification 1
7 The students are able to write sentences with
correct auxiliary verbs. Peer evaluation: the
students are to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on college life.
Auxiliary Verb 1
8 The students evaluate their progress in the first
half of the semester according to the work they have done and their classmates‟ evaluation and set
the grade they deserve to get based on the evaluation.
Mid-Term 1
9 The students are able to write sentences in the
perfect and progressive continuous aspects. Assignment 4
: the students are to write about their ideal figure of wife, teacher, lecturer, politician,
doctor, or any other occupation. Perfect
Continuous 1
Figure 2.2. Syllabus of Writing 1 course The web-based learning is implemented by advantaging the ELTGallery website.
The electronic course aims to help English students develop their ability to write grammatically acceptable sentences and to write simple passages. The web-based
writing class follows such typical web-based writing class as suggested by Ferris and Hedgcock 2005. According to Dwijatmoko 2014, the course interaction is
mostly conducted via the Internet. All the students, however, are supposed to come in the multi-media lab completed with an Internet connection for in-class
meeting. The class activities include discussion, individual work, and peer evaluation. Further, as the class is learner-centered, the lecturer basically functions
as the facilitator, who monitors, supervises, and assists the students during the learning process. The
students‟ final grades are determined by their grammar identification practice 25, passage writing 40, sentence writing 20, and
10 The students are able to write compound and
complex sentences. Peer evaluation: the students
are to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on ideal figures.
Compound Complex
Sentence 1
11 The students are able to write sentences with
relative clauses. Assignment 5: the students are to write about the job they desire to get after finish
their study. Relative Clause
1
12 The students are able to write sentences with
nominal clauses. Peer evaluation: the students are
to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on desired job,
Nominal Clause 1
13 The students are able to write sentences in the
passive voice. Assignment 6: the students are to write on any topic of their interest.
Passive Voice 1
14 The students are able to identify grammatically
acceptable and unacceptable sentences. Peer evaluation
: the students are to evaluate their classmates‟ passage on personal interest.
Sentence Grammaticality
1
15 The students evaluate their achievement
throughout the semester according to the work they have done and their classmates‟ evaluation and set
the grade they deserve to get for the course. Final Test
1
peer sentence correction 15. The grammar identification practice score is calculated based on the number of topics done and the score they got. Figure 2.3
shows the classroom situation of Sentence Writing class. Within the electronic course, the students can study the explanation on the
grammatical item provided, write sentences to show their understanding of the grammatical
item, comment their classmates‟ sentences, and review the sentences which their classmates have commented. As also explained by Dwijatmoko
2014, the series of activities of writing, commenting, and reviewing which the students do frequently develop their awareness of the features of the grammatical
item and, thus, their grammatical skill.
Figure 2.3. Sentence Writing Classroom Situation Besides writing sentences, the students also have to write passages on
topics which they are familiar with and which requires them to use the
grammatical items they are learning. According to Dwijatmoko 2014, the activity is meant to give the students more practice on the understanding and use
of the grammatical items. They are required to use the grammatical items, consciously or subconsciously, in a wider context. Besides, they have to think of
the previous and following sentences every time they write a sentence. The students also learn how to use the punctuation marks correctly to make the
sentences more acceptable and understandable. In relation to writing a passage, the students are also required to give
comments on two passages on each topic. They give comments on the grammar, punctuation, and content according to the rubric which is provided. As suggested
by Dwijatmoko 2014, the practice develops the students‟ awareness on the use
of the grammatical items, the use of the punctuation marks, and the development of an idea in a passage. The comments on the passage which the students have
written are also useful for them. The students know how well they have mastered the grammatical items, the skill to the punctuation marks, and the skill to write a
passage. Accordingly, when they have to write their next assignment, they can do that well.
As an electronic class, Sentence Writing also develops the students
‟ autonomy and social awareness Dwijatmoko 2014. As all the work of the
students is recorded well and the statistics are provided, the students know how well they have performed on a unit lesson. The students also know how to get a
better result and are aware that if they do not complete what they need to do, they will not get a good result. The students also know that they will not succeed
without their classmates comments. From here, they know that they need their classmates to succeed, and thus, cooperation is needed.
b. Features by ELTGallery
ELTGallery is a website used mainly by the English Letters at Sanata Dharma University to conduct electronic courses, mainly about writing, such as
Sentence Writing and Paragraph Writing. The website can be accessed by visiting www.ELTGallery.com. Students must register first to the course that they should
take either Sentence Writing or Paragraph Writing and get a username and password before they can start the learning activities. Figure 2.4 shows the
homepage of ELTGallery.
Figure 2.4. ELTGallery ‟s homepage
As a website that caters the learning processes of Sentence Writing course, ELTGallery is equipped with a number of features that can help students learn
throughout the semester. They include topic selection, topic explanation, sentence writing, check-revise sentence, passage writing, sentence review, passage review,
personal page, peer comment, peer revision, progress record, grammar materials, and the new grammar practices feature.
1 Topic selection
The students have to always select a particular topic first and then submit the selection by clicking the submit button, below the topic table before using
the other features provided by ELTGallery for Sentence Writing class. Figure 2.5 displays the page once the students enter Sentence Writing and shows the topic
selection.
Figure 2.5. Topic selection for Sentence Writing The
topic selection page provides links for uploading the students‟ picture, displaying syllabus, and reviewing the use of punctuation. It also gives a brief
explanation on how to write a passage. Below the explanation is a table containing
topics and themes discussed in the course, the instructions for sentence and paragraph writing tasks as well as the deadlines for each task. There are 12 topics
throughout the semester, namely sentence, tense, article and determiner, personal pronoun, question, noun modification, auxiliary verb, perfect and continuous,
compound and complex sentence, relative clause, nominal clause, passive voice, and last, sentence grammaticality. After selecting the particular topic they are
going to work on, the students can choose the other features to do the activities. Figure 2.6 shows the menu for Sentence Writing class.
Figure 2.6. Sentence Writing class menu The menu for the Sentence Writing class include select topics, as already
explained above, check correctness, write sentences, check-revise sentences, review sentences, read other sentences, comment sentences, write passage, review
passage, read passages, comment passages, view personal pages, and check
records. The details about these features will be explained specifically in the next points in this subsection.
2 Topic explanation
Topic explanation contains a brief account of each topic, mostly about grammar, accompanied by examples. Figure 2.7 is a snapshot of an explanation
on the topic „Tense‟.
Figure 2.7. Topic explanation The topic explanation feature is available once the students submit a selected
topic. This is meant so that the students can always review about the topic before doing the grammar exercise or writing sentences as well as a passage.
3 Grammar practice
Grammar practice is the new feature in ELTGallery. It is a true-false sentence exercise that aims to help the students develop their grammatical skills.
Figure 2.8 shows a sample of a grammar practice on the topic „Sentence‟.
Figure 2.8. Grammar Practice For each topic, there are three sets of grammar practice. The sets can be accessed
through the option “Check Correctness” on the Sentence Writing menu, or clicking the “Check sentences” and “Check sentence grammaticality” links below
each topic explanation. In each set, there are 50 sentences on which the students have to identify as true or false by just clicking the dot under the letters T or F.
4 Sentence Writing
The sentence writing feature allows the students to create their own sentences as a follow up activity of the grammar practice. It can be accessed by
clicking the “Write Sentences” menu. Later on, the sentences that the students
have made are reviewed by the teachers or peers. Figure 2.9 is a sample of the
feature on the topic “Sentence”.
Figure 2.9. Writing Sentences Before the students can work with this feature, they have to make sure that
they score at least 7.0 for the grammar practice. Later on, the sentences that the students have made are reviewed by the teachers or peers
5 Check-revise sentence
This feature allows the students to check and revise the sentences that they have submitted as seen in Figure 2.10 below.
Figure 2.10. Check and revise sentences The “Check – revise sentences” is also available in the Sentence Writing menu.
By advantaging this feature, the students expectedly can correct the mistakes they might have done when creating sentences and thus improve their sentences.
6 Passage Writing
The passage writing feature allows the students to create their own passages as a follow up activity of the grammar practice. It can be accessed by
clicking the “Write Passages” menu. Later on, the passages that the students have made are reviewed by the teachers or peers. Figure 2.11 shows selections on the
passage that the students are going to write.
Figure 2.11. Passage Writing Selection Once the students selected the topic for the passage, the students are provided
with a box to write their passage. Figure 2.12 below displays the passage writing feature on the topic “Personal Identity”.
Figure 2.12. Passage Writing After they finished writing the passage, they can submit their work. Later on, the
teacher or peers will give comment and grammatical checks on the passage. 7
Sentence review This feature allows the students to read all sentences that they have written
as can be seen in Figure 2.13 below.
Figure 2.13. Sentence Review It can be accessed by clicking the “Review Sentences” menu. By using this
feature, the students can evaluate their progress in writing sentences. 8
Passage review This feature allows the students to read all passages that they have written
as can be seen in Figure 2.14 below.
Figure 2.14. Passage Review It can be accessed by cli
cking the “Review Passages” menu. By advantaging this feature, the students can monitor their own progress in writing passages.
9 Personal page
This feature enables the students to upload picture and view their personal as well as ot
her students‟ pages. Figure 2.15 displays a snapshot of the feature.
Figure 2.15. Personal Page It can be accessed by clicking the “View personal pages” menu. This feature can
also show the students‟ passages put together according to each own personal account.
10 Sentence comment
This feature allows the students to give comments on their peers‟ sentences as can be seen in Figure 2.16 below. It can be accessed by clicking the
“Comment sentences” menu.
Figure 2.16. Sentence Comment First, the students have to choose a student‟s name whose work is going to be
given comment. Then, they can comment on their classmate‟s sentence in the
space provided. Besides giving comments, they can also correct their friends‟
sentences if the sentences are still incorrect. 11
Passage comment This f
eature enables the students to give comments on their peers‟ sentences as can be seen in Figure 2.17 below. It can be accessed by clicking the
“Comment passages” menu.
Figure 2.17. Passage Comment Here, the students can give corrections to their
students‟ passages using the marking symbols provided, rate the work, as well as comment on it.
12 Progress record
This feature helps the students to see their participation in the class as can be seen in Figure 2.18 below. It can be accessed by clicking the
“Check Records” menu.
Figure 2.18. Progress Record By this feature, students can check the number of sentences they have written so
far, the number of sentences rated as good by their peers, and the number of comments and corrections they have given so far.
All of the features are designed to facilitate the online teaching and learning process. By advantaging the features, students can do the class activities,
including writing, commenting, and reviewing easier. They can also see and evaluate their own progress by checking out the recorded statistics, works, and
comments.
5. Sentence Writing Class’ Students
The students of Sentence Writing class are the first year undergraduate students of English Letters at Sanata Dharma University. Thus, the students are
characterized into adult learners. Within second-language writers context, according to Weigle 2002: 10-11, such students are grouped into adult-learners
with the need of academic “educated” writing skills. Therefore, the goals of their
learning writing are for pursuing advanced subject matter degree in a second language environment as well as for personal improvement educational and or
job enhancement and or interest. Consequently, they will need to write across all three levels of cognitive processing, which are writing to inform, writing to
organize information, and writing for knowledge transforming. Within such writing needs
, students‟ success in mastering the basic skills of sentence and passage writing really determines their further learning of writing skill for more
advanced academic purposes. In addition, Harmer 2007 suggests some characteristics of adult learners;
in that, they can engage with abstract concept, have many life experiences to draw on,
“have expectations about the learning process and already have their own set patterns of learning
”, tend to be more disciplined than other age groups, have rich range of experiences to engage with various learning activities, and
“have a clear understanding of why they are learning and what they want to get out of it
” p.84. Such characteristics expectedly enable the students to engage in various learning
environments, including a CALL environment, such a web-based class, for learning writing.
6. Review of Related Studies
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