Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree in English Language Studies
ACADEMIC WRITING EXPERIENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree
in English Language Studies
by
ISTA MAHARSI
Student Number: 056332006
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
A THESIS
ACADEMIC WRITING EXPERIENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
by
ISTA MAHARSI
Student Number: 056332006
Approved by
Dr. J. Bismoko August 1, 2007
Advisor
A THESIS
ACADEMIC WRITING EXPERIENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
Presented by
ISTA MAHARSI
Student Number: 056332006
Defended before the Thesis Committee
and declared acceptable.
THESIS COMMITTEE
Chairperson : DR. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A. _________________ Secretary : DR. F.X. Mukarto, M.S. _________________ Members : 1. DR. J. Bismoko _________________ : 2. DR. Retno Muljani, M.Pd. _________________Yogyakarta, September 29, 2007
The Graduate Program Director
Sanata Dharma University Dr. F.X. Baskara Tulus Wardaya, S.J.STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that all ideas, phrases, sentences, unless otherwise stated, are
the ideas, phrases, and sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the
full consequences including degree cancellation if she took somebody else's ideas,
phrases, or sentences without proper references.Yogyakarta, August 1, 2007 Ista Maharsi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my Supervisor, DR. J. Bismoko, for his much-appreciated assistance and encouragement during my study and the writing of this thesis. I am also grateful to all Master Program lecturers at Sanata Dharma University: DR. B.B. Dwijatmoko, M.A., DR. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., DR. Retno Muljani, M.Pd., DR. Novita Dewi, M.A., and Dra. Sri Mulyani, M.A.
A particular thank to Ir. Ira Promasanti, M.Eng.Sc. and Ir. Agus Mansur, M.Eng.Sc. for their fruitful collaboration and valuable assistance throughout the writing of this thesis. My profound gratitude goes to Mbak Diana, the International Program’s secretary for her assistance and kindness.
I am deeply indebted to my research participants and all students of International Program of Industrial Technology UII for their willingness and very much appreciated help without which this thesis would never be completed. Thank you very much.
I would like to thank my beloved husband for his endless encouragement and valuable comments on my writing. He is always the one who loves me, guides me, supports me and teaches me to become a better person. I also thank my cute son, Muhammad Aulia Rahman and my sweet daughter, Nahla Sania Ulya. You have been so wonderful children to me and always become the spirit of my life.
I am grateful to my beloved father Bapak Sukahar, my mother Ibu Sutitah, for their love and care. For my Mom, thank you for all your prayers. I could never repay what you have given to me. May Allah SWT always bless you and love you. My brothers, Kholis Annasir and Azharul Qomaru Al-Fajr, I am also grateful for any help that you give me. May Allah SWT also bless you forever.
I would like to thank to my colleagues at CILACS: Irma, Ratna, Ririn, Yusfa, Mia, Mey, Muti and all CILAXERS for the good time at CILACS and the sharing of frustrations and of the success. You are my truly friends and you have been fulfilling my days with joyful memories.
I also thank Slash, Dyah, Mbak Anis, Mbak Carla, Mbak Yanti and everyone at KBI Sanata Dharma for the lovely friendship, the happy and sad moment we shared together. It was wonderful to spend part of the time with all of you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
12 A. THEORETICAL REVIEW……………………………………….………
24 b. International Program of Industrial Technology……………….
21 5) Academic Writing Experience…………………………..
16 4) Experience……………………………………………….
13 1) Writing……………………………………...…….…..… 13 2) Academic Discourse…………………………..…...…… 15 3) Academic Writing…………………………..…….…..…
a. Academic Writing Experience…..…………………………..…
12
1. Construct……………………………………………………….……
12
10 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………..………..……
TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………... i APPROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………….… ii DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE…………………………………..…………… iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY…………………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..…………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………...……..… vii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………...…… x LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………..…… xi LIST OF BOXES………………………………………………………….…… xii LIST OF APPENDICES………………………………………………..……… xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………… xv ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………….…… xvii ABSTRAK……………………………………………………………….……. xviii
9 G. RESEARCH BENEFITS……………………………………………...…..
9 F. RESEARCH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES………………………….…..
8 E. RESEARCH QUESTION………………………………………….…..…
7 D. PROBLEM DELIMITATION……………………..…………….….……
5 C. PROBLEM LIMITATION………………………………………….……
B. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION………………………………….………
1 A. BACKGROUND…………………………………………….…………… 1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION………………………………………….……
25
1) Vision and Mission……………………………………..…
a. Unstructured Interview……………………………………..…
98
96 6) Feedback and Evaluation…………………………….…..
95 5) Editing……………………………………………………
84 4) Revising……………………………………………….….
82 3) Drafting………………………………………….……….
79 2) Planning………………………………………….….……
79 1) Pre-Writing……………………………………..………..
79 a. Process of Writing…………………………..…………..……..
78 1. Pre-figured Themes……………………………….………...…..…...
73 B. DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION………………………….……
69 4. Documents……………………………………………………….…. 72 5. Coding and Thematizing……………………………………….……
Observation ……..…………………………….……………….……
b. Structured Interview………………………………………..… 68 3.
67
65
26 2) Education Systems of International Program…….….……
64 2. In-depth Interview ………………………….…………………..…..
63 1. Preliminary Interview………………………………………………
60 CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS…………………………………….………….….. 63 A. DATA PRESENTATION ……………………………………………….
53 F. TECHNIQUE OF DATA ANALYSIS………...…………………….…..
52 E. DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE………………..……………….…
49 D. TYPES OF DATA AND DATA SOURCE……………………...….…...
41 B. SETTING………………………………………………………...…….… 47 C. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS……………………………………….….
41 A. RESEARCH DESIGN……………………………………………………
36 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY……………………………………..….….
B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……………………………………..…
2. Related Research………………….…………………………….….. 30
30
27 4) Management and Resources………………………………
26 3) Facilities and Learning Process……………………..……
b. Product of Writing………………………..…………………… 106
1) Task Type, Subject, Purpose, and Audience …………… 107 2) Style and Organization………………………….……… 113
2. Emergent Categories……………………………………….………. 116
a. Self (Current and Future)………………………………. 116
b. Resources/Learning Materials………………..………… 128
C. FINDINGS………………………………………………….……………. 134
D. OTHER FINDINGS………………………………………..…………….. 137
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATION 138 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………..….…. 138 A. IMPLICATION...………………………………………………………. 141 B. RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………… 143 C. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………….. 146 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………… 153
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6
Table 4.7 Research Construct Mapping………………………………………..Research Participants………………………………………………... Types and Sources of Data (adapted from Holliday Model, 2002)…. Data-Presentation Sample of Unstructured Interview with Ms. Rini... Data-Presentation Sample of Structured Interview with Ms. Nia…… Data-Observation Sample…………………………………………… Participant Diary Sample…………………………………………… Illustrated List of Codes…………………………………………….
Illustrated List of Emergent Themes……………………………….. Illustration of Further Coding……………………………………….
39
51
52
67
69
70
73
74
75
78
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Complexities of Problems……………………………………….…...21 Figure 2.2 International Program Education Systems (Panduan Akademik Fakultas Teknologi Industri)………………………………………..
28 Figure 3.1 Building a Picture of Researcher, Participants and the Context (adapted from Holliday Model, 2002)……………………………….
47 Figure 3.2 Types of Data …………………..………………………………….
59 Figure 3.3 Data Analysis………………………………………………………..
62 Figure 4.1 Initial Issues of Academic Writing of IP FTI……………………….
64
LIST OF BOXES
Box 4.1 Box 4.2 Box 4.3 Box 4.4 Box 4.5 Box 4.6 Box 4.7 Box 4.8 Ms. Indah’ Sample Writing Showing Unity and Coherence…………..
Mr. Wawan and Ms. Rini’s Sample Writing Showing Unity and Coherence…………………………………………………………..… Ms. Indah’s Sample of Field Work Report …………………………… Lecturer’s Correction on Ms. Rini’s Assignment……….......................
Field Work Report Sample of Ms. Indah……………………………… Ms. Nia’s Summary Assignment Sample……………………………… Ms. Rini’s Thesis Proposal Sample…………………………………….
Mr. Wawan’s Laboratory Report Sample……..……………………….
88
89
98 101 111 114 115 115
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A Letter of Reference from Sanata Dharma University………….. 153 Appendix B
1. Unstructured Interviews…………………………………….. 159
2. Structured Interviews………………………………………. 192
d. Ms. Indah……………………………………………. 202
System)………………………………………………. 218
b. Wawan’s Assignment (Laboratory Report)…………. 217
a. Wawan’s Assignment (Eng-English)……………….. 216
3. Ms. Irene-Mr.Anhar’s Class……………………………… 215 Appendix H Documents……………………………………………………….. 216 1.
2. Mr. Awan’s Class…………………………………………. 213
1. Mr. Imam’s Class………………………………………….. 211
e. Ms. Awan……………………………………………. 204 Appendix F Participant Journal/Diary……………………………………….. 209 Appendix G Observation Reports…………………………………………..…... 211
c. Ms. Rini…………………………………………… 199
1. Interview Question Blueprint for Student Participants….… 154
b. Ms. Nia……………………………………………… 195
a. Mr. Wawan…………………………………………. 192
g. Ms. Imam…………………………………………… 186
f. Ms. Awan…………………………………………… 181
e. Ms. Irene……………………………………………. 175
d. Ms. Indah……………………………………………. 172
c. Ms. Rini………………………………………………. 169
b. Ms. Nia……………………………………………….. 164
a. Mr. Wawan…………………………………………… 159
2. Interview Question Blueprint for Lecturer Participants…… 156 Appendix C Interview Protocol…....................................................................... 157 Appendix D Preliminary Interview with Ms. Irene……………………………. 158 Appendix E Interviews……………..…………………………………………. 159
2. Ms. Nia’s Assignment (MIS-Management Information
3.
a. Ms. Rini’s Assignment (Thesis Proposal)……………. 219
b. Ms. Rini’s Assignment Thesis Proposal)…………….. 220
c. Ms. Rini’s Assignment (FWR-Field Work Report)….. 221 4.
a. Ms. Indah’s Assignment (FWR-Field Work Report)… 222
b. Ms. Indah’s Assignment (TA-Thesis)………………… 223
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AUDI-LEC AUDI-PUB AMT CAD CAM DRFT-COH DRFT-F&O DRFT-CI DRFT-ORG DRFT-PURP DRFT-QPS DRFT-SD DRFT-UNTY EAP ESP EDIT-CAP EDIT-PUNC EDIT-SS ESP F&E T-CORR F&E-CC F&E-GRAM F&E-PEER CORR F&E-REFRM F&E-SELF EVAL FTI
IP KP MIS METOPEL PLAN PRE-BRAIN PRE-TOPIC PURP R3 R-Notes REV-ADD REV-ELIMNT REV-REARR SAP Struct STYL & ORG SUBJ TA TASK TY Unstruct
Audience Lecturer Audience Public Achievement Motivation Training Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing Drafting Coherence Drafting Facts and Opinions Drafting Controlling Ideas Drafting Organization Drafting Purpose Drafting Quotation, Paraphrase, Summary Drafting Supporting Details Drafting Unity English for Academic Purposes English for Specific Purposes Editing Capitalization Editing Punctuation Editing Sentence Structure English for Specific Purposes Feedback and Evaluation Teacher Correction Feedback and Evaluation Correcting Codes Feedback and Evaluation Grammar Feedback and Evaluation Peer Correction Feedback and Evaluation Reformulation Feedback and Evaluation Self-Evaluation
Fakultas Teknik Industri
International Program
Kerja Praktek
Management Information System Metodologi Penelitian/Research Methodology Course Planning Pre-writing Brainstorming Pre-writing Topic Purpose Real Time Data Processing 3 Researcher’s Notes Revision Add Sentences Revision Eliminate Irrelevant Sentences Revision Rearrange Ideas System Application and Products Structured Style and Organization Subject
Tugas Akhir/Thesis
Task Types Unstructured UNDP UNSW WRIT CLSS WUS United Nation of Development Program University of New South Wales Writing Class World University Service of Canada
ABSTRACT
Ista Maharsi. 2007. Academic Writing Experience of Undergraduate Students of Industrial Technology. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
The importance of academic writing of students at universities becomes more visible with the flourishing of international programs that impose students to be able to read, write and communicate in English within various content courses. This study discusses the academic writing experiences of the undergraduate International Program (IP) students of Industrial Technology at Islamic University of Indonesia. Specifically this study investigates what the students think of academic writing, how they give meaning to academic writing, how they interpret academic writing, and how they actualize themselves through academic writing.
This research is designed to be progressive qualitative research. The data presentation and analysis were based on the narratives of the research participants. Like those of narrative inquiries, the narratives here were used to seek profound meanings of individual perception and meaningful experience on academic writing that was most likely to be conveyed and obtained with high regard of more humanistic and holistic point of views. Thus, tangible stories, rich experiences, diverse perceptions, and multifaceted interpretation of academic writing of each participant would together construct meanings.
The participants were the IP students of semester II, IV, VIII, X and three lecturers. The data were taken from in-depth interviews (unstructured and structured interviews) with the participants, class observations and document collection. The data were recorded, video taped, and some documents were scanned. They were analyzed through a recursive process of transcribing, coding, categorizing as well as selecting and reducing. Accordingly, the pre-figured themes of both processes and products of writing were discussed. However, emergent categories were also presented as they were in no way less significant.
This research found that students of IP FTI experienced the stages of writing process with limited knowledge of writing skills, limited exposures of reading materials of their discipline, and inadequate feedbacks. The students perceived academic writing as part of their academic tasks that would be useful for their future career. Students are aware of this importance of academic writing; however, not all students could take necessary steps to improve it. The findings of this study were expected to be useful for better understanding of students’ academic writing perspectives, which in turn will be beneficial for the students to improve their academic writing performance. The implications of the findings will be suggested learning activities, qualified resources and material development with thoughtful regard to students’ autonomy and empowerment. Or else, other pedagogical suggestions may become emergent from the current study.
This research could be beneficial for the Industrial Technology students in particular and university students in general. It can further be used by lecturers to better understand the students’ perceptions and expectations; by the faculty to provide suitable learning program; by curriculum designers to develop appropriate effective learning activities for industrial technology students, and other researchers to offer better insight and understanding of academic writing discourse of undergraduate students within the context of English for Specific Purposes. After all, those involved in the learning process can help students to become self-reliant and self-fulfilling learners.
ABSTRAK
Ista Maharsi. 2007. Academic Writing Experience of Undergraduate Students of Industrial Technology. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Pentingnya academic writing bagi para mahasiswa menjadi semakin nyata dengan banyak bermunculannya program-program internasional yang menuntut para siswanya untuk bisa membaca, menulis dan berkomunikasi dengan bahasa Inggris dalam berbagai mata kuliah disiplin. Riset ini membahas tentang pengalaman academic writing mahasiswa International Program Fakultas Teknik Industri Universitas Islam Indonesia (IP FTI UII). Secara spesifik, riset ini menginvestigasi tentang bagaimana mereka memaknai academic writing, bagaimana mereka menginterpretasi academic writing, dan bagaimana mereka mengaktualisasikan diri melalui academic writing.
Riset ini didisain sebagai progresif kualitatif. Presentasi data dan analisa bersumber pada naratif para riset partisipannya. Seperti juga syarat-syarat naratif, naratif dipakai untuk mencari makna terdalam dari persepsi individu dan pengalaman yang bermakna dengan menjunjung tinggi nilai-nilai kemanusiaan. Oleh karenanya, cerita yang saling berkaitan, pengalaman yang kaya, persepsi yang berbeda-beda dan interpretasi berlapis akan bersama-sama membangun arti.
Para partisipannya adalah mahasiswa semester II, IV, VIII, X dan tiga dosen. Data diambil dari in-depth interview (terstruktur dan tidak terstruktur), observasi kelas, dan pengumpulan dokumen. Data tersebut kemudian direkam, di video kamera, dan beberapa dokumen di-scan. Data tersebut dianalisa melalui proses berulang-ulang dari mentranskrip, memberi kode, mengkategorisasi, menyeleksi dan menguranginya.
Dengan demikian, tema-tema yang telah dipetakan sebelumnya serta kategori-kategori lain didiskusikan.
Adapun temuan riset ini adalah bahwa para mahasiswa IP FTI melalui tahap- tahap menulis dengan berbagai keterbatasan pengetahuan, keterbatasan materi bacaan yang berhubungan dengan jurusannya serta keterbatasan feedbacks (koreksi) dari pengajar. Mahasiswa memaknai academic writing sebagai bagian dari tugas akademik yang akan bermanfaat bagi masa depan mereka. Mahasiswa sadar akan pentingnya
academic writing, namun tidak semua mahasiswa dapat mengambil langkah-langkah
penting untuk memperbaiki potensi diri. Hasil riset ini diharapkan bermanfaat untuk memahami perspektif mahasiswa terhadap academic writing yang pada akhirnya akan bermanfaat untuk meningkatkan kemampuan akademis mereka. Implikasi hasil riset ini berupa aktifitas belajar, sumber daya yang berkualitas, karakter dasar tugas serta pengembangan materi dengan berorientasi otonomi dan pengayaan mahasiswa. Saran ilmiah lain dimungkinkan muncul dalam riset ini.
Riset ini sangat bermanfaat bagi para mahasiswa Teknik Industri pada khususnya dan mahasiswa di universitas pada umumnya. Lebih lanjut, hasil riset ini juga bisa dimanfaatkan oleh para pengajar untuk lebih memahami persepsi dan harapan mahasiswa; oleh fakultas untuk dapat menyediakan program pembelajaran yang sesuai; oleh perancang kurikulum untuk mengembangkan materi aktifitas belajar yang sesuai dengan jurusan teknik industri, serta para peneliti lain untuk mendapatkan pandangan lebih baik dalam konteks English for Specific Purposes. Diharapkan semua pihak yang terlibat dapat membantu mahasiswa untuk lebih mandiri.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This research aimed to investigate the participants’ experiences in academic
writing at the undergraduate level. It attempts to reveal the students’ understanding on academic writing within the industrial technology discourse and how they give meanings to it.
This chapter is organized as follows. Sections A and B discuss the research background and problem identification, respectively. While section C offers problem limitation, section D provides problem delimitation. Subsequently, sections E, F and G outline research questions, research goals and objectives, and research benefits, respectively.
A. BACKGROUND
The issue of academic English mastery, both written and spoken, in higher education becomes more apparent than ever before. The trend of academic writing needs in Europe, for example, is becoming more visible, because the European students mostly enter universities without sufficient knowledge of and experiences in academic writing (Bruce, 2005). Similarly, Zhu (2004) found that writing plays an important role in the real world communication.
Like in the European universities, whose students are mostly non-English native speakers, English in Indonesian universities has apparently been experiencing a tremendous growth in its importance. The emergence of international programs and immersion programs may serve as evidence that English increasingly plays an important role in the academic arena as well as lives at large. That is, to be successful academically, higher education students should possess a good command of the English communication skill and good mastery of particular subject matters.
Further, the flourishing of the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) with local adaptation and the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) implemented in non-English Department programs has strengthened this tendency. The development of the ESP branches such as English for Science and Technology has helped generate awareness of the importance of academic writing among academicians. This is despite the fact that the impact of the development of English for Science and Technology Program on non- native speakers has not been satisfactory (Swales, 1988).
In the academic context of science and technology, writing has been an important part of academic requirements. Some examples of academic tasks where writing plays a major role are assignments, examinations, and thesis. These academic tasks serve as means for students to express and communicate their ideas and arguments.
Consequently, to be able to handle those academic tasks in English satisfactorily, students should have a good command of writing skills. For this purpose, such program as the English for Science and Technology is designed to help students survive and succeed in the academic environment (Swales, 1988). Likewise, this program is intended to meet the increasing demand for higher education standard competencies in which university graduates are expected to be able to communicate their ideas in good writing.
In this context, the field of Industrial Technology in universities also concerns with the future career of their graduates. Many jobs in the workplaces require writing skills. Odell (in Zimmerman and Rodriguez, 1992) reported that when workers have heavier responsibilities, they have to spend more time writing. In addition, Zimmerman and Rodriguez (1992: 4) exemplified:
“Professionals in all disciplines do an enormous amount of writing on the job, even though their college curriculum may have included little or no course work in professional writing. Engineers write proposal for bids, chemists write articles describing their research, lawyers write legal briefs and sociologists write case studies. Many of these professionals do not necessarily like to write, but most of them have learned over the years to do an acceptable job.”
These facts show that writing is a part of job responsibilities upon which one’s career development relies. University graduates will enter the job markets with challenging requirements. They have to be able to communicate their thoughts orally and in writing in the most effective way to win the jobs.
More job opportunities such as becoming consultants, project managers, company presidents or Chief Executive Officers are becoming accessible for Industrial Engineers.
Consequently, interests in studying in the field of Industrial Technology are growing significantly along with the development of technology itself. Published in Jobs-Rated Almanac is industrial engineering highest level of career satisfaction among traditional engineering disciplines (Pennsylvania State, The Harold and Marcus Inge Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering). This, in turn, brings about a tougher and stricter working competition on the one hand and heavier career responsibilities of industrial engineers on the other.
In workplaces, engineers are required to write professionally in such forms as project proposals, bids, laboratory reports, and field reports (Zimmerman and Rodrigues: 1992). These types of professional writing, therefore, need to be taught and included in the university and college curricula, particularly those of the science and technology departments. In addition, in order to be able to survive in a more competitive industrial society, university students must also learn transferable life skills embedded in the entire academic activities. Skills such as critical thinking, understanding complex issues in their respective fields of study as well as offering various alternatives of solution to those issues, and communicating effectively their ideas both orally and in writing need to be integrated in the day-to-day teaching processes.
For that reason, I am interested in investigating the students’ experience of academic writing in the field of Industrial Technology at the undergraduate level. I choose the International Program of Industrial Technology Faculty of Islamic University of Indonesia (henceforth IP FTI UII) as the setting, because English is used as the only language of instruction in its entire learning activities. I suspect that its students encounter various problems unique to that environment that may range from the available resources, curriculum, language proficiency, learning quality, and supporting language environment. I consider that this uniqueness is worth researching.
In particular, I am of the view that students likely encounter problems that do not merely come from their disciplines, but also from their communication skills that include the English academic speaking and writing skills. This is why Allen regards language as an important communication aspect of study subjects (in Swales, 1998).
The fact that they need to express themselves in both their current academic environment and their future workplaces as professionals reinforces the need to master the English communication skills. Therefore, both learning English communication skills and learning the core contents of the field of study are equally necessary. They strengthen each other.
My experience as a teacher of English writing at an undergraduate level reveals that students often find it hard to produce essays, reports and thesis. To be grammatically wrong in speaking is tolerable as long as the message is understood, but that is not the case in writing. Patterns of organization, unity, coherence, sentence structures, word usage, and referencing skills are some of the writing skills that students need to understand. Besides those skills, students also need strengths, courage, and patience due to the writing’s recursive process. Importantly, persistence and repeated practices are the keys to success. Therefore, writing in English is highly challenging.
This thesis will discuss academic writing experience of the undergraduate students’ of the IP FTI UII. How the students think about the academic writings in English, how they understand the nature of the tasks, how they execute their writing tasks, and how they would respond to the lecturers’ feedbacks will be examined.
Similarly, the product of their writing will also be addressed to obtain a better and thorough picture of academic writing in the industrial technology context.
The results of this study will likely provide a better understanding of the academic writing experience of the undergraduate students of the IP FTI UII. In addition, the students’ perception and my own interpretation will be synthesized to construct a comprehensive description and interpretation of the academic writings in the Industrial Technology context.
As far as this research is concerned, no similar studies at the undergraduate level seem to have been previously conducted. Most research on academic writing of science and technology deal with overseas students (Braine, 1989; Zhu, 2004; Cotteral and Cohen, 2003; Jackson, Meyer and Parkinson, Currie, 1993; Swales, Barks, Ostermann and Simpson, 2001). There could be some research within the field of Industrial Technology of Indonesian students, but to the best of my knowledge, none makes use of the international program as the setting.
B. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Research on writing may cover various items of investigations such as investigation on the writers, the texts, or the readers. Investigations on academic writing texts may include the task type, the language, or the comparison with other texts. Investigations on the writers may embrace what and how the writers write or what the writers do in different situations and cultural background. In addition, readers may be examined on what they look for in a text, how they understand a text and what they think of an effective text.
A vast range of topic dealing with academic writing could become objects of any studies and seen from different points of view. Ranging from product of writing to process of writing, from task type in academic writing to needs analysis and from the use of portfolios to plagiarism and feedbacks, studies on academic writing have been widely conducted and well-addressed by many scholars. Initial problems may also derive from the students (internal aspects) and other than the students (external aspects).
The internal aspects could involve the problems originated from the students’ intelligence, motivations, attitude, social, economic and cultural backgrounds. On the other hand, problems may occur from the faculty where they are studying such as the curriculum, teaching materials, testing, management, and learning environment.