writing

contoh article

                 The Using of Picture to Improve Student’s Ability in Writing a Descriptive Paragraph
                                                                                    By
                                                                           Nurul Sriwijaya
                                                              Universitas Nusantara PGRI kediri
                                                                  nurulsriwijaya@yahoo.com

Abstract


Key word : picture, writing, descriptive,  paragraph

Introduction

     Teaching English means that teach the students not only how to speak, how to read, how to listen, but also how to write. Also, talking about English means talking about how to communicate in English. Communication not only can be done in spoken but also in written. Most of students consider that writing is the hardest skill to master, because the ability to write in foreign language is more complicated than the ability to speak, read, or listen. It is hard to teach students how to write because it involves many components such as structure, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling. In writing, we will also find many kinds of texts, one of them is descriptive text. People consider that descriptive text is an easy material, but in contrast, it is difficult because we have to write about the thing that is exist and the thing that does not exist, something that can not be seen, felt, smelt, or even touched. Therefore, the writer is so interested to find whether students will write a descriptive text better by looking or even touching pictures than only imagining it.


THEORITICAL REVIEW
Definition of writing
     Writing is Communication not only can be done in spoken but also in written. It is not an easy job to do because the writer has to be able to pour the idea as good as possible to what will they write. It is done to convey the message to the reader clearly. That is why writing is considered as the most difficult skill to learn. In their book entitled “Writer’s Guide and Index to English”, Wilma R. Ebbit and David R. Ebbit stated that “writing is the act of joining words into sentences on paper”. It means that writing is not just exercising the fingers but it is also necessarily the act of finding words to express definite, fully formed ideas. Writing activity is done to find out what are thinking, what is looking, and what it mean.
According to Cohen and Riel in Yulianti’s thesis (1989), writing as a communicative act, a way of sharing observations, information, thought, or ideas with others. Meanwhile, Bryne in Yulianti’s thesis (1979) defined writing is transforming our thoughts into language. In other words, writing is transforming our thoughts into language. In other words, writing can be defined as a way of communication by transforming observations, information, thought, or ideas into language, so it can be shared with others. Also, Bryne (1979) added that it is neither easy nor spontaneous; it requires conscious mental effort. Writing is not only just transforming our thought or idea in written form but also it relays to the process of monitoring any single words or features that we have written and the process of rereading and revisingour writing. Voss and Keene (1992:2-3) write why we should bother with writing and purposes for writing as follows:
1. writng is a way of thinking and learning. Writing gives unique opportunities of explore ideas and enquire information. By writing, we come to know subjects well and make them our own.
2. Writing is a way of discovering. The act of writing allows us to make unexpected connections among ideas and language
3. Writing create reading. Writing create permanent, visible record of our ideas for others to read and ponder. Writing is powerfull means of communication for reading information and shapes human thought.
4. Writing ability is needed by educated people. Our skill writing is often considered to reflect our level of education.

Purpose for writing:
- To express yourself
- To provide information for your reader
- To persuade your reader
- To create a literary work

The Writing Process
In fact there are three main stages of the  writing process : preparing to write,  drafting and revising (Brown & Hood, 1998, p. 6).  Then, in the practice, the process is often more like this:

The writing process depends on:
-    Who you are writing or for (reader)
-    Why you are writing (purpose)
-    What you are writing about (content)
-    Where you are, how much time you have, how you feel etc. (situation)

The five kinds or type of writing are the following:
1.    Descriptive writing
2.    Expository writing
3.    Persuasive writing
4.    Narrative writing
5.    Imaginative writing

The important of writing
writing in schoolMost people never consider the complexity and difficulty of the writing process. In fact, relative to all other academic activities, writing requires more basic skills than perhaps any other.
Even during their earliest handwriting exercises must combine complex physical and cognitive processes to render letters precisely and fluidly. As writing tasks become more difficult, students must call on an increasingly wide range of skills to not only write legibly, logically, and in an organized way but also to invoke rules of grammar and syntax. This combination of requirements makes writing the most complex and difficult use of language.

Definition of Paragraph
     A paragraph is a group of related sentences that expands a statement by explaining it, illustrating it, or proving it. It is not easy in making a good paragraph because we have to apply many components into the paragraph we make. Barnet & Stubb’s in their book entitled Practical Guide to Writing stated that it is commonly said that a paragraph has components itself:

a. Unity
     Unity makes one point or it indicates where one unit of a topic begins and ends. The idea developed in each paragraph often appears, briefly stated as a topic sentence. Topic sentences are most useful and are therefore especially common in essays that offer arguments. They are much less common because they are less useful in narrative and descriptive essays.

b. Organization
     Organization means that the point or unit is developed according to some patterns. A paragraph needs more than a unified point. It needs a reasonable organization or sequence. Exactly how the parts of a paragraph will fit together depends on what the paragraph is doing. If it is describing a place, it may move from general view to significant details or from some immediately striking details to some less obvious but perhaps more important one. If a paragraph is classifying (dividing a subject into its parts) it may begin by enumerating the parts and go on to study each in climactic order.

Among the common methods of organizing a paragraph are:
1.    General to particular (topic sentence usually at the beginning)
2.    Particular to general (topic sentence usually at the end)
3.    Enumeration of parts or details (in climactic order)
4.    Question and answer
5.    Cause and effect
6.    Chronology
c. Coherence
     It is not enough to write unified and organized paragraphs. The unity and organization must be coherent. That is sufficiently clear so that the reader can follow the train of thought. Coherence is achieved largely by means of transitions and repetition.

Descriptive Paragraph
     Descriptive paragraph is a paragraph which consists of three important qualities such as dominant impression, mood, and logical development. It is used to give vivid details of an object either it is person, place, or thing. Descriptive paragraphs include details that appeal to the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. In a descriptive paragraph, the writer must convey information that appeals to all the senses, in order to give the best possible description to the reader.
There are five ways to create possible description:
1.    Start with what the reader can see. Since sight is the most helpful sense, any good descriptive paragraph must first discuss what the writer wants the reader to visualize. Using strong adjectives to illustrate your scene, moment, experience or item to the reader will help provide a visual picture in your reader's mind.
2.    Describe smells and tastes. Think about how you can describe the topic, scene, or moment to the reader in terms of how it smells and tastes. The best descriptive paragraphs use a whole slew of adjectives that make the reader feel as if they were actually experiencing the thing you're describing, and not just reading about it. Include a sentence or two about how your topic smells and use a few poignant adjectives to relay the smell of it to the reader. "It tastes good" is not going to provide a specific experience for your reader. However, "It tastes like Grandma's apple pie when it's fresh and still bubbling around the edges - crunchy, flavorful and sweet" helps describe the distinct flavor of your item. Smell and taste should provide the most helpful descriptions about your item, so try to make these most effective.
3.    Say how the moment or item feels. As you continue writing your paragraph, write a sentence or two about how the experience feels. What does it remind you of as you imagine yourself running your hand along its surface, or the tingling feeling you feel run down your back? How are you reacting to the moment? Again, use descriptive adjectives to describe how the moment feels. Avoid using general statements like "it feels nice", which isn't descriptive at all. Opt for specific, definitive examples that relay the feeling of something to the reader.
4.    Mention the sounds of the moment. What can you hear? Is there a deafening silence? If there is a buzzing sound, avoid simply saying "All of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing sound", rather "I jerked as all of the sudden I heard an indefinable buzzing sound, so loud I put my hands over my ears. I assumed it was the deafening fire alarm..." and the reader would be able to relate with the "fire alarm" description, as most people have experienced the startling noise of a fire alarm.
5.    Include some other literary components. Using other effective writing techniques to top off your paragraph will make it all that more professional. If you include all these elements in your paragraph, your reader will be able to fully experience and appreciate your writing.
In a descriptive paragraph, the writer must convey information that appeals to all the senses -  touch, taste, sight, smell and sound - in order to give the best possible description to the reader. This is easily accomplished by following these descriptive paragraph writing tips. Descriptive writing paints a picture in words that shows – not tells – what a person, place or thing is like. The purpose of descriptive writing is to paint a picture with words for the reader.

The basic of all good description is close observation. It needs a store of particulars to draw on. If the purpose is to picture an object, place, or person as any careful observer would see it, the details we choose will supply specific information about size, shape, weight, and color. If the purpose is to have audience experience the subject as we have experienced it, we might select different details or we might use the same details but treat them differently, emphasizing some, subordinating others, and choosing modifying words and phrases that convey mood, attitude, or judgment.
A paragraph is a basic unit of organization in writing in which a group of related sentences develops one main idea. It can consist of one sentence or as long as ten sentences. However the number of sentences is unimportant but it should be long enough to develop the main idea clearly (Oshima and Ann Houge. 1999:16). A paragraph consists of several related sentences that develop one unit of content. A paragraph may stand alone as a brief work, but usually it functions as a part of a longer piece of writing (Dornan and Dawe. 1987:244). A paragraph consists of one topic sentence and some support sentences. Some paragraph can create an essay, because an essay consists of some general statement and a thesis statement. Also, there is a concluding paragraph which concludes the main points in the body of the essay. An essay is a piece of writing several paragraphs. It consists more than main idea, so it needs more than one paragraph to cover the ideas (Oshima and Houge. 1999:100)

Definition of Picture
     In a teaching process, teacher needs such thing to support fluency of the teaching learning process itself. Teaching is not only how to transfer knowledge but also how to make the students more understand. So, any media such as picture is very helpful to support the teaching learning process in a class. Now, the point is that picture can be very helpful in a teaching learning process because it supports the material that teacher give. It also enables the teacher to teach the material to the students.

 The using of Picture in Writing a Descriptive Paragraph

     In running a learning process, a teacher is required to be able to create an exciting and educating learning process. Besides, a teacher also must have responsibility in creating a good learning environment. One of the ways is by creating or choosing appropriate learning media. The choosing of the appropriate learning media will be very much helpful for the students to     reach the aim of learning. It means that not all of medias can help the realization of the aim of learning, it will happen when the media used by teacher is not appropriate with the need. Sometimes, teacher needs media in teaching process but sometimes not depends on the material given. In this case, in writing a descriptive paragraph, media such as picture is very helpful    .

Look at the example of descriptive paragraph below:

     This is my classroom. It is a comfortable classroom. My friend and I are sitting at our desks. We are learning English. Our teacher is Miss Maya. She is a good teacher. Now, she is reading a book. My friends and I are listening to her carefully. Then, we write what she says with our pen. The teacher’s desk is in the left corner in front of the class. It is covered with a table cloth and vase with flowers on it. The blackboard with a box of chalk is hung in the wall in front of the class. A map of Indonesia is in the left wall next to the picture. There are also dustbin and a broom in the left corner in back of the class. We clean our classroom everyday before the class begins.

     The descriptive paragraph above can be written by looking at the picture. It can enable to write a descriptive paragraph as good as possible.

According to Houghton Mifflin , picture is a visual representation or image painted, drawn, photograph, or otherwise rendered on a flat surface. A picture can also be defined as a visual representation of something such as a person, scene, produced on a surface, as in a photograph and painting. Picture as reflection thing is not only provides an important aids to interpreting primer and first-reader stories, but they also contribute to development of language ability and serve to widen experience background. Pictures can be used to give clues to class records.



Conclusion
The using of picture in writing a descriptive paragraph is very useful. It can also improve student’s ability in writing a descriptive paragraph. Using picture can create an interesting atmosphere in the language learning process.



References
•    Barnet Sylvan. 1983. Practical Guide to Writing. New York: Little Brown and Company
•    Ebbitt, Wilma R., and Ebbitt, David R. 1939. Writer’s Guide and Index to English. New York: Scott Foresman and Company.
•    George E and Julia M. Burks. 1980. Let’s Write English. New York: Litton Educational Publishing, Inc.
•    Harris, David P. 1979. Testing English as a second language. Bombay: TMH Publishing Company Ltd.
•    Wishon.Segal, Margaret Keenan and Pavlik, Cheryl. 1990. Interactions II: A Writing Process Book. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
•    Warren, Thomas L. 1985. Technical Writing: purpose, Process, and Form. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
•    http://www.thefreedictionary.com/picture. Accessed in December 2009.