AN ANALYSIS OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXT WRITING COMPOSED BY THE HIGH AND THE LOW ACHIEVERS OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMPN SUKORAMBI JEMBER

Abstract

Writing is one of four language skills in English that students have to learn in Indonesia. However, there is not any research which analyzes qualitatively the students’ writing, especially in the genre of descriptive. This research was intended to analyze qualitatively the descriptive text writing of the high and the low achievers of the eighth grade students of SMPN Sukorambi Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year in the aspects of grammar, mechanics, content, vocabulary, and organization. The research subjects were 16 high achievers and 13 low achievers of the eighth grade students of SMPN Sukorambi Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year. They were determined by using purposive method. The data used in this research was the high and the low achievers’ descriptive text writing. This data was collected by using writing assignment. Then, the researcher analyzed the data by identifying the grammar, mechanics, content, vocabulary, and organization of each descriptive text writing by coding the data; finding the pattern of the descriptive texts composed by the high and the low achievers; describing the pattern of the students’ descriptive text writing in the aspects of grammar, mechanics, content, vocabulary, and organization; analyzing the pattern of the students’ descriptive text writing; and finally drawing conclusion to answer the research problems. After doing the qualitative analysis, the researcher could identify the patterns of the high and the low achievers’ descriptive text writing, as well as the common problems found in the five aspects of their writing. Then, based on the research results, it was revealed that the use of grammar on both the high and the low achievers’ writing was poor. The use of mechanics on both the high and the low achievers’ writing was not good, but there was a high achiever who could perfectly apply punctuation marks in her writing. The content of the high and the low achievers’ writing was not good enough. Meanwhile, the use of vocabulary on the high and the low achievers’ writing was also not good enough. However, there was a high achiever whose vocabulary in her writing was perfect. Last of all, the researcher also found that the organization of the high and the low achievers’ descriptive text writing was not quite good.