RESEARCH ARTICLE

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SRIWIJAYA UNIVERSITY

Title

: Teaching Writing Descriptive Paragraphs to the Eighth Grade

Students of SMP Negeri 17 Palembang through Sticker Stories

Name

: Ratna Juwita

NIM

: 56071001031

Advisors

: 1. Hariswan Putera Jaya, S.Pd., M.Pd.

2. Fiftinova, S.S., M.Pd

ABSTRACT
The present study, conducted at one of junior high schools in Palembang. The main purposes
of this study were to find out whether or not there was significant difference in students
descriptive paragraphs between the students who are taught through sticker stories and those
who are not The sample of this study were 80 students chosen by purposive sampling taken
from the eighth grade students at SMP Negeri 17 Palembang in academic year of 2011/2012
with the total number of 280 students. There were two classes selected as the sample, VIII.1
as the experimental group and VIII.4 as the control group. The writer used a writing test. The
results of the test was analyzed by using t-test on the help of SPSS to assess the significant
difference between the mean of post-test scores on experimental group and control group.
Based on the result of the data analysis, there was a significant achievement difference since
the mean differennce of post-test of control and experimental groups. It was found that tobtained was greater than critical value of the t-table that 4.023>2.023. It means that the use
of Sticker stories was effective in developing writing skills of the 8 th graders of SMP Negeri
17 palembang.
Key Words: Sticker Stories, Writing Descriptive Paragraphs.

INTRODUCTION
There are four language skills that the students have to master in learning English: listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Writing is one of the four language skills that must be learnt
by the students because through writing students are able to express their ideas, thought and
feeling in written symbols. The ideas that appear from the students are the results of what

they feel and writing is a way to produce language that comes from their thought. This
statement is supported by Anderson cited in Novianti (2001:10) who states that writing is a
way of communicating to express ideas and feeling to other by producing thought, ideas and
feeling in written form.
Writing is the most difficult subject for students to learn. It is because they usually write
without a teacher supervising them. Unlike speaking, where the speakers can directly get the
feedback; in writing the students do not have real time communication. Therefore, this causes
a problem in which the writer cannot expect direct feedback to judge whether they have been
understood or not. It is undeniable that writing is not an easy task to do. Many people find it
difficult to write for many reasons. Raimes (1983:3) states that:
Writing may challenge students mind when they are learning a
second language. They are challenged to write with good
grammar, think of the appropriate words, and dig up their prior
knowledge to produce writing. Therefore, during writing
process, the students get involved in the language totally.
It is essential for the teacher to choose an appropriate strategy in teaching writing in order to
help the students in writing paragraphs, especially writing a descriptive paragraph. One of the
strategies which are considered appropriate for teaching writing descriptive is by using
sticker stories (Kathleen A. J. Mohr, 1999). Sticker stories is enjoyable writing activity
because it invites the students to find some fun stickers at the store, sticking one on a journal
page, and to write about the stickers. The stickers might include dinosaurs and animals.
Sticker stories alone can keep them writing for a long time, as long as there are plenty of
stickers on hand (Doris Keeler, 2009). It provides with encouragement and opportunities,
struggling writers become more confident in themselves and in their stories. It is easier for
the students to express their ideas, thought and feeling by using sticker stories. Sticker stories
also help children build creativity in writing.
Writing Descriptive Paragraph
Description is one of types of writing. In a descriptive writing, the writer tries to describe
something. The writer expresses his ideas. It is classified into three forms. They are: recount,
narrative, descriptive. In this research, the writer focused on descriptive paragraphs writing
because according to the English Curriculum, the eighth grade students of Junior High School
should be able to communicate orally and in writing accurately and fluently in the discourse

of short interaction monologues, especially descriptive, narrative, recount, procedure, and

simple text ( Wardiman and jahur, 2008:46).
Descriptive paragraph is described the features of someone, something, or a certain place. In
that text, we can describe what a person looks like and acts like, what a place looks like, and
also what an object looks like. Descriptive paragraph use considerable amounts of vocabulary
that describes action (verbs), as well as vocabulary denoting value and attributes of nouns,
adverbs, and adjectives.
There are two Generic Structures of Descriptive: (1) identification. In this case, people
identify phenomenon to be described, the students describe about animal and (2) description,
and it is describe the characteristic features of the subject, such as: the color of its feathers
,the students may describe the name and the characteristics of the animal, etc. (Wardiman and
Jahur 2008:46).
Writing Descriptive Using Stickers Stories
The relationship between sticker and images are crucial (Hugges, 1989:92). Sticker stories
are one of the media that very useful in developing students writing skill, with stickers they
will interested in making the sentences because they not thinking hard about what they want
to write. Besides, they are a key resource. To be even more specific, sticker stories are also
common in everyday life.
A sticker stories for a young child might use visual features to depict and reinforce a specific
aspect of the written text; another might provide subtle subtexts and elaboration of ideas
(Hugges, 1989:93). It means that sticker includes shading and creates softer effects that
reflect a gentler mood. Bolder line techniques may indicate movement and produce a felling
of animation. However, teachers should encourage students to investigate the techniques and
media in using the sticker stories in order to understand how the technologies have been used
to achieve different effects for them. Stickers are enjoyable writing activity because it invites
the students to find the ideas easily. Some procedures how the sticker stories are used in
teaching writing.
1.

First, discuss the topic, language focus, or writing task with students before
distributing the stickers (which can be very distracting to young children if presented
beforehand).

2. Show the stickers and explain how they relate to the writing assignment. For instance,
stickers of youngsters playing sports can generate narratives using strong action verbs.
Stickers of planets can lead to a review and practice of science vocabulary.
3. Brainstorm with the students how the stickers might be placed on the paper and model
drawing a picture that can be completed around the sticker. Stickers or cutout pictures
allow the students to consider placement, angle, and proportion in their drawings.
Teachers may also want to model such decision making with the group before
individualizing the activity.
4. Determine an equitable way for students to select their stickers in order to avoid
disputes. For example, ask students to request their preferred stickers by using a
complete sentence or by giving a reason for their selections.
5. Set a time limit of 10-12 minutes (min) for the drawing of the pictures. Organize
students into small groups or pairs and encourage them to discuss the topic and task as
they draw. This will help start them thinking about what they want to write.
6. When the students have completed their drawings, have them spend another 12-15
min writing about their pictures. I have used both expository and narrative text
structures in my classes. For young students or students who lack sufficient skills to
write their stories, the teacher can write while the students dictate their sentences.
Students can then copy over the teachers letters with markers as they rewrite their
compositions.
7. When the students have finished their compositions, ask them to share their work with
one another or with you individually. Teachers may choose to listen to the children
read their stories during miniconferences.
8. Find ways to enable students to share their sticker stories with others (e.g., displayed
on bulletin boards, sent home to parents).

The example of the sticker stories

Source: Kathleen A. J. Mohr: 1999. Created by Lucero Rodriguez, age 10, Acworth, GA.
Used with permission.

Referring to the background above, the problem of the study was formulated in the following
question: is there any significant differences in students descriptive paragraphs writing
ability between the students who are taught through stickers stories and those who are not?
The objective of the study was to find out whether or not there is any significant difference in
students descriptive paragraphs between the students who are taught through sticker stories
and those who are not.
The Hyphothesis
Hypothesis is a tentative answer to the investigated problems, before the data are collected
and proved (Arikunto, 1997:67). In this study, there are two kinds of hypothesis:
1) Null Hypothesis (H0): It is not significantly effective to use sticker story in teaching
descriptive text to the eighth year students of SMP Negeri 17 Palembang.
2) Research hypothesis (H1): It is significantly effective to use sticker story in teaching
descriptive text to the eighth year students of SMP 17 Palembang.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The method of this study was a quasi-experimental design. The design involved an
experimental group and a control group. In the experimental group, the students were given a
pre-test and a post-test, and had sticker as the treatment while in the control group the
students were only given a pre-test and post-test without having any sticker as the treatment.
The research design used a pre-test and post-test control group design through experimental
research. There was one group (the experimental group) that received a pre-test (O1),
treatment (X), and post-test (O2). And the second group (the control group) did not receive
any treatment of sticker.
Population and Sample
Population is the group of people of things which can be the object in a research or study.
According to Wallen and Fraenkel (1991:129), a population is the group to which the
researcher would like to generalize the result of the study. In this study, the population was
the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 17 Palembang in the year 2011/2012. The total
number of population was 280 students, class VIII.1 VIII.4. According to Best and Kahn
(1993: 13), a sample is a small proportion of a population selected for observation and
analysis. The writer took the sample using purposive sampling, the researcher selected the
sample for a specific purpose. The writer took VIII.1 and VIII. 4 as the sample because these
two classes were similar in the total number of the students, 40 students each class, with the
same teacher and students proficiency. Patton (1990) states purposeful/purposive sampling
is the dominant strategy in qualitative research. Purposeful sampling seeks information-rich
cases which can be studied in depth. (as cited in Hoepfl, 1997).

Technique for Collecting the Data

In this study, the writer used written test. A test is a short examination of knowledge or
ability. According to Popham (2003: 2), an educational test is a formal attempt to determine a
students status with respect to specific variables, such as the students knowledge and skills.
In this case, the writer applied a writing test. The writing test administered twice, the first test
was the pretest and the last was posttest. The pretest was given to the students in order to
observe their ability in writing before being exposed to the treatment. Meanwhile, the posttest

was given to the students in order to observe their ability in writing after being exposed to the
treatment.
Validity of Test
A test as the instrument of collecting the data should be valid and reliable. According to
Cangelosi (1990:25), tests are planned measurement by which teachers attempt to create
opportunities for students to display their achievement relative to specified goals. Wallen and
Fraenkel (1991:83) state that two concepts that are useful in judging the value of an
instrument are reliability and validity. Validity refers to the extent to which an instrument
gives us the information we want (Wallen and Fraenkel, 1991:85). In giving the tests to the
students, the writer should consider the validity of the test. It depends not only in the
instruments itself but also in the instrumentation in process and characteristic of the group
studied. Since the writer conducted a research on writing skill, the test given should represent
the content of writing to be measured such as content, organization, vocabulary, language use,
and mechanic. And the writer gave the writing test to the eighth grade students of SMP
Negeri 17 Palembang. Since the writer conducted a research on descriptive writing, she
selected a topic which was familiar to the students and the students were asked to write a
descriptive text about giraffe and elephant. Before giving the test to the sample, the writer
held a try out to other group of students in SMP Negeri 17 in class VIII.2 in order to know the
validity of the tests. This was done in order to avoid the bias of the result of the test. The tryout was done in class VIII.2 after doing the try-out, it was measured that t-table is 0,319. If
the value greater than t-table means that the test is valid.
Reliability of Test
Another concept which is very useful in judging the value of an instrument is reliability.
According to Wallen and Fraenkel (1991:95) reliability is the consistency of scores or answer,
how consistent they are for each individual from one administration of an instrument to other,
and from one set of term to another. As Arikunto (2006:154) describes, reliability is an
instrument that can be reliable as a tool of data coolection because it is not tendentious lead
the respondent to choose the certain answer. Based on this statement, the writer used testretest method. Sugiyono (2004:339) explained that the reliability coefficient of the test is
depending on the number of population (N). Based on the result obtained in calculation using
SPSS program, the reliable coefficient of the try out was 0.319. The reliable coefficient
obtained was greater than the constant reliable coefficient. It means, the students were able

to write with the topic given and the topic was reliable to use. The formula was calculated as
follow:
SD

(X X )

Technique for Analyzing the Data

In scoring students writing, the writer employed the scale described by Weigle (2002) cited
on Oktaviany (2009:31-33). This scale of writing composition consists of five aspects,
namely, content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics.
RESULTS
Based on the summary of the calculation of the independent samples t-test on the pre-test
score, the obtained was 1.775 at the significant level of P<0, 05 for two tailed test and degree
of freedom 78, the t-table was 1.991. Since the t-obtained was less than t-table, the null
hypothesis (H0) was accepted and the research hypothesis (H1) was rejected. So, could be
concluded that there was no significant difference between pre-test on the experimental group
and pre-test on the control group.
In the post-test, the t-obtained was 2.261 at the significant level of P<0, 05 for two tailed test
and degree of freedom 78, the t-table was 1,991. Since the t-obtained was greater than t-table,
the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and the research hypothesis (H1) was accepted. So, could
be concluded that there was significant difference between post-test of the experimental
group and post-test of control group.

Group Statistic
Experimental Group
Pre-test
Post-test
Mean SD
Mean SD
12.13 3.499 13.59 2.830

Control Group
P<0,05 Pre-test
Post-test
,000
Mean SD
Mean SD
10.96 2.217 12.15 2.856

P<0,05
,000

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for
Equality of Variances

F
post test

Equal variances
assumed
Equal variances
not assumed

Sig.
.026

.873

t-test for Equality of Means

df

Sig. (2-tailed)

Mean
Difference

Std. Error
Difference

95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Lower
Upper

2.261

78

.027

1.438

.636

.172

2.703

2.261

77.994

.027

1.438

.636

.172

2.703

From the research findings above, the writer could interpret the result of the t-test analysis
between the mean of the post-test scores in control group and the mean of post-test scores in
experimental group that there was signnificant difference. It means that the application of
sticker in teaching writing descriptive could develop the students achievement and their
writing ability. The students who were taught through tended to be more motivated.
CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the study, the writer concludes that sticker stories could develop
students descriptive paragraph writing achievement. The students who were taught by using
sticker stories got better scores than those who were taught by using lecturing method. It can
be seen from the mean score of the post-test in experimental group was greater than the mean
score of the post-test in the control group. Besides, the results of the sample t-test showed that
there was a significant difference in descriptive paragraphs writing ability between the
students who were taught by using sticker stories and lecturing method.
SUGGESTIONS
Based on the study that has been done, there are some suggestions offered by the writer to the
English teachers. First, the English teachers should encourage the students to write and
express their ideas, experience, thought, and feelings by giving them motivations, giving the
interesting materials and increasing the frequency of the students writing activities. In this
case, sticker story are appropriate to arouse the students to write. The teacher should use
sticker stories as another technique to be applied in teaching writing as it guides the students
in organizing the ideas before them starting to describe the object. When the students are able
to describe the object with the all language aspects well, the result of their compositions will
be more meaningful and the content of the writing will be easier to understand.Second, the
teachers need to guide the students during the writing process. The teachers also need to

monitor the students work so that the teachers are able to know the students difficulties in
learning English.

REFERENCES
Arikunto, Suharmisi. (1998). Prosedure Penelitian: Suatu Pendekatan Praktek. Jakarta:
Rineka Cipta.
Cangelosi, James C. (1990). Designing Test for Evaluating Student Achievement. White
Plains, NY: Longman.
McMillan, James H.(1992). Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer.
New York, NY: Harper Collins Publisher Inc.
Mohr Kathleen, A.J. (1999). TESOL Journal, Sticker Stories. California.
http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/tesol.
Murwani Sri and Mukarto, (2006). EOS English on Sky 2: Penerbit Airlangga.
Popham, W. James. (2003). Test Better, Teach Better: The instructional Role oof Assessment.
Alexandria: ASDC.
Raimes, Ann. (1983). Techniques in Teaching Writing: Teaching Techniques in English as a
Second Language. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Wallen, Norman E. and Jack R. Fraenkel. (1991). Educational research: A g uide to the
process. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wardiman, Artono., Jahur, Masduki . and Djusman, M Sukirman. (2008). English in Focus.
Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.