THE IMPLEMENTATION OF KEY WORD CLUSTERING TO FOSTER

STUDENTS WRITING ABILITY IN WRITING RECOUNT TEXT AT

th

GRADE OF MTs NURUL HUDA MUNJUL, ASTANAJAPURA,

CIREBON
Agus Umar Akmad
112060203/3 K

Abstract: This paper is about how effective key word clustering to improve the
students ability in writing recount text. The research is held at

9th

grade in

Mts Nurul Huda Munjul, Astanajapura Cirebon. The purpose of this paper is to
look for how effective the key word clustering in recount text students writing
ability.. The population of ninth grade students are 168 from 9A to 9D. The writer
used cluster random sampling. The writer applied experimental study on his
research with one class as the control group and the other class is the experimental
group. The control class is 9A while the experimental group is 9D. The author
used an observation to find out the data of writings problem in junior high school
involved English teachers database. In order to assess the the students writing
skill, the writing test was used as a pre and post-test. Based on the research, the
implementation of clustering method in teaching writing recount text is effective.
It is proved by the result of the students post test which is the average score is 90.
It is higher than in a pre test which is 70.
Keywords : writing, recount text, key word clustering

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Writing plays a vital role not only in conveying information but also in
transforming information to create new knowledge in such a demanding life
(Weigle, 2002) in Saliha Chelli (2014). It is thus of central importance for students
in academic, second and foreign language learning.
From the four language skills leamed, writing is the most difficult one to
master because it involves some activities. It requires other skills and needs
special preparation. It is the subject that students are not interested because they
have to think and write at the same time. The writer has found out that the third year students of MTs Nurul Huda Munjul Cirebon usually get difficulties in
writing English especially in the pre-writing. it influences the result of the
students' composition. They get difficulties in generating and grouping ideas and
correctly. Besides that, they also have problems in arranging jumble sentence into
a correct construction.
Students are also uninterested in writing particularly because they are afraid
of making mistakes and the teachers seldom encourage them to write in English,
They also worry about expressing their ideas within the boundaries of correct
usage of grammar, spelling and punctuation. The focus is on the creative aspects
of writing. The techniques which are used by most students also develop their fear
of writing and what they write is riddle with errors. These fears hinder them and
ftequently make their writing process slow and also unsuccessful. Although there
are many people that have tried to use suitable techniques as a writing states and

to develop the students' creativity, the writer will also try to get the best answers
for those problems.

1.2 The aims of study

1. To find out the influence of Keyword clustering method to the Junior High
School students writing ability
2. To find out how the keyword clustering method is applied and gives
influence.
1.3 Questions research
Based on the background of the study, the problem to be investigated
covered:
1. Does Keyword Clustering method influence junior high school students
writing ability in English subject?
2. How is the Keyword Clustering method implemented?
1.4 Limitation of The Study
To avoid this research from wide disscussion that can make this research far
from the goal, the writer limited and scope this research on the subjects and
objects. It is for keeping the disscussion has a spesific result that is planed in the
goal of research, or to evidence the hypothesis in this research.
1.4.1 Subject
The participants will be limited to the grade one of junior high school student
in three class of MTs Nurul Huda Munjul Kabupaten Cirebon.
1.4.2 Object
This study will be limited to the focus of writing ability in English subject.
Writer will analyze the influence of implementation of Keyword Clustering
method in teachin writing English subject.

1.5 Significance
From the result of this research, it is expected to be useful contribution in the
world of education, at least it can possibly be used as a reference in many others
good references. It is also expected to reveal to be valuable research for lecturer,
students in educational faculty that will use the same variable as their paper topic,
the students that become subject of this research, the teacher of young learners
and for the writer itself.
1.5.1 Writer
For writer, it will give some advantages such as for knowledge itself and
experiance. For knowledge, the writer will be given a useful knowledge about the
fact and the advantages of Keyword Clustering method, so writer can implement
this result of research. For experience, the writer surely got the advantages that
can be a useful information which writer can tell the junior if they are going to do
research.
1.5.2 Readers
If there will be next researchers that use Keyword Clustering method for the
variable, or at least using the same topic or use same methodology, this research
can be one of the refference for them in order to make more useful and better
research.
1.6 Hypothesis
In Jeannie L. Steele and Patty Steele journal titled The Thinking-Writing
Connection: Using Clustering to Help Students Write Persuasively (1991)
defined clustering as a "nonlinear brain storming process akin to free association".
It is a powerful technique which allows students to discover or "uncover" what
they think about a subject; it provides organization to thoughtwithout slowing the
flow of thoughts; it can help the thinker assess the quality of thought and serve as
a guide for writing. However it is used, clustering is a dynamic process best
understood by experiencing it first hand. Based on the research, the
implementation of clustering method in teaching writing recount text is effective.
Ha : The Keyword Clustering method gives influence in teaching recount text.

Statistic hypothesis
Ha : r 0

CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Previous Study

Ivana Najmuddiyah, Urai Salam, Sumarni, The Use Of Key Word Clustering
To Increase Students Ability In Writing Recount Text, 2014. This thesis is about
how effective key word clustering to improve the students recount writing. The
research is held at SMP Negeri 17 Pontianak in academic year 2013/2014. The
writer applied quasi experimental study on her research with one class as the
control group and the other class is the experimental group. From research
findings, the mean score of posttest in experimental group was higher than the
mean score of posttest in control group (78.3 >54.7). Moreover, the interval of the
students mean score in experimental group was higher than control group (25.1>
0.2). The result of Effect Size was 14.4 (categorized as strong effect). The
significant difference could be interpreted that the use of key words clustering is
effective to improve the students achievement in writing recount text. This could
prove that teaching recount writing by using key words clustering is effective.
Farikah, The Effectiveness of Thematic Progression Patterns with Jingle
Button Technique in Teaching Writing of Narrative Texts, 2015. The purposes of
this research are to examine the effectiveness of Thematic Progression Patterns
with Jingle Button Technique (TP-JB) on the improvement of the students writing
skill of narrative text and the students learning motivation. It becomes a model of
teaching writing. This mixed method research was conducted in the English
Department of Tidar University (Untidar) in 2014/2015 academic year. The
subjects were the third semester students of English Department of Untidar who
took writing 2 (paragraph writing) subject.The results show that implementing
TP-JB technique can improve the students writing skill of narrative text. The pretest score of writing is 53.64 and the post-test score is 73.10. In other words, the
implementation of TP-JB can improve the students writing skill of narrative texts.
Besides, the implementation of this technique also improves the students learning
motivation in joining teaching-learning activities of writing class. Based on the
data, 98.50% of the students have good motivation after the implementation of
TP-JB.

Saliha Chelli, Developing Students Writing Abilities by the Use of Self

Assessment through Portfolios, 2013. The purpose of this paper was to show how
effective the use of self-assessment through portfolios was in developing students
written productions in terms of accuracy, grammatical complexity and
organization. To achieve this goal, a pre-questionnaire was administered to 100
third year participants at Omar Driss High School, and a pre-test given to an intact
group of 30 students from the same population to analyse the situation before the
treatment. The results can provide pedagogical implications for integrating
selfassessment through portfolios in teaching and assessing writing in that it fits
the tenets of the competency-based approach recently implemented in the
Algerian school.
The similarity of the three previous researches above is their dependent
variable which is about writing ability. The author tried to apply key word
clustering method in teaching writing recount text at the 9th grade.
2.2 Key Word Clustering
In this research the writer applied key word clustering in her research.
Keyword Clustering is used to refine something that makes sense and gives better
organize information that can make writing process is done easily. Hogue
(1996:91) in Ivana Najmuddiyah, Urai Salam, Sumarni (2012) states that key
word clustering like listing is another way to get ideas to write about something
and write them in circle or bubbles, around the topic. It means that key word
clustering is the writing technique to develop their ideas (learners) and write the
words or phrases in circles or bubbles. Based on this theory, it can be concluded
that key word clustering is a strategy to stimulate the learner for developing their
idea thats difficult to say.
The goal of key word clustering is to determine the intrinsic grouping a set of
unlabeled data. It can be shown that there is no absolute best criterion which
would be independent of the final aim of the key word clustering. Consequently, it
is used to supply this criterion, in such way that the result of the key word

clustering will suit their needs. Based on this statement it can be concluded that
key word clustering is to help generate ideas and arrange them into good writing.
Dawson state that:
To begin to cluster, choose a word that is central to your assignment. For example, if
you expectations and write that word in the middle of your sheet of paper. Circle
expectations, then write words all around itwords that occur to you as you think
of expectations. Write down all words that you associate with expectations, words
that at first may seem to be random. Write quickly, circling each word, grouping
words around your the central word. Connect your new words to previous ones with
lines; when you feel you have exhausted a particular avenue of associations, go back
to your central word and begin again. Dawson and Essid (2010:1) in Ivana
Najmuddiyah, Urai Salam, Sumarni (2012)

Based on the statement, it can be concluded that in key word clustering technique,
there are some steps: (1) Choosing a word or phrases; (2) Putting the word or
phrases in central; (3) Circling the word or phrases; (4) Writing words all around
the word or phrases that associate with the word in central; and (5) Connecting the
new word or phrases to previous ones with lines. Example of clustering :

Dawson and Essid (2010:1) in Ivana Najmuddiyah, Urai Salam, Sumarni

(2012) said that key word clustering is a type of prewriting that allows the learners
to explore many ideas as soon as they occur to the learners. Like brainstorming or
free associating, key word clustering allows learners to begin without clear ideas.
So, it can be concluded that key word clustering can explore many ideas from

mind. It is a good way to develop idea before starting the writing activity. The
learners can do it on their own or with friends or classmates to try to find
inspiration or ideas. Based on this statement, key word clustering is an activity
that generate idea by using circles and it starts from a stimulus word or the words
expectation, then develop them into several groups.
2.3 Writing
So far there are some definitions of writing made by different linguists. Some
are summarized as follows. Writing is trying to produce or reproduce written
messages (Bram, 1995:7) in Farikah (2015). Before writing, the writer needs to
determine what to write, and should have something meaningful to convey and
put forward his/her messages successfully. In conclusion, based on the above
opinion, it can be stated that writing is producing written messages. It is a method
of representing language in visual form. In line with Bram, Oshima and Hogue
(1997: 2) in Farikah (2015) state that writing is progressive activity. This means
that when we first write something down, we have already been thinking about
what we are going to say and how we are going to say it. Then after we have
writing, we read over what we have written and make changes and corrections.
Therefore, writing is never a one-step action. It is a process that has several steps.
According to Boardman (2008:18-25) in Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi &
Hilman Pardede (2014)There are three characteristics in writing a good text or
paragraph, namely:
2.3.1. Coherence
A paragraph has coherence when the supporting sentences are ordered according
to a principle. The sentences are put in order so that the reader can understand
your ideas easily. The principles for ordering depend on the types of paragraph
you are writing. Coherence means stick together, coherence is basically a matter
of having the part of a piece of writing in the right with the clear process.

2.3.2. Cohesion

Another characteristic of a good paragraph is Cohesion. When a paragraph has

cohesion, all the supporting sentences connect to each other in their support of the
topic sentence.
2.3.3. Unity
The final characteristic of a well-written paragraph is unity. All the supporting
sentences should relate to the topic sentence. Order in text or paragraph is like
organization easy, but is smaller in space so it may be simpler to consider order as
direction. Thus order chronological steps to express the idea the written form.
2.4 Recount Text
In curriculum level of education unit (KTSP) recount text is a text genre must
be learnt by the ninth grade students. In this curriculum, recount text is defined as
a text that retells events in purpose of informing or entertaining. There are two
types of recount text, historical recount text and personal recount text. Historical
recount text tells about the other persons life and personal recount text tells about
the writers experience. The writer chose personal text recount as the type applied
in this research, therefore in this text genre the students can write about their
experiences.
According to Knapp (2005: 224) in Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi &
Hilman Pardede (2014) , Recount Text, basically it is written out to make a report
about an experience of a series of related event. A recount is written out to inform
an event or to entertain people. Recount Text is text function as for telling an
incident in the past. Recount is to tell what happened. A recount text has a
social function. The purpose of a social function is to retell an event with a
purpose to inform or entertain the readers (Siahaan and Shinoda, 2008: 9) in
Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi & Hilman Pardede (2014). Recount tells a
series of events and evaluate their significance in some way. It is also to give
audience a descriptions of what occurred and when it occurred. The story recount
has expressions of attitude and feeling, usually made by narrator about the events.

10

2.5 Constructing in Written Recount Text

Boardman (2008:287) in Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi & Hilman
Pardede (2014) stated that the steps for constructing of written recount text are:
a. The First paragraph that give background information about who, what, where
and when. It is called on orientation.
b. A record of events usually recounted in chronological order, named; event 1,
event 2, event 3.
c. A personal comment and or evaluative remarks, which are interspersed
throughout the record of events named evaluation.
d. A reorientation which rounds off the sequences of events or retell about what
happened in the end.
Boardman (2008:287) in Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi & Hilman
Pardede (2014) the language features usually found in a recount:
a. Use of nouns and pronouns to identify people, animals or things involved.
b. Use of past action verbs to refer the events.
c. Use of past tense to located events in relation to speaker`s or researcher`s time.
d. Use conjunctions and time connectives to sequence the event.
e. Use of adverb and adverbial phrases to indicate place and time.
f. Use of adjectives to describe nouns.
According to Boardman (2008:287) in Natanael Saragih, Roswita Silalahi &
Hilman Pardede (2014) in making of functional grammar, the significant common
grammatical patterns of recount include:
a. Focus on specific participant.
b. Use of material process or action verb.
c. Circumstance of time and place.
d. Use past tense and focus on temporal sequences
In the ninth grade one writing text learnt by the students is recount text. In
exploring how text work (Derewinka, 1990: 15-17) in Ivana Najmuddiyah, Urai
Salam, Sumarni (2012) there are three types of recount. They are personal
recount, factual recount and imaginative recount. In this research the personal

11

recount text chose to be developed by the students and would be discussed more
at the next discussion. A good writing comes with process. Usually, teaching
writing mostly concerned to the final product of writing rather than its process.
However, we have to give the students a chance to be the creator of the language
(Brown, 2001: 320) in Ivana Najmuddiyah, Urai Salam, Sumarni (2012). The
process of writing now has some approaches in order to develop students
capability in writing.
The independent variable has big impact to improve the authors aim in
dependent variable. The students can make recount text with a helpful method.

CHAPTER III

12

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
3.1

Method of the Research

According to Fraenkel & Wallen (2009: 259) Research methodology is the

overall plan for collecting data in order to answer the research question also the
specific data analysis techniques or methods that the researcher intends to use.
Many methodologies fit within the framework of research. If we learn how to use
more of these methodologies where they are appropriate and if we can become
more knowledgeable in our research efforts, we can obtain more reliable
information upon which to base our educational decisions.
This research use experimental research. Experimental Research is the
most conclusive of scientific methods. Because the researcher actually establishes
different treatments and then studies their effects, results from this type of
research are likely to lead to the most clear-cut interpretations. (Fraenkel &
Wallen, 2009, p7). To further specify, The research use quasi experimental design
which do not include the use of random assignment. Researchers who employ
these designs rely instead on other techniques to control (or at least reduce) threats
to internal validity.
3.2 Research Design
Reduced to the simplest of terms, research design is a mapping strategy. It
is essentially a statement of the object of the inquiry and the strategies for
collecting the evidences, analyzing the evidences and reporting the findings
(Yogesh, 2006).
According to Mcmillan & Schumacher (2006: 23), Quantitative research
designs were initially developed from research in agriculture and the hard
sciences. A very important subclassification of quantitative design is
experimental/nonexperimental. Once you have determined that the research being
reviewed is quantitative, then you should think about whether it is experimental or
non-experimental. This difference has major implications for both the nature of
the design and the types of conclusions that can be drawn.

13

Table of The Matching-Only Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design as

Fraenklen & Wallen (2012) is as follows:
Treatment Group

O1

O2

Control Group

O3

O4

From the design above, subjects are chosen for the experiment. One class is an
Treatment group (A) which is given treatment (X) and another class is a control
group (B) which is not given a treatment. A pre-test (O1 and O3) is conducted
before the implementation of plot devices on nanofictionary game as a treatment,
and then at the end of the treatment a post-test (O2 and O4) is held to assessing
the students responsive writing skill. The M in this design means that the
subjects in each group have been matched (on certain variables) but not randomly
assigned to the groups (Fraenklen & Wallen, 2009, p 271).
3.3

Research Variables
The research consists of two variables; the first variable is keyword

clustering method as the independent variable and the second is writing recount
text as dependent variable. So, this research try to find out the effectiveness using
this keyword clustering method in teaching writing recount text.
3.4

Population
According to Muijs (2004: 15), the population is the group of people that

were experimented in general scope. For example, there are 168 students in ninth
grade in MTs Nurul Huda Munjul of the academic year 2014/2015 are chosen as
the population.

3.5 Sample and Sampling

3.5.1 Sample

14

According to Muijs (2004: 38), sample is drawn at random from the

population. The sample of the research will be class IXa as control group while
the experimental group is IXd with number of the students are 30 each.
3.5.2 Sampling
The technique to get the sample are using the student's average assessment
in each IX classes from teacher database and choose the lowest class.
3.6 Techniques of Collecting Data
According to Fraenkel et.al (2009), The Procedure or data collection
subsection is used to explain how the study was conducted. The authors describe
when the information was collected, where, and by whom. They describe what
was done to the subjects (i.e., the intervention) and the manner in which the data
were collected.
3.6.1 Observation
This research employed observation as the instrument to add the data for
background of the research and to know students writing skill using plot devices
in nanofictionary game. The first observation was focused on the finding data
about teacher and student difficulties in teaching and writing learning. The
researcher conducted observation in three junior high schools or three classes to
find the data. The second observation will focused on the students activities in
experimental group during the treatment.
3.6.2 Pre-test and Post-test
In addition, the writer will use some instruments in collecting the data to
answer the research questions. It consists of tests (pre-test and post-test).

3.6.2.1 Pre-test

15

Muijs (2004:18) described that pre-test is used to assess the effect of the
experiment (e.g. a test) before the treatment is given. The pre-test is given to the
experimental and control group. It is given before the teacher gives the treatment
to find out the students scores in writing recount text skill.
3.6.2.2 Post-test
Muijs (2004:18) also stated that post-test is usually used on the same
instrument, after the treatment has been given. The post-test will be carried out
after the treatments of teaching writing recount text by using keyword clustering
method for the experimental group. The test will be given to both the
experimental and the control groups.

REFFERENCES

16

Chelli, S. (2013). Developing Students Writing Abilities by the Use of Self

Assessment through Portfolios. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ)
Volume.4 Number.2, 220-234. Retrieved from http://www.awej.org
Farikah (2015). The Effectiveness of Thematic Progression Patterns with Jingle
Button Technique in Teaching Writing of Narrative Texts. Arab World
English Journal (AWEJ), Vol.6 No.12, 326-334. Retrieved from
http://www.awej.org
Fraenkel, R. J., & Wallen, E. N. (2009). How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
McMillan, H. J., & Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in Education: EvidenceBased Inquiry (6th ed.). Longman Pearson.
Muijs, D. (2004). Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. London:
SAGE Publication Ltd.
Najmuddiyah, I., Salam, U., Sumarni (2014). The Use Of Key Word Clustering To
Increase Students Ability In Writing Recount Text. English Education Study
Program, Tanjungpura University Pontianak.

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