IMPROVING DESCRIPTIVE WRITING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE TENTH GRADERS OF SMA SRIJAYA NEGARA PALEMBANG BY USING CUE CARDS

Abstract

Abstract: The objectives of this study were to find out whether or not (1) there was a significant improvement in descriptive writing achievement after the students were taught by using cue cards, and (2) there was a significant difference in descriptive writing achievement between the students who were taught by using cue cards and those who were not. The population of this study comprised 252 tenth graders of SMA Srijaya Negara Palembang. Seventy two students were chosen as the sample by using purposive sampling technique. The method of the study was quasi-experimental method. These students were divided into experimental and control groups, and each group consisted of 36 students. In collecting the data, the writer gave the students two written tests; pretest and posttest. Then, the results of the tests were analyzed by using paired sample t-test and independent sample t-test in SPSS Version 23. The result of paired sample t-test showed that the p-value was lower than the significance level (0.00<0.05). It means that there was a significant improvement in students’ descriptive writing achievement after they were taught by using cue cards. The result of independent sample t-test showed that the p-value was lower than significance level (0.00<0.05). It means that there was a significant difference in descriptive writing achievement between the students who were taught by using cue cards and those who were not. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of cue cards can be an effective way to improve students’ descriptive writing achievement.