plagiat merupakan tindakan tidak terpuji diction … · dengan hal-hal yang mungkin menjadi...

DICTION IN ACADEMIC WRITING OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS OF THE ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Laurentia Lila Paramita

Student Number: 021214017

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2007

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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DICTION IN ACADEMIC WRITING OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS OF THE ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Laurentia Lila Paramita

Student Number: 021214017

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2007


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to commence by expressing my greatest and highest gratitude

to Jesus Christ for His endless blessing, love, and inspiration.

I would like to thank Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd., as my major sponsor

for his invaluable guidance, comments, and suggestions in writing this thesis. I am

also particularly grateful for Fidelis Chosa Kastuhandani, S.Pd., as my co-

sponsor for his advice and precious time to revise my thesis.

I would like to sincerely thank to Dr. Philip Jenkins who always assisted

and gave me valued comments, correction, suggestions, and encouragement. I

would like also thank Drs. F.X. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D., and Made Frida Yulia,

S.Pd, M.Pd., for helping me when I remained uncertain about this thesis.

My sincerest gratitude goes to my parents for their financial, spiritual

support, and encouragement during the accomplishment of this thesis.

My special gratitude goes to Wisma Bahasa for the chance to learn the

priceless knowledge. I am grateful for these following Wisma Bahasa colleagues

for welcoming, encouraging, and supporting me through the good and bad work

days: mas Boel, Cici’e, Adrian , Tiwuk , Ete, Russy, Letyzia, mas Sute, mba’

Prima, Mawar , Fajar , Niken, Gelar, and mas Sugeng. They are huge assets to

have as friends. Besides, I am thankful for my wonderful students, Alfa , Josh,

Akira , Danau, Rika, and Martin .

I also particularly thank the following people for being my friends and

supporting me during my study and the completion of this study: mba’Santy,

k’Achiet , Mbirut , Bita, Netta, Nina, Laoren, Angga, mas Yudhi, bang Jalee,


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and Adjie ‘cepi peci’. I also greatly thank Sebastien Raimbert, Scott Hanna,

Frank Lea, Filipe Lancastre, and Pascal, for their support, valuable experiences

and memorable moments that inspire me to accomplish my thesis and learn the

values of life.

My deep gratitude also goes to all my friends in PBI especially Titin ,

Anissa, Haryana, Nathalie, Amrita , Amri , Binta, Ila , Ook, Andre, Rendy, and

mas Kaka, all secretarial and library staffs for their sincere help when I

conducted library study, LTI (Lembaga Toefl Indonesia) Jogjakarta branch,

Bantul Tourism Department, and The Amanjiwo hotel staffs for the precious

experiences. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for the experiences.

Finally, I am grateful to all friends who gave contributions on the research

and anyone who supported me to finish this thesis. Their efforts are very much

appreciated.

Laurentia Lila


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………….…………. i

APPROVAL PAGES …………………………………………………………….. ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY …………………………………... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………….... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………… vii

LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………….……………. x

LIST OF APPENDICES ………………………………………………................ xi

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………… xii

ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………………… xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study ……..……………………………….…………....... 1

B. Problem Identification ……………………………………………………….. 2

C. Problem Limitation ………………………….……………………………….. 3

D. Problem Formulation ………………………………………………………… 4

E. Research Objectives …….……………………………………………………. 4

F. Research Benefits ……………………………………………………………. 4

G. Definition of Terms …….…………………………………………………..... 5

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Description ……………………………………………………… 6

1. Academic Writing ……………………………………………………………... 6

a. The Concept of Writing ……………………………………………………….. 6

b. An Overview of Academic Writing …….………………..……..……………... 8

c. Academic Writing Process ………………………………….…..…….………. 9

d. Academic Writing Rubric …….……………………………….……..………... 10

2. Diction …….…………………………………..……...……………………..... 12

a. Good Diction in Academic Writing …….……………………….……….……. 13


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1) Formality ……………………………………….………………..……………. 14

2) Accuracy …….………………………………..………………………….……. 20

3) Clarity …….……………………………..…………………………….………. 21

4) Concision …….…………………… ……….……………………….………… 23

b. Revising Diction ……………………………………………..…………...…… 25

1) Eliminating Vague Words …………………………………..………………… 25

2) Being Economical in Using Words ………………………………..………….. 26

3) Using a Thesaurus ………………………………………………..……….…... 26

c. Developing Word Power …….………………………………….………....….. 27

1) The Use of Dictionaries …….……………………………….………...….…… 27

2) Regular Reading …………………………………………..……….………….. 28

3) Words Sheet …….…………………………………….……………….………. 28

4) Vocabulary Study Books …….……………………….……………….…….… 29

2. Error …………………………………………………………………….…..…. 29

a. A Brief Definition of Errors …….…………………………………………...… 29

b. The Causes of Errors …….…………………………………………………….. 30

1) Interlingual Transfer …….…………………………………………………….. 30

2) Intralingual Transfer …….………………………………………………..…… 30

3) Context of Learning …….…………………………………………………....... 31

c. Error Analysis ……………………………………………………………......... 31

B. Theoretical Framework …….……………………………...…………………. 32

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

A. Method of Research …….…...………..……………………………………… 33

B. Research Participants …….………………………….……..………...……… 34

C. Research Setting …….……………..………………………………..……….. 34

D. Research Instruments …….…………….……………………………………. 34

E. Research Procedure …….……………………………………………………. 37

F. Data Analysis ………….…………………………………………………….. 38


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CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS OF RESULT

A. Diction Produced in Students’ Writing …….…………………………….…....

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1. Formality of Students’ Writing …….…………………………….…….……. 42

2. Accuracy of Students’ Writing ……..……………………………….….…… 43

3. Clarity of Students’ Writing …….………………………………………..…. 45

4. Concision of Students’ Writing …………………………………................. 47

B. Diction Errors Produced in Students’ Writing …….…………………….……. 48

1. Formality Errors ………………………………….………...…………..…… 49

2. Accuracy Errors …….…………………………………….……....…………. 54

3. Clarity Errors …………………………………………………..…….……… 55

4. Concision Errors …….……………………………………...……..………… 57

5. Other Findings ………………………..……………………….…………….. 60

C. Sources of the Diction Error ……………….………………….……………… 61

1. Laziness ……………………………………………………….…………….. 61

2. Showing Off …………………………….…………………….…………….. 62

3. Context Ignorance …….………………..…………………….……………… 63

4. Uncertainty …….…………………………………………………………….. 64

5. Target Language Rules …….…….…..……………………………………… 64

6. Carelessness …….…………………………………………………..……….. 65

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIO NS

A. Conclusions …….………………………………………………………..…… 66

B. Implications……………………………………………………….……. 68

C. Suggestions………………………………………………….….………. 70

1. Students………………………………………………….…….....… 70

2. Writing Instructors…………………………………………….....… 70

3. Further Researchers………………………………………...........… 71

REFERENCES……………………………………………………….……

72

APPENDICES………………………………………….……………......... 76


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LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 2.1 Writing VI Rubric………………………………………... 11

Table 3.1 Formality Checklist……………………………………..... 35

Table 3.2 Accuracy Checklist………………………………………. 36

Table 3.3 Clarity Checklist…………………………………………. 36

Table 3.4 Concision Checklist………………………………………. 37

Table 4.1 The Students’ Diction on Formality Category………….... 41

Table 4.2 The Students’ Diction on Accuracy Category…………… 43

Table 4.3 The Students’ Diction on Clarity Category……………… 43

Table 4.4 The Students’ Diction on Concision Category…………... 45

Table 4.5. The Number of Diction Errors in Each Category……………… 46

Table 4.6 The Percentage of the Formality Errors………………...... 47

Table 4.7 The Percentage of the Accuracy Error…………………… 52

Table 4.8 The Percentage of the Clarity Error……………………… 53

Table 4.9 The Percentage of the Concision Error…………………... 55


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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1. The Detailed Recapitulation on Formality Features…….. 76

Appendix 2. The Detailed Recapitulation on Accuracy Features……... 77

Appendix 3. The Detailed Recapitulation on Clarity Features………... 78

Appendix 4. The Detailed Recapitulation on Concision Features…….. 79

Appendix 5. Examples of Formality Error ………………………… 80

Appendix 6. Examples of Accuracy Error ………………………… 85

Appendix 7. Examples of Clarity Error …………………………… 88

Appendix 8. Examples of Concision Error ………………………... 91

Appendix 9. Examples of Students’ Academic Writing………………. 98


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ABSTRACT

Laurentia Lila Paramita. 2007. Diction in Academic Writing of the Sixth Semester Students of the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This undergraduate thesis analyzed the diction in academic writing of the sixth semester students. There were three research problems in this study. The first problem dealt with the diction employed in the students’ writing. The second problem was concerned with the diction errors, and the last one was the likely source of the diction errors.

This study was conducted using descriptive qualitative method. It was intended to investigate the quality of the diction produced in students’ writing. The data were taken from the students’ final papers. There were 28 papers taken as the data in this study. To answer the research problems, those papers were analyzed. Each composition was evaluated based on theories of diction suggested by O’Hare (1984) and Gerson (2003).

The result of the data analysis showed that not all of the compositions implemented formal diction. Firstly, most of the compositions contained correct use of abbreviation. In more than half of the compositions, abbreviations were explained in plain words. This implied that most of the students did not meet difficulties in using shortening, initialism and contraction. The same result occurred with pronoun. Most of the compositions contained correct use of addressing and sexist pronoun. Yet, only half of the compositions contained correct use of expression. In fact, the wrong use of expression, such as the presence of colloquialisms, made the students’ compositions informal since they use conversational language. Besides, half of the compositions still contained exaggerated expression. This fact made the meaning less clear. The next one, nearly all of the compositions contained concise diction. They avoided ‘to be’ or ‘being’ forms, doubled words, redundancies, and negative forms. It implied that most of the students were aware of being concise. However, less than half of the compositions contained concise and straightforward phrases. Most of them still used long and devious phrases to convey ideas. This implied that most of the students lacked vocabulary as they mostly used longer phrases to state their ideas.

Concision error was statistically the most frequently encountered error in the students’ compositions, as it comprised 39.7% of the total errors in overall categories. The second rank was formality error (32.21%). It was followed by accuracy error in third place (14.23%), while clarity error ranked fourth (13.86%).

Finally, some implications and suggestions intended for teachers of English, the students, and for further researcher were put forward in the last chapter.


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ABSTRAK

Laurentia Lila Paramita. 2007. Diction in Academic Writing of the Sixth Semester Students of the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidian, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini menganalisa diksi dalam karangan akademik pada mahasiswa semester enam. Ada tiga permasalahan dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama berkaitan dengan diksi yang dipakai dalam karangan mereka. Masalah kedua dipusatkan pada kesalahan-kesalahan diksi. Sedangkan yang ketiga berkaitan dengan hal-hal yang mungkin menjadi penyebab dari kesalahan-kesalahan diksi dalam menulis karangan akademik.

Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif yang bermaksud untuk menyelidiki kualitas diksi yang digunakan dalam karangan mahasiswa semester enam. Sebanyak 28 karangan dipakai sebagai data dalam penelitian ini. Untuk memecahkan permasalahan, karangan-karangan tersebut dianalisa. Setiap karangan dinilai berdasarkan teori diksi yang dikemukakan oleh O’Hare (1984) dan Gerson (2003).

Hasil dari analisa data menunjukkan bahwa tidak semua karangan menggunakan diksi yang formal. Pertama, sebagian besar dari karangan sudah benar dalam penulisan singkatan. Lebih dari separuh karangan, singkatan-singkatan sudah dijabarkan. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar mahasiswa tidak mengalami kesulitan dalam menggunakan shortening, initialism dan contraction. Hal yang sama juga terjadi pada penggunaan kata ganti. Sebagian besar karangan menggunakan addressing dan kata ganti sexist dengan benar. Akan tetapi, hanya sebagian dari karangan yang memakai expression dengan benar. Pada kenyataannya, penggunaan yang salah seperti pemakaian colloquialism atau bahasa sehari-hari menyebabkan karangan menjadi informal. Selain itu, sebagian karangan masih memakai exaggerated expression. Hal ini membuat arti kata menjadi kurang jelas. Selanjutnya, hampir semua karangan memakai pilihan kata yang singkat. Bentuk to be atau being, doubled words, redundancies, dan bentuk negative mampu dihindari dalam karangan. Ini menunjukkan bahwa hampir semua mahasiswa semester enam mengerti akan bagaimana menulis efektif. Tetapi, hanya kurang dari separuh karangan saja yang masih mengandung frasa atau kalimat yang singkat dan tidak bertele-tele. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa-mahasiswa tersebut memiliki kekurangan pada kosakata karena mereka masih memakai frasa yang panjang dalam mengungkapkan opini mereka.

Kesalahan concision secara statistik merupakan yang paling sering ditemukan dalam karangan-karangan para murid karena terdapat 39,7% kesalahan dari keseluruhan kesalahan diksi. Kedua adalah kesalahan formality (32,21%), diikuti dengan kesalahan accuracy (14,23%) dan clarity (13,86%).

Akhirnya, beberapa implikasi dan saran yang ditujukan untuk para guru bahasa Inggris, para murid dan peneliti selanjutnya, ditulis di bab terakhir.


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Writing is no longer a secondary skill but one with great significance.

Students are called upon to use English writing skill in their careers or to

participate in conferences and workshops, both before and after graduation. As a

fundamental element of all educational mainstreams and the central skill among

the four language skills, English writing skill is important to be successful in

almost any profession. The work of Odell (1985) states that no matter what

profession a person is in or plans to enter, developing English writing skill will

facilitate career advances. In other words, good English writing skill is an asset to

professionals (Zimmerman & Rodriguez, 1992: 5). This is reflected in the fact that

nearly all published articles require superior written communication in English.

Accordingly, professions that are either directly or indirectly associated with

writing require people to have good English writing skill. Further, today’s

technology makes it even more imperative to be able to write well. It has been

clearly shown that there are a lot of companies which place great reliance on

communicating through the internet. The easiest illustration is communicating via

e-mail, instant messaging, or reporting and publishing articles, essays, term

papers, contracts, business letters, professional journals, memos, and reports. The

students are thus required to build up English academic writing skill if they are to

succeed in the occupational mainstream.


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B. Problem Identification

The syllabus of the Writing VI course of English Study Program, Sanata

Dharma University states that sixth semester students must have good command

of English and be capable of composing well-organized academic writing.

Academic writing tends to be associated with hard work and difficulty, rarely with

pleasure. Academic writing is complex and not merely based on guesswork,

untested speculation, and received opinion (Swales, 1994: 2). Further, a good

academic paper must demonstrate wide knowledge of a subject, be well-

organized, and show effective use of sentence structure, word choice, and mastery

of mechanics (Sanata Dharma English Education Writing VI Composition Profile,

2006).

Formal, clear, and concise language is the preferred language for academic

writing as well (O’Hare, 1984: 317). Gerson (2003: 27) further affirms that to be

effective academic writing, diction must be accurate. In summary, formal, clear,

concise, and accurate language is appropriate for academic writing. However, the

students of the English Education Department, particularly the students of Writing

VI course still produce informal, unclear, and inaccurate sentences. For example,

“Students’ motivation and achievement got more and more dependent on each

other as the teacher puts a lot of support into making academic papers” may be

better changed into “ The relationship between students’ motivation and

achievement grew rapidly as the teacher strongly encouraged in composing

academic papers”. The example above states the same meaning but differ widely

in the degree of formality and concision, as the first sentence does not meet the


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standard of the word choice in academic writing suggested by O’Hare and Gerson.

One of the most likely reasons is that the students have a limited range of effective

diction. In other words, they are unable to choose appropriate words for academic

writing.

Therefore, the students are not only compelled to have knowledge of the

ideas in their writing but also mastery of linguistic items such as the structure and

the diction. Diction, as Michael Agnes (1999: 400) points out, is a manner of

expression in words or choice of word. Anne Ruggles (1988: 301) further states

that finding exactly the “right” word for what the writer wants to say can be

difficult. As O’Hare (1984: 317) and Gerson (2003: 27) stated that appropriate

diction in academic writing must comprise formality, accuracy, clarity, and

concision.

Since the academic writing is significantly related with working world, the

researcher will investigate the students’ academic writing especially the students’

diction employed in academic writing covering four features suggested by O’Hare

and Gerson.

C. Problem Limitation

The researcher limits the word choice in the category of formality,

accuracy, clarity, and concision. Grammar does not have to do with word choice

but with word form and word order. Choosing the proper word form is a matter of

grammar but not of diction (Willis, 1966: 190). As the area of the research is

diction features, the grammatical awareness will be excluded in the process of


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analyzing the diction of students’ academic writing. The subjects of this study are

the sixth semester students of Writing VI course of the English Education Study

Program, particularly class E.

D. Problem Formulation

Focusing on the background, problem identification, and problem

limitation above; there are three questions in the research:

1. What diction do the sixth semester students of English Education Study

Program produce in their academic writing?

2. What diction errors do the sixth semester students of English Education Study

Program produce in their academic writing?

3. What are the likely sources of the diction errors?

E. Objectives

Relating to the problems mentioned; this study has three objectives that are

to find out the formality, accuracy, clarity, and concision of the diction that the

students mostly produce, to describe the diction errors that the students produce in

academic writing, and to reveal the likely sources of the diction errors.

F. Benefits

This study is expected to be advantageous and could give some inputs and

contribution for students to be more critical and selective in applying diction in

academic writing. Teachers are expected to pay more attention to the categories


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that weaken the students’ diction. Besides, the researcher posits that the research

may assist the students in minimizing error in the diction of academic writing.

G. Definition of Terms

1. Academic Writing

Wikipedia (2006) describes academic writing belongs in the structure of

formal English. It is intended for a critical and informed audience, and based on

closely investigated knowledge. Academic writing in this study refers to the most

common pieces of writing in the academic world that are research papers.

2. Diction

According to Agnes (1999: 400), diction is a manner of expression in the

word or choice of words. In this study, diction refers to the writer’s choice of

words in academic writing which covers four above-stated features, namely

formality, accuracy, clarity, and concision.

3. Writing VI

The researcher refers to the definition as it is stated in the Academic Guide

of English Language Program (2005: 94) which clarifies that Writing VI is a

course in which the goal is students are able to write academic writing such an

interview report, a research paper and a survey report.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter reviews all theories proposed by some experts which relate to

the research. There are two main parts in this chapter, namely theoretical

description and theoretical framework. The theoretical description presents the

discussion of any literature related to the academic writing, diction, and error.

Theoretical framework summarizes all relevant theories, which helped the

researcher solve the research problem.

A. Theoretical Description

1. Academic Writing

a. The Concept of Writing

There are some definitions of writing that can give a general understanding

of what writing is. Writing according to Troyka (1987) is a way of communicating

a message to a reader for a purpose. According to him, the purposes of writing

are: (1) to express oneself, (2) to provide information, (3) to persuade one’s

reader, and (4) to create a literary work. The first and the last purposes

significantly contribute to human thought and culture while the second and the

third purposes of writing above are most prominent and practical in academic life.

To produce a written form is a difficult task particularly for second

language learners. Writing for the ESL students requires maturity in both

languages which enables them to think and write in the second language without


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complicated by the fact that he or she lacks an intuitive sense of English language

conventions. For example, inadequate vocabulary and grammatical structure are

too limited to convey what they know and want to say.

According to Ambruster (2002: 118), writing is a complex goal-directed,

problem solving process that consists of a number of sub-processes. Further,

Raimes as cited in Musthafa (1994: 5) defines writing specifically as a set of

decision making process involving intricate choice of grammar, syntax,

mechanics, organization, word choice, purpose, audience, content, and the writing

procedure.

Writing is linked to language skills and elements such as reading,

listening, vocabulary, structure, and spelling. To be able to write well, students

must have extensive previous knowledge about orthography forms, lexicon,

syntax, and morphemes. Besides, a great part of writing proficiency also results

from prior knowledge. Vocabulary items, grammatical rules, and more generally,

the knowledge of the world play important role in writing. Since linguistic

proficiency is considered important, students need to learn the grammatical,

lexical terms, styles and formats as well.

Writing is commonly difficult for most students, even in their first

language. It is because writing is a complex process, and competent writing is

frequently accepted as the last language skill to be acquired (Hamp-Lyons in

Nunan, 1991: 91). Ball and Burnaby in Nunan (1989: 36) also reveal the

complexity of writing that writing is an extremely complex cognitive activity that

involves knowledge of language and ability to put into written form. Asger (in


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Asher, 1994: 375) also says that “ process of writing views writing as the result of

employing cognitive strategies to manage the composing process that is a process

of exploration and developing organization”. He adds that it is comprised of

setting goals, generating ideas, organizing information, and selecting appropriate

language, drafting, reviewing, revising, and editing. Therefore, writing is a

complex activity, which for many foreign language writers is difficult.

b. An Overview of Academic Writing

As it was stated earlier, academic writing tends to be associated with hard

work and difficulty, rarely with pleasure. Swales (1994: 2) states that academic

writing is complex and not merely based on guesswork, untested speculation, and

received opinion. Hodgson (2005) also states that academic writing is careful to

include doubts. Essay, thesis, research article, book report are kinds of academic

writing which closely related with university students.

Concerning on the purpose, according to Jones (2005), the general purpose

of an academic writing is to present information that displays a clear

understanding of a subject. Meanwhile, the specific purpose varies according to

the assignment such as argumentation, persuasion, description, narration, and

exposition. According to Gocsik (2005), the structure and organization in

academic writing will be determined by the content itself. Further, he states that

content of academic writing must have a declared and arguable thesis. In other

words, in composing an academic writing, the writer must be able to present the

reader with an informed argument. In this case the writer needs to sort out his or


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her knowledge about the subject from his or her assumption about the subject.

Gocsik (2005) further explains that an academic paper is considered failed to meet

the expectation of the reader if it fails to argue or inform. Thus, in creating

arguments in academic writing, the writer needs to rely on several strategies.

Knowing about the function and structure of academic writing is

important. However, knowing about the appropriate style and conventions to use

when composing academic writing is equally important. Compare to other kinds

of writing, the style and convention of academic writing is obviously different.

Academic writing written in a university context tends to be structured, formal,

objective, impersonal, complex and contain technical language. According to

Hodgson (2005), the formal and impersonal nature of academic papers can be

achieved by avoiding certain types of language, such as avoiding conventional

language like a bit and maybe, contractions, abbreviation, and starting sentences

with words such as but, again, and although. In addition, academic vocabulary is

strongly recommended in composing academic writing, as it usually has more

precise meanings than its less formal equivalents.

c. Academic Writing Process

Some writers find it harder to deal with their own thoughts, since they are

fully responsible for generating the appropriate expression for good

communication. Academic writing tends to provide someone’s idea and a kind of

summary. In other words, academic writing is comprised of the small version of

the writer. McLaine (1998) states paraphrasing, quoting, and reporting are three


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common techniques in providing someone’s idea in academic writing.

Paraphrasing process is repeating and rewriting someone’s statement using the

writer’s own word. It means that the writer may restate the idea in reduced form

without mentioning the author by name. This gives prominence to the information

itself, while the author is added simply as a reference, either by name, year and

page. Quoting process means choosing a single sentence or phrasing from the

original text that in itself, sums up the main point being made by the author.

Meanwhile, reporting means the writer reports the idea by describing indirectly

what the original statement is about.

d. Academic Writing Rubric

As a general rule, papers are evaluated according to the quality of writing

in several different elements such as argument or content, organization, and

language use. The elements of writing proficiency are the criteria that a faculty

uses to evaluate students’ proficiency in academic writing. Referring to Writing

VI Composition Profile, Sanata Dharma University (2006), the grading system is

classified into six categories namely excellent, very good, good, average, fair, and

poor. Specifically, to have the detailed frame of the grading system, the table of

Writing VI Composition Profile is presented in Table 2.1 (see p.11).

From the rubric in Table 2.1, in the area of language, the grading system

covers the sentence structure (preposition, articles, tense, compound and complex

sentences), vocabulary (idiom, diction or word choice), and mechanics (spelling,

punctuation, and capitalization). In this study the researcher will focus on the


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grading system in the area of language, particularly vocabulary area that is word

choice or diction.

Table 2.1 Writing VI Rubric, English Education, Sanata Dharma University

Excellent – very good

Good – average Fair - poor

Content Knowledgeable; substantive; thorough development of thesis

Some knowledge of subject; adequate range; limited development of thesis

Limited knowledge of subject; little substance; inadequate development of thesis

25-24-23-22 21-20-19-18 17-16-15-14-13-12-11

Organization Fluent expression; ideas clearly stated/ supported; well-organized

Somewhat choppy main ideas; stand out; but organization unclear

Ideas confused or disconnected; lacks logical sequencing

20-19-18 17-16-15-14 13-12-11-10 Sentence structure

Effective use of simple, compound, and complex sentences; effective use of coordinators, subordinators, and transitions

Effective simple sentences; minor problems in compound and complex sentences; minor problems in the use of coordinators, subordinators

Frequent errors or negations, agreement, tense, number, word order/ function, articles, pronouns, prepositions

20-19-18 17-16-15-14 13-12-11-10 Vocabulary Sophisticated

range; effective word/ idiom choice and usage

Adequate range; occasional errors of word/ idiom form, choice, usage

Limited range; frequent errors of word/ idiom form, choice, usage

20-19-18 17-16-15-14 13-12-11-10 Mechanics Demonstrate

mastery of conventions few errors of spelling, punctuation

Occasional errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, unclear paragraphing

Frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing poor.

15-14-13 12-11-10 9-8-7-6

2. Diction

Diction and word choice are one and the same. Diction locates and

displays certain incorrect, wordy, commonly misused, and possibly sexist


12

expressions and displays each sentence in which they occur. Diction is defined as

a writer's choice of words. “A word is the minimal meaningful units of language.”

(O’Grady and Dobrovolsky, 1989: 90). Thus, diction has connection with words,

which are able to convey meaning for a certain context. Michael Meyer (2006)

further proposes that diction is not merely choice of words but also phrases,

sentence structures, and figurative language which combine to help create

meaning. The particular words an author uses will affect not only the message the

audience receives, but the way in which we interpret that idea (Douglas Hunt,

2002). In other words, diction must be suited to the purpose of writing. Anson et

al (2000) further say that all writings have a purpose, and the diction used should

coincide with purpose, and be based on audience. In cases like this, diction is

considered as a thesaurus. For each word in its glossary, a thesaurus lists

numerous synonyms yet no two words are exactly synonymous. Therefore, when

choosing a word to substitute, students must first decide if the new word fits (Day

et al, 1984: 16-17).

a. Good Diction in Academic Writing

How a word is finally understood depends on many factors. Standard

English has long been used as the guideline to judge speech or writing since

educated speakers and writers of English, business, and media commonly use it.

However, judgments about appropriateness are sometimes hard to make because

of the fluid nature of language and the effect of different writing situations. In a

larger sense, word choices must be made in the context of a given piece of


13

writing, depending on the subject, audience, and purpose. As a result, a word

choice that is appropriate in one context may be inappropriate in another. It is

appropriate and inappropriate in terms of whether it supports the purpose of the

writing. If the purpose is to present thesis and research so that the reader will find

the writer’s position credible, then the diction used should be appropriate,

meaning objective, concrete, and specific. In every kind of writing, it is essential

to choose the best word to express the intended meaning.

When writing academic papers, writers are expected to use formal

language rather than the relaxed conversational language they use in everyday

situations. Formal English is the level of language appropriate to this context

(Brewton et al, 1962: 78). A formal, standard set of rules is employed in academic

writing to minimize confusion and misunderstandings since it will be addressed to

an academic audience. Since academic writing is intended for a wide array of

people, locally, nationally and, perhaps, even internationally, academic writing

hence requires a more formal diction than everyday talk or journalism (Harvey,

2003). Appropriate level of formality is taken into account in academic writing.

Diction refers to the overall selection of language in writing. According to

McCrimmon (1984: 271), good diction is the choice of words that allows the

writers to communicate their meaning to their readers. However, the writers

sometimes may use longer phrase and complicated words because he or she is

trying to be academic or to show off. In other words, the writers are required to

present accurate and precise words for connecting the readers to the subject

matter. Formal, clear, concise, and accurate word is the preferred style for


14

academic writing (O’Hare, 1984: 317). The following thus covers categories of

appropriate diction in academic writing.

1) Formality

Good diction has to do with choosing words for their level of formality as

well as for their connotations (Kemmerer, 1997). A writer will tend to use

different sets of language at different levels of formality almost instinctively.

Without even being aware of it, many people have been using different levels of

formality in their diction for many years. The only difference is that in writing the

writer needs to be conscious of the choices he or she makes. Harder et al (1965:

21) states that in some college writings, as in term papers for advanced courses,

the writing is appropriately formal. In other words, a choice that is formal is best

in academic writing.

Being aware of maintaining formality covers elements of formality which

needs to be considered, namely,

a. Abbreviation

Abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. There are three main

kinds of abbreviations: shortenings, contractions, and initialisms.

1. Shortenings

Shortening of words consist of the first few letters of the full form and are

usually spelled with a final period when they are still regarded as abbreviations,

for example, cont. means continued, in means inch. Sometimes shortenings are

altered to facilitate their pronunciation or spelling, such as bike which means


15

bicycle. Shortening is inappropriate in academic writing as it is less well

recognized by large audience (Wresch et al, 1988: 186).

2. Contractions

Contractions are avoided since they are informal English (Harder et al,

1965: 17; Wresch et al, 1988: 186). Weisman (1980: 314) explains that

contractions are words from which an unstressed syllable is dropped in speaking.

Specifically, contractions are abbreviated forms in which letters from the middle

of the full form have been omitted, for example, Dr. means doctor, St. means

saint or street. Another kind of contraction is the type with an apostrophe marking

the omission of letters: can't stands for cannot, didn't stands for did not, and

you've stands for you have. One-word numbers (e.g. 12) also should be written out

as twelve.

3. Initialisms

Initialism is made up of the initial letters of words and pronounced as

separate letters: CIA (or C.I.A.), NYC (or N.Y.C), pm (or p.m.), U.S. (or US). In

formal writing, initialism should be put in plain words (Weisman, 1980: 314). For

example, CLT should be written as CLT (Communicative Language Teaching).

b. Pronoun

Pronouns are troublesome in writing because their forms are numerous and

irregular and because not all of the various functions they serve in casual talk are

appropriate in writing (Harder et al, 1965: 336).

1. Possessive


16

Possessive pronouns are possessive in nature and appropriate in Standard

English, for example, Standard English often uses a preposition of rather than a

possessive clitic (‘s) as shown in this example below,

Report’s contents will better written out as contents of report.

2. Sexist Pronoun

Although in the past it was acceptable to use he when referring to both

men and women, it is no longer acceptable to do so now as some of the readers

may be offended by sexist language (McMahan, 1984: 45). Thus, the writer must

avoid a masculine bias in pronouns or other words that indicate gender

(Memering, 1989: 249). As sexist pronouns are not allowed in academic writing,

the pronouns in academic writing are presented in third person, such as it, they, he

or she, etc.)

3. Addressing

The use of I in academic writing should be avoided as it makes writing sound

too subjective. According to Bradbeer (1999), in academic writing, You addresses

the reader and it is better to find another approach. We groups the writer and

readers together. Consider this example, we should all be more aware of... In this

sentence, the writer is assumed to share his or her position with the readers.

c. Expression

According to Wendel (1999), an academic writer also needs to be aware of

expressions of different sets of language to maintain formality in academic

writing. The following will hence cover thorough discussion on slang,

colloquialism, cliché, jargon, idiom, and neologism.


17

1. Slang

Slang is considered as a variety of language used in certain contexts by

means of which people express their sense of belonging to a particular group

within the community, which is not specific to any geographic location and

sometimes is known as "street talk" (Ellis, 2003). Slang often involves the

creation of new linguistic forms or the creative adaptation of old ones. According

to Langan (1996: 455), we often use slang expressions when we talk because they

are vivid and colorful. However, slang is usually out of place in formal writing.

Dumas and Lighter (1978: 14) further state that slang is markedly lower in

prestige than Standard English. It is inappropriate then to apply slang in academic

writing as academic writing is formal writing which uses Standard English and is

intended for wide range of readers.

2. Colloquialism

Colloquial is generally considered as conversational language (Brewton et

al, 1962: 80) as colloquialism comprises words that people, educated and

uneducated alike, use when they are speaking together quite informally

(McCrimmon, 1984: 273). In other words, colloquialism involves everyday

speech patterns that are acceptable in casual conversation. For example, The

reason they failed was because they did not understand the questions should be

changed into The reason they failed was that they misunderstood the questions.

However, when immortalized in print, these words lack the ability to convey a

clear, universal message, because they may also have inconsistent local

interpretations. Although an occasional colloquial word might be effective in a


18

particular context, it is not precise enough using colloquialisms in academic

writing.

3. Clichés

Clichés are old and overused. According to Memering and O’Hare (1984:

318) a cliché is a worn-out word or phrase, some expression so familiar that no

longer has any force, such as better late than never, easier said than done, the

bottom line, last but not least, unbelievable, and in this day and age. Clichés are

common in speech but are uncommon in writing as the meaning of a cliché is

often confusing. For example, last but not least should be changed into last.

4. Jargon

According to Rugles (1988: 305), jargon is the specialized language of

occupations and fields of inquiry. Memering and O’Hare (1984: 318) stated that

jargon covers all specialized vocabulary and terminology which is specific to

particular trades, professions, and groups and can be neutral or suggest varying

degrees of contempt (Dees, 2003: 174). One example of jargon is The dialectical

interface between neo-Platonists and anti-disestablishment Catholics offers an

algorithm for deontological thought. When such language is used in its own

sphere, it can make communication more effective, but when it is extended to

other realms, it makes writing more difficult for the average reader to understand.

In academic writing the writer must avoid jargon since academic writing

addresses not only a segment but also the whole of society.

5. Idiom


19

According to White (1986: 388), idiom is a non-literal informal expression

that is peculiar to one language and that cannot be literally translated into another

language. Idioms hence tend to confuse those who are not already familiar with

them. Idioms frequently cannot be analyzed grammatically and their meanings

develop through usage rather than through the relationship of the words to each

other (Brewton et al, 1962: 81). Alter (1979: 169) divides idioms through word

formation. The first formation consists of an adjective and a noun such as soft

drink and cold war. The second formation contains verbs and noun, for example,

keep an eye on and be at a lost. Another example is The final assessment is

conducted every semester on the dot should be changed into The final assessment

is precisely conducted every semester.

6. Neologism

Memering and O’Hare (1984: 325) state that neologism is a new word or

phrase that is created to achieve something that old words do not. Neologisms are

sometimes resisted because they are unfamiliar, perceived as unnecessary, or

considered improper or too informal (Dees, 2003: 242). Neologisms are generated

by compounding two or more existing words, as in couch potato and downsize. In

this example, word, term, or phrase which has been recently created often to apply

to new concepts, or to reshape older terms in newer language form. New words

also come from abbreviations such as URL and CEO, blending, e.g. infomercial,

and adding suffixes, such as sexism.

d. Personal Judgment or Subjective Words


20

Michael Meyer (2006) states that formal diction consists of an impersonal

language use. Nice, actually, wonderful, usually, basically, naturally, obviously,

worthwhile, and everybody thinks are perceived as informal since they imply

personal judgment of the writer.

2) Accuracy

Diction is vitally important since it affects the accuracy of everything we

write and say (McMahan & Day, 1984: 407). Accuracy is the chief virtue of the

academic writing style. Besides, there is a little value in academic papers that are

inaccurate. However, the writer must be careful not to oversimplify or distort the

concept in the process (Memering, 1989: 27).

a. Errors in Meaning

Vrooman (1967: 55) states that two causes of inaccuracy are:

1. Confused pairs

Some words frequently have different meaning although they are similar

in spelling. Consider these following examples: advise – advice, affect – effect,

assure - ensure, continual (frequently repeated) – continuous (without

interruption).

2. Words Confused by Analogy

Words are sometimes confusing by transference of meaning. The words do

not resemble one another in spelling, but their meanings are often switched such

as oral (spoken) - verbal (consisting words), among (more than two people) –

between (two people), error- mistake, and fewer (numbers) – less (degree).


21

b. Exaggerated Expressions

Exaggerated expressions such as really, definitely, very, and extremely

create a barrier between writer and reader (Memering, 1989: 351). Exaggerated

expression use of adjective and adverbs weaken vigor and precision. An academic

writer should be specially warned against the overuse of very and definitely.

Especially, truly, quite, or others of this type are better advised than very and

definitely (Willis, 1966: 190).

3) Clarity

Writing in an academic style does not mean writing to impress, but rather,

writing to communicate the writer’s message clearly to an expert audience

(Anderson, 2001: 155). Checking clarity means searching for passages that are

vague or ambiguous. Vague wording in academic writing will make the audience

think of the writer as indefinite (Blicq, 1986: 16). Employing specific words and

restricting meaning in this way will increase the sharpness of the image the reader

receives and decrease the chance of misunderstanding and communication failure.

a. Synonyms

When writers try to impress their readers by using long words and flowery

phrases inappropriately, they create stilted writing. The result is lack of

communication because ideas are obscured rather than clarified by the clutter of

words (Anson, 2000: 346). Selecting the right word might be difficult as one word

has various different shades of meaning. Synonym is a word of nearly the same

meaning as another (Harder et al, 1965: 349). They further state that English is


22

especially rich in words of slightly different shades of meaning. McMahan (1984:

43) also states that synonyms often have different shades of meaning and nuances.

Sometimes a single word can replace a long phrase. Sometimes a more specific

word can replace a general or ambiguous one. Fast might be replaced by rapidly

for example.

b. General Terms

In larger measure, finding exactly the right words in writing involves

choosing specific terms that will keep the readers’ attention (McMahan, 1984:

45). General words name classes and groups of things, while specific words point

to a member of a class or group. Both types of words are appropriate in their

respective contexts, but on the whole rely upon specific words, since they express

meaning more vividly and more precisely than general ones. Specific words tell

the reader that we are definite while vague generalities imply that we are unsure

of ourselves (Blicq, 1986: 348). Nouns, such as thing, area, aspect, factor, and

individual are especially imprecise.

4) Concision

Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses

the strongest ones. In other words, it aims to avoid any words that can be removed

or tighten, clarify, and simplify the writing (Memering, 1989: 248). Concision

hence deals with wordiness. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary

words that can be deleted or replaced. According to Procter (2005), eliminating

wordiness will increase the clarity and formality of the meaning of the sentence.


23

Wordiness is using more words than necessary to express a meaning. It is often a

sign of lazy or careless writing. Some sentences can be unclear in a variety of

ways either in the form of redundancy, misused words, and misused terms.

Joseph William (2003: 117) proposes five principles of concision in

academic writing. They are deletion of meaningless words, doubled words,

redundancy, phrase replacement, and negative form. These principles are easy to

state but hard to follow, because students have to inch their ways through every

sentence they write, cut, and compress some words.

a. Meaningless Words

Some words are verbal tics, including to be and being, forms that we use

unconsciously. The use of to be and being in a sentence is considered as

meaningless since it does not influence the meaning conveyed. Omitting these

forms will improve the quality of the sentences.

b. Doubled Words

Another form of concision is doubled words. Using two similar words to

express a meaning will baffle the readers. Omitting doubled words will improve

the virtue of the sentence, such as basic and fundamental and alter or change.

c. Redundancy

Gerson states that redundancies are words that express the same thing

(2003: 39). There is some common redundancy which is hard to identify because

it comes in so many forms (Williams, 2003: 117). Every word implies its general

category, so the writer can usually cut a word that names it. For example, There

are desirable benefits to be gained from increasing research into English.


24

a. Phrase Replacement

1. Padded Verbs

Inadequate range of vocabulary will produce weak verbs. Students may

hence combine words to produce the intended meaning. It may also reduce the

quality of academic papers, for example have an expectation is less effective than

expect.

2. Formulaic Phrase

This wordiness is especially difficult to fix because the writer needs a big

vocabulary and the wit to use it (William, 2004: 119). One way of reducing

phrases is to look at the use of formulaic phrase. Consider this example:

Weak: Despite the fact that the data were checked, errors occurred. Good: Even though the data were checked, errors occurred.

The example above shows that despite the fact that might be compressed into less

words.

b. Negative Form

When the writer expresses an idea in negative form, not only does he or

she has to use an extra word such as same which means not different, but he or she

also forces readers to do a kind of algebraic factoring. The following expressions

are the same, but the affirmative is more direct, for example, not possible is less

direct than impossible and not often is also less direct than rarely.

Based on the overall theories, effective diction in academic writing should

be aware of maintaining formality, accuracy, clarity, and concision. Using good

diction in academic writing involves choosing the right word for the meaning

desired to be addressed to a wide array of people. To be able to apply formal


25

diction in academic writing, students often use a thesaurus. Although, students

often use it excessively and incorrectly in their selection of words, knowing that

all synonyms do not mean the same thing that each synonym has a subtle nuance

of meaning making it distinct from the other words will help them avoid random

substitutions of words that merely seem to look better.

b. Revising Diction

There are three ways to revise diction errors according to Vrooman (1967:

59) and McCrimmon (1984: 289). They are eliminating vague words, being

economical in using words, and using dictionary.

1) Eliminating Vague Words

Vague words such as thing, much, very, nice, usually, and really are

regularly used in conversation. Vague words carry little meaning because they are

general (McCrimmon, 1984: 349). As they do not convey specific meaning to the

readers, an academic writer avoids vague words and requires more specific terms.

Eliminating vague words is thus crucial as it will lead to formality, accuracy,

clarity and concision of diction.

2) Being Economical in Using Words

As previously stated, concision in academic writing is inter-related to the

content conveyed. Moreover, long phrases and sentences will incite the readers to

lose interest. Wresch (1988: 197) further states that we make economical

sentences so that readers will be able to grasp our meaning quickly. Redundancy


26

and formulaic phrases waste the reader’s time and interfere with the clear

communication of ideas. The quickest way to trim it is to cut any word or phrase

that contributes nothing worthwhile to the sentence. For example: There are some

students who still have the same inappropriate behavior after being punished

should be changed into There are some students who still misbehave after being

punished.

3) Using a Thesaurus

A thesaurus may significantly affect the accuracy and clarity of the diction

in academic writing. A thesaurus is another valuable word source. It does not

define words; instead, it gives lists of synonyms. Although, synonyms are not

always interchangeable, a good thesaurus will clarify the distinction between

similar words (McMahan, 1984: 43). Further, a thesaurus is useful for revising

diction errors as it comprises detailed series of associated words where we can

find one that better suits the context (Guinn and Marder, 1987: 137), for example,

The students can yield their article by tomorrow. Yield is possible synonym for

submit, but within this context, submit is more appropriate. In brief, a thesaurus

can sharpen the writer’s word choice and build vocabulary, as it consists of

detailed series of synonyms to suit the context.

d. Developing Word Power

According to Perrin (1965: 362) and Langan (1996: 440), there are four

ways of developing word power. They are the use of dictionaries, regular reading,


27

word sheets, and vocabulary study books. The following explanation will

thoroughly discuss each way of developing word power.

1) The Use of Dictionaries

A dictionary is an effective tool for writers to help them revise a paper.

Computers are the latest way to use dictionaries. Various publishers have issued

dictionaries in electronic form. Dictionaries, old and new, have made their way

onto the Internet, and this form of publication is likely to become more usual.

Encarta World and Oxford dictionaries are examples of worldly accepted tool

dictionaries. Such dictionaries concentrate on the most commonly used and most

important words and meanings, define words in the simplest way, provide a

thesaurus of each word, and include many examples of words as they appear in

phrases and sentences, showing how the words are used and helping readers

understand the definitions.

2) Regular Reading

Reading is a basis of knowledge. Students may acquire linguistic

knowledge such as grammatical items, diction, language style, and word

composition through reading English texts such as books, newspapers, magazines,

and other printed materials. Further, vocabulary knowledge is explicitly acquired

through reading any English texts. Some parts of rapid word recognition skills

come from reading extensively and learning new words while reading (Schoonen,

Huistjin, and Bossers, 1998). Students benefit from being exposed to new words


28

through explicit instruction, learning how to learn words of their own,

familiarizing themselves with their own-learning processes, and becoming word

collectors (Grabe and Stoller, as cited in Graves 2000; Stahl 1999).

3) Word Sheet

The first way to develop vocabulary by means of a word sheet is by

marking off words that we want to learn. After accumulating a number of words,

we look up in a dictionary the basic information of each word and record it on a

word sheet. Then, we need to write sentences in which each word may appear as a

word is always best learned not only in a vacuum but also in the context of

surrounding words. For example, approach (noun) has several meanings such as,

(1) An act of approaching, (2) A way of dealing with person or thing, and (3)

Sexual advance. It has also other forms of the word such as, method, access,

advance, methodology, and procedure. Specifically, its use in context is Our

approach in dealing with the problem is different.

4) Vocabulary Study Books

The most effective way to help us to learn words is by looking at the

context and the words around the unfamiliar words, and unlocking its meaning.

This method is called using context clues or word clues. “30 Days to a More

Powerful Vocabulary” by Funck and Lewis and “ Vocabulary through Pleasure

Reading” by Amsco School Publications are examples of vocabulary study books.


29

3. Error

a. A Brief Definition of Errors

Errors arise from a lack of knowledge of the rules of the language, i.e.

competence; while mistakes arise from factors such as fatigue and inattention, i.e.

performance (Chomsky, 1965, cited in Dulay, Burt & Krashen, 1982: 139). Burt

and Kiparsky (1974, as cited in Omaggio, 1986: 291) differentiate between global

error and local error. Global errors are errors that affect overall sentences

organization. They are also called major errors because they are likely to lead to

misunderstanding of the sentence (Norish, 1983: 106). Local errors are errors that

affect single elements in a sentence and they do not hinder communication. They

are also called minor errors because they hardly interfere with the writer’s

intended meaning.

Another definition is from Corder (stated in Dulay, 1982: 139), where

error consists of systematic deviations due to the learner’s still-developing

knowledge of the second language rule system. Further, error is a red flag that

provides evidence of the learner’s knowledge of the second language (Gas &

Selinker, 1994). In this research, the error is the students’ failure to use

appropriate words about academic writing system rule while they are still

developing their English ability. Specifically, errors refer to any deviation that

appears in the learner’s writing, regardless of causes of the possible deviation.

b. The Causes of Errors


30

Brown (1983: 177) states that there are three likely sources of error,

namely:

1) Interlingual Transfer

This source of errors is related with the entrance of rules of a language to

another language being learned. It is dealing with the interference of native

language. It is obvious that learners often use their previous experience with their

native language on the production of the target language.

2) Intralingual Transfer

Most errors result from the interference of the learner’s first language or

mother tongue (Dulay, 1982: 2). Second language sometimes is different from the

first language. For example, English is quite different from Indonesian.

Accordingly, the students frequently make errors in learning English. As noted by

Johnson (2001: 67) the number of errors of intralingual interference involves the

overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restriction, incomplete application of rules

and semantic errors. The first type, overgeneralization, is associated with

redundancy reduction. It covers instances where the learner creates a deviant

structure on the basis of his or her experience of other structures in the target

language. It may be the result of the learner reduces his or her linguistic burden.

The second source is ignorance of rule restrictions, for example, applying rules to

contexts to which they do not apply. The third is incomplete application of rules.

The last is semantic errors, such as building false concepts or systems: i.e. faulty

comprehension of distinctions in the target language.


31

3) Context of Learning

Context of learning refers to the teachers, textbooks, and materials. If a

teacher has low competence in explaining the students will model that wrong

explanation. Besides, carelessnes can make errors as well. Norish (1983: 21)

mentions that the material or the style of presentation can loosen the students’

interest. In other words, carelessness is closely related with lack of motivation.

c. Error Analysis

Error analysis is a category of linguistic analysis that focuses on the errors

learners make. Researchers are interested in errors because they are believed to

contain valuable information on the strategies that people use to acquire a

language (Dulay and Burt, 1972). The investigation of errors can be at the same

time diagnostic and prognostic. It is diagnostic because it can tell us the learner’s

state of the language (Corder, 1967) at a given point during the learning process

and prognostic because it can tell course organizers to reorient language learning

materials on the basis of the learner’s current problems.

B. Theoretical Framework

Professions that are either directly or indirectly associated with writing

require people to have good English writing skill. Formal writing is required for

being accepted in working world as writing skill plays a central role in all

elements of life.


32

As one variety of formal writing, academic writing is a compulsory course

for sixth semester students of English Education Study Program of Sanata

Dharma University as it will serve as fundamental skill to other following

compulsory courses such as Seminar on Language Teaching, Research on English

Language Teaching, Thesis Writing, Service Program Design, and Thesis course.

Since the sixth semester students of Writing VI course have encountered

overall writing courses, they must be able to produce good diction. They should

be at the level where they no longer make diction errors in formal writing.

Nevertheless, they perhaps find difficulties selecting the right words in academic

writing. Since they may produce inappropriate diction in developing their

academic writing, some experts’ points of view are used as the references. To

obtain the thorough information of the students’ diction, the integration of diction

features for academic writing suggested by O’Hare and Gerson becomes the main

instrument. It is used as the guidance in evaluating the students’ diction in

academic writing.

In brief, some experts’ points of view play some significant roles in

exploring, identifying, and analyzing the students’ diction in terms of formality,

accuracy, clarity, and concision. It serves as the basis of the research that leads to

the data analysis and interpretation.


33

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents detailed discussion about the methodology employed

in this study. This includes the descriptions of the method of research, the

participants, the setting, the instruments, the procedure, and the data analysis.

A. Method of Research

This study was a descriptive research. It was designed “to obtain

information concerning the current status of phenomena” (Ary et al, 1990: 381).

At the same time the research was done without their being influences by the

investigator. Therefore, there was no treatment toward the students’ diction in

academic writing. The data were purely natural without the researcher’s

interference.

Descriptive research consists of several methods. To obtain the specific

information, the research employed document analysis method. Documentary

analysis is a research method applied to written or visual materials for the purpose

of identifying specific characteristics of the material (Ary et al, 2002: 442).

Since this study explored the diction in the students’ academic writing as a

major focus for investigation and interpretation, qualitative research was applied.

Sprinthall (1991: 100) further states that the data gathered in qualitative research

are purely descriptive and not numerical. Therefore, there was no hypothesis

formulated in the research.


34

B. Research Participants

The term population refers to the entire group of persons, things or events

that share at least one common trait (Sprinthal, 1991: 27). The target population of

this research was all the sixth semester students who belonged to Writing VI

classes of English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University of the

academic year 2003/ 2004. Since it would not be possible to survey the entire

classes, a small sample designed to be the representative of the population was

selected. A sample is “a subgroup taken from the population to represent it”

(Brown, 1991: 114). There are five Writing VI classes and class E was taken as

the sample of the population in this research. Class E consisted of thirty students.

Since two students were not sixth semester students, the researcher thus took 28

students as the sample.

C. Research Setting

The research was conducted at the English Language Education Study

Program of Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. It was done from August

until December 2006 towards the sixth semester students of the academic year

2003/2004. The researcher collected the final assignment from the lecturer to be

analyzed as the data for the research.

D. Research Instruments

The research employed four checklists as the instruments. Those checklists

consisted of formality, accuracy, clarity, and concision categories derived from

the features of appropriate diction for academic writing advised by O’Hare (1984:


35

317) and Gerson (2003: 27). The first instrument consisting of formality category

aimed to examine how the students use more formal words in academic writing.

Further, it aimed to find out whether the students choose either less formal words

or more formal words. Abbreviation was divided into four features, namely,

shortening, contractions, and initialism. Pronoun included possessive, sexist, and

addressing. While expression included slang, colloquialism, cliché, jargon, idiom,

and neologism. The last feature is personal judgment or subjective words. The

checklist was thus outlined as follows:

Table 3.1 Formality Checklist No. Formality Criteria Yes/No 1. Abbreviation Shortening (full forms) Contraction (no apostrophe marking the omission of letters, full

forms of one-word numbers)

Initialism (using plain words ) 2. Correct pronoun (possessive, sexist, and addressing) Possessive (using of rather than a possessive clitic) Sexist (no masculine bias, presented in third person) Addressing (avoiding the use of I) 3. Expression Slang (avoiding any slangs) Colloquialism (avoiding conversational/ casual language) Cliché (avoiding worn-out words/ phrases) Jargon (avoiding specialized vocabulary/ terminology) Idiom (avoiding non-literal informal expression that cannot be

translated into another language)

Neologism (avoiding new language forms that are unfamiliar) 4. Personal judgment or subjective words (avoiding words that imply

personal judgment of the writer)

The second instrument consisting of accuracy category focused on

whether the students employ accurate diction in delivering the message in

academic writing. Accuracy category included ungrammatical form, errors in

meaning, and exaggerated expression. Errors in meaning might be indicated from


36

confused pairs and words confused by analogy. The checklist of accuracy

category would be:

Table 3.2 Accuracy Checklist No. Accuracy Criteria Yes/No 1. Errors in meaning Confused pairs (aware of words which have similar spelling but

different meaning)

Words confused by analogy (aware of transference of meaning) 2. Exaggerated expression (avoiding the overuse of very, really,

definitely, and extremely)

The third instrument consisted of clarity category. This category consisted

of synonym and general term. These features aimed to find out the students’

competence in choosing the right diction that was clear and not ambiguous. The

checklist was framed as follows:

Table 3.3 Clarity Checklist No. Clarity Criteria Yes/No 1. Synonyms (using precise words) 2. General term (using specific terms rather than general ones)

The concision category checklist was the fourth instrument used for

ascertaining the students’ diction. Further it analyzed whether the students

employed redundancy or brief sentences. Concision category included deletion of

meaningless words, doubling of words, redundancy, phrase replacement, negative

form. Meaningless words covered unnecessary to be and being. Meanwhile,

phrase replacement covered padded verbs and formulaic phrase.

The checklist was formulated as follows:


37

Table 3.4 Concision Checklist No. Concision Criteria Yes/No 1. Meaningless words (avoiding unnecessary to be or being) 2. Doubled Words (avoiding two similar words to express one

meaning)

3. Redundancy (cutting words that express the same thing) 4. Phrase replacement Padded verbs (avoiding combined words to produce the

intended meaning)

Formulaic phrase (avoiding too long and big phrases in conveying message)

5. Negative form (using affirmative rather than negative forms)

E. Research Procedure

In this research, the research procedure covered two subsequent steps

namely preparation and conducting survey.

1. Preparation

There was one step of preparation to do this research. The researcher asked

permission to the lecturer of Writing VI course in class E where the research

would be conducted.

2. Conducting Survey

The survey was done to gather data about the diction in Writing VI course.

In this step, the researcher gathered the data by collecting the final research

papers. There were supposed to be 30 pieces of writing collected from the

students. Yet, not all of the data became the samples of the research as there were

two students who were not sixth semester students. Therefore, there were only 28

pieces of writing analyzed in the research.


38

E. Data Analysis

Analysis involves organizing data, synthesizing, searching for significant

patterns, and discovering what is important (Ary et al, 2002: 465). Therefore,

there were two steps employed in the research to make the task manageable,

namely data analysis and data interpretation.

To answer the first problem, the researcher would check the composition

and give marks. The process of coding was important to recognize the

inappropriate words and clauses if the researcher wanted to crosscheck the

composition. The marking of the compositions would be followed up by

transforming into the four checklist instruments. The four instruments indicated

presence or absence of some features of the formality, accuracy, clarity, and

concision.

To provide scientific reference on the frequency of the characteristics

presence in the students’ diction, the result of the four instruments were counted

and transformed in the percentage data. The percentage data presented the

summary of the formality, accuracy, clarity, and concision features found in the

students’ diction in their academic writing. The percentage might reveal how the

presence or absence of those items affected the students’ diction in academic

writing. The presence or absence of each category would be explored thoroughly

in each point of discussion. It involved some of the students’ sentences as the

samples of the discussions.

To answer the second problem, the researcher would recheck between

lines. In this step, the researcher recorded all marked inappropriate words and

phrases in a table. The researcher then put the inappropriate words and phrases in


39

the diction error checklist based on the combination features suggested by O’Hare

and Gerson. Each phrase and sentence could be given more than one mark as it

might consist of more than one error category. Further, the analysis of each

category of errors would be thoroughly discussed in the next chapter.

Meanwhile, to answer the third problem, the sources of errors would be

revealed by combining the existing theories and the research findings.


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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

This chapter presents the analysis of the research problem as previously

mentioned. In the first section, the researcher discusses the first problem of the

research. The results are presented in the following order: (1) formality of the

students’ writing, (2) accuracy of the students’ writing, (3) clarity of the students’

writing, and (4) concision of the students’ writing. Meanwhile, the second section

discusses the second problem of the research. The results are presented in the

following order: (1) formality errors, (2) accuracy errors, (3) clarity errors, (4)

concision errors, and (5) other findings. The last section will reveal the sources of

errors derived from the existing theories and research findings. In addition, the

detailed recapitulations of the overall results are available in appendices.

A. Diction Produced in the Students’ Writing

Responding to the first problem, the writer analyzed whether the students

produced appropriate diction in academic writing. Further, the discussion

determined at which category they were good.

1. Formality of the Students’ Writing

The formality category of diction in academic writing involves several

features. In the research, abbreviation, pronoun, and expression features may

indicate the formality of students’ diction in academic writing. The results were

thus shown in Table 4.1 (see p. 41). Formal words needs to be employed as the

audience of academic writing are scholars, lecturers, and even professors.


41

Table 4.1 The Students’ Diction on Formality Category No Formality Features (%) 1. Avoid abbreviation (shortening, contractions, and initialism) 71.43 2. Use correct pronoun (possessive, sexist, and addressing) 60.71 3. Avoid expression (slang, colloquialism, cliché, jargon, idiom, and

neologism) 53.57

4. Avoid personal judgment or subjective words 64.29

To be formal, avoiding abbreviation is important as well. Its use is

accepted in informal writing but not in formal writing. Enclosing abbreviation in

academic writing will be considered as informal, since abbreviation is commonly

used in informal writing and well recognized by particular community. Once a

student uses shortening in his or her writing it will baffle the audience because the

audience may not recognize or may misinterpret the meaning. The result shows

that the majority of the composition (71.43%) avoided abbreviation either in the

form of shortening, contractions, or initialism. This result shows that most of the

students knew how to use abbreviation properly. In other words, most of the

students were aware of the abbreviation proscription in academic writing.

Consider these examples:

1) PBL (Problem Based Learning)

2) CTL (Contextual Teaching Learning)

Initialisms in the examples above were written correctly since the writer

gave the meaning of the PBL and CTL. The writer needed to give meaning to

those initialisms because PBL and CTL were merely familiar with particular

community.


42

The majority of the students’ composition (60.71%) contained correct use

of pronoun. This was a good result since correct use of pronouns, either

possessive, sexist or addressing in academic writing, would persist formal.

Avoiding expressions such as slang, colloquialism, cliché, jargon, idiom,

and neologism could be more beneficial in order to avoid the use of informal

words, for example crystallize. Crystallize would be less well understood than

create or form. The writer used fancy elevated words because he or she might be

writing carelessly or trying to show off. A number of compositions (53.57%)

avoided these expressions. Employing such expressions would be considered as

poor academic writing because the audience would judge the writer as

incompetent. Using personal language or subjective words will also be considered

as poor writing. Most of the compositions (64.29%) avoided personal language

such as actually, usually, and basically. Detailed error analysis of the students’

diction in terms of formality category will be revealed in the second section.

2. Accuracy of the Students’ Writing

Accuracy category of students’ diction covers certain features, namely

ungrammatical form and errors in meaning. However, the research excluded

grammatical feature (see p.3). The result of accuracy analysis was presented in

Table 4.2:

Table 4.2 The Students’ Diction on Accuracy Category No. Accuracy Features (%) 1. No errors in meaning 75 2. No Exaggerated expression 50


43

Diction that contains errors in meaning will be regarded as inaccurate as it

does not convey the message precisely. Nearly all of the students’ compositions

(75%) were able to convey correct meaning. Consequently, only a small number

of the compositions still remained inaccurate.

Example: In Total Physical Response, the students are given oral commands.

Oral was correctly employed in the sentence rather than verbal. This sentence

carried an accurate meaning since verbal commands opposed to pictures or

physical action. Therefore, if the writer used verbal in this sentence, it would

consequently carry an inaccurate meaning.

On the other hand, half of the students’ compositions (50%) already

avoided exaggerated expression such as extremely, definitely, and very.

3. Clarity of the Students’ Writing

Concision category includes two features namely correct words or

synonyms and general term. The results of the clarity analysis of students’ diction

in their academic writing were presented in Table 4.3:

Table 4.3 The Students’ Diction on Clarity Category No. Clarity features (%) 1. Use correct words (synonym) 57.14 2. Avoid general term 75

Table 4.3 shows that most of the compositions (57.14%) used correct

words. It means that only some students were aware of selecting the correct

synonym to convey the intended meaning. Consider this example:


44

To really understand whether a work of literature portrays the real world, we

need to see what is behind the work itself.

In this example, the underlined word was employed to show the function

of a work literature. Portray has exact and specific meaning that is to depict

something such a character or a scene. If the writer employed show, he or she

might fail to convey the exact meaning, as show has various different shades of

meaning.

Specific terms express meaning more vividly and more precisely than

general ones. Most of the compositions (75%) avoided general terms. It means

that most of the students were implied that they were definite of themselves. If the

writer employed a general word such as things, the audience would probably

consider the writer as indefinite writer. For example: Some of these perennial

undesirable behaviors are: talking out of turn, getting out of a seat without asking

permission, using dirty language, and fighting with other children. Perennial

undesirable behaviors in this sentence conveyed a more precise and clear meaning

than if the writer employed things.

4. Concision of the Students’ Writing

Concision of diction in academic writing involves several features namely,

meaningless words, doubling of words, redundancy, phrases, and negative form.

The percentages of those features were presented in Table 4.4.


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Table 4.4 The Students’ Diction on Concision Category No. Concision Features (%) 1. Avoid meaningless words (unnecessary “to be” and “being”) 82.14 2. Avoid doubling of words 71.43 3. Avoid redundancy 78.57 4. Replace phrase with single meaningful word (padded verbs and

formulaic phrase) 42.86

5. Avoid negative form 71.43

In this category, most of the compositions (82.14%) avoided meaningless

words either avoiding to be and being form. This means that the students were

aware that such a feature would weaken the quality of the composition as they

added meaningless words to convey the meaning. For example, it seems to be

unfair because each student is acknowledged to have the same ability and speed

in expressing their ideas. The form to be in this sentence was meaningless as it

did not change the meaning even if the writer eliminated it.

Further, most of the students’ compositions (71.43%) avoided doubling of

words. Using single word to express the precise meaning will remain concise and

clear as well. For example, Cooperative learning can be implemented not only in

teaching speaking, reading, or vocabulary but also in writing. Employing a single

word such as implement in this sentence had already conveyed the intended

meaning, so that employing implement and apply was inappropriate.

The majority of the students’ compositions (78.57%) avoided redundancy

as well. Most of them employed an effective single word. For example,

Implementing cooperative learning in teaching writing brings some benefits.

Employing benefits in this sentence was better than saying good benefits as

benefits already represented something good.


46

However, some of the compositions (42.86) replaced phrases with single

meaningful words. Most of them employed long phrases to convey the message.

This feature would be described later in details in the discussion as the researcher

found many errors in this category.

The last feature in concision category is negative form. More than half of

the compositions (71.43%) avoided negative forms. This means that most of the

students were aware that negative form such as without including could be

replaced with excluding.

B. Diction Errors Produced in the Students’ Writing

The samples of the research were 28 pieces of writing. In responding to

the second problem formulation, the writer observed diction errors in students’

compositions that were classified in terms of formality, accuracy, clarity, and

concision. After this, the writer gathered, classified, and calculated the percentage

of errors. All of the diction errors were presented in Table 4.5:

Table 4.5 The Number of Diction Errors in Each Category: Formality, Accuracy, Clarity, and Concision in the Observed Data.

No Error Category Number of Errors (% ) 1. Formality 86 32.21 2. Accuracy 38 14.23 3. Clarity 37 13.86 4. Concision 106 39.7 TOTAL 267 100

Table 4.5 shows that the highest percentage of error occurred in the

concision (39.7%) category. In the second place was formality error (32.21%).

These were followed by accuracy (14.23%) and clarity (13.86%). The writer


47

would thus discuss each category to reveal the errors thoroughly. The following

were some of the students’ diction containing errors requiring analysis.

1. Formality Errors

Table 4.6 shows that 86 errors covered four features, namely abbreviation,

pronoun, expression, and subjective words.

Table 4.6 The Percentage of Formality Errors No. Error Type Total (%) 1. Abbreviation 20 7.49 2. Pronoun 37 13.86 3. Expression 18 6.74 4. Subjective words 11 4.12 TOTAL 86 32.21

The writer thus sequentially elaborated some examples of formality errors

in the following sections:

a. Abbreviation

There were 20 errors (7.49%) of abbreviation in students’ composition.

These errors covered wrong use of initialism and contraction. Examples of

initialism error were:

1) Even though in the GBPP states that elementary school students …

2) People still consider that human intelligence can be measured only by IQ

test.

The above sentences included incorrect initialisms as the students placed

the initialism without elucidating the meaning. It was probably inappropriate as

some of the readers might be unaware what those initialisms stood for. Plausible

rectifications of these sentences were:


48

1) Even though in the GBPP (Garis-garis Besar Pedoman Pengajaran) states

that elementary school students …

2) People still consider that human intelligence can be measured only by IQ

(Intelligence Quotient) test.

Meanwhile, examples of contraction found in the students’ composition

were:

1) If it doesn’t work, give him a punishment.

2) In sum, experiential learning method in writing process helps the students to

reach high level thinking.

The italic words were the contractions. Contractions are avoided since they

are informal English (Harder et al, 1965: 17; Wresch et al, 1988: 186). These

sentences were informal sentences since they expressed the spoken form rather

than the written form. ‘Doesn’t’ and ‘in sum’ were appropriate in speaking but

inappropriate in writing. In this case the students should write the whole words.

Plausible rectifications of the sentences were:

1) If it does not work, give him a punishment.

2) In summary, experiential learning method in writing process helps the

students to reach high level thinking.

b. Pronoun

Writers must avoid a masculine bias in pronouns or other words that

indicate gender as sexist pronouns are not allowed in academic writing


49

(Memering, 1989: 249). From 37 errors, most of the errors appeared in employing

sexist pronoun. For example:

1) … integrated into the individual’s system of constructs which he imposes on

the world.

2) the learner can utilize his experiences and learning strengths in the process of

constructing knowledge.

The use of he and his above implies a totally masculine group. In other

words, the students overlook the feminine group. As this is unacceptable in

academic writing, the students should use a pronoun that explicitly indicates both

men and women. Plausible rectifications of the sentences were:

1) … integrated into the individual’s system of constructs which he or she

imposes on the world.

2) … the learner can utilize his or her experiences and learning strengths in the

process of constructing knowledge.

Addressing you was mostly considered as informal in academic writing as

well. The detailed data enclosed in Appendix 5 specifically showed that 16 errors

found in this sub-category. For example:

1) Studying public speaking is important to you not only personally but also

professionally.

2) You can not edit and revise what you wish to say.


50

c. Expression

In this category, 18 errors (6.74%) were found as colloquialism and

neologism. Colloquialism is a kind of words that people, educated and

uneducated alike, use when they are speaking together quite informally

(McCrimmon, 1984: 273). For example:

1) Besides that, Kolb also did a good job of integrating the two dialectical

entities.

2) The writer can say so because it based on the advantages from the

completion-item test.

It is well known that spoken language is different from written language.

Focusing on the form, these sentences were casual style of spoken language. The

students apparently spoke with the readers informally. Besides, they might show

that the students lacked the academic rules of language. These sentences were thus

unacceptable particularly in academic writing. Plausible rectifications of the

sentences were:

1) Besides, Kolb also succeeds in integrating the two dialectical entities.

2) The concept is based on the advantages from the completion-item test.

Another error found in this category was neologism. As has been stated

before, neologisms are resisted because they are unfamiliar and considered too

informal (Dees, 2003: 242). For example, no exception to their rapid crystallizing

that adults are three-quarters hot air.

The most likely intended meaning of crystallizing in this sentence was

growth or progress. However, crystallizing in this sentence was considered as


51

unfamiliar in an educational context. A plausible rectification of this sentence

was, no exception to their rapid growth that adults are three-quarters hot air.

d. Subjective Words

There were eleven subjective words produced by the students. These

sentences were perceived as informal since they implied personal judgment of the

writer. For example:

1) Cooperative learning has wonderful benefits for relationships between

students..

2) If the song is catchy enough and simple enough, they will usually want to

sing it.

Actually and wonderful in these sentences were considered as informal

since they expressed personal thought of the writer. In fact, formal diction

excludes the use of personal judgment in writing even in academic writing.


1) Cooperative learning has benefits for relationships between students

2) …they will likely want to sing it.

2. Accuracy Errors

Referring to Memering and Vrooman (see p. 20), errors in meaning and

exaggerated expression may lead to inaccuracy and weakness. The writer found

38 errors in this category.


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Table 4.7 The Percentage of Accuracy Error No. Error Type Total (%) 1. Errors in meaning 7 2.62 2. Exaggerated expression 31 11.61 TOTAL 38 14.23

Some examples of accuracy errors were hence thoroughly discussed as

follows:

a. Errors in Meaning

Confused pairs and confused by analogy are causes of error in meaning.

There were seven errors in meaning found in students’ composition either because

of confused pairs or analogy. For example, … the research needs to the others

effect of pair work.

Error in meaning found in the first sentence, others was confused pairs.

The student was baffled as others and other have meaning alike. Meanwhile, they

have different usage. Plausible rectification of this sentence is the research need

to the other effect of pair work.

b. Exaggerated Expression

There were 31 exaggerated expressions in the students’ compositions.

Most of them employed very, definitely, absolutely, and totally. For example:

1) Practicing role-play is absolutely asking the students to speak in front of the

class.

2) These two features are very related each other.


53

The two sentences above were inaccurate as they employed absolutely and

very. The use of these adverbs not only weakened vigor but also precision.

Plausible rectifications of these sentences were:

1) Practicing role-play requires the students to speak in front of class.

2) These two features are closely interrelated.

3. Clarity Errors

Checking clarity means searching for passages that are vague or

ambiguous (Blicq, 1986: 16). Thus, the use of unambiguous words and specific

terms will remove confusion and imprecision. There were 37 errors in this

category. More vague words were found than general terms.

Table 4.8 The Percentage of the Clarity Error No. Error Type Total (%) 1. Synonym 26 9.74 2. General term 11 4.12 TOTAL 37 13.86

a. Synonym

Vague words are closely related with selecting the right synonym.

McMahan (1984: 43) further states that synonyms often have different shades of

meaning and nuances. Thus, selecting the right word to derive the meaning

intended can be difficult. Based on table 4.8, there were 26 vague words (9.74%).

For example:

1) But, in usual practice, writing test is evaluated only based on the grammatical

error and the idea without the process how the students come to the result.


54

2) Guessing will make them remember what the meaning of the unknown word

longer.

The first sentence above seemed unclear since usual practice referred to

the process of grading a composition. It would be more obvious if the student

employed standard procedure. Meanwhile, the second sentence showed that the

student used not only a general word but also a somewhat everyday word. Make

was better replaced by enable since enable gave a more precise meaning.


1) However, in standard procedure, writing test is evaluated only based on the

grammatical error and the idea without the process of how the students come

to the result.

2) Guessing will enable them to remember the meaning of unfamiliar words

longer.

b. General Term

Thing is considered imprecise as it implies a quite general meaning. There

were eleven general words (4.12%) found in this category. For example:

1) It is expected that the study can give beneficial thing to the English teachers.

2) In a method it can be seen a list of things which may be done in a teaching-

learning process.

Thing and things in the sentences above might convey broad meaning. The

students were unable to put a single meaningful and specific word. It indicated


55

that they were unsure of themselves. Plausible rectifications of the sentences

were:

1. The study is expected to give beneficial input for the English teachers.

2. In a method can be seen a list of procedures which may be applied in a

teaching-learning process.

4. Concision Errors

Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words that can be

deleted or replaced. According to Procter (2005) eliminating weak or unnecessary

words will increase the clarity and formality of the meaning of the sentence.

Based on Table 4.9, there were 106 errors were found. These errors covered the

use of to be or being, doubled words, redundancy, phrases, and negative forms.

Table 4.9 The Percentage of Concision Error No. Error Type Total (%) 1. To be/ being 5 1.87 2. Doubled words 12 4.49 3. Redundancy 12 4.49 4. Phrase replacement 57 21.35 5. Negative words 20 7.49 TOTAL 106 39.7

a. Meaningless Words (to be or being)

Employing to be or being form in sentences may sound like wordiness.

There were 5 to be and being forms in the students’ compositions. For example, it

seems to be unfair because each student is known to have the same ability and

speed in expressing their ideas


56

To be form in the example was better omitted since it implied no meaning.

It just showed wordiness. A plausible rectification of this sentence was it seems

unfair because each student is known to have the same ability and speed in

expressing their ideas.

b. Doubled Words

As William stated (p. 24), doubled words will baffle the readers since the

student used two words with similar meaning to express different meaning.

Twelve doubled words were found in the students’ compositions. All of them

used different words to convey the same meaning. For example:

1) The students can improve and develop their speaking skills through

Cooperative Language Learning.

2) … having them share their ideas and opinions or a regular basis.

Improve and develop had same sense that were change and grow. Using

similar words like this might be considered as wordiness. The same case also

occured in the latter sentence. The meaning of ideas and opinions was similar.

The students would do better to select one of these words to convey the meaning.


1) The students can improve their speaking skills through Cooperative

Language Learning.

2) … having them share their ideas or a regular basis.


57

c. Redundancy

It is hard to identify redundancy as it emerges from various forms. In this

category the writer thus only found twelve redundancies. For example:

1) There are many good advantages toward the use of music as an approach in

teaching English for children.

2) The students’ learning final outcomes at some period of the course is very

important.

The redundancy in the first sentence could be identified easily since it was

clearly stated. Advantage was always considered as beneficial, so good was

redundant. The second sentence was the same case as well. ‘Outcome’ was

associated with result, or was the way that something turned out in the end.

Therefore, final was redundant. Plausible rectifications of the sentences were:

1) There are many advantages toward the use of music as an approach in

teaching English for children.

2) The students’ learning outcomes at some period of the course is important.

d. Phrases Replacement

Replacing long phrases with shorter meaningful phrases will improve the

quality of the compositions. Phrase replacement covers two kinds of phrases

namely, padded verbs and formulaic phrases. There were 57 errors in this

category either in the form of padded verbs or formulaic phrases. Examples of

padded verbs were:

1) It is clear that this activity minimizes the students’ weakness and gets better

results in reading.


58

2) Students are more likely to read when the teachers make them interest in

reading.

The padded verbs employed in the sentences above were get better and

make them interest. These padded verbs were correct. However, in academic

writing a single meaningful word is more effective than the use of longer words,

conveying the same meaning. Get better in the first sentence was associated with

improve, in other words improve was preferable to get better. The second padded

verbs make them interest was better substituted by motivate as motivate was more

effective and concise.

The plausible rectifications of the sentences were:

1) It is clear that from this activity the students can minimize their weakness and

improves results in reading.

2) Students are more likely to read when the teachers motivate them in reading.

Another form of this category is formulaic phrase. Replacing formulaic

phrases with more concise and meaningful phrases will improve the quality of a

composition. Some examples of formulaic phrases found were:

1) Grammar and other skills are also important but vocabulary is more

important because it has function as the basis.

2) Role play is chosen by the researcher to find out its effectiveness in teaching

vocabulary.

3) So that is why the teachers and students need an approach that is Cooperative

learning in order to achieve speaking skill.


59

The first sentence above did not clearly state the meaning. The student

used so many words that led to confusion. In fact, the meaning of the sentence is

merely that vocabulary is more important because it serves as underlying language

element. The second sentence was the same. Chosen by the researcher possibly

showed that the student was careless in writing since he was automatically the

person who chose Role play as the topic. Therefore, the first and second sentences

above should be compressed. Since long phrases and sentences would incite the

readers to lose interest, the third sentence would be more effective if it was also

reduced to fewer words. Plausible rectifications of the sentences were:

1) Vocabulary is more important than grammar and other skills because of its

basic function.

2) Role play is chosen to find out its effectiveness in teaching vocabulary.

3) Therefore the teachers and students need an approach that is Cooperative

learning to achieve speaking skill.

e. Negative Forms

Using negative forms in writing particularly academic writing, a writer

will use more words than when using positive forms. Besides, as already stated

before, using the affirmative will be more direct in conveying the meaning.

Twenty negative forms were found in the students’ compositions. For example:

1) The students are also accustomed to be not passive and not dependent

learners.


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2) The researcher had found some ways in solving the problems but the writer

still thinks it is not enough.

Not passive and not dependent in the first sentence were not ideal for

conveying the meaning. In addition, those negative forms might be considered as

weak forms. Not passive and not dependent would be better substituted by active

and independent. Meanwhile, not enough in the second sentence would be better

replaced with insufficient. However, looking over this context, unsatisfactory

would be more effective and precise. This implied that context was also

significant in selecting appropriate words. Plausible rectifications of the sentences

were:

1) The students are also accustomed to be active and independent learners.

2) The researcher had found some ways in solving the problems although they

are still unsatisfactory.

5. Other Findings

This section described other significant findings, outside the research, that

justify discussion. The first finding related to the students’ grammatical

awareness. Grammatical errors were still found, such as subject-verb agreement,

tenses, preposition, passive-active form, and articles. Mistakes with the are

frequently found in the students’ writing. Most of the students might misidentify

the word which had to accord with the article the. Another example was the

awareness of preposition such as different with. Most of the students produced

different with rather than different from.


61

The other finding concerned with translation. Some students tended to

translate sentences into English but still interfered by their native language. Their

sentences hence sounded Indonesian-English. For example,

The intelligences that determine whether someone is smart or not are only the

logical-mathematical intelligence and verbal-linguistic intelligence, whereas

Gardner has different about that.

This sentence perhaps was meaningless to a native English speaker

because it sounded like Indonesian and spoken language. This sentence could

have been written as follow:

Gardner states that logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic intelligence are

not the only indicators that determine the intelligence of an individual.

The revised sentence sounded more formal, concise, and clear than the

previous. To be more formal, accurate, clear and concise, the writer needed to

translate his ideas instead of his sentences to the target language.

C. The Sources of the Diction Errors

This section revealed the likely sources of the diction errors. To have valid

results, the researcher concluded by combining the research findings and existing

theories stated in Chapter II. From the research findings above and the theories of

sources of errors, the researcher believed that there were six causes of the diction

errors:


62

1. Laziness

Laziness was considered as the major source of the diction errors. Most of

the errors found were made because the students were probably too lazy to consult

the dictionary and thesaurus. The students were unaware that they lack academic

words. The errors found in all categories showed that they still generally used

everyday expression and spoken words in expressing their scientific and academic

ideas. However, in academic writing they should use more academic and precise

words. They might be able to avoid less academic and precise words or phrases if

they often looked up a dictionary or thesaurus. For example:

The students’ intelligences are grants from God that will be very pity if they are

not realized and optimized.

This example clearly showed that the student had difficulty to find the

precise word for very pity. This sentence would turn out better if the student

looked up a dictionary or thesaurus to find a more appropriate word. In this

sentence, worthless would be more suitable than very pity. Laziness is often

closely related to the student’s lack of motivation. This source of error is thus

included as one of context of learning revealed by Brown (1983: 177).

2. Showing Off

From the overall errors found in the concision category, the researcher

concluded that the students were trying to show off. They often used long and

complicated phrases that seemed academic. However, they did not convey the

meaning clearly. The students did not realize that their diction might lessen the

readers’ interest. Consider these following examples:


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a. In order to make the development work well, a material design that is good

should follow the teaching of the subject.

b. Pair work is an activity of learning that is only done by two students are face

to face to give information through reading by taking turn.

In these sentences, the student seemed trying to show off by using quite

long phrases just to convey an idea. They seemed awkward since they did not

straightforwardly express the meaning. The researcher tried to revise them by not

showing off and avoiding “indirectness”. The plausible revision would be:

a. To accomplish the process, a well-designed material should follow the

objective of the subject.

b. Pair work is a learning activity where two students take turns reading and

sharing information face to face.

3. Context Ignorance

Being formal in academic writing is principal since academic writing is

mostly addressed to academic audience. However, derived from the research

findings in formality category, it seemed that the students rarely considered

context as an important part of writing. They possibly felt that they could still

convey their message to the readers without concern for the context. For example,

… the students should practice speaking over and over again.

Over and over again was associated with again and again or repeatedly.

It was often used in daily conversation rather than in formal writing. It was

thus better replaced with more formal words such as repeatedly or frequently.


64

Ignorance of context occurs because the students do not have knowledge

of the rules of a certain area in English writing, particularly academic writing.

This error occurs due to the ignorance of rule restrictions that is considered as

intralingua interference stated by Brown (1983: 177).

4. Uncertainty

The students were uncertain with their ideas. This was clearly shown from

the way they used general words in expressing ideas. They appeared to fail to

deliver their opinion since they did not quite understand the overall content of

their articles. For example, It is expected that the study can give beneficial thing to

the English teachers. Thing in this sentence might indicate that the student was

uncertain about what he wanted to say. As stated previous by Blicq (1986: 348),

specific words will tell the reader that we are definite and sure of ourselves.

Therefore, it might be better if thing was replaced by input and elaborated more

by providing further explanation.

5. Target-Language Rules

The following examples were found in the students’ composition:

a. However, often the implementation meets constraint like a lack of interest,

financial, and support.

b. Hopefully, this paper is useful to both educators and learners who apply

experiential learning as a learning model in teaching learning activities.


65

The students might have learned parallelism and preposition. However,

these errors were because of their ignorance of rule restriction in second language

as also stated by Johnson (2001: 67).

6. Carelessness

Carelessness is a plausible cause for some of the students’ errors. Lack of

motivation is often related to carelessness. Psychological, linguistic, and cognitive

factors influence carelessness. In the process of composing, students brainstorm,

make a sketch, develop it into organized ideas, and revise it into a good

composition. In this complex process of writing, students are forced to concentrate

on the overall sub-processes, ensuring that they convey their intended message,

produce a coherent sequence of ideas, and employ good diction. Accordingly,

they might become careless and produce incorrect words, spelling, grammar,

diction, and other linguistic items that resulted from fatigue and lack of

concentration.


66

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS

Three sections are presented in this chapter. The first section consists of

conclusions that are drawn from the research findings. The second section is the

implication of the findings, and the last section is the suggestions intended for

teachers and other researchers.

A. Conclusions

As a final point, this study led to some conclusions. Based on the data

analysis and discussions in the previous chapter, six conclusions were derived.

Firstly, not all of the compositions implemented appropriate diction in academic

writing that is formal. Most of the compositions contained correct use of

abbreviation. In more than half of the compositions, abbreviations were explained

in plain words. This implied that most of the students did not find difficulties in

using shortening, initialism and contraction. The same result occurred with

pronoun. Most of the composition contained correct use of addressing and sexist

pronoun. However, only half of the compositions contained correct use of

expression. In fact, the inappropriate use of expression, such as the presence of

colloquialisms, made the students’ compositions informal since they use

conversational language. Meanwhile, the results showed that most of the students

did not include subjective words. This indicated that the students were aware that

personal judgment is not allowed in academic writing. Secondly, related to the


67

accuracy features of diction in academic writing, most of the compositions

contained accurate meaning in expressing opinions. However, half of the

compositions still contained exaggerated expression. This fact made the meaning

less clear. Thirdly, most of the students adopted clear diction. More than half of

the compositions use precise words and specific terms in conveying the intended

message. The presence of these features led to good quality of writing. Fourthly,

nearly all of the compositions contained concise diction. They avoided to be or

being forms, doubled words, redundancies, and negative forms. It implied that

most of the students were aware of being concise. However, less than half of the

compositions contained concise and straightforward phrases. Most of them still

used long and devious phrases to convey ideas. This implies that most of the

students lacked vocabulary as they mostly used longer phrases to state their ideas.

Referring to the second problem, it was clear that the students made errors

in diction. Those errors were also classified into four specific categories derived

from some theories about diction in academic writing, namely formality,

accuracy, clarity, and concision. Concision error is statistically the most

frequently encountered in the students’ compositions, as it comprised 39.7% of

the total errors in overall categories. The second rank was formality error

(32.21%). It was followed by accuracy error in third place (14.23%), while clarity

error ranked fourth (13.86%).

Concerning concision error, this error included to be or being forms,

doubled words, redundancies, long phrases, and negative forms. Since the error

mostly occurred in this category, the students hence had great difficulties in being


68

concise. Most of them were still indirect in expressing ideas. In other words, the

students were generally inconsistent in using concise language to express their

ideas.

Responding to the researcher’s attempt to figure out the reason underlying

the reason for students making these errors, the researcher found that there were

several possible causes of the diction errors in academic writing. These causes

covered ignorance of rule restriction that was associated with target language rules

and context of learning that was associated with socio-linguistic situation such as

laziness, showing-off, uncertainty, and carelessness.

B. Implications

Several highlighted points in the research will be revealed in this section.

First, the results of the research show that diction is a crucial element in the long

and complicated path to academic writing excellence. Diction has significant

influence on the meaning of words for academic context. In other words, specific

context requires specific meaning. Related to appropriateness in academic context,

diction errors hence do not mean that the word is “incorrect” but that the words

probably do not convey a meaning that makes sense in the context.

The students frequently make various errors, including diction errors.

Focusing on the errors in diction of academic writing, the errors that occurred in

the students’ written work should be considered as ordinary and inevitable

features of target language learning. These errors thus should be taken as evidence

that there is a process of acquiring target language in the students’ way of


69

thinking. In summary, these do not imply failure and inadequacy, but success and

achievement.

Third, since the students produced significant errors based on some

categories of diction in academic writing that may lead to fatality, teaching

writing, in this case, should cover all aspects of good diction such as formality,

accuracy, clarity, and concision features. Further, it should also include the

standard rule in applying diction in academic writing.

Fourth, this study shows results that indicate which parts can be enhanced

and what remedial work should be designed. The study of the diction that

students’ produce and the different categories of diction errors in academic

writing enable teachers to be concerned with their teaching, particularly regarding

diction errors. Attention should be given to those diction errors that frequently

occurred in the students’ work.

Lastly, as this study portrays that first language may interfere with text

production in the target language, teachers need to be fully aware that an adequate

knowledge of the differences between the two languages (English and students’

native language) will facilitate learning and the transfer of learning. Therefore, a

meaningful explanation of the rules of English including diction and a clear

understanding of its difference from the students’ native language are necessary.

C. Suggestions

Considering the importance of the research, three suggestions were made,

which concern students, writing instructors, and further researchers.


70

1. Students

One of the best ways for students to avoid errors is by consulting a

dictionary and thesaurus while they are writing. Further, the students must not

only look up the meaning of the words but also pay attention to the contextual

distribution and other related information of the words. In other words, they

should consider both the meaning and contextual distribution of words while they

are writing. Another way to improve their vocabulary knowledge is to read

academic writing more frequently, so that they become better acquainted with

standard procedures of academic style. Besides, the students should write more to

sharpen their academic writing skill, including selecting the best words for

academic context.

2. Writing Instructors

Writing instructors need to pay more attention to the students’ difficulties

in selecting the appropriate words for academic context. Specifically, writing

instructors should motivate the students to produce good diction, since diction is

not only one of the crucial elements in academic writing rubric but is also

significant in communicating the message to the academic audience. Besides,

writing instructors should evaluate the diction errors produced and discuss the

errors with the students. Thus, the students may understand their errors and later

they will produce appropriate words for academic context.


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3. Further Researchers

The research was incompletely done because of time and scope

limitations. The researcher hence recommends further research to focus on error

analysis that questions how those errors can be solved by the writing instructors

and how they may impart the communication between writers and academic

audience.

In addition, the research was a case study in which only a limited number

of subjects were involved. Therefore, the researcher could not generalize the

research findings to the whole population, and so a future study involving larger

numbers of subjects is highly recommended.


72

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APPENDICES


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Appendix 1 The Detailed Recapitulation on Formality Features Respondents A B C D E F G H I J K L M Respondent 1 Respondent 2 Respondent 3 # # # # # ~ # # # # # # # Respondent 4 ~ ~ # # # ~ # # # # # # # Respondent 5 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 6 # # ~ # ~ # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 7 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 8 # # # # # ~ # # # # # # ~ Respondent 9 # ~ # # # ~ # ~ # # # # # Respondent 10 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 11 # # # # ~ # # # # # # # # Respondent 12 # ~ # # # ~ # # # # # # # Respondent 13 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 14 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 15 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 16 # # # # ~ # # # # # # # # Respondent 17 # # ~ # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 18 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 19 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 20 # ~ # # ~ ~ # ~ # # # # # Respondent 21 # # ~ # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 22 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 23 # # # # ~ # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 24 # # ~ # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 25 # # # # # # # ~ # # # # # Respondent 26 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 27 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 28 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 29 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Respondent 30 # # # # # # # # # # # # # Percentage 96,43% 85,71% 85,71% 100% 82,14% 78,57% 100% 57,14% 100% 100% 100% 100% 96,43%

Legends: A : Avoid shortenings D : Use correct possessive H : Avoid colloquialism L : Use euphemism B : Avoid contractions E : Avoid sexist I : Avoid cliché M : Avoid neologism C : Avoid initialism F : Use correct addressing J : Avoid jargon # : item present G: Avoid slang K: Avoid idiom ~ : item absent


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Appendix 2 The Detailed Recapitulation on Accuracy Features Respondents A B C Respondent 1 Respondent 2 Respondent 3 # ~ # Respondent 4 # # ~ Respondent 5 # # # Respondent 6 ~ # # Respondent 7 ~ # # Respondent 8 # ~ ~ Respondent 9 # ~ # Respondent 10 # ~ # Respondent 11 # ~ # Respondent 12 # ~ # Respondent 13 # # # Respondent 14 # # # Respondent 15 # # # Respondent 16 # # # Respondent 17 # # # Respondent 18 # ~ # Respondent 19 # ~ # Respondent 20 # # # Respondent 21 # ~ # Respondent 22 # ~ # Respondent 23 # ~ # Respondent 24 # ~ # Respondent 25 # # # Respondent 26 # # Respondent 27 # # # Respondent 28 # ~ # Respondent 29 ~ # ~ Respondent 30 # # ~ Percentage 89,29% 54% 85,71% Legends: A : No confused pairs B : No words confused by analogy C : Avoid exaggerated expression # : item present ~ : item absent


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Appendix 3 The Detailed Recapitulation on Clarity Features Respondents A B Respondent 1 Respondent 2 Respondent 3 # # Respondent 4 # # Respondent 5 # # Respondent 6 ~ ~ Respondent 7 ~ ~ Respondent 8 # # Respondent 9 ~ # Respondent 10 ~ # Respondent 11 ~ # Respondent 12 # # Respondent 13 ~ ~ Respondent 14 # # Respondent 15 # ~ Respondent 16 # # Respondent 17 # # Respondent 18 # # Respondent 19 ~ # Respondent 20 # # Respondent 21 ~ # Respondent 22 ~ # Respondent 23 # ~ Respondent 24 ~ # Respondent 25 # ~ Respondent 26 # # Respondent 27 # # Respondent 28 ~ ~ Respondent 29 ~ # Respondent 30 # # Percentage 57,14% 75,00% Legends: A : Use correct words/ synonym B : Avoid general term # : item present ~ : item absent


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Appendix 4 The Detailed Recapitulation on Concision Features Respondents A B C D E F Respondent 1 Respondent 2 Respondent 3 ~ # # ~ # # Respondent 4 # # # # # ~ Respondent 5 # # # # # # Respondent 6 ~ ~ # ~ ~ # Respondent 7 # # # ~ ~ #

Respondent 8 # # # # ~ # Respondent 9 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ # Respondent 10 # # # # ~ ~ Respondent 11 ~ # ~ ~ ~ ~ Respondent 12 # # # # ~ # Respondent 13 # # ~ ~ ~ # Respondent 14 # # # ~ # ~ Respondent 15 # # # ~ ~ ~ Respondent 16 # # # # # # Respondent 17 ~ # # ~ ~ # Respondent 18 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ # Respondent 19 ~ # ~ ~ # ~ Respondent 20 ~ # ~ # # # Respondent 21 ~ ~ # ~ ~ ~ Respondent 22 # # # ~ ~ ~ Respondent 23 # # # # ~ ~ Respondent 24 ~ # # # ~ ~ Respondent 25 ~ ~ # ~ ~ ~ Respondent 26 ~ # # # ~ # Respondent 27 # # # # # # Respondent 28 ~ ~ # # ~ # Respondent 29 # ~ ~ ~ ~ # Respondent 30 ~ ~ # # ~ # Percentage 50,00% 71,43% 75% 50% 71,43% 60,71%

A : Avoid “to be” and “being” B : Avoid doubling of words C : Avoid redundancy D : Avoid padded verbs E : Avoid formulaic phrase F : Avoid negative form # : item present ~ : item absent


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Appendix 5 1. The Examples of Formality Error

a. Abbreviation 1). Table 5.1: Errors on Contraction

No Weak Good 1. In sum, experiential learning method in

writing process helps the students so much to reach high-level thinking.

In summary, experiential learning method in writing process significantly facilitates the students to reach high-level thinking.

2. Try to avoid focusing on every word, but rather look at groups of 2 words.

Try to avoid focusing on every word, but rather look at groups of two words.

3. The text varies in type, novel, science, play, psychology, etc.

The text varies in type, novel, science, play, and psychology.

4. … Read them to someone who doesn’t know the song or point out the words they listen to some one else sing the song.

… Read them to someone who does not know the song or point out the words they listen to some one else sing the song.

5. … physical gestures, drama, physical exercise, role playing, body language, etc.

… physical gestures, drama, physical exercise, role playing, and body language.

6. … which are forcing relationships, problem solving, a pattern games, etc.

… which are forcing relationships, problem solving, and pattern games.

7. … mindfulness practice, high-order reasoning, complex guided imagery, etc.

… mindfulness practice, high-order reasoning, and complex guided imagery.

8. … sensing others’ motives, person to person communication, group projects, etc.

… sensing others’ motives, person to person communication, and group projects.

9. … environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, singing, musical performance, etc.

… environmental sounds, instrumental sounds, singing, and musical performance.

10 …to enhance the learning something, collect and present songs, etc.

…to enhance the learning something, collect and present songs.

11. … mind mapping, pictures, etc. … mind mapping, and pictures. 12. … choreograph a dance, built or construct

something, etc. … choreograph a dance, and built or construct.

13. … If it doesn’t work, give him a punishment. … If it does not work, give him a punishment.

14. Human actually have 7 distinct intelligences. Human have seven distinct intelligences. 15. The teacher uses this kind of punishment

only 5 times. The teacher uses this kind of punishment only five times.

2). Table 5.2: Errors on Initialism

No Weak Good 1. Even though in the GBPP states that

elementary school students are taught English starting from the fourth grade, but actually today’s learning has taught English from they were still very young.

Even though in the GBPP (Garis-garis Besar Pedoman Pengajaran) states that elementary school students are introduced English from the fourth grade, today’s learning has introduced English from the early age.


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2. The latter is more keeping with CLT The latter is more keeping with CLT (Communicative Language Teaching)

3. … to find out the effects of CLT model to facilitate teaching second language.

… to find out the effects of CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) model to facilitate teaching second language.

4. The syllabus in TBI is process-oriented where learning progress is very much taken into account and learners are assessed based on their own term of success.

The syllabus in TBI (Task Based Instruction) is process-oriented where learning progress is taken into account and learners are assessed based on their own term of success.

5. People still think that human intelligence can be measured only by IQ test.

People still consider that human intelligence can be measured only by IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test.

b. Pronoun 1). Table 5.3: Errors on Sexism

No Weak Good 1. Kolb’s theory accounts for his fact and show

how the learner can utilize his experiences and learning strengths in the process of constructing knowledge.

Kolb’s theory accounts for his fact and shows how the learner can utilize his or her experiences and learning strengths in the process of constructing knowledge.

2. … integrated into the individual’s system of constructs which he imposes on the world.

… integrated into the individual’s system of constructs which he or she imposes on the world.

3. … through which he views, perceives, categorizes, evaluating and seeks experience.

… through which he or she views, perceives, categorizes, evaluating and seeks experience.

4. …the teacher will need to give his students many opportunities to practice speaking.

…the teacher will need to give his or her students many opportunities to practice speaking.

5. In other words, he will need to create meaningful activities.

In other words, he or she will need to create meaningful activities.

6. … but does not always himself interact with the students, sometimes he is a co-communicator, but more often he establishes situations that prompt communication between and among the students.

… but does not always himself or herself interact with the students, sometimes he or she is a co-communicator, but more often he or she establishes situations that prompt communication between and among the students.

7. … as what he can perform in multiple-choice test.

… as what he or she can perform in multiple-choice test.

8 … placed in a room with the closed door until he quits for five minutes.

… placed in a room with the closed door until he or she quits for five minutes.

9. … use punishment for the sake of the child himself.

… use punishment for the sake of the child himself or herself.

10. … give him praise when he is silent. … give him or her praise when he or she is silent.

11. … that someone might get hurt including the child himself.

… that someone might get hurt including the child himself or herself.


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2). Table 5.4: Errors on Addressing

No Weak Good 1. Studying public speaking helps you to

succeed in college, increases your knowledge, and builds your confidence.

Studying public speaking helps students to succeed in college, increases their knowledge, and builds their confidence.

2. It will help to make you a more competent and responsible citizen.

It will help to be more competent and responsible citizen.

3. Regardless of the field you are in, it is highly likely that career success …

Regardless of the field he or she is in, it is highly likely that career success …

4. Public speaking can help you play your role as a member of society.

Public speaking can help everybody plays his or her role as a member of society.

5. Learning public speaking gives you a better chance of a good and qualified employee.

Learning public speaking gives a better chance of a good and qualified employee.

6. You are cheating yourself when you waste time reading material not essential to your purpose.

Cheating is when we waste time reading material not essential to our purpose.

7. Studying public speaking is important to you not only personally but also professionally.

Studying public speaking is important to everyone not only personally but also professionally.

8. You can not edit and revise what you wish to say.

We can not edit and revise what we wish to say.

9. … avoid punishing when you are in a very angry or emotional state.

… avoid punishing when we are in a very angry or emotional state.

10. … although you cannot expect perfect pronunciation.

… although we cannot expect perfect pronunciation.

11. Effective speaking skills enhance you chances of first securing employment advancement.

Effective speaking skills enhance everyone chances of first securing employment advancement.

12. … explain the purpose you perceive in studying something.

… explain the purpose everyone perceive in studying something.

13. The activities to stimulate this intelligence are describing qualities you successfully complete.

The activities to stimulate this intelligence are describing qualities we successfully complete

14. Once you are hired, your speaking skills continue to work for you, becoming your ticket to success and

Once people are hired, their speaking skills continue to work for them, becoming their ticket to success and

15. The act of speaking is crucial test of your thinking skills.

The act of speaking is crucial test of our thinking skills.

c. Expression 1). Table 5.5: Errors on Colloquialism

No Weak Good 1. But often the implementation meets

constraints like a lack of interest, financial, and support.

However, often the implementation meets constraints such as a lack of interest, financial, and support.

2. First of all, the writer wanted to discuss First, the writer wanted to discuss about


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about subject mastery. subject mastery. 3. … the students should practice speaking over

and over again. … the students should practice speaking frequently.

4. … but still the writer thinks it is not enough. … but it is still inadequately enough.. 5. Because of that, it is hard to draw conclusion

about the influence of learning media. Thus, it is hard to draw conclusion about the influence of learning media.

6. Based on that, experiential learning has become the method of choice for learning personal development.

Experiential learning therefore has become the method of choice for learning personal development.

7. Besides that, Kolb also did a good job of integrating the two dialectical entities.

Besides, Kolb also succeed in integrating the two dialectical entities.

8. As we know, in the previous, experiential learning has become the method choice for learning and personal development.

In the previous, experiential learning has become the method choice for learning and personal development.

9. The writer can say so because it based on the advantages from the completion-item test…

The writer believes that it based on the advantages from the completion-item test…

10. In doing assignment, some students feel more comfortable to do it in a group.

In doing assignment, some students feel more comfortable to work in a group.

11. And if it doesn’t work, give him a punishment.

Unless, if it doesn’t work, give him a punishment.

12. So the English language teachers can try to use this theory in their class.

Therefore, the English language teachers can try to use this theory in their class.

13. … help them practice, learn, recall, and use the words more and more.

… help them practice, learn, recall, and use the words continuously.

14. From here, it is now also clear that preparing the role-play asks them to know broader vocabulary…

It is hence clear that preparing the role-play asks them to know broader vocabulary…

15. So the third skill is listening. Thus, the third skill is listening. 16. Of course the vocabulary development of the

learners can also be reached. Obviously, the vocabulary development of the learners can also be reached.

17. So, it is suggested to the English teachers to implement role play.

Thus, it is suggested to the English teachers to implement role play.

2). Table 5.6: Errors on Neologism

No Weak Good 1. … no exception to their rapid crystallizing

that adults are three-quarters hot air. … no exception to their rapid growth that adults are three-quarters hot air.

d. Subjective Words 1). Table 5.7: Errors on Subjective Words

No Weak Good 1. Actually, group discussion has been applied

as one of the strategies in teaching speaking. Group discussion has been applied as one of the strategies in teaching speaking.

2. They do not aware that actually individuals have at least seven distinct intelligences.

They do not aware that individuals have at least seven distinct intelligences.

3. Actually, through experiential learning the students can make their own perspectives based on available theories and facts.

Through experiential learning the students can make their own perspectives based on available theories and facts.


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4. It is usually done spontaneously in the classroom with a limited preparation time for students.

It is done spontaneously in the classroom with a limited preparation time for students.

5. These books are usually written around a structural syllabus with slight reformatting…

These books are written around a structural syllabus with slight reformatting…

6. … to develop strategies for understanding languages as it is actually used.

… to develop strategies for understanding languages as it is used.

7. In the past usually teachers taught their students with the theory of face to face.

In the past teachers taught their students with the theory of face to face.

8. … but actually today’s learning has taught English from the were still very young.

… but today’s learning has taught English from the were still very young.

9. The representation how language is actually done in the real world setting only…

The representation how language is done in the real world setting only…

10. … they will usually want to sing it. … they will want to sing it. 11. Cooperative learning has wonderful benefits

for relationships between students of … Cooperative learning has benefits for relationships between students of …


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2. The Examples of Accuracy Error

a. Table 5.7: Errors on Meaning

No Weak Good 1. This book explores public speaking

learning. This paper explores public speaking learning.

2. … the research need to the others effect of pair work..

… the research need to the other effect of pair work..

3. The reality tells that education in Indonesia…

The reality shows that education in Indonesia…

4. … that was asked by Gardner in the beginning of his work.

… that was formulated by Gardner in the beginning of his work.

5. … since it is not easy to create a good distractor.

… since it is not easy to create a good distraction.

6. This book discusses the steps of learning public speaking.

This paper discusses the steps of learning public speaking.

7. Finally, students interactions with their fellow students and the teacher.

Finally, students interact with their fellow students and the teacher.

b. Table 5.8: Exaggerated Expression

No Weak Good 1. In the past vocabulary was less learned by

the students because there was an assumption that it is not really important.

In the past vocabulary was less learned by the students because there was an assumption that it is unimportant.

2. But particularly it is the productive aspects of language (speaking and writing) that are very essential in mastering the receptive skills.

However, productive language skills (speaking and writing) are particularly essential in mastering the receptive skills.

3. In this kind of situation, the role of group discussion really effective in solving the problem in this case the problem in deciding the topic.

In this situation, group discussion is effective to determine the topic.

4. This condition makes classroom management very important in the learning teaching process that will support students to achieve the objectives of the lesson.

This condition makes classroom management important in the learning teaching process that will support students to achieve the objectives of the lesson.

5. The students’ intelligences are grants from God that will be very pity if they are not realized and optimized.

The students’ intelligences are grants from God that will be worthless if they are not recognized and maximized.

6. Even though in the GBPP states that elementary school students are taught English starting from the fourth grade, but actually today’s learning has taught English from they were still very young.

Even though in the GBPP (…) states that elementary school students are introduced English from the fourth grade, today’s learning has introduced English from the early age.

7. From almost the very beginning of the play, Peter was described as a member of

From almost the beginning of the play, Peter was described as a member of the


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the high social class. high social class. 8. Children are very active and eager to know

something new. Children are active and eager to know something new.

9. These two features are very related each other.

These two features are closely interrelated.

10. The Direct Method is one of methods which is very popular in the education world.

The Direct Method is one of the most widely-known methods.

11. Practicing role-play is absolutely asking the students to speak up in front of the class.

Performing role-play requires the students to speak in front of class.

12. Thus, students’ perceptions are truly essential because it may bring the motivation in mastering the learning given.

Thus, perceptions of students are essential because it may motivate the students in mastering the material given.

13. Of course the vocabulary development of the learners can also be reached.

The vocabulary development of the learners can also certainly be achieved.

14. The syllabus in TBI is process-oriented where learning progress is very much taken into account and learners are assessed based on their own term of success.

The syllabus in TBI (Task Based Instruction) is process-oriented where learning progress is taken into account and learners are assessed based on their own term of success.

15. Role plays can be set up so that they are very structured or in a …

Role plays can be set up so that they are structured or in a …

16. … the role of group discussion really effective in solving …

… the role of group discussion effective in solving …

17. … that are very essential in mastering the receptive language…

… that are essential in mastering the receptive language…

18. Grammar is the basic element that is very significant to be mastered.

Grammar is the basic element that is significant to be mastered.

19. This happens very quickly, much more quickly than seems logical.

This happens quickly, much more quickly than seems logical.

20. Theoretically, this method is very good implemented…

Theoretically, this method is good implemented…

21. …at some period of the course is very important and needed by teachers.

…at some period of the course is important and needed by teachers.

22. … has taught English from they were still very young.

… has taught English from they were still early young.

23. Cooperative learning has wonderful benefits for relationships between students of …

Cooperative learning has benefits for relationships between students of …

24. It is very clear that role playing has a very important influence in improving …

It is clear that role playing has a important influence in improving …

25. … the Zoo story really portrays the life of the middle…

… the Zoo story portrays the life of the middle…

26. … is proven to be very important for … is proven to be important for all


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all people. people. 27. … why CLT considered very effective

for teaching English … … why CLT considered effective for teaching English …

28. … theoretically CLT will be very suitable for the elementary school…

… theoretically CLT will be suitable for the elementary school…

29. … the model takes very little account of different cultural experiences…

… the model takes very little account of different cultural experiences…


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3. The Examples of Clarity Error

a. Table 5.9: Errors on Synonym

No Weak Good 1. Paraphrase and completion require the

students to supply grammatical structures appropriately.

Paraphrase and completion require the students to construct grammatical structures appropriately.

2. They will learn deeply in higher grades when they enter junior high school.

They will learn intensely in higher grades when they enter junior high school.

3. Inappropriate behavior must be handled quickly to keep it from continuing and spreading.

Inappropriate behavior must be handled promptly to keep it from continuing and spreading.

4. Music really influences our ability to relax, rejuvenate, and concentrate.

Music strongly influences our ability to relax, rejuvenate, and concentrate

5. The study will describe the effectiveness of practicing role play in teaching vocabulary.

The study will describe the effectiveness of using role play in teaching vocabulary.

6. If the materials are too heavy for them, the students will find themselves difficult to master the achievement target.

If the materials are too difficult for them, the students will find themselves difficult to achieve the learning objective.

7. Many Indonesian try to learn and have the mastery of English whether speaking, reading, listening, or writing.

Many Indonesian try to learn and master English skills such as speaking, reading, listening, and writing.

8. In order to make the development work well, a material design that is good should follow the teaching of the subject.

To accomplish the process, a well-designed material should be built upon the objective of the subject.

9. It might be factors from educational context which make the students difficult when reading.

It might be distraction from school environment which weaken the students when reading.

10. They correlate the unknown words to the situation and other words spoken by the role-players.

They correlate the unfamiliar words to the situation and other familiar words spoken by the role-players.

11. Guessing will make them remember what the meaning of the unknown word longer.

Guessing will enable them remember the meaning of the unfamiliar words longer.

12. Sometimes teachers hard to design a desirable test.

Sometimes teachers are difficult to design a valid test.

13. The students’ intelligences are grants from God that will be very pity if they are not realized and optimized.

The students’ intelligences are grants from God that will be worthless if they are not explored and maximized.

14. But, in usual practice, writing test is corrected only based on the grammatical error and the idea without the process how the students come to the result.

However, in standard procedures, writing test is evaluated only based on the grammatical error excluding the process how the students come to the result.

15. It seems to be unfair because each student is known to have the same ability and speed in expressing their

It seems unfair because each student is acknowledged to have the same ability and pace in expressing their ideas.


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ideas. 16. The reality tells that education in

Indonesia does not familiarize students to produce something new but only to receive information.

The reality shows that education in Indonesia does not familiarize students to be productive but receptive.



18. They exchange ideas to their partner then they should prepare to report their work to the teacher or even to the whole class.

They share ideas with their partner then report the result to the teacher and to the whole class.

19. The researcher wanted to discuss whether group discussion gives the contribution in supporting the students’ learning final outcome or not.

The researcher wanted to discuss whether group discussion contributes in enhancing the students’ learning outcome.

20. The researcher had found some ways in solving the problems but the writer still thinks it is not enough.

The researcher had found some ways in solving the problems although they are still unsatisfactory.

21. In order to do role play, students must work in group and within their groups they can interact among other speakers.

To perform role play, students must work and converse in group.

22. Students find some difficulties in memorizing the language list of words and creating sentences using them.

Students find some difficulties in memorizing the list of words and applying them in sentences.

23. They must have braveness to speak up and try to make a certain circumstances in front of their friends.

They must have courage to speak and perform an act of certain context in front of their class.

24. From here, it is now clear that preparing the role-play asks them to know broader vocabulary which will be remembered by them.

Thus, preparing a role play requires them to know a broader range of vocabulary.

b. Table 5.10: Errors on General Terms No Weak Good 1. It might be factors from educational

context which make the students difficult when reading.


2. There are many ways which being developed based on the need to develop the education process.

There are many methods which being developed based on the need to develop the education process.

3. In a method it can be seen a list of things which may be done in a teaching-learning process.

In a method it can be seen a list of procedures which may be applied in a teaching-learning process.

4. Vocabulary is one important aspect in developing language acquisition.

Vocabulary is one important language element in language acquisition.

5. It is expected that the study can give The study is expected to give


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beneficial thing to the English teachers.

beneficial input for the English teachers.

6. Disruptive experience is something that conflicts with the concepts that formulated in the experiential process.

Disruptive experience is experience that conflicts with the concepts that formulated in the experiential process.

7. Vocabulary is one important aspect in developing language acquisition.

Vocabulary is one important language element in developing language acquisition.

8. It is one important aspect in developing language acquisition, which has vital role in four language skills

It is one important skill in developing language acquisition, which has vital role in four language skills

9. … many aspects in education have been changed in many ways.

… many methods in education have been changed in many ways.

10. TGT is the same as STAD in every aspect but instead of the quizzes…

TGT is exactly the same as STAD but instead of the quizzes…

11. … is that almost everything that is done…

… is that almost ways that are done…


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4. The Examples of Concision Error

a. Table 5.11: Errors on ‘To be or being’ form No Weak Good 1. It seems to be unfair because each student

is known to have the same ability and speed in expressing their ideas.

It seems unfair because each student is acknowledged to have the same ability and pace in expressing their ideas.

2. Group discussion is considered effective to be used for developing the communication skills.

Group discussion is considered effective for developing the communication skills.

3. It is considered to be important for the purpose…

It is considered important for the purpose…

4. … the internet seem to be supportive to promote learning.

… the internet seem supportive to promote learning

5. Learning media to be used within the instructional design…

Learning media used within the instructional design…

b. Table 5.12: Errors on Doubled Words No Weak Good 1. They can exchange and share their

knowledge in their speech. They can exchange their knowledge in their speech.

2. The students can improve and develop their speaking skills through Cooperative Language Learning.

The students can improve their speaking skills through Cooperative Language Learning.

3. This study would like to discuss the cooperative activities in Cooperative Language Learning which enable and allow students in acquiring speaking skill.

This study would like to discuss the cooperative activities in Cooperative Language Learning which enable students in acquiring speaking skill.

4. You can not edit and revise what you wish to say.

Students can not revise what they wish to say.

5. Whenever there is an unknown word spoken by the role-player, the listeners can predict or guess what the meaning of the word is.

Every time the role-player mentions an unfamiliar word, the listeners can predict the meaning of the word.

6. In order to find out the reasons why Multiple Intelligence…

In order to find out why Multiple Intelligence…

7. … Natural method can produce the better output that will live and survive in global era.

… Natural method can produce the better output that will survive in global era.

8. In this paper why the writer chose… is because completion items …

In this paper the writer chose… is because completion items …

9. The reason why CLT effective for teaching…

The reason CLT effective for teaching…

10. … having them share their ideas and opinions or a regular basis.

… having them share their opinions or a regular basis.

11. The teacher should select and choose a leader in a group.

The teacher should select a leader in a group.


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12. The teacher should use some methods and techniques that may be useful…

The teacher should use some methods that may be useful…

c. Table 5.13: Errors on Redundancy No Weak Good 1. A test is also needed in order to know

whether the objectives of the lesson have been achieved or not.

A test is also needed in order to know whether the objectives of the lesson have been achieved.

2. To know whether or not the students have mastered English grammar in certain period, an UAN test is administered.

To know whether the students have mastered English grammar in certain period, an UAN test is administered.

3. The aim of this study is to investigate whether or not multiple choice items can be used as the significant indicators.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether multiple choice items can be used as the significant indicators.

4. The students’ learning final outcomes at some period of the course is very important.

The students’ learning outcomes at some period of the course is important.

5. Every single method is built upon principles and theories.

Every method is built upon principles and theories.

6. There are many good advantages toward the use of music as an approach in teaching English for children.

There are many advantages toward the use of music as an approach in teaching English for children.



8. The intelligences that determine whether someone is smart or not are only the logical-mathematical intelligence and verbal-linguistic intelligence whereas Gardner has different about that.

Gardner states that logical-mathematical and verbal-linguistic intelligence are not the only indicators that determine the intelligence of an individual.

9. … whether group discussion gives the contribution in supporting the students’ learning final outcome or not.

…whether group discussion contributes in enhancing the students’ learning outcome.

10. We need language to communicate with other…

We need language to communicate…

11. Besides, teacher can also measure whether the students get the objective or not.

Besides, teacher can also measure whether the students get the objective.


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d. Errors on Phrase Replacement 1). Table 5.14: Errors on Padded Verbs. No Weak Good 1. The successful of conducting grammar

text give contribution to further understanding of English.

The success of conducting grammar text contributes to further understanding of English.

2. Students are more likely to read when the teachers make them interest in reading.

Students are more likely to read when the teachers motivate them in reading.

3. It is clear that from this activity the students can minimize their weakness and get better result in reading learning.

It is clear that this activity minimizes the students’ weakness and improves result in reading.

4. They are expected to get an improvement from what they have learnt.

They are expected to improve what they have learnt.

5. The task of a teacher is not only just give the list of vocabulary that the learners need to learn but also make them to practice the items.

The task of a teacher not only gives the list of vocabulary required but also assists them to practice the vocabularies.

6. The skills of the students like writing, speaking, and listening will also gain an improvement.

The language skills of the students such as writing, speaking, and listening will also improve.

7. In order to make Indonesians familiar with English, government has tried to introduce English from the very beginning level.

To be acquainted with English, government has tried to introduce English from the beginning level.

8. The result of this study will give a contribution to English teaching.

The result of this study will contribute to English teaching.

9. Each student gives oral reports in the end of the class.

Each student reports orally at the end of the class.

10. It might be factors from educational context which make the students difficult when reading.


11. Many Indonesian try to learn and have the mastery of English whether speaking, reading, listening, or writing.

Many Indonesian begin to learn and master English skills such as speaking, reading, listening, and writing.

12. Thus, students’ perceptions are truly essential because it may bring the motivation in mastering the learning given.

Thus, perceptions of students are essential because it may motivate the students in mastering the material given.

13. Through pair work, it can be a way of increasing student participation and language use.

Pair work can enhance student participation and language use.



15. There are some students who still have the same inappropriate behavior after being punished.

There are some students who are still misbehaved after being punished.


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16. The reality tells that education in Indonesia does not familiarize students to produce something new but only to receive information.

The reality shows that education in Indonesia does not familiarize students to be productive but receptive.

17. Besides that, Kold also did a good job of integrating the 2 dialectical entities into the model to create a complete learning cycle.

Besides, Kold also succeeded in integrating the 2 dialectical entities into the model to create a complete learning cycle.

18. The experiential learning cycle can occur on each individual or within a social group.

The experiential learning cycle can occur individually or within a social group.

19. Using task based learning the students get a fun and big interest and they will motivate to read through the tasks given.

Task based learning stimulates the students to enjoy reading and motivates them to read.



21. They must have braveness to speak up and try to make a certain circumstances in front of their friends.

They must have courage to speak and perform an act of certain context in front of their class.

22. The successful of conducting grammar test give contribution to further understanding of English.

… that a person has responsibility to give feedback…

23. … are get more achievement instead of the students who in traditionally organized classes.

… achieve more instead of the students who in traditionally organized classes.

24. … in finding employment would make sure that basic competencies…

… in finding employment would assure that basic competencies…

25. … the students must have the capability to use English…

… the students must be capable to use English…

26. … it will make them have motivation to learn.

… it will motivate them to learn.

27. … it will make the students familiar to speak…

… it will familiarize the students to speak…

28. … and to take responsibility for their own learning.

… and to responsible for their own learning.

2). Table 5.15: Errors on Formulaic Phrase

No Weak Good 1. So that is why the teachers and students

need an approach that is Cooperative learning in order to achieve speaking skill.

Therefore, the teachers and students need an approach that is Cooperative learning to achieve speaking skill.

2. To overcome such situation it is need to combine Direct Method and Communicative Language Teaching Method.

To overcome such situation, integrating Direct Method and Communicative Language Teaching is recommended.


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3. It is suggested that more research is

needed to find out the effectiveness of cooperative learning approach.

Further research is needed to find out the effectiveness of cooperative learning approach.

4. A good test is that it should contain a representative sample of the course.

A good test should contain a representative sample of the course.

5. Through pair work, it can be a way of increasing student participation and language use.

Pair work can enhance student participation and language use.

6. Therefore, it is suggested that more research is needed to find out the ways to overcome the bad effect of role play.

Therefore, further research is suggested to find solutions to overcome the bad effect of role play.

7. This is the condition that was asked by Gardner in the beginning of his work.

This condition was questioned by Gardner at the beginning of his work.

8. Besides, there are advantages and disadvantages that can be found in the application of experiential learning method related to writing process.

Besides, there are advantages and disadvantages in the application of experiential learning method related to writing process.

9. However, in the implementation and application of using experiential learning, we know that there are weaknesses and strengths in it .

However, in the implementation and application of using experiential learning, there are weaknesses and strengths.

10. Pair work is an activity of learning that is only done by two students are face to face to give information through reading by taking turn.

Pair work is a learning activity where two students take turn reading and sharing information face to face.



12. In order to do role play, students must work in group and within their groups they can interact among other speakers.

To perform role play, students must work and converse in group.

13. Therefore, it is suggested that more research is needed to find out the ways to overcome the bad effect of role play.

Therefore, further research is suggested to find solutions to overcome the bad effect of role play.

14. From here, it is now clear that preparing the role-play asks them to know broader vocabulary which will be remembered by them.

Thus, preparing a role play requires them to know a broader range of vocabulary.

15. As it is pointed by Hughes… As pointed by Hughes… 16. It can be seen that this method is not… Thus, this method is not… 17. This is due to the fact that tasks… Since… that task… 18. In this kind of situation, the role of group

discussion really effective in solving the problem in this case the problem in deciding the topic.

In this situation, group discussion is effective to determine the topic.

19. Getting to be familiar with vocabulary is quite difficult.

To be familiar with vocabulary is quite difficult.

20. Role play is chosen by the researcher in Role play is selected to find out its


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order to find out its effectiveness in teaching vocabulary.

effectiveness in teaching vocabulary.

21. Grammar and skills are also important but vocabulary is more important because it has function as the basis.

Vocabulary is more important than grammar and other skills since it serves as underlying language element.

22. He or she has to know what is high and low frequency words, the number of words that needs to be learned by the students of beginner or advanced, and also understand what kind of words that will usually use by them as the learners.

He or she must be able not only to determine high and low frequency words and the number of words for the beginner or advanced students but also to select kind of words that they will use as learners.

23. Teaching vocabulary once again is not a trivial thing .

Teaching vocabulary is thus important.

24. The writer’s aim of doing this study does not show that Direct Method is more effective than other method.

This study does not show that Direct Method is more effective than other method.

e. Table 5.16: Errors on Negative Form No Weak Good 1. Learning how to speak for students of

English as a foreign language is not an easy thing.

Learning how to speak for students of English as a foreign language is uneasy.

2. First, not like reading and writing, speaking happens in real time.

First, unlike reading and writing, speaking occurs in real time.

3. Nevertheless, teaching vocabulary is not easy.

Nevertheless, teaching vocabulary is difficult/ uneasy

4. Teaching vocabulary once again is not a trivial thing .

Teaching vocabulary is thus important.

5. Teaching vocabulary is not easy so that a teacher must select the right strategy to teach it.

Teaching vocabulary is uneasy so that a teacher must select the right strategy to teach it.

6. Many people feel that learning English is not easy.

Learning English is perceived as a difficult/ uneasy process.

7. If teachers force students to speak, the students will be anxious and not motivated.

If teachers force students to speak, students will be anxious and unmotivated.



9. The students are also accustomed to be not passive and not dependent learners.

The students are also accustomed to be active and independent learners.


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10. In the past vocabulary was less learned by the students because there was an assumption that it is not really important.

In the past vocabulary was less learned because there was an assumption that it is unimportant.



12. … since it is not easy to create a good distractor.

… since it is uneasy to create a good distractor.

13. … it may not be valid.

… it may be invalid.

14. Many people feel that learning English is not easy

Many people feel that learning English is uneasy

15. … use reading strategies is to try not new and different ways of reading.

… use reading strategies is to try old and different ways of reading.

16. … Kolb does not adequately discuss the role of…

… Kolb inadequately discuss the role of…

17. …and the idea without including the process how the students…

…and the idea excluding the process how the students…

18. … alternative in correct structure may not be possible.

… alternative in correct structure may be impossible.

19. … the students will be anxious and not motivated.

… the students will be anxious and unmotivated.


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STUDENTS GET MORE ACHIEVEMENT IN COOPERATIVE

LEARNING

Abstract

This paper discusses about the use of Cooperative Learning and it is known that Cooperative Learning helps the students to increase their achievement and also help the students learn to think, solve the problem, integrated and apply knowledge and skills. Through literature review, it is also known why Cooperative Learning has the important part in educational practice. Introduction

Cooperative Learing refers to a variety of teaching method in which

students work in small groups to help one another learn academic content (Robert

E. Slavin). Cooperative Learning is not a new method in education, but until now

only a few teachers use this method as a teaching method that use in their classes.

Cooperative Learning is only used for limited purposes, such as occasional group

projects or reports. Cooperative Learing essentially involves students learning

from each other in groups and it is the way that students and teacher work

together. Cooperation is not only way of learning, but also a theme to be

communicated about and studied (Jacob, 1998). In cooperative classroom, stdents

are expected to help each other, discuss and argue with each other, assess each

other’s current knowledge and fill in gaps in each other’s understanding. So, there

are many advantages and superiorities that cooperative learning has.

The aim of this study is to know how students who work in cooperativ

egroups learn more than those in traditionally organized class and it also will


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discuss about the superiority of cooperative leraning and also discuss about two of

the oldest and extensively researched forms of cooperative learning.

Why should Cooperative Learning?

There are many reasons that why coopearive learning is entering the

mainstream of educational practice. Robert E. Slavin stated some reasons why

cooperative learning has the important part in the educational practice. There are

five reasons that are stated by Slavin and the first is Cooperative Learning is to

increase students’ achievement, as well as, such other outcomes as improved

intergroup relations, acceptance of academically handicapped classmates, and

increase self esteem. Then the second is the growing realization that the students

need to learn to think, to solve the problem, and to integrate and apply owledge

and skills, and that cooopearive learning is an excellent means to that end. The

third reason is Cooperative learning has wonderful benefits for relationship

between students of different ethnic backgrounds and between mainstreamed

special education students and their classmates, adding another critical reason is

also one of the most important reason that cooperative learning method were

developed is that educators and social scientists have long known about the

detrimental effects of competition as it is usually used in the classroom.

Why should students who work in coopearive groups learn more than

those in traditionally organized classes? According to Slavin (1992, 1993), the

researchers investigating this questions have suggested some theoretical model to

explain the superiority of cooperative learning.


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1. Motivational Theories

Motivational perspectives on cooperative learning focus primarily on the

reward or goal structures under which students operate (Slavin, 1993).

Deutsch (1949) identified three goals structures: cooperatie, where each

individual’s goal oriented efforts contributed to other’s goal attainment;

competitive, where each individual’s goal oriented efforts frustrated others’

goal attainment; and individualistic, where individual’s goal oriented efforts

have no consequences for others’ goal attainment.

The critique of traditional classroom organization made by motivational

theorists is that the competitive grading and informal reward system of the

classroom create per norms that oppose academic efforts (Coleman, 1961).

Several studies have found that when student work together to accomplish a

group goal, they come to express norms in favor doing whatever is necessary

for the group to suceed (Deutsch, 1949; Thomas, 1957)). Slavin (1975) and

Slavin, De Vries, and Hulten (1975) found that students in cooperative groups

who gained in achievement improved their social status. Cooperative goals

create proacademic norms among students, and proacademic norms have been

important effects on students’ achievement.

2. Cognitive Theories

Cognitive theories emphasize the effect of working together in itself (whether

or not teh groups are trying to achieve a group goal.). There are two diffrent

cognitive theories:

a. Developmental Theories


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The fundamental assumption of the developmental theories is that

interaction among children around appripriate tasks increases their mastery of

critical concepts (Damon, 1984; Murray, 1982). Many Piagetians ( the

follower of Piaget) such as Damon, 1984; Murray, 1982; Wadsworth, 1984,

argue that interaction among students on learning tasks will lead in itself to

improved students’ achievement. Students will learn from one another because

in their discussions of the content, cognitive conflicts will arise, inadequate

reasoning will be exposed, and higher-quality understandings will emerge.

b. Cognitive Elaboration Theories

Research in cognitie psychology has found that if information is to be

retained in memory and related to information already in memory, the learner

must engage in some sort of cognitive restructuring, or elaboration, of the

material (Wittrock, 1978). One of the most effetive means of elaboration is

explaining the material to someone else.

The Oldest and Extensively Research Forms of Cooperative Learning

Two of the oldest and extensively researched forms o cooperative learning are

Student Team-Achievement Divisions (STAD) and Teams-Games-Tournaments

(TGT) and they will be described as follow:

1. Student Teams-Achievement Division

STAD is one of the simplest of all cooperative learning method and it consists of

five major components:

a. Class Presentation


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Class presentation is STAD differ from usual teaching only in that they

must be clearly focused on the STAD unit. In this way students realized they must

pay careful attention during the class presentation, because doing so will help

them do well on the quizzes, and their scores determine their team scores.

b. Teams

The major function of the team is to make sure that all team members are

learning, and more specifically to prepare its members to do well on the quizzes.

The team is the most important feature of STAD.

c. Quizzes

Students are mot permitted to help one another during the quizzes.

d. Individual Improvement Scores

The idea behind individual improvement scores is to give each student a

performance goal that can be attained if the students work harder and perform

better than in the past.

c. Team Recognition

Teams may earn certificates or other rewards if they their average scores

exceed a certain criterion.

2. Teams-Games-Tournaments

TGT is the same as STAD in every aspect but instead of the quizzes and

individual improvement score system, TGT uses academic tournaments, in which

students compete as representatives of their teams with members of other teams.

A description of the components of TGT follows:

a. Class Presentation (same as for STAD)


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b. Teams (same as for STAD)

c. Games

The games are composed of content-relevant questions designed to test the

knowledge that students gain from class presentations and team practice.

d. Tournaments

The tournament is the structure in which the games take place. It is usually

held at the end of a week or a unit, after the teacher has made a class presentation

and the teams have had time to practice with the worksheets.

e. Team Recognition (same as for STAD)

Conclusion

Group rewards based on the individual learning of all group members are

important in producing positive achievement outcomes in cooperative learning.

After the students started work together as a real team, their scores are better than

before. It is because in cooperative learning its members are help each other to

learn and understanding the materials. The result shows that students who learn in

cooperative learning groups are get more achievement instead of the students who

in individually organized classes.


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A PICTURE OF MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASS SOCIETY IN EDWA RD ALBEE’S THE ZOO STORY

Abstract Art and literature may become the portrayal of real world. However, to be able to state whether a work of literature portrays the real world it is necessary to see what is behind the work. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the zoo story historical background in relation with the real world situation.

1. Introduction

Art and literature may imitate and represent life (Macarthur, 1993). It is

implies that a work of literature may become an imitation of the real world.

However, to really understand whether a work of literature portrays the real world

we need to see what is behind the work itself. Therefore, the writer needs to find, for

instance, the historical background of the period when the work was written. It is

important to put the play in context because sometimes it is almost impossible to

interpret a play without understanding and explaining the historical against which it

was written and which it still reflects (Reaske, 1966). This denotes that to be able to

interpret the content of the play, it is necessary to see what was happening when the

work was written.

During early 1960s, America experienced great social and economic changes

(Encyclopedia Americana, 1978). This rapid economic development created a new

middle-class society. This paper is intended to show that The Zoo Story depicts the

society of New York during early 1960s. To be able to present the evidences, the


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authentic historical and social context as found in American in teh postwar

economis boom.


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