HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPH: DEDUCTIVE STYLE

So far, I have been very interested in discussing writing as one of language elements and also conducting some researches about it because through writing I can observe how good language learners express their ideas and then transcribed them in a written form. Furthermore, writing activity is a process, through which I can investigate the learners’ language improvement in acquiring the language.

However, some gaps often occur to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners that they find it difficult to transfer their source language into the target one. The following findings are what most of learners complaining about:

1.      The learners have a few numbers of vocabularies. As a result, they write their paragraph in Indonesian and then translate them into English. Finally, they usually produce very short paragraphs for they spend much time to look up dictionary to find the proper word of their translation.   

2.      The learners get difficulties in grammaticality. It is a very common issue that the learners often deals with that they often make mistakes in terms of grammar and structure. This formulaic pattern of English often leads them into failure.  

3.      The learners cannot develop their paragraphs. After getting the instruction to write, the learners usually have their ideas in mind. But, they often fail give some supports toward the ideas. It absolutely makes their writing neither coherent nor cohesive.

Therefore, I propose the strategy of how to write an effective paragraph. The approach used is the deductive one in which the main idea comes first followed by the supporting ideas. Through the strategy I will promote below, it is expected that it can minimize the above occurrence:

1.      Scaffolding the concept using a mind mapping activity. This will enable the learners to select their ideas and keep them under control. For an instance, in writing a discussion text, the writer should represent two different points of view to discuss. The topic of the writing is watching television for children.

2.      Making the outline to develop the map. The outline will ease the learners to decide what to write. It will also enable them to carefully determine what will become the main idea and the supporting ideas. They can arrange the outline like the sample given below:

§  Title: watching TV for children

§  Paragraph I

a)      Main idea: the existence of television in this new era

b)      Supporting idea 1: children as one of the viewers

c)      Supporting idea 2: the impact of watching TV on the children

§  Paragraph II

a)      Main idea: positive effects of watching TV on children

b)      Supporting idea 1: source of information

c)      Supporting idea 2: knowledge gained through watching TV

d)     Supporting idea 3: media of entertainment

§  Paragraph III

a)      Main idea: the negative effect of watching TV on children

b)      Supporting idea 1: spoiling time

c)      Supporting idea 2: containing some inappropriate programs for children

§  Paragraph IV

a)      Main idea: the conclusion

b)      Supporting idea 1: attitude should be taken by the viewers

c)      Supporting idea 2: the responsibility of the parents

3.      Administering the above outline will be beneficial to help the beginning writer to develop the writing consistently  Therefore, the next step is to develop the outline into a meaningful paragraph. It can be done by constructing the point stated in the outline into a complete sentence.

§  Paragraph I

a)      Main idea: the existence of television in this new era à television has showed its existence since it can grab millions of viewers’ attention in this new era.

b)      Supporting idea 1: children as one of the viewers à television also becomes the most important thing that children as one of the viewers enjoy most of the time.

c)      Supporting idea 2: the impact of watching TV on the children à the positive and negative impact may impose the children’s behavior

4.      After constructing the sentences and put them in a paragraph, the last but not least thing is that to make some revision in the writing. Adding some temporal conjunction or adverbial conjunction will make it more sense and alive.

Example: Television has showed its existence for years since it can grab millions of viewers’ attention in this new era. Furthermore, television also becomes the most important thing that children as one of the viewers enjoy most of the time. However, the positive and negative impact may impose the children’s behavior.   

5.      When the whole paragraph has been revised it is better to ask for a proofreading to friends or the teacher. If it is done, then the writing is ready to be published.

As a conclusion of this piece of writing, I would give some suggestions especially for the teacher that the process of writing should be fulfilled with some guidance and suggestions for the learners about their writing. This kind of feedback is very much helpful for the students about their writing strength and weakness. The assessment should be also in the form of motivating judgment.                 

Discussion text: my students' writing samples

Written by: Dwi Hendra S/ XII IPS 1

Watching TV

People arguments for watching television are various and different. Here are a few arguments from people for watching TV of both sides.

Watching TV is good for knowledge. Watching TV can be as a source of information for people. On TV, we can know something happening in the world that usually a report on breaking news.

Watching TV is good for entertainment. TV can be an entertainment for people that are bored. On TV, we watch a joke show that can decrease the boredom and make us happy.

But more people argue against watching TV is that it brings the negative result for children. The children will imitate the action that should not be watched by them.

To sum up, watching TV will make people not late of getting information and will be happy.

Written by: Achmad Idris/ XII IPS 1

Television

People have different opinions and arguments for and against watching television. Here are a few arguments for both sides.

Television is good for human because television gives information, entertainment, and communication. Television not only show program which not good for old but also there is the program that good such as Kartolo so that the students can add insight and knowledge.

Probably, the single arguments against television is disaster for children because television give many porn movies and ghost.

In conclusion, television is good for everyone because television gives a news and condition about everything that happen around the world.

Alphabet Tags about me:)

A --- Allah is my everything
B --- Bayu is my little brother's name.
C --- Children attract me so much that I love teaching them.
D --- Demonstration is one of the best ways to show the students the target of learning.
E --- English becomes the subject I'm interested to study in. I have no particular reason. I just feel it.
F --- Foreigners who come to my country have always different impression about their visit. I like practicing  my English with them.
G --- Gorgeous is the word that I finally know that it means beautiful
H --- Home is the place that I can relax and meet my family.
I --- I love Indonesia. I love this country. I want to develop this country better with my own way
J --- Jakarta Timur was the place where I was born (My parents told me)
K --- Key is a tool to open every thing. The key of knowledge is a book, if you want to get inside of the house you need a key, if you want to start the car you need the key.
L --- Love is the magic spell that can destroy even the biggest wall in the world
M --- Muhammad is my beloved prophet. I love him with all of my heart.
N --- Name is important to be remembered. You can respect someone more if they can call your name correctly
O --- Orange is my favorite fruit. It sometimes tastes sour, sweet, or even bit bitter. a very unique fruit
P --- Parents mean everything to me. My father's name is Koko Kodir. and My mom's name is Endang siswati
Q --- Quran always become a guidance of life, light in the darkness, and spirit in my life
R --- RUOK stands for are you OK. I knew this when I was in high school watching a movie.
S --- Small thing sometimes create a big thing. you can do a big thing starting with the small ones
T --- Truth is the key if you want to engage a long last life in a society
U --- Unforgettable memory in my life sometimes reminds me to be patient, happy, spirit to undergo my life
V --- Veil should be used properly. I want my girl use it someday.
W --- water is important element of life. More than a half of our body consists of water. Water lives the earth much more than the land. I try to consume water more than I used to.
X --- X-RAYS was my band when I was in junior high school R = Randri, A = Andi, Y = Yanu, S = Sandi
Y --- yes man is one of the movies that teaches us to be positive
Z --- Zally Ardhita is the love of my life

Problems of teaching reading at my school

English is becoming popular in the last two decades in Indonesia. The use of English has interested many linguists and practitioners to conduct researches about how to develop most of Indonesians’ language competence. It impacts, surely, on the education curriculum and the material design to get strategic ways that can be implemented in classroom practice. Furthermore, it is also aimed at developing the four language skills; they are speaking, reading, writing, and listening. The current policy of Indonesian education ministry has allocated 20% listening comprehension skill test and 80% reading comprehension skill test for national examination. It means that the need of developing reading skill has got portion more than the other language skills. However, there are some gaps that may occur during the teaching and learning process, such as difficulties of developing reading habits, inadequacies of supporting facilities, and lacks of innovation in teaching.

Banyuwangi is a small city in East Java province in Indonesia. There are four major tribes living in Banyuwangi, they are Osingnese, Maduranese, Chinese and Javanese. It, of course, influences the language used by the students. For an instance, if a student who speak Osing meets the other student who speaks Osing they will use Osing language. However, if the student who speaks Osing meets the other student who speaks Madura, they will use Indonesia. The numbers of different languages used by the students sometimes will make them difficult to learn English. It often makes sense that the popularity of English use sometimes is not in line with the students’ motivation in learning English. Moreover, it also will affect their reading habits. It also means that the need to develop the students’ reading habit is very much necessary. Therefore, it is often suggested that the teachers can develop the students’ interest in reading by providing them books which are appropriate with their level.

This year, MAN Banyuwangi accepted around new 400 students who were allocated in 10 classes which meant that there were 40 students in one class. Next, the total number of the students who study at this school is around 1080. Logically, it should be supported by adequate facility to accommodate such a great number of students in achieving the target of language learning. Such reality should get a good attention from the stakeholders including government, education ministry, and school. However, an expectation does not always meet its reality. When the students require some appropriate facilities, the school cannot provide them or they are not in a good condition. So it makes both of the teachers and students cannot run the teaching and learning activity well. Thus, it not only wait for the response of the government to develop the appropriate facility but also try to find a way how to figure it out. 

The other factor that influences the achievement of students in developing their language competence is that they are guided by the professional teachers. The professional teachers are expected not only to have up to date reference of related theories but also competence in pedagogy. In many cases, it is often found out that many teachers have ability to teach but they do not have an up to date teaching strategy so that the language teaching tends to be monotony. Furthermore, the integrative teaching that is promoted to open a new perspective of developing the four language skills seems to fail in practical concept. The confusion that the English teachers mostly have is that how to teach reading effectively, it means that the students are not only able to read aloud the text but also able to comprehend, understand, and synthesis the idea stated in the text. Therefore, the teachers are expected to upgrade their understanding towards the current issue of language teaching and improve their professionalism.

From the discussion above, it is clear that there are four major gaps in teaching English that should be solved, especially reading, they are 1) there is a difficulty in developing reading habits of the students as English becomes the foreign language in Indonesia; 2) there are few facilities that can support the need of language learning; and 3) there is a lack of innovation in teaching related to current issue of language teaching and learning.

Not Home Alone

It was dark outside. I looked at the sky for some time. The clouds were just like containers which holding much water and seemed ready to unload the content and showered the land. It was quiet outside, what was heard only the sounds of the wind blew the trees grew along the pavement in front of my house. The wind shook the trees so gently that the leaves were like hands waving upside down. It was not beautiful. The storm might come at any time, I thought. Mom and dad were leaving to Jakarta attending my uncle's wedding. They had asked me to come with them but I denied it as I was about facing my midterm test. My parents had been there for two days that meant three more days. They must have enjoyed the party right now. I turned on the lamp in my room. It was getting darker even the clock still showed 16.00 p.m.

I took my netbook and turned it on. I hoped that I could spend this horrible day by writing something or editing some of my photos. To be honest, I was not good at writing actually, but I would never know why my friends thought that my writing was good to read. I rarely wrote. I wrote only when I got a very good inspiration or was just in a good mood. I looked at my files and open the folders. I was so interested to open again the album of my photos. There were hundreds of photos kept in the file. I sorted it one by one.
I started smiling when I looked at the picture of my friends and me when we got our graduation celebration from senior high school. Budi, in the photo was trying to take my hat, but he slipped and fell into the pond where Bagus, Indah, Sinta and I were standing before. He was wet. We had lots of fun that time. I gave a note in that photo, "MY BEST FRIENDS EVER." Bagus and Indah were going at the same university now. Bagus took English literature and art while Indah took economics. Meanwhile, Sinta was leaving for America to study business. Sinta as my friends said was a lucky girl. Her father was an American who married to Indonesian woman. Her  English was excellent. It was even better than my English teacher, Mr. Sandi. Further, her father was a very successful businessman. Overall, she was absolutely lucky. Indah and Sinta were my best friends. They were not only smart but also beautiful. I like them very much. Sinta, with her long and wavy hair had very beautiful eyes. Her nose was pointed like her father. She was totally different from most of Asian woman. She had an American face, indeed. Many boys liked her. She was above average.

While I was to plug in my flash drive, a lightning lighted up the sky followed by a strong horrible sound. In fact, it crashed the electric pole right beside Mr. Hasan's house my neighbor. It sparkled fire to the sky. I could not stop seeing it. It was between a nightmare or a beautiful phenomenon. I jumped out of my bed and rushed down to the living room. I was in doubt. I questioned myself whether I should go out or not. The fire sparkling might have produced an electrical short cut. It began to burn Mr. Hasan's fence that made of old and dry wood. He would came home from work around 19.00 in the evening. He had no family since he got divorced with his wife. I reached my phone but it was in trouble because of the bad weather.
The fire got bigger and bigger. It burned the fence and almost reached the roof. The rain fall did not work to put it out as the wind blew hard. There were no passing cars. It was not a perfect coincidence, I thought. It was used to be crowded since the time for many people surrounding left from work. however, maybe they were expecting the storm over or they tried to find a shelter to keep them away from it. 
I took my raincoat. I decided to go outside looking for some helps. I opened the door. The wind blew my face. Leaves flew away taken by the wind. I ran to Mr. Ferdi's house and shouted. But, no one was there. He might pick his wife in the hospital. Mrs. Ferdi was a nurse in the hospital nearby. 

The rain fell down heavily. Sometimes, the lightening shocked me when it appeared brightly in the sky. The sound made my heart beat faster. I went to Mr. Dadang's house through the rain. I knocked at the door again and again. I went to his backyard. I hoped that he was in the kitchen or somewhere that he might not hear the knocks. But no one answered. I was in despair. I sat down weakly on his terrace looking at the fire.