IMPROVING THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL THROUGH WRITING PROCESS METHOD AT SMP 15 YOGYAKARTA IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2012/2013

The aim of this study is to improve the students’ writing skill of students of grade VIII SMP N 15 Yogyakarta through a writing process method in the academic year of 2012/2013. This study was categorized into an Action Research (AR). The subjects of the study were the 8E students of SMP N 15 Yogyakarta in the academic year of 2012/2013. The instruments of the study were observation checklist and interview guidelines, which were supported by the scores of students’ writing tests. The data from the observation and interview were analyzed qualitatively and the scores were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics. The validity of the data was gained by applying democratic, outcome, process, catalytic, and dialogic validity. To get the trustworthiness, the researcher used a triangulation method. The steps of the study were planning, actions, observations, and reflections. The actions were conducted during May 2013 in two cycles. The finding of this study is that the using of a Writing Process Method could improve the students’ writing skill at SMP N 15 Yogyakarta. The qualitative data analysis showed that the students were able to think about their own idea of writing and minimize their grammatical mistakes. The qualitative data were supported by the quantitative data. The mean scores increased from 53.03 in the pre test to 60.76 in the Cycle I, to 70.15 in the Cycle II