ENHANCING STUDENTS' WRITING PROFICIENCY THROUGH EXTENDED WRITING PROJECTS

Abstract

English language proficiency is crucial in the global context as it serves as a medium to share ideas and information across nations. Recognizing the significance of English as an international language, the government of Indonesia has mandated English education from elementary school to university. Writing is one of the essential language skills that students must master, allowing them to express their feelings, opinions, and thoughts effectively. However, the study finds that many students lack interest and face challenges when it comes to writing. They struggle to generate ideas, choose appropriate topics, and organize their thoughts into coherent sentences. To address this issue, the researcher explores the implementation of the Extended Writing Project (EWP) method as a potential solution to improve students' writing proficiency. The research employs a pre-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design to assess the effectiveness of the EWP method. The study is conducted at SMA Negeri 1 Polewali during the 2016/2017 academic year, with 24 students from one of the tenth-grade classes chosen as the sample through cluster random sampling. Throughout the research, the researcher guides students in proposing their own topics or selecting from a provided list, creating preliminary outlines, and clustering or listing ideas before organizing them into paragraphs. The EWP method emphasizes revision and editing, encouraging students to make multiple drafts and take responsibility for improving linguistic correctness. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in students' writing ability after the application of the EWP method. Notably, improvements are observed in content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. Students show enhanced coherence, relevance, and use of appropriate words, leading to better-organized paragraphs and improved language correctness. In conclusion, the Extended Writing Project method proves to be effective in enhancing students' writing skills in descriptive texts at SMA Negeri 1 Polewali. The method encourages students to take ownership of their writing process, resulting in significant progress in their writing abilities. To overcome challenges related to limited vocabulary, the use of dictionaries with active vocabulary-building activities is suggested. This research contributes valuable insights to the field of English language teaching and offers a potential solution to enhance students' writing proficiency in Indonesian schools.