The Development of Ideas for Writing the Introduction of An Argumentative Essay by Using The ‘Idea-Reality-Action-Now’ (IRAN) Technique among Non-Native Speakers in Sarikei District, Sarawak

Abstract

The Secondary School Standard Curriculum (KSSM) has outlined that every student must be proficient in writing skills. The analysis report of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in 2020 shows that 6.1% of the 381,129 total students who sat for the exam failed the Malay language subject. Due to that results, the researchers have developed the IRAN Technique to help students generate ideas and build grammatical sentences in writing the introductory part of an argumentative essay. The IRAN technique is one of the thinking tools that combines cognitive management tools and a mind map to make it easier for students to learn the skills of writing unformatted essays. This qualitative study was conducted by analyzing documents and questionnaires to explore the use of the IRAN Technique when writing introductions and the construction of grammatical sentences in argumentative essays of medium-achieving students. The construction of the IRAN Technique is based on Behaviorism Learning Theory and adapts the Operant Conditioning Theory to ensure that the technique created can help students write the introductory part of an argumentative essay. This study involved two form four students from a secondary school in Sarikei District, Sarawak. The participants in this study were selected based on the purposive sampling method by selecting students with average performance who scored 50% and below in Paper 1 during the exam and were classified as middle-class students. Data collection was carried out with the IRAN Technique Template and analyzed in detail to investigate the use of the IRAN Technique to generate ideas and grammatical sentences in the introduction of argumentative essays. The findings from this research indicated that the IRAN Technique can enhance the introduction of a student's argumentative essay in a manner that strengthens the way ideas are processed and the construction of grammatical sentences.