THE CORRELATION BETWEEN VOCABULARY MASTERY AND DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH WRITING ABILITY OF THE EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NUSA DUA IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2021/2022

The present study used a correlational research design that was intended to figure out the significant correlation between vocabulary mastery and descriptive paragraph writing ability of the eighth-grade students of SMP Nusa Dua in academic year 2021/2022. The samples of the present study consisted of 40 students from 138 eighth-grade students of SMP Nusa Dua in academic year 2021/2022, and they were chosen by applying simple random sampling method with lottery system. The data were collected through administering the research instruments which were in the form of a matching cloze procedure test and paragraph construction test. The results of normality and homogeneity test showed the two research variables data were normal and homogenous. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by using Pearson product-moment correlation and t-test. The data analysis results showed that the students’ vocabulary mastery correlated with their writing ability. The students who had good vocabulary mastery could achieve much better achievement in writing a paragraph. To sum up, the present research findings finally confirmed the hypothesis that there was a significant correlation between vocabulary mastery and descriptive paragraph writing ability of the eighth-grade students of SMP Nusa Dua in academic year 2021/2022.