THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE MASTERY AND DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH WRITING ABILITY OF THE EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENT OF SMP SARASWATI 1 DENPASAR IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023

The present study used an ex-post facto research design that figure out the correlation between simple present tense mastery and descriptive paragraph writing ability of the eighth-grade students of SMP Saraswati 1 Denpasar in academic year 2022/2023. The present research samples consisted of 73 students from 275 populations of the eight-grade students of SMP Saraswati 1 Denpasar in academic year 2022/2023, chosen by random sampling method with a spinner wheel online app. The data were collected by administering the research instruments in the form of a sentence writing test and paragraph construction test. The obtained data were analyzed by using Pearson product-moment correlation and t-test. The data analysis results showed that the students' simple present tense mastery correlated with their descriptive paragraph writing ability. To sum up, the present research findings finally confirmed that there was a significant correlation between simple present tense mastery and descriptive paragraph writing ability of the eighth-grade students of SMP Saraswati 1 Denpasar in academic year 2022/2023.