THE CORRELATION BETWEEN GRAMMAR MASTERY AND WRITING ABILITY OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMPN 3 UBUD IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023

Grammar as one of English components is considered important for writing skill. The study aims at investigating the correlation between grammar mastery and writing ability of the eighth grade students. This research was quantitative research. It used a correlational research design. The researcher then selected 73 students from two classes—37 from VIII B and 36 from VIII C—as samples using a cluster sampling method with a lottery system. In the cluster sampling method with a lottery system, the researcher took the samples randomly. In this research, the researcher used tests as the instrument—grammar mastery and writing tests. The type of test used here was achievement test. The finding of the study indicates that the students’ grammar mastery and writing ability are considered to be good as its average score was 75.67 and 78.49, which fall within the interval of 66 – 79. This suggests that the eighth grade students at SMPN 3 Ubud demonstrated good grammar mastery and writing ability. The result of the statistical analysis through the Pearson Product Moment Correlation test also shows a significant correlation between the two variables. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient, which represented the obtained r-value, was 0.824, indicating an extremely high correlation. Moreover, the probability, which is represented by the Sig. (2-tailed), is also lower than 0.05, as it scores 0.000. In conclusion, there is a significant correlation between the students’ grammar mastery and writing ability.