Improving Reading Comprehension of the Eighth-grade Students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal in the Academic Year 2023/2024 Through RAP Strategy

Reading is a process of getting information and understanding the message of printed materials. Preliminary research showed that most of the eight-grade students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal in the academic year 2023/2024 faced problems in reading comprehension especially identifying general information, specific information, textual meaning, and textual reference. Moreover, the researcher objective was to know whether reading comprehension of the eight-grade students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal can be improved through Read-Ask-Paraphrase (RAP) strategy. Thus, to achieve the objective, the researcher conducted classroom action research which was two cycles. The research instruments, test and questionnaire, were administered to collect the required data. The data were then analyzed by comparing the results of pre-test and post-test which showed there were significant improvements of the subjects’ mean score from pre-test and post-tests. As the supporting data, the questionnaire was also administered at the end of the last cycle and the results showed positive responses on the implementation of RAP strategy. Based on the research findings, it cloud be concluded that reading comprehension of the eight-grade students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal in the academic year 2023/2024 can be improved through RAP strategy.