IMPROVING WRITING SKILL OF THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMPN 1 KUTA UTARA IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2023/2024 THROUGH GUIDED WRITING

Writing is one of the important skills in learning English. Writing is an essential skill for foreign language students to master. However, writing is a skill that is often done by everyone, especially by the students such as making assignments, making notes, essay tests, etc. Students also learn to deliver their ideas, opinions, and feelings in a written form. The present research was mainly based on the preliminary observation of 36 subjects in the VII.H class at SMPN 1 Kuta Utara in the academic year 2023/2024. The result showed that most of the subjects’ writing skill was still low. Furthermore, the present research was intended to know whether or not the writing skills of the seventh-grade students of SMP 1 Kuta Utara can be improved through guided writing. To achieve the objective, the researcher conducted classroom action research that was done in two cycles. Therefore, the required data were collected by administering the research instruments: tests in the form of paragraph construction task and a questionnaire. The collected data were then analyzed by comparing the pre-test and post-test, which showed significant improvements in the subjects’ mean scores from the pre-test to the post-test 1 and post-test 2. Furthermore, the results of the questionnaires showed that the subjects responded positively toward the implementation of guided writing. Based on the results of the research instruments, it could be concluded that the writing skills of the seventh-grade students of SMPN 1 Kuta Utara in the academic year 2023/2024 can be improved through guided writing.Writing is one of the important skills in learning English. Writing is an essential skill for foreign language students to master. However, writing is a skill that is often done by everyone, especially by the students such as making assignments, making notes, essay tests, etc. Students also learn to deliver their ideas, opinions, and feelings in a written form. The present research was mainly based on the preliminary observation of 36 subjects in the VII.H class at SMPN 1 Kuta Utara in the academic year 2023/2024. The result showed that most of the subjects’ writing skill was still low. Furthermore, the present research was intended to know whether or not the writing skills of the seventh-grade students of SMP 1 Kuta Utara can be improved through guided writing. To achieve the objective, the researcher conducted classroom action research that was done in two cycles. Therefore, the required data were collected by administering the research instruments: tests in the form of paragraph construction task and a questionnaire. The collected data were then analyzed by comparing the pre-test and post-test, which showed significant improvements in the subjects’ mean scores from the pre-test to the post-test 1 and post-test 2. Furthermore, the results of the questionnaires showed that the subjects responded positively toward the implementation of guided writing. Based on the results of the research instruments, it could be concluded that the writing skills of the seventh-grade students of SMPN 1 Kuta Utara in the academic year 2023/2024 can be improved through guided writing.