Developing Students’ Letter Writing of Functional Text Through Peer Feedback And Students’ Responses

mulyono cokrodikaryo; dr. santi chairani djonhar, ma; dr. tri wintolo apoko, m.pd;

Based on the the result of the preliminary study, it was found that the
grade 12th students at SMAN 1 Ciruas, SMAN 1 Pontang, and SMAN Tirtayasa,
faced some difficulties in accomplishing their application letter writing.Some
students still produced incorrect grammatical and vocabulary use in their writing
tasks, especially in their practical writing examination.
This study was performed to observe what activities students and their
peers did in letter writing of functional texts through peer feedback, it observed
how peer feedback implemented in teaching writing classroom activity could
influence most in students’ development in letter writing, and also observed what
students’ responses were influenced by peer feedback in their letter writing.
This study was designed as a qualitative study. This research is
conducted because of the problem related to students’ letter writing of functional
text, with the writer as the pure observer toward three other English teachers at the
different schools, with the participants taken randomly from the 3 classes of grade
11th as many as 12 students, then selected 6 amongs them who got the highest and
lowest scores. During the research in applying peer feedback in the writing task,
to develop their application letter of functional text organizationally and
grammatically. The students were assigned to make an application letter based on
the certain job vacancy to be checked and commented their organizatioanl and
grammatical error by their peer.
The selected students’ drafts which had been scored using Analytic
scale resulted that the students’ draft from SMAN 1 Ciruas; student1, got the
highest score 85.1 as the total score of every component of his letter writing, then
student 2 who got the lowest at 71.3. The result of the students’ drafts frm SMAN
Tirtayasa which was the highest obtained by student 3, at 82.67, and student 4
who got the lowest at 69.97 as the total score of every component of their letter
writing, whereas, students’ draft from SMAN 1 Pontang, student5 who got the
highest score 83.97 and student 6 who got the lowest score 70.97.
From this study, some conclusions were drawn.Through the most
carefully guidance of peer feedback resulted the highest score. There had been
shown from students’ drafts comparison that there are development
organizationally and grammatically. Well prepared condition on the students’
readiness and their hesitation due to the lack of knowledge to join the peer
feedback, influence the result on the students’ draft and their responses both in
written and orally. Finally, this peer feedback activity in writing claasroom are
also proper to applied in the level of senior high school students under the
condition of certain guidance from teacher, and a simpler writing material /
functional text, instead of getting failure in applying it.