ENHANCING CLASS 6AK2 STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL IN ANALYZING AND SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION BASED ON STIMULI GIVEN THROUGH BUILDING BLOCK APPROACH
PREPARED BY:
CHAN LAI KONG
SMK SERI TEJA
31600 GOPENG
ABSTRACT
This action research is carried out to enhance students’ writing skills in analyzing and synthesizing based on stimuli given as required in MUET Paper 4 specifically Question 1. The target group is the present Upper Pre University students in 6AK2 from SMK Seri Teja, 31600 Gopeng. They comprise of 6 boys and 15 girls, a total of 21 students. The focus of the research is to enhance their mastery of analysis and synthesis skills, Besides, another focus is to show them an easier way to approach their problem in attempting Question 1. Based on observation, analysis of the year end MUET exam and pretest, it can be concluded that many of the students lacked analytical and critical thinking skills to analyze and synthesize, as they were more exposed to mere rote learning and memorizing. They had been spoon-fed and need to be trained to venture out of the box. Due to lack of analyzing and synthesizing skills, they did not score in Question 1. Therefore, decision was made to do a research on how to improve their analyzing and synthesizing skills so that they can achieve a higher band. When this study was being carried out, it is obvious that the students were enthusiastic and keen on learning to master these skills. They learned to have a better grasp of ways to analyze and synthesize information. In the progress of this study, students were guided to present key features accurately in order to analyze and synthesize the information based on the stimuli. Then they were trained to link the information together to show a well-developed and in-depth study of the information that they had done. They were given a variety of exercises where they have to analyze and synthesize based on the stimuli given. Finally, they had to write a coherent and cohesive report or article within 150 to 200 words. From the post-test result, there were promising improvements notched up by the students as they were able to present key features more accurately and then analyze and synthesize the stimuli given even for the weak ones. In addition, they managed to produce an analytical and critical report, even though there were some grammatical errors. However, this did not hinder one’s comprehending of the report. In conclusion, MUET teachers should not only be able to identify students’ weaknesses, but also be able to seek remedy and take action to improve the situation. In particular, we should improve their analyzing and synthesizing skills so that they could achieve a higher band in MUET. In order to achieve this objective, various strategies and approaches should be carried out. It is recommended that Building Block approach should be continued for the benefits of the students.
