IMPROVING THE SKILLS OF WRITING SIMPLE SENTENCES THROUGH

“VS GRAPE”
(V- VOCABULARY, S- SIMPLE SENTENCE PRACTICES, GRAPES- GRADED
PICTORIAL PRACTISES)

by :

Hazura Mohd Yusoff

Norhaizah Ahmad

SK Seri Machap
Simpang Renggam, Johor

ABSTRACT

This research looks at the problem of writing among the students of Year 6
SK Seri Machap, Simpang Renggam. Basically when conducting this
research, I have always put the priority of trying to find ways on how to
improve the skills of writing sentences among the 15 students of Year 6
Arif. These students are going to sit for the 2004 UPSR examinations.
Using three techniques, firstly, increasing their vocabulary, secondly, doing
practices on writing simple sentences and thirdly, doing the graded
pictorial writing exercises, I discovered intriguing findings, which has
helped me to improve the writing skills of the students. Thus, I find this
action research has helped me in assisting the students especially in
preparing them for not only the monthly tests, mid-year test but also the
UPSR English paper.

1.0 Reflection on Previous Teaching and Learning

I have been teaching Year 6 English since I started my teaching career. From my
observation, writing is a very complex skill to get my target group to master it.
Therefore, most of my target group found it difficult to construct correct sentences in
their monthly test, examination even in their daily homework. The problems among
my students are having tenses errors in sentence constructions, having problems to
add and use new words including adjectives and adverbs appropriately and
creatively, having difficulties to show variety in sentence patterns and structures,
having a number of single word errors in use of conjunctions, prepositions and
subject-verb-agreement, having unclear, incoherent sentence structures and
sometimes with total distortion, little or no meaning. Based on those factors, I need to
do some improvements to my target group and make sure that they will construct
their own simple sentences without guidance anymore. The weaker students will
learn more how to create their own sentences meanwhile the good students will
produce more quality sentences in future.

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 Table 1 : Results of the Observation
Percentage /
Problems
Number of Students
Tenses error in sentence constructions 86.7% (13)
Add and use new words including adjectives and adverbs
93.3% (14)
appropriately and creatively
Usage of conjunctions, prepositions and subject-verb- 80.0% (12)
agreement
86.7% (13)
Unclear
Incoherent sentence structures and sometimes with total
66.7% (10)
distortion, little or no meaning

From the observation, there were a lot of problems detected from the target group in
their daily exercises or worksheets given by the teacher. For the purpose of this
observation, I have identified the most salient problem among the students in the
examinations, which is the writing part (Questions 21(b) and 22). Thus, I decided to
do an action research on this particular area hoping that my effort will help the
students to improve their writing skills.

2.0 Research Focus

This research is focusing on the writing skills from constructing simple sentences to
compound and complex sentences. This would involve knowing a range of sentence
patterns and words, understanding the interrelatedness of all the elements of words,
structures, punctuation and layout (able to sequence ideas logically and produce
coherent text by using appropriate cohesive devices such as logical connectors) in a
piece of writing. I derived with this focus through the pre-test. If this writing skills
problem could not be solved, the pupils will make more mistakes in the future. So, I
decided to expose and introduce “Improving The Skills of Writing Simple
Sentences Through “VS GRAPE” to my target group.

3.0 Research Objectives:

3.0 General Objectives

To improve the writing skills of writing simple sentences of the students.

3.2 Specific Objectives

3.2.1 To propose a technique of teaching to reduce the problem of writing
simple sentences among the students.
3.2.2 To assist the weaker students in constructing simple sentences.
3.2.3 To assist the good students in producing more quality writings.
3.2.4 To improve and increase the percentage of passes in 2004 UPSR
English paper.

4.0 Target Group

The target group consists of 15 students from Year 6 Arif. This group of students is a
mixture of the average and weak language proficiency group. One of their main
problems is to construct correct sentences.
5.0 Action Implementation

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 5.1 Problem Observation

5.1.1 Observation
I made observation on pupils during teaching and learning session.
This target group was evaluated during marking their exercises book,
homework and pre-test.

5.1.2 Pre-Test
The pre-test are used to examine how far the 15 students from my target
group had mastered in writing skills. This pre-test had been done before the
action plan and pupils have to answer in the question papers.

5.1.3 Questionnaires
The questionnaires form was distributed for the students to fill it up. Students
were given questions on part that they do not know to construct the simple
sentences properly.

5.1.4 Structured Interview

I also used informal interview. Based on this interview, I detected the
problems why the 15 pupils of my target group could not write the simple
sentences.

5.2 Analysis of the Problem

5.2.1 Observation
As an English teacher in a rural primary school, English Language has been
identified as the problematic subject. Most students find English subject difficult due to the
lack of interest and poor command of English. The most difficult part for the students is the
writing skills. Writing is an important skill in learning. Many approaches and techniques
have been adopted to teach and hence improve writing skills but, the writing performance
of the students is still unsatisfactory. The problem lies in the fact that my students have a
poor command of the language and as such are unable to apply the rules of grammar in
their writing. Subsequently, this would lead to confusion and incompetence in using the
language. For the purpose of this study, I believe that my students need to internalize
grammar rules first, as this would provide them with a basic foundation which would in turn
help them improve their competence in English and contribute especially towards
students’ enhancing their writing skills.

5.2.2 Pre-Test

Table 2 : Results of the Pre-Test

GRADE NUMBERS OF THE PUPILS
A (80-100) 1
B (60-79) 3
C (40-59) 4
D (20-29) 6
E (0-19) 1
TOTAL 15

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 Based on the results from the pre-test question papers, there was only 1 student
scored A, 3 of them scored B and 4 students scored C. 7 of the students failed in this test
who 6 pupils scored D and 1 pupil E. Hopefully, by conducting this research, I will help the
students in improving their writing skills and consequently to increase the passes
percentage in the UPSR as well.

5.2.3 Questionnaires

Table 3 : Results of the Questionnaires

TARGET GROUP
NO. PARTS OF THE PROBLEMS
AGREE DISAGREE
1. Vocabulary and its meaning 90% (14) 10% (2)
2 Unclear with the keywords 80% (12) 20% (3)
3. Grammar rules 60% (9) 40% (6)
4. Construct and write simple 60% (9) 40% (6)
sentences
5. Sentences structural 60% (9) 40% (6)

Based on the results above, there are 14 students having problems in vocabulary
and its meaning, 12 students were unclear with the keywords, 9 pupils having problems
with grammar rules, 9 pupils having problems in constructing and writing simple sentences
and 9 pupils having problems in sentences structure.

5.2.4 Interview

Table 4 : Pupils’ Respond About Skills of Writing

Percentage /
Pupils’ Respond
Number of Students
Do they like to learn writing sentences? Yes 90% (14)
Difficulties to understand the meaning
90% (14)
of words
20% (3)
Always doing grammar exercises at home
20% (3)
Always try to construct simple sentences
Always refer to the teacher if there any problems in
10% (2)
constructing sentences

Based on the interview that has been done, all of the students like to learn English
Language but 14 of them have difficulties to understand the meaning of words. 3 of the
students always do grammar exercises at home and try to construct simple sentences.
Only 2 of them always refer to the teacher if there are any problems in constructing
sentences.

5.3 Plan-in-action

5.3.1 There were 3 activities planned to implement the action research on

improving the students’ writing skills.

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 st
1 activity Increasing vocabulary
nd
2 activity Practices on constructing and writing simple sentences.
rd
3 activity Writing graded pictorial sentences.

5.3.2 Materials used in the activities

(i) A small booklet which consists of word list.
(ii) Actual UPSR English papers on section C for evaluations.
(iii) List of suggested words to be used by the students to construct simple
sentences.
(iv) Graded exercises for writing which was graded from easy to more difficult.
(v) Worksheets as assessments to assess the students understanding and
performance after each treatment.
(vi) Test papers particularly on writing. (Section C22)

5.3.3 The instrument for Observation

Results from the activities carried out (in percentage form)

5.4 Implementation and Observation/Evaluation

5.4.1 Implementation of Activity One

I begin the research by advocating the explicit teaching of grammar for the
learners such as introducing the vocabulary that are suggested by the syllabus books from
Year 1 up to Year 6. A small booklet was given to each student. List of words with blanks
to be filled in with the meanings of the words in Bahasa Melayu are provided. The topics
include buildings and places, numbers, food, occupations, sounds, plants, animals,
synonyms, antonyms, colours, shapes, flowers, vegetables, fruits, places, things, materials
for buildings, locations, directions etc.

(i) Observation
Results of the exercise
Table 5
Question 22 A B C D/E
No. of students/
2 13.3% 2 13.3% 6 40% 5 33.3%
Percentage

Table 6
English Test 1 A B C D/E
No. of students/
1 6.7% 5 33.3 % 7 46.7% 2 13.3%
Percentage

From the practices of knowing the words and their meanings, I found out that
students are able to understand English better and easier. Even though it is a long term
process, the students did show improvements in terms of understanding and interest. The
results of the first monthly test (Question 22) are also taken as the data to see the
performance of the students after the first activity is done.

(ii) Reflection
From the results shown above, I can conclude that the students’ performance had
improved slightly compared to the previous tests when they were in Year 5. Most students
have at least shown the effort to write at least 5 sentences in Question 22 rather than

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leaving it blank or just direct lifting. As their English teacher, since they were Year 4, I
personally feel that these students have shown a good step in writing. The results also has
shown that the overall percentage of passes in the English paper has also increased
where 13 students passed and only 2 students failed in the test. This indicates that by
knowing more vocabulary, the students are able to understand English better and this
helps them in understanding the test paper and lead to the improvement of the percentage
passes.
Nevertheless, from the first activity done, I have found that these students need
more guidance to help them in acquiring the writing skills. By providing or giving the basic
input (vocabulary) will not totally help them in improving their writing skills. However I
admit that vocabulary is a very important tool in learning English. The more vocabulary
that they acquire, the better they will be in this subject. Therefore by providing the students
with the word list is one of the techniques that can be accepted in helping the students to
improve themselves in the subject.

5.4.2 Implementation of the Activity Two

After I have completed providing the students with the appropriate vocabulary in
order to assist them in writing, I feel that I need to teach the students to write simple
sentences since their performance in writing do not show a vast improvement. Therefore,
they need more practice in constructing simple sentences. Simple sentences are the
basic sentence patterns that the students should know in order to start writing. A booklet
with ten blank lines were given to the students. The students were required to write ten
simple sentences everyday. Basic simple sentences are taught to the students until they
really understand to write the sentences themselves.

(i) Observation
Tables 7 and 8: Results of the exercise
Table 7
Question 22 A B C D/E
No. of students/ 2 13.3% 4 26.7% 7 46.7% 2 13.3%
Percentage

Table 8
English Test 2 A B C D/E
No. of students/ 1 6.7% 4 26.7% 9 60% 1 6.7%
Percentage

From exercises marked, the teacher found out that 13 students were able to
understand and know how to write very simple sentences. 2 students still need more
guidance from the teacher. From the observation, the students seem to like the exercises
and they agreed that the exercises have helped them in improving their writing skills.

(ii) Reflection
The results of the second monthly test are taken as to see if there is any
improvement in the performance of the students in writing after they have completed the
second activity.
From the results shown, it seems that the number of students scored D or E in
question 22 has decreased to 2 students only and the number of students who have
scored A, B or C had increased to 13. On top of that, the numbers of students who have
passed in the English Test 2 have also increased where 14 students have scored at least
A, B or C and only 1 student failed in the test. From this result, I can conclude that the
second activity was able to help the students in writing because their results have
improved slightly and the overall percentage passes in the English paper was also
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improved as well. However, more practices need to be given to the students in order to
achieve better improvement in the performance of the students. And, I am still not
satisfied with their performance in the writing part.

5.4.3 Implementation of Activity Three

In the third activity, I have decided to help the students by giving them the graded
pictorial exercises. I have prepared 5 exercises of 3 levels of difficulties ranging from
simple to difficult. The objective of giving these exercises is to guide them in writing in a
more proper way by considering not only the grammar rules, variety of sentence patterns
used but also the flow of the writing. This is to guide the students to write not only to pass
but also to score as higher band as they could in the examination. 4 sets of exercises were
given to the students. Each set consists of 3 levels of difficulties from simple or the easiest
part to more difficult. After each exercise, post mortem is done and the teacher then helps
the students who still have problem in producing good writing exercises. The teacher
explains on any parts that the students have problem in and after that they will have to do
the corrections in their exercise books. These processes went on until the whole 5
exercises were completed and it took about 3 weeks to complete all the exercises.

Example:
The exercises are based on the same picture provided for the students.

Exercise 1
Match the sentence parts.

Encik Ahmad and his wife took from a portable radio.

They went to the beach their children to the

beach.

At the seaside, Encik Ahmad and Puan Fatimah volleyball on the beach.

They listened to the music by car.

Their children changed into their swimming enjoyed themselves.

An hour later, the family played sat on a mat under a

shady tree.

They really costumes and went for a

dip in the sea

Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with the correct words.

Encik Ahmad and his wife ______ their children to the beach last week. They
_____ to the beach by car. At the seaside, Encik Ahmad and Puan Fatimah _______ on a
mat under a shady tree. They ______ to the music from a portable radio. Their children
_____ into their swimming costumes and ______ for a dip in the sea. An hour later, the
family played volleyball on the beach. They really _______ themselves.

Exercise 3
Look at the picture and read the words given carefully. Use ALL the words given to write
about the picture. Write your answers in the space provided.
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 Last Sunday - took - children - beach - sat - shady tree - listened - changed - swimming
costumes - dip - sand castle - played volleyball - happy – enjoyed

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

(i) Observation

Table 9 : Results of the exercises

Exercise Level A B C D E
Level 1 10 66.7% 2 13.3% 2 13.3% - - 1 6.7%
1 Level 2 15 100% - - - - - - - -
Level 3 5 33.3% 4 26.7% 2 13.3% 3 20% 1 6.7%
Level 1 1 6.7% 5 33.3% 5 33.3% 3 20% 1 6.7%
2 Level 2 10 66.7% 4 26.7% 1 6.7% - - - -
Level 3 1 6.7% 2 13.3% 8 53.3% 4 26.7% - -
Level 1 4 26.7% 2 13.3% 7 46.7% 1 6.7% 1 6.7%
3 Level 2 10 66.7% 2 13.3% 1 6.7% 1 6.7% 1 6.7%
Level 3 1 6.7% 3 20% 5 33.3% 6 40% - -
Level 1 3 20% 8 53.3% 1 6.7% 2 13.3% 1 6.7%
4 Level 2 10 66.7% 1 6.7% 3 20% - - 1 6.7%
Level 3 1 6.7% 1 6.7% 8 53.3% 5 33.3% -
Level 1 4 26.7% 2 13.3% 6 40% 3 20% - -
5 Level 2 11 73.3% 1 6.6% 2 13.3% 1 6.7% - -
Level 3 4 26.7% 3 20% 4 26.7% 4 26.7% - -

Table 10 : Mid-Year Test Result on Question 22

Question 22 A B C D/E
No. of students/ 3 20% 6 40% 6 40% - -
Percentage

Table 11 : Mid-Year English Test Result

Question 22 A B C ABC
No. of students/ 2 6.6% 7 46.6% 6 40% 15 100%
Percentage

Each set of the exercises were analyzed and from the analysis I managed to find
out where the problem lies on and help the students in producing good piece of writing.

(ii) Reflection
From the third activity, I realized that by giving the students graded pictorial
exercises I am able to help the students in the writing part. The students seemed to enjoy
the exercises because they are guided and they started from the simple exercises to more
difficult. From my observations and interviews with the students, I found out that most
students agreed that the exercises have helped them in writing. And they want more of
the exercises to be given to them as preparation for their UPSR examination in
September.

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5.4.4 Post-test

Table 12: Differences Between Pre-test Results and Post-test Results

GRADE NUMBERS OF THE PUPILS NUMBERS OF THE
(PRE-TEST) PUPILS
(POST-TEST)
A (80-100) 1 2
B (60-79) 3 6
C (40-59) 4 7
D (20-29) 6 0
E (0-19) 1 0
TOTAL 15 15

Based on the differences between pre-test and post-test results, there were an
increasing numbers of the pupils who scored A, B and C and none pupils failed in this test.
It showed that the students have improved very well after going through all the activities.

5.4.5 Interview

Table 13 : Pupils’ Respond About All The Action Plans/Activities

Percentage /
Pupils’ Respond
Number of Students
Wordlist (Vocabulary) Exercises Were Helping Them 100% (15)
Know And Understand How To Construct Simple Sentences 86.7% (13)
Graded Pictorial Exercises Were Easy To Them 80% (12)
Enjoyed the Exercises 100% (15)
Need More Exercises To Help Them 100% (15)

After I have completed all the activities, I found out that all the students agreed that
the wordlist exercises had helped them to know more vocabulary and its meaning. 13
students have already known on how to construct simple sentences correctly. From the
graded pictorial exercises, 12 of the students felt that it is easier to write the sentences
and increase their language quality. I also found that they really enjoyed doing the
exercises and agreed that the exercises mostly helped them to improve their writing skills.

5.5 Reflection on the Research

From this action research, I have found out that as a teacher I need to use
different types of techniques or methods in conveying my lessons to the students. The
most important thing in teaching is trying to find the simplest way that suits the students’
level and ability. Most probably, these techniques work with my students but might not
work with other students in different schools. However, the most important thing that I
have learnt here is as a language teacher I need to have a systematic and consistent way
of teaching. This would lead to the success of the teaching and learning process and in
the end help the students in acquiring the language.
From this action research too, I can say that from the three activities that I have
already done, the students have improved their writing skills step by step. Therefore, in
this research, it is important to give more input in the form of vocabulary, simple sentences
and graded exercises which no doubt, play a vital role in reinforcing and consolidating
pupils writing skills. From the first activity (vocabulary), the students were provided with all
the words that they need to learn. The students would have ample vocabulary to be used
in writing and at the same time they knew the meaning. Based on the second activity
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(simple sentences), the students had more practices in constructing sentences. It is
because simple sentences are the basic sentence patterns that the students should know
in order to start writing. In the third activity (graded exercises), the students had to write in
a proper way by considering the grammar rules, sentence patterns used and the flow of
the writing. Finally, the students enjoyed with all the activities because they are guided and
they started from the simple exercises to more difficult.
As English Language is the second language taught in schools, the writing skills
are very important in helping the students to understand the language better and easier.
This is because to acquire a language that is not being used regularly in their lives is not
an easy task. Thus, I must always be aware of the needs of the students and know how to
use the most suitable technique in acquiring the language.

6.0 Suggestions for Future Research

Based on my action research, I believe that these three techniques can be

adopted and adapted in guided essays or compositions. Furthermore, the students should
be given more input, example, a different text or reading passage, before they start writing
besides the pictures and words stimuli. The text would be about the same or related topic
or theme but in different situations. This would give the students more ideas and
encourage them to write creatively. I also think that more time should be given to the
students to absorb the input. So, I should allow the students to discuss before they start
writing or do the exercises. Lastly, collaborative work rather than individual work should be
encouraged as students able to learn from peers.

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Winter, R. (1960). Some Principles and Procedures for the Conduct of Action Research in
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