TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................. i
ABSTACT .............................................................................................................. ii
PERSETUJUAN AKHIR ................................................................................... iii
PERSETUJUAN KOMISI ............................................................................... iv
SURAT PERNYATAAN .................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. xi
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xii
LIST OF GRAPHS ............................................................................................ xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................. xiv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Problem ........................................................................1
B. Identification of the Problem ......................................................................3
C. Limitation of the Problem ...........................................................................4
D. Formulation of the Problem ........................................................................4
E. Research Questions .....................................................................................4
F. Purposes of the Research ............................................................................5
G. Significance of the Research .......................................................................5
H. Definition of Key Terms .............................................................................6

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Theories
1. Writing ..................................................................................................7
a. The Nature of Writing ......................................................................7
b. Components of Writing .................................................................11
2. Explanation Text .................................................................................13
a. The Concept of Explanation Text .................................................13
b. The Generic Structure of Explanation Text ..................................16
c. The Grammatical Features of Explanation Text ...........................18
3. Assessing Writing ...............................................................................21
4. Students’ Ability in Writing ................................................................23
5. Students’ Problems in Writing Explanation Text ...............................26
6. Causes of the Difficulties in Students’ Writing ..................................28

viii
 B. Review of Related Findings ......................................................................31
C. Conceptual Framework .............................................................................37

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

A. Type of the Research .................................................................................39
B. Population and Sampling ..........................................................................39
C. Instruments ................................................................................................40
1. Writing Test ........................................................................................41
a. Validity of the Test ........................................................................41
b. Reliability of the Test .....................................................................42
2. Interview Guideline.............................................................................42
D. Technique of Data Collection ...................................................................43
E. Technique of Analyzing the Data .............................................................46
F. Procedure of the Research .........................................................................49

CHAPTER IV FINDING AND DISCUSSION

A. Finding .......................................................................................................50
1. The Students’ Ability in Writing Explanation Text ............................50
a. Generic Structure (Organization) ................................................. .52
b. Textual Language .......................................................................... 64
c. Spelling ......................................................................................... 72
d. Syntactical Language .................................................................... 76
2. The Students’ Problems in Writing Explanation Text ........................ 86
a. Students’ Problems in writing explanation text related
to generic Structure criteria .......................................................... 87
1) Incomplete generic structure ................................................... 87
2) The Combination of introduction and a sequence of
stages ....................................................................................... 90
3) The combination of a sequence of stages and
conclusion .............................................................................. 91
4) The combination of introduction and conclusion ...................91
b. Students’ Problems related to textual language ............................94
1) Simple Sentences .................................................................... 95
2) Compound Sentences .............................................................. 96
3) Complex Sentences ................................................................. 97
4) Grammar .................................................................................98
c. Students’ problems related to spelling ........................................100
d. Students’ Problems related to syntactical language ....................101
1) Article....................................................................................102
2) Preposition ............................................................................103
3) Punctuation............................................................................104
3. Causes of Why the Students’ Had Problems in Writing
Explanation text ................................................................................109
a. Interference of first language ......................................................110

ix
 b. Complexity of the target language ..............................................115
c. Lack of knowledge about writing components ...........................117
B. Discussion ...............................................................................................120
1. The students’ ability in writing explanation text...............................121
2. The students’ problems in writing explanation text ..........................124
3. The causes of students’ problems in writing explanation text ..........128
C. Limitation of the research .......................................................................130

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion ..............................................................................................132
B. Implication ..............................................................................................133
C. Suggestion ...............................................................................................133
BIBILIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................135