A.

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, English has an important role in our life. It has dominated every side of life such as technology, business, and education. In technology, a lot of information in computer and internet are performed in English. In business, English is one of a tool for communication. Furthermore in education, many textbooks are written in English. Based on the information above, teaching and learning English is very important in order to master English that covers English components and English skills. English components consist of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Meanwhile English skills include speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Since writing is one of an English skill, mastering this skill is important to help students require the ability to manipulate sentences and paragraphs and also uses language effectively. In order to know how far students master the writing skill, it is important to evaluate it by using certain tests. Test can be used to place students in courses according to their knowledge, to diagnoses their strength and weaknesses, and also to identify their proficiency. Besides, test will also help the teacher to use for the future direction of classroom practice, for the planning of courses, and for the management of learning tasks and students. There are many kinds of writing test such as making a paragraph, making an essay, making a letter, making a summary or phrases, describing a picture, etc.

B. WHAT TO TEST IN WRITING AND HOW TO SCORE

1. What to Test in Writing a) Content/ Substance It refers to the idea that the students delivered in their writing products. b) Organization It refers to how the students idea is constructed in order to make their reader (teacher and friends) understand the message of their writing. c) Grammar It refers to the accuracy of structured and grammatical used by the students.

d) Vocabulary/ Word choice It refers to appropriate use of vocabulary by the students. e) Punctuation It refers to the use of appropriate punctuation by the students such as comma, full stop, colon etc in order to make their writing clearly. f) Spelling It refers to the words or phrases that the students write.

2. How to Score in Writing a. Content b. Organization c. Grammar d. Vocabulary e. Punctuation f. Spelling (20%) (15%) (15%) (15%) (10%) (5%)

From the percentages, the grade of scoring can be as follow: a. Advanced (70% - 80%) Developed proficiency in English language and literacy skills b. Intermediate (60% 69%) Understands and uses more abstract, academic and formal language and literacy skills c. Emergent (50% - 59%) Identifies common school language and basic instructions/follow simple directions d. Pre-emergent (40% - 49%) Limited or no understanding of the English language

C. HOW TO TEST WRITING 1) Paragraph

A paragraph is a basic unit of organization in writing in which a group of related sentences develop one main idea. Basically, a paragraph has three major structural parts: a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Testing students writing ability by using a paragraph can be done by giving the students certain topics then ask them to make a paragraph based on the topic that they choose. The example of paragraph: GOLD Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics. First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty that is resistant to corrosion. Therefore, it is suitable for jewelry, coins, and ornamental purposes. Gold never needs to be polished and will remain beautiful forever. For example, a Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another important characteristic of gold is its usefulness to industry and science. For many years, it has been used in hundreds of industrial applications. The most recent use of gold is in astronauts suits. Astronauts wear gold plated heat shields for protection outside the spaceship. In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty, but also for its utility. 2) Essay

An essay is a piece of writing several paragraphs long instead of just one or two paragraphs. It is written about one topic, just as a paragraph is. However, the topic of an essay is too long and too complex to discuss in one paragraph. Just like a paragraph, an essay has three main parts: an introductory paragraph, a body (at least one, but usually two or more paragraphs), a concluding paragraph. Testing students writing ability by using an essay can be done by giving the students certain topics then ask them to make an essay based on the topic that they choose.

The example of essay: RA Kartini Every April 21, people in Indonesia commemorate the Kartini days. It is a beautiful day for women because we celebrate the birth of great lady, RA Kartini. Everyone knows who Kartini is. She is our national heroine and a great lady with the bright idea.

Kartini was born in 1879, April 21 in Moyang Jepar. Her father was RMAA.Sosrodiningrat, Wedana (assistant of head of regency) in Moyang. Her mother, MA Ngasirah was a girl from Teluk Awur village in Jepara. As the daughter of a noble family, she felt luck because she got more than the ordinary people got. She got better education than other children. She did anything she wants although it was forbidden. She passed her childhood with her brother and sister. Because she was very energetic, her father called her trinil then her father was chosen as Bupati(the head of regency) in Jepara. She and her family moved from Moyang to Jepara. In the same year, Kartinis second sister Kardinah was born. The circumstances in Jepara gave her big chance to develop her idea. She could study at the Dutch owned school where only children from noble family could study here. Few years after finishing her study, RA Kartini was willing to continue her study in higher level. But the custom of that day forbid a woman to go to school. A tradition of that time, a teenage girl should be secluded and limited her activity. So was Kartini. She was secluded inside the house and forbidden to go out until a man proposed her. The rule could restrict her body but not her mind. During her pingitan time, she spent her time by reading book which she got from her relatives. Although she was not able to continue her study to higher level, she was smart had a bright idea. She got the knowledge from the books she read. To express her idea, she established school for local people on the backyard of Jepara city hall. In November 12, 1903, she married Adipati Djoyodiningrat, the head of Rembang regency. According to Javanese tradition Kartini had to follow her husband. Then she moved to Rembang. In September 13, 1904 she gave a birth to her son. His name was Singgih. But after giving birth to her son, her condition was getting worse and she finally passed away on September 17, 1904 on her 25 years old. Now Kartini has gone. But her spirit and dream will always be in our heart. Nowadays Indonesian women progress is influenced by Kartinis spirit stated on collection of letter Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang from the dusk to the dawn. 3) Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is a writing skill in which information from published sources is written in different words (rephrased) without changing its original meaning. It is often used in place of directly quoting what a writer has said. Paraphrasing is used to rewrite short selections, such as sentences, a series of sentences, or paragraphs. A paraphrase is usually as long as the

original text in order to communicate its meaning. Testing students writing ability by using a paraphrase can be done by giving the students original text from book or internet then ask them to paraphrase it. The example of paraphrase: Original: Howard Van Zandt, who studied Japanese business practices extensively said, The Japanese prefer to work as members of groups rather than individually. This characteristic is often cited as one of the most important in explaining Japans economic success Paraphrase: Van Zandt maintains that the Japanese people would rather work together in groups, not individually. He believes that this trait is one of the most important factors which have contributed to the success of Japans economy. 4) Summary

A summary is similar to a paraphrase except that a summary is usually shorter. When you summarized, you compress large amounts of information into the fewest possible sentences. In order to do this, you include only the main points and main supporting points, leaving out the details. Testing students writing ability by using a summary can be done by giving t he students original text from book or internet then ask them to summary it. The example of summary: Original: for generation, Americans have researched their past to discover who their ancestors were. In recent years, many more people have developed and avid interest in their genealogy and the cultural heritage of their ancestors. This interest was sparked for two reasons. First, Americans celebrated the bicentennial of the United State in 1976 and paid tribute to this countrys history. Second, and more recently, the book Roots, which traces the family history of an American black man named Alex Haley back to Africa, was serialized on National Television. As a result of these two events, a past time for thousands of American was created. Summary: Recently, many Americans have become interested in researching their backgrounds in order to identify their ancestors and learn about their cultural heritage. This interest in genealogy began with the U.S. Bicentennial celebration and intensified with the televising of the family history of Alex Haley, a black American.

5)

Picture Narrating

Picture Narrating is an activity that involves pictures. Students are asked to tell the story in the pictures. They will elaborate one picture with other pictures. The students should tell the events in the order in which they happened. It is generally use past tense.

6)

Picture Describing

Picture Describing is an activity that also involves pictures. The students are given certain pictures then they will be asked to describe the pictures. The pictures can be about describing a place, people, things etc.

7)

Out line

Outline is a list that shows the main ideas and the structure of something that you are planning to write. Testing students writing ability by using out line can be done by giving certain topics to the students then ask them to make out line based on the topic that they choose. It usually done before they begin to develop their idea to be a paragraph or essay. The example of outline: Title: The Traffic in My Hometown Introductory paragraph: Topic Sentence: I love my hometown, but if there is anything I could change, I would like to make the traffic better. Body 1 Topic sentence: There are several things to make the traffic of Malang better. Major Supporting Sentence 1: Government plans a reconstruction project to work on damaged road. Minor Supporting Sentence 1: The damaged road include Major Supporting Sentence 2: Government can plan to build new roads and highways. Minor Supporting Sentence 2: The location of building new roads and highways are.. Body 2 Topic Sentence: What will happen if the traffic in Malang is better? Major Supporting Sentence 2: There will be no traffic jam.

Major Supporting Sentence 2: there will be less accident. Concluding Paragraph: I want Malang to have better traffic, which can be done if the government plans road reconstruction. If the plan is successful, there will be no traffic and less accident. 8) Letter

Letter is a written or printed message to a person or group, usually sent by mail in an envelope. Testing students writing ability by using letter can be done by giving certain topics to the students then ask them to make letter based on the topic that they choose. The letter can be about personal letter or business letter. The example of letter: 506 Country Lane North Baysville, CA 53286 July 16, 2007

Dear Susan, It feels like such a long time since the last time I saw you. I know it's only been several weeks since I saw you. So far my summer has been great! I spend my all my weekends at the beach. I am getting a nice tan and you can no longer say I am paler than you. I have been playing lots of volleyball, surfing and building a nice collection of sea shells. Just this past weekend I took second place in a sandcastle building contest! On the weekdays I work. I drive an ice cream truck around and sell ice cream to the kids. It is so cool. It is a combination of the two things I love most, ice cream and kids. The pay isn't too great but I love the job so much. I hope the summer's been going well for you too. There's only a month and a half left in summer vacation and after that it's back to school. Would you like to meet up some time to before school starts?

Your friend, Signature P.S. John Austin says hi.

9)

Sentences Combining

The process of joining two or more short, simple sentences to make one longer sentence--an alternative to traditional grammar instruction. Testing students writing ability by using sentences combining can be done by giving the students two different sentences that actually have relationship. Then ask the students to combine those two sentences by using the correct conjunction. The example of Sentences Combining: 1. I can speak English. I can understand English. Combination: I can speak and understand English. 2. I cant speak Tagalog. I cant speak Vietnamese. Combination: I cant speak Tagalog or Vietnamese. 10) Sentence Completion

The main idea to present sentence completion question is to enhance the vocabulary as this relies mainly on vocabulary. Testing students writing ability by using sentences completion can be done by giving the students a question or a paragraph with a blank space. Then ask the students to complete the blank space by using the appropriate vocabularies. The Example of Sentence Completion: 1. You need to furnish more details to ---------- your argument with more experimental data; as it stands the thesis is ----------. Answer: A. support - profound B. scaffold - acceptable C. refine - sufficient D. define - succinct E. buttress inadequate 2. Lunar eclipses have always fascinated people. Some studies eclipses as an1 (Astronomy, astrology, asteroid) phenomenon; others just enjoy observing their beauty. 2 (Therefore, however, because), in ancient time, lunar eclipses were mysterious, frightening, and 3 (Unpredictable, feasible, impossible). In the past, people believed that eclipses were bad omens, or 4 (Wishes, sign, orders), and this superstition has often affected historical events. For instance, a lunar eclipses was

5 (Partly, fortunately, centrally) responsible for the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

D. REFERENCES

Valette, Rebecca M. 1977. Modern Language Testing. USA: Harcourt Jovanovich Publishes. Hogue, Ann. 1978. Writing Academic English. New York: Wesley Publishing Company. Hogue, Ann. 1996. First Step in Academic Writing. New York: Wesley Publishing Company. Boardman, Cynthia A. 2002. Writing to communicate. New York: Pearson Education Inc. Http: //www.eslgold.com/writing/testing.html