Abstract:
The objective of this research was aimed to know whether the technique of Peer-Assisted Writing Activity can improve the ability of the first year students of SMA PGRI Pekanbaru in writing descriptive text. Besides, this research also aimed to find what factors cause the improvement on the ability of the first year students of SMA PGRI Pekanbaru in writing Descriptive text by using Peer-Assisted Writing Activity. The subjects were 32 students from class X (5) at SMA PGRI Pekanbaru selected through the result of small survey . The study was divided into two cycles in which one cycle consisted of four stages. Pre-test and Post-tests were given including a set of observation sheets and field notes were used to gain the record of the classroom activity during the Peer-Assisted Writing Activity treatment. Treatments were designed for three meetings in each cycle. The analysis found that the treatments could reach the improvement of the students‟ writing ability. The mean score of pre-test was 55.80, the mean score of post-test 1 was 68.54 and the mean score of post-test 2 was 75.33. There were about 69% of the students who could achive Minimal Mastery Criteria (MMC) of English subject in writing Descriptive text. In addition, the percentage of students‟ activeness was also improved from the first to the last meetings. In cycle 1 the students‟ activeness was 54.16% but in cycle 2 the students‟ activeness improved into 88.54%, there was improvement 34.38% from cycle 1 to cycle 2. Moreover, the result of observation sheets and field notes showed a positive behavior in a process of learning and it also helped studentsimprove their writing ability and more active in learning process.
