THE CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING

ABILITY AND STUDENT’S INVOLVING VOICE ABILITY IN WRITING

A Correlational Study of Sixth Semester Students of Department of English

Education of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

Meti Anggraeni

1112014000084

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH

JAKARTA

2017

v

ABSTRACT

Meti Anggraeni (NIM: 1112014000084). The Relationship between Students’

Critical Thinking Ability and Involving Voice Ability in Writing (A

Correlational Study of Seventh Semester Students of Department of English

Education of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta). A Skripsi of Department of

English Education at Faculty of Educational Sciences of Syarif Hidayatullah State

Islamic University Jakarta, 2017.

Advisor I : Drs. Syauki, M.Pd

Advisor II : Desi Nahartini, M.Ed

This study aimed to know and describe the relationship between students’

critical thinking ability and involving voice ability in writing. The participants of

this study were the sixth semester students of Department English Education of

Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University of Jakarta in academic year

2016/2017. Two tests were administered to 30 participants in order to measure

their critical thinking skill and involving voice skill in writing. The tests were

critical thinking test adapted from Cornell Critical Thinking Test and

argumentative writing test. The data collected then were calculated by using

Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient. Based on the research analysis, it

shows that the result of the Product Moment correlation is = 0.608, it is higher

than r table value in the significance of 1% (0.608 > 0.463). It means that Ho is

rejected and H1 is accepted. Besides, based on determination coefficient analysis,

critical thinking skill has 36.96% contribution in the students’ involving voice

ability in writing. The result reveals that there is significant relationship between

sixth semester students’ critical thinking ability and their involving voice ability

in writing. In conclusion, the students with higher critical thinking skill have

better involving voice skill in writing which lead to better writing product.

Keywords: Critical Thinking, Voice in Writing, Correlational Study.

vi

ABSTRAK

Meti Anggraeni (NIM: 1112014000084). The Relationship between Students’

Critical Thinking Ability and Involving Voice Ability in Writing (A

Correlational Study of Seventh Semester Students of Department of English

Education of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta). Skripsi Jurusan Pendidikan

Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri

Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2017.

Dosen Pembimbing I : Drs. Syauki, M.Pd

Dosen Pembimbing II : Desi Nahartini, M.Ed

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan dan menjelaskan hubungan

antara kemampuan berpikir kritis dan kemampuan involving voice dalam menulis.

Responden dalam peneliatian ini adalah mahasiswa semester enam pendidikan

bahasa Inggris di Universitas Islam Negri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta tahun ajaran

2016/2017. Sebanyak 30 responden di test untuk mengetahui tingkat kemampuan

berpikir kritis mereka dan tingkat kemampuan involving voice mereka dalam

menulis. Data yang terkumpul di kalkulasikan menggunakan koefisien korelasi

dari Pearson Product Moment. Berdasarkan analisa data, koefiesien korelasi

Pearson Product Moment-nya adalah 0.608. Nilai tersebut lebih besar dari nilai

tabel r dengan signifikansi 1% (0.608 > 0.463). Itu menandakan Ho ditolak dan H1

diterima. Sementara itu, berdasarkan analisa koefisien determinasi, kemampuan

berpikir kritis berkontribusi sebesar 36.96% terhadap kemampuan involving voice

siswa dalam menulis. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada hubungan yang

signifikan antara kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dan kemampuan involving

voice mereka dalam menulis. Kesimpulannya, semakin besar kemampuan berpikir

kritis siswa, semakin besar bula kemampuan involving voice mereka dalam

menulis sehingga semakin bagus pula tulisan mereka.

Kata Kunci: Berpikir Kritis, Voice dalam menulis, Penelitian Korelasi.

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Praised be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, who has given the writer His

compassion, mercy and blessing to finish her study. Peace and salutation be upon

to the prophet Muhammad who has brought the lightness to the darkness, his

family, his companion, and his adherence.

Finishing this study is such a very hard work and long processes and the

writer would not have been able to complete it without help and support of

lecturers, institution, family and friends. Hence, in this occasion, the writer is

pleasure to acknowledge the help and contributions by conveying her utmost

gratitude to them who have helped her in completing this study.

First, the writer would like to express the deepest gratitude to her great

parents; her father Wirdi and her dearest mother Tasini for their love, support, and

moral encouragement in motivating the writer to finish her study. Next, the writer

would like to express the greatest honor and deepest gratitude to her advisors, Drs.

Syauki, M.Pd and Desi Nahartini, M.Ed who have been patiently guiding her and

giving her the most valuable advice, help, and support during completing this

study.

Moreover, the writer would like to express her gratitude and appreciation

to:

1. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Thib Raya, M.A., as the Dean of Faculty of Educational

Sciences.

2. Dr. Alek, M.Pd., as the Head of English Education Department.

3. Zaharil Anansy, M.Hum., as the secretary of Department of English

Education.

4. M. Teguh Khaerudin, M. App. Ling who always gives the writer the most

valuable advice, motivation, and encouragement during her study in English

Education Department.

5. All lecturers in the Department of English Education who always give

motivation and valuable knowledge during her study.

viii

6. All students of the sixth semester of Department of English Education in

academic year 2016/2017, as the participants of this study.

7. Qonitah Hafidzoh, S.Pd and Syafiul Anam, S.Si who has helped the writer to

rate the instruments, to edit and proofread the research paper.

8. All of her friends in English Education Department, especially for members of

C class of 2012 for the encouragement, support, and love.

9. All the people who cannot be mentioned one by one for their contribution to

the writer during completing her study. The words are not enough to say any

appreciations for their help.

Lastly, the writer realizes that this study is still far from being perfect.

Despite the help from the aforementioned people, there are weaknesses and

shortages in this study that remain as the writers’ responsibility. She, therefore,

welcomes all kinds of corrections and suggestions for a better writing.

Jakarta, August 27, 2017

Meti Anggraeni

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENDORSEMENT SHEET .................................................................................. iii

Surat Pernyataan Karya Sendiri .......................................................................... iv

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... v

ABSTRAK .............................................................................................................. vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... ix

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xii

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study ........................................................... 1

B. Identification of the Problems ................................................... 4

C. Limitation of the Problems ....................................................... 4

D. Research Question ..................................................................... 4

E. Objective of the Study ............................................................... 5

F. Significance of the Study .......................................................... 5

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................. 6

A. Critical Thinking Ability ........................................................... 6

1. Definition of Critical Thinking Ability ............................... 6

2. Characteristic of Critical Thinker ....................................... 8

3. The Kinds of Critical Thinking ......................................... 10

4. Benefits of Having Critical Thinking ................................ 14

5. Critical Thinking Test ....................................................... 16

x

a Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal................ 16

b The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test ............ 17

c Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment ....................... 17

d Cornell Critical Thinking Test .................................... 18

B. Writing Ability ........................................................................ 18

1. Nature of Writing .............................................................. 18

2. The Purpose of Writing ..................................................... 20

3. Voice in Writing ................................................................ 21

4. Assessing Voice in Writing ............................................... 22

C. Argumentative Writing ........................................................... 24

1. Generic Structure of Argumentative Writing .................... 25

2. Writing process ................................................................. 27

3. Voice in Argumentative Writing ....................................... 29

D. Related Previous Study ........................................................... 30

E. Conceptual Framework ........................................................... 33

F. Research Hypotheses .............................................................. 34

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................ 35

A. Time and Place of the Study ................................................... 35

B. Research Design ...................................................................... 35

C. Population and Sample ............................................................ 36

D. Research Instrument ................................................................ 36

1. Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X ............................ 36

2. Voice Intensity Rating Scale ............................................. 37

E. Technique of Data Collection ................................................. 40

1. Critical Thinking Test ....................................................... 40

2. Argumentative Writing Test ............................................. 40

F. Technique of Data Analysis .................................................... 41

G. Statistical Hypotheses ............................................................. 42

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ..................... 43

xi

A. Data Description...................................................................... 43

1. Critical Thinking Ability Data .......................................... 43

2. Involving Voice Ability Data ............................................ 45

B. Data Analysis and Testing Hypotheses ................................... 48

1. Data Analysis ................................................................... 48

a Linearity Test .............................................................. 48

b Normality Test ............................................................ 48

c Pearson Product Moment Correlation Test ................. 49

2. Testing Hypotheses ........................................................... 52

C. Discussion ............................................................................... 53

D. Limitation ............................................................................... 55

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION ....... 56

A. Conclusion .............................................................................. 56

B. Implications ............................................................................. 57

C. Suggestions ............................................................................. 57

REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 58

APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... 62

xii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Bloom’s Taxonomy ............................................................................. 11

Table 2.2 Various Critical Thinking Abilities....................................................... 12

Table 2.3 Basic Critical Thinking Abilities .......................................................... 13

Table 2.4 Essay Organization ............................................................................... 27

Table 3.1 The Voice Intensity Rating Scale........................................................... 39

Table 3.2 Correlation Coefficient Interpretation Table.......................................... 42

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of Involving Voice Ability Data ........................ 46

Table 4.2 Critical Thinking Skill and Involving Voice Skill Final Score ............. 51

Table 4.3 Correlation Coefficient Interpretation Table......................................... 56

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Research Design ................................................................................. 36

Figure 4.1 Histogram of Frequency Distribution of Critical Thinking Ability.... 44

Figure 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of Critical Thinking Ability Data..................... 45

Figure 4.3 Inter-rater Reliability of the Two Raters ............................................ 48

Figure 4.4 Histogram of Frequency Distribution of Involving Voice Ability Final

Score ...................................................................................................................... 48

Figure 4.5 ANOVA Table .................................................................................... 49

Figure 4.6 Test of Normality ................................................................................ 50

Figure 4.7 Pearson Product Moment Correlations ............................................... 53

xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 Cornell Critical Thinking Test ...................................................... 62

APPENDIX 2 Argumentative Writing Test .......................................................... 84

APPENDIX 3 Involving Voice Ability Rubric ..................................................... 85

APPENDIX 4 Student’s Writing Test Sample ..................................................... 88

APPENDIX 5 Involving Voice Ability Score ...................................................... 91

APPENDIX 6 Critical Thinking Ability Score ..................................................... 92

APPENDIX 7 Statistical Calculation of Involving Voice Ability Score .............. 93

APPENDIX 8 Statistical Calculation of Critical Thinking Ability Score ............ 94

APPENDIX 9 Pearson Product Moment Calculations ......................................... 95

APPENDIX 10 R-table ......................................................................................... 96

APPENDIX 11 Surat Izin Penelitian .................................................................... 97

APPENDIX 12 Surat Pengesahan Proposal Skrippsi .......................................... 98

APPENDIX 13 Surat Bimbingan Skripsi .............................................................. 99

APPENDIX 14 Lembar Uji Referensi ................................................................ 100

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In the first section of this writing, the writer briefly describes background

of the study, identification, limitation and formulation of the problem. Research

objectives and significances of the study are explained as well.

A. Background of the Study

Writing is English essential skill that students must learn. Firstly, anyone

can get noticed and being remembered by writing. J.K. Rowling for instant is just

an ordinary mother before Harry Potter. Now, she is considered as one of the most

famous novelist in the world. Secondly, Because of the technology people share

ideas by writing more often. Writing becomes even more important skill now than

ever. Social media posts, text messages, blog entries, and comments are done in

written form. Thirdly, writing can change people perspective. Argumentative

writing is meant to convince and persuade the reader.1 Therefore, if someone can

compose their argument logically, they can definitely change their readers’

perspective. Finally, the credibility of someone is determined by what they write.

There is a proverb says, “You are what you write”. In English education

department itself, writing is employed as a tool to assess overall quality of the

students. There are a lot of task such as making reports, paper, or article which

require students to write. Even if they want to graduate from bachelor degree they

need to conduct a research. Then they have to report it in a research paper.

However, most students revealed that writing in English is difficult. Not

only because there are some rules which have to be followed but also because it is

just hard to convey message in written words. What might be easily expressed

orally becomes harder when it is turned into written form. Gesture, body

language, or mime can help the speakers to express their ideas. Unlike in

speaking, writing merely relies on a set of words. That makes students hard to

1 John Langan, College Writing Skills with Readings, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2005),

6th

ed., p. 163.

2

express their ideas in written form. Consequently, students fail to express their

voice. It is in line with Onate report that writing is the hardest skill to teach and to

learn.2

The truth is everyone has a voice. Everyone must have something to say. It

is just so hard to accentuate it through a set of words. And it becomes even harder

when we should write in foreign language. Stewart reported that her students who

tell story passionately in oral form become speechless to tell it in written form.3

Writing is very tricky. There are many rules to obey like spelling, grammar, or

text organization. Thus most students are too afraid of making mistakes when they

write. They become lazy to write more. Most students only write when they are

assigned to. Someone can also be speechless when he or she speaks in special

occasion such as job interview or important presentation. It is because job

interview is not happened every day. Writing is not daily activities. Consequently,

sharing ideas using written words is considered hard. Brown accentuated that

writing is considered as the hardest and complex skill compared to the other

English skill because writing process requires a set of competencies.4

The main issues underlining students’ weakness in expressing their

original viewpoints discussed in this study are critical thinking ability and

involving voice ability. Critical thinking ability defined as “reasonable reflective

thinking focused on what to believe or do.”5 This ability allows students to make

reasonable decision. Students with this skill can decide what to believe, what to

do, and or what to share. Therefore, with this skill students can choose which way

to stand. They can choose what they want their reader to believe because they

know what to believe.

2Oriana Onate, “Difficulties Teachers Face when Learning and Teaching English”, 51

st

IATEFL Conference, 2017, p. 1. 3Mary Amanda Stewart, Writing with Power, Sharing Their Immigrant Stories: Adult

ESOL Student Find Their Voices trough Writing, TESOL Journal 1.2, 2010, p. 270. 4 Douglas H. Brown, Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language

Pedagogy, (London: Addison Wesley Longman, 2007), 2nd ed., p. 391. 5Ennis, R.H. Critical Thinking Assesment: Theory into Practice, (Educational

Leadership), p. 180.

3

However, Indonesian students tend to have low level of critical thinking

ability because of their culture. Classroom environment in Indonesia tend to be

teacher-centered. Good students are those who always listen and obey their

teacher. This situation makes students to follow their teacher’s opinion without

question. They might have different believe of certain issue. But they feel uneasy

to talk about controversial matter to their teacher. Djiwandono reported on his

research that Egege and Kutieleh noted Asian students lack of critical attitude.

Soeherman also found the same result. His Indonesian college respondents’

critical thinking ability was lower than average college students in the USA.6

Moreover, another issue discussed in this study is involving voice ability

which defined as they way writers expressing their ideas which can connect them

to their readers. What the researcher found out from preliminary study is that

many students have powerless voice. They failed to convince reader. They

probably have very good ideas which can affect change for the reader. However,

they do not support their ideas with facts. Hence, their voice becomes powerless.

There are also those who citied too many expertise ideas which for some are not

match with their own. Their writing becomes compilation of someone else’s

ideas. Their voices get little blurry. Reader did not get what the writer intended to

say. What reader found is just summary of expertise writing which is boring. Thus

their writing becomes less compelling. In line with this, Nuray Alagozlu found her

respondents’ writing lack of critical thinking and voice.7

The thing is what writer should do to convince reader is supporting their

ideas with facts which are related to their own ideas. They also need to consider

which fact can be cited. Expertises are also human being. They can be wrong.

Probably what they proposed might be true in some cases but it does not fit to

another case. Harmer can claim that communicative language teaching is a good

technique to encourage students to speak. It has been applied in many school and

proved to increase students speaking ability. But, which school? Does that really

6 Patrisius I. Djiwandono, Critical Thinking Skill for Language Students, TEFLIN

Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2013, p. 33. 7 Nuray Alagoozlu, Critical Thinking and Voice in EFL Writing, Asian EFL Journal,

2010, p. 118.

4

work in school in Indonesia? That is what writer should consider. That is also the

consideration of the researcher who proposes that students’ critical thinking

ability can improve students’ involving voice ability which can improve students’

writing quality.

Moreover, the researcher conducted this study to find out whether students

with higher critical thinking ability will have higher writing ability as well. And

more important is they can have higher ability to involve their voice in their

writing. In the other word, the researcher wants to know whether or not there is

significant relationship between critical thinking ability and involving voice

ability in students’ writing.

B. Identification of the Problems

As mentioned in the background of the study above, the problems of this

study are identified as follows:

1. Students hardly express their ideas in written form

2. Students are too afraid to write

3. Students failed to convince reader to believe

4. Students lack of citing technique

5. Students lack of critical thinking skill

C. Limitation of the Problems

The study focused on investigating the problem which is limited to critical

thinking ability in relation to involving voice ability in writing of sixth semester

students of English education department of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

academic year 2016/2017. Due to the fact that there are many kind of genres of

text, this study concerned with argumentative text only.

D. Research Question

Is there any significant relationship between students’ critical thinking

ability and students’ involving voice ability in writing?

5

E. Objective of the Study

The objective of the study is to investigate whether there is significant

relationship between students’ critical thinking ability and their involving voice

ability in writing.

F. Significance of the Study

The result of the study is expected to give a good contribution to teachers,

students and other researcher. First, the result of the study is expected to be

beneficially useful for teachers and readers who concern in developing writing

skill. For teachers, this study will provide information which can be useful in

developing course design and syllabus. Critical thinking ability and involving

voice ability are important skill which can improve overall writing quality.

Therefore, it is suggested for teachers to encounter those skills in designing

course. Then, this study is expectedly advantageous for students who are studying

writing to improve their skill. If they want to improve their writing skill, they need

to improve their critical thinking ability and their involving voice ability. Finally,

for other researcher this study will be very useful for their guidance in conducting

research under the same construct. The study focus on how to design course that

encounter critical thinking and involving voice in writing skill is needed.

6

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

In the second section of this writing, the writer mentioned theories

underlining critical thinking, writing, and the element of voice in writing. The

previous related study is discussed as well. It also reveals the assumption of the

relationship between each variable which lead to the hypotheses.

A. Critical Thinking Ability

1. Definition of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is essential for all people in the world of education or in

the world of work. However, despite of the importance of critical thinking, there

is misunderstanding about the term. Some people think that being critical means

we always criticize others. Even worst, when it comes to criticizing other people,

we tend to talk about their mistakes or weaknesses. The truth is we can also talk

about their strengths. Because being right or wrong is not the point. Making

mistakes makes us human. Mistakes are not important. What important is that we

aware of why something is wrong or right. When we know why we do something

wrong we can avoi xczsda32d doing such thing in the future. Likewise, when we

know we do something right, we can keep doing it. Critical thinking is clearly not

merely about judging. It is about reasoning. To clarify some misunderstanding,

the experts‟ views of critical thinking are discussed below.

Critical thinking can be categorized as reasonable thinking. It means that

someone needs logical reason to make a decision or judgment. As Ennis defines

critical thinking as “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to

believe or do.”1 In other word critical thinkers will not easily believe in new

information without evidence. They will actively seek trusted evidence and

recheck the source. That is why critical thinking is also categorized as analytical

thinking.

1 Ennis, R.H. Critical Thinking Assesment, Theory into Practice, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1993, p.

180.

7

7

Analytical thinking intends to follow rules of logic. Doreen explained that

analytical thinkers will meticulously examine the information whether the details

are matched or contradicted to one another. Therefore, they can analyze the

connection of the data to create hypotheses.2 It is in line with Washburn definition

of critical thinking which is to analyze whether or not given information is true

due to solve problem, make decision and best judgment which can be positive,

negative, or even neutral.3

Halpern categorized critical thinking as directed thinking because it leads

to a desired backwash. According to her, critical thinking is “the use of those

cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It

is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed—the

kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating

likelihoods, and making decisions, when the thinker is using skills that are

thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task.”4. For

instance, before choosing the right major in college critical thinkers will think

critically to every possible option since it will determine their future. Therefore,

critical thinking which requires logical reasoning is used to make the best decision

and judgment due to get the desirable outcome.

From the explanation above, the writer highlighted that critical thinking is

the process not the result. Even when critical thinkers have solved problem or

arrived at their decision or judgment, they still evaluate how well the problem

solved and how good the decision is.5 Paul and Scriven also explained that critical

thinking is “the intellectually diciplined process of actively and skillfully

conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and or evaluating, information

gathered from, or generated by observation, experience, reflection, and reasoning,

2 Doreen du Boulay, Study Skills for Dummies, (Oxford: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd,

2009), p. 41 3 Phil Washburn, The Vocabulary of Critical Thinking, (NY: Oxford University Press,

Inc., 2010), p.3. 4 Diane F. Halpern, Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical thinking,

(London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2003), Fourth Edition, p.6 5Ibid., p.7

8

or communication as rubric to believe and action.”6 Additionally, Paul and Elder

define critical thinking as “the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a

view to improving it.”7

In summary, critical thinking is the process of reasoning, analyzing and

evaluating certain issue in order to make decision or judgment and solve

problems. The improvement of the way we think is also the goal of critical

thinking. Critical thinking is purposeful. It is not an easy and instant thing to do in

order to get a desired backwash. Those processes of thinking take a lot of time an

effort.

2. Characteristic of Critical Thinker

Various definition of critical thinking has been discussed. Those

definitions seemed to be too narrow. Here is some elaboration of those definitions.

In order to get clearer understanding about the term and to make the assessment of

critical thinking easier, those definitions are broken down into some sub skills.

Those are very essential for critical thinkers. Following are critical thinking sub

skills proposed by different experts.

First, Ennis proposed some interdependent sub skills. In order to be able to

decide to believe or do something someone should do these things8:

a. Judge the credibility of sources.

b. Identify reasons, conclusions, and assumptions.

c. Judge the quality of an argument, including the acceptability of its reasons,

assumptions, and evidence.

d. Develop and defend a position on an issue.

e. Ask appropriate clarifying questions.

f. Plan experiments and judge experimental designs.

g. Define terms in a way appropriate for the context.

h. Be open-minded.

6Scriven and Paul, Defining a Critical Thinking, 2007,

(http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766).

7Richard Paul and Linda Elder, “The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and

Tools”, Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, Berkeley, July 19-24, 2008, p.2. 8 Ennis, op. cit., p. 180.

9

i. Try to be well informed.

j. Draw conclusions when warranted, but with caution.

Second, Vincent Ruggiero also explained that a well evolved critical

thinker will always do these things9:

a. Being honest with themselves, acknowledging what they do not know,

recognizing their limitations, and being watchful of their own errors.

b. Regards problems and controversial issues as exciting challenges.

c. Strive for understanding, keep curiosity alive, and remain patient with

complexity and ready to invest time to overcome confusion.

d. Set aside personal preferences and base judgments on evidence, differing

judgment whenever evidence is insufficient and revise judgment when new

evidence reveal error.

e. Interested in other people ideas so they are willing to listen attentively even

they tend to disagree with the other person.

f. Recognize that extreme views are seldom correct, practice fair-mindedness,

and seek balance view.

g. Practice restrain, controlling their feelings, rather than being controlled by

them, and thinking before acting.

Third, Joe Y. F. Lau in his book included several characteristic of critical

thinker. According to him critical thinker is someone who is able to do

following10

:

a. Understand the logical connection between ideas.

b. Formulate ideas succinctly and precisely.

c. Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.

d. Evaluate the pros and cons of a decision.

e. Evaluate the evidence for and against a hypothesis.

f. Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning.

g. Analyze problems systematically.

9 Vincent Ruggiero, Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking, (New York: The

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2012), p. 21-22. 10

Joe Y. F. Lau, an Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More, Think

Better, (Hoboken: John Wiley and Son, Inc., 2011), p. 2.

10

h. Identify the relevance and importance of ideas.

i. Justify one‟s beliefs and values

j. Reflect and evaluate one‟s thinking skills

Last, Stella Cottrell broke down sub skills of critical thinking due to give

clearer explanation about what critical thinking skill is. The complex process of

critical thinking includes11

:

a. Identifying other people‟s positions, arguments and conclusions.

b. Evaluating the evidence for alternative point of view.

c. Weighing up opposite arguments and evidence fairly.

d. Being able to read between the lines, seeing behind surfaces, and identifying

false or unfair assumptions.

e. Recognizing certain position more appealing than others, such as false logic

and persuasive devices.

f. Reflecting on issues in a structured ways, bringing logic and insight to bear.

g. Drawing conclusions about whether arguments are valid and justifiable based

on good evidence and sensible assumptions.

h. Presenting point of view in structured, clear, well-reasoned way that convinces

others.

In short, good critical thinkers always evaluate and criticize information.

They never take information easily. They also examine and analyze the evidence

before making judgment, decision, or conclusion. The most important is critical

thinkers always think open mindedly. They always evaluate their own thinking.

3. The Kinds of Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a process which relies upon many skills. Six categories

of thinking known as Bloom‟s Taxonomy often proposed as critical thinking

skills. Those categories are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,

synthesis, and evaluation. Benjamin S. Bloom ordered those categories in

hierarchical levels. The levels start from simple to complex and from concrete to

11

Stella Cottrell, Critical Thinking Skill: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument,

(New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2005), p. 2.

11

abstract. The simpler level is prerequisite to the more complex one.12

To give

clearer description table of Bloom‟s Taxonomy is presented below:

Table 2.1

Bloom’s Taxonomy13

No Categories Description

1. Knowledge Emphasize remembering either by recognition or recall

of ideas, materials or phenomena.

2. Comprehension Understanding and illustrating ideas, materials, or

phenomena.

3. Application The use of abstraction in particular and concrete

situation.

4. Analysis

The breakdown of the material into its constituent parts

and detection of the relationship of the parts and of the

way they are organized.

5. Synthesis Making connection between elements to form them as

a whole.

6. Evaluation Judgment about the value of material of method for

given purposes.

The categories mentioned above are divided into higher and lower order of

thinking. The lower order of thinking involves knowledge, comprehension, and

application. While the higher order of thinking includes the upper levels which are

analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The three lower levels of thinking formed as

the basis for the higher order of thinking which is often proposed by many experts

as critical thinking abilities. In line with Bloom‟s Taxonomy, Janet et al proposed

12

David R. Krathwohl, A Revision of Bloom‟s Taxonomy: An Overview, Theory into

Practice, Vol. 41, 2002, p. 215. 13

Benjamin S. Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of

Educational Goals, (New York: David McKay Company Inc., 1956), pp. 201-207.

12

different order of critical thinking abilities.14

Bellow, table 2.2 includes various

critical thinking skills proposed by Janet et al:

Table 2.2

Various Critical Thinking Abilities15

No. Critical Thinking

Abilities Description

1. Remembering Recognition and recall memory

2. Comprehension Summarizing or restating others‟ ideas in one‟s own

word.

3. Application Using existing knowledge in familiar situation

4. Analysis Separating and determining ideas and connection

between them.

5. Inferring Reasoning to draw conclusion from provided

evidence.

6. Evaluation Assessing claims or ideas based on evidences.

7. Synthesizing Refashioning or reorganizing gained knowledge

into something new.

Critical thinking abilities proposed by Janet et al seemed identical to those

proposed by Benjamin S. Bloom. However, there are some slight differences

between them. First, Janet et al mentioned remembering as the lowest level while

Bloom stated knowledge. Although when we take a look at the description, there

is no major difference. Second, Janet et al offered another critical thinking ability

excluded from bloom‟s taxonomy which is inferring. Last, Janet et al considered

synthesizing which is the ability to create as the highest order of thinking.

14

Janet E. Kuebli, Richard D. Harvey, and James H. Korn, “Critical Thinking in Critical

Courses: Principles and Applications”, in Dana S. Dunn, Jane S. Halonen, and Randolph A. Smith

(Eds.), Teaching Critical Thinking in Psychology: A Handbook of Best Practices, (Chichester:

Wiley-Blackwell, 2008), p. 139. 15

Ibid., p. 142

13

On the other hand, Ennis dissent Bloom‟s hierarchical level. He

propounded that the levels are not really hierarchical but are more interdependent

instead.16

Janet et al might propose synthesizing as the highest order because to be

able to create something it requires the ability to evaluate the sufficient gained

knowledge. While Bloom considered evaluation as the highest level according to

the consideration that one can judge whether the former abilities are good enough.

Therefore, he/she can improve her/his own thinking. It is clear enough that

synthesizing might require evaluating and vice versa because they are

interdependent.

Moreover, Ruggiero offered three basic abilities in critical thinking. They

are investigation, interpretation, and judgment. 17

As mentioned before, critical

thinking is a set of process to jump into conclusion. Best conclusion is drawn

from well-investigated evidence. Here is the table of the description of three basic

critical thinking proposed by Ruggiero:

Table 2.3

Basic Critical Thinking Abilities

No. Activities Description

1. Investigation Seek out sufficient and relevant evidence related to

the issues.

2. Interpretation Explain reasonably the meaning of evidences.

3. Judgment Determine logically the conclusion of the issues.

Based on the table above critical thinking includes the ability to

investigate the evidence related to the arisen issues. The evidence then interpreted

due to determine judgment or conclusion. This way, the conclusion made is more

worth drawing. Some people may randomly choose conclusion then find

supported evidence. It is also accepted as long as the conclusion made is treated as

hypothesis. It does not influence the process of finding evidence and new

16

Ennis, op. cit., p. 179. 17

Ruggiero, op. cit., p.24.

14

conclusion related to the evidence still needed. However, this way can lead to

using critical thinking in selfish way.

Richard Paul classified critical thinking by its purposes. It can be used

either to defend or evaluate assumption. Critical thinking used to defend one‟s

current belief is categorized as weak-sense critical thinking. Some people can

easily examine other‟s mistake without appreciating their strengths. Those who

oppose audio-lingualism see mistakes in the argument for audio-lingualism

otherwise those who favor audio-lingualism readily see mistakes in the argument

against it. This way of thinking is self-centered. On the other hand, critical

thinking used to evaluate all claims and beliefs especially our own is categorized

as strong-sense critical thinking. This way of thinking is more fair-minded than

the former. Strong-sense critical thinking does not necessarily force to give up the

initial belief. It can also strengthen commitment to them. The thing is critical

thinking should be used to improve our own thinking.18

4. Benefits of Having Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is very beneficial skill to master especially in this global

era when information is over load. There always are multiple choices to make.

The best information is needed to make the best choice. The best choice is made

through meticulously examine the evidences and information. To do so critical

thinking skill is required. The other benefits of critical thinking offered by some

experts are discussed below.

David Hunter accentuated that critical thinking is very valuable for two

main reasons. First, critical thinking is essential to gain knowledge. As mentioned

before that critical thinking helps its user to seek the most relevant and reliable

information. Second, critical thinking allows its users to be autonomous. As stated

18

Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your

Professional and Personal Life, (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002), pp.17- 18

15

before critical thinking is about deciding what to believe or do. People have to be

aware of why deciding to believe in a theory. We cannot just follow the crowd.19

Meanwhile, Cottrell lists some benefits of critical thinking such as20

:

a. Improved attention and observation.

b. More focused reading.

c. Improved ability to identify the key points in a text or other message rather

than becoming destructed by less important material.

d. Improved the ability to responds to the appropriate points in a message.

e. Knowledge of how to get your own points across more easily.

f. Skills of analysis that you can choose to apply in a variety of situations.

In addition, Paul and Elder offered some benefits of critical thinking as

mentioned bellow21

:

a. Raises vigorous questions and problems, formulating them clearly and

precisely.

b. Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it

effectively.

c. Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against

relevant criteria and standards.

d. Thinks open-mindedly, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their

assumptions, implications, and practical consequences.

e. Communications effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex

problem.

Moreover, Djiwandono explained two benefits of critical thinking in

language classroom. First, critical thinking skill encourages students to learn

independently. They set out their own learning goal. Then, they decide the

strategy to reach their goal. Second, critical thinking allows students to filter

information. Since the development of technology allowing students to get any

19

David Hunter, Practical Guide to Critical Thinking: Deciding What to Do and Believe,

(Hoboken: John Wiley and Son, Inc., 2009), p. 6. 20

Cottrell, op. cit., p.4. 21

Paul and Elder, op. cit., p.15.

16

information instantly, filtering information is very crucial.22

The writer believes

that those benefits are not only essential for language classroom in general but

also specifically in writing class. First, independent learning approach allows

students to go through writing process independently. Students become aware of

what to do in every step. Second, the ability to filter information is also very

beneficial. Writing is about presenting one‟s ideas in written form. And inducing

relevant and credible information is the key to level up writing product.

5. Critical Thinking Test

Critical thinking skill like any other skill can be tested. There are some

standardized tests measuring this skill. There are also some researches have been

conducted to analyze its validity and reliability. Some well-known and widely

used high-stake critical thinking tests are discussed below:

a. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (W-GTC)

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is design to measure the

ability to question assumptions, make evaluations which are fair and accurate, and

identify and focus on relevant information when reaching conclusions. It was

developed by Watson and Glaser. Each W-GTC consists of variety of topics

reading passage which requires critical evaluation and cannot be accepted

unquestioningly. Each scenario followed by several items which the participant

responds. The W-GTC includes five subtests. First, inference which is rating the

probability of truth of inferences based on given information. Second, recognition

of assumptions which is identifies unstated assumptions or premises underlying

given statement. Third, deduction which is determines whether conclusions follow

logically from given information. Next, interpretation which is weighing

evidences and deciding if generalization or conclusions based on data are

warranted. Last, evaluation of arguments which is evaluates the strength or

relevance of arguments with respect to particular questions or issues. The test

22

Patrisius I. Djiwandono, Critical Thinking Skill for Language Students, TEFLIN

Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2013, p. 33.

17

focuses on the ability of the test taker regardless their performance under time

limit. Therefore, this test is administered without time limitation.23

b. The Ennis-Weir Critical thinking Essay Test

The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test is a tool for assessing critical

thinking ability that can also be used as a teaching device to improve the skill. The

test which was developed by Robert H. Ennis and Eric Weir intends to measure

the ability of test takers in formulating their argument. The test is open-ended test

in which a complex argument is presented to the test takers. The test takers then

need to appraise their own argument in response to the given argument. The test

format is a letter to the fictional newspaper. The test taker must formulate eight

paragraphs with one argument each. The argument is the response to the fictional

newspaper they got. Thus, this test considered as creative dimension in critical

thinking ability.24

c. Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA)

Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment is critical thinking test instrument

which employs multiple responses with simple scoring system. HCTA provide 20

different scenarios which are connected to everyday situation. The test taker then

needs to respond to the given information. The responses are both open-ended and

multiple choices which force the test taker to choose what the best thing to do.

This type of test can predict what people do in the real world. Therefore, HCTA

measures how people think and act in given situation which relates to the real

world experience. The test includes five critical thinking sub skills which are

verbal reasoning, argument analysis, thinking as hypothesis testing, likelihood and

uncertainty, decision making, and problem solving. HCTA is available both

online and paper based. It is designed for aged 18 and older. It is suitable both for

students and employees.25

23 Watson-Glaser™ User Guide and Technical Manual UK Supervised and Unsupervised

Versions 2012, (London: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011), p. 6 24

Robert H. Ennis and Eric Weir, the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test: an

Instrument for Teaching and Testing, (CA: Midwest Publications, 1985), pp. 1-2. 25

Diane F. Halpern, Manual Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, (Schuhfried GmbH,

2010), pp. 3-11.

18

d. Cornel Critical Thinking Test

Cornell Critical Thinking Test is a well-known critical thinking test

developed by Robert. H. Ennis. The test can be used to teach critical thinking

skills, to predict students‟ performance on state proficiency exam, for honor

programs, critical thinking courses, college admission, careers, and employment.

Cornell Critical thinking Test has been employed in curriculum and teaching

experiments for appraisal of the critical thinking skill of a group and as criteria for

program admission and employment. It has two levels which are level X and level

Z. Level X has 71 items multiple choice tests for grade 5 to twelve and above. It is

available for college student as well. Level X assesses inductioAn, deduction,

credibility and identification of assumptions. While Level Z has 52 items multiple

choice test for advance and gifted high school students, college students, graduate

students, and other adults. Level Z measures induction, deduction, credibility, and

identification of assumption, semantics, definition, and prediction in planning

experiment. Both level X and Z can either be 50 minutes timed test or untimed

assessment26

Cornel Critical Thinking Test will be applied in this research. Because, the

developers claimed that the test is be a general critical thinking test which

attempts to measure the critical thinking skills as a whole.27

It is also suitable to

measure critical thinking ability of undergraduate students. Furthermore, the test

has been widely used in many countries for more than twenty years for

determining critical thinking ability of a group or individuals for the purposes of

admission to academic programs or as a criterion for employment.

B. Writing Ability

1. Nature of Writing

Writing is another way to communicate with each other. Basically, people

communicate by speaking. Nowadays, people also communicate through writing.

26

The Critical Thinking Co.™, Cornell Critical Thinking Test, 2017,

(http://www.criticalthinking.com/cornell-critical-thinking-tests.html) 27

Rosyati Abdul Rashid and Rosna Awang Hashim, The Relationship between Critical

Thinking and Language Proficiency of Malaysian Undergraduates, Sustainability in Higher

Education, 2008, p. 375.

19

Especially since the massive development of the technology people communicate

with other people around the globe through texting. However, John Langan does

not only define writing as a way to communicate with others but also as a skill

and as a process of discovery.28

Writing is a one of language skill.29

It like any other skill can be learnt and

developed. The fact that some people write better than others leads to the idea of

writing is some kinds of talent. To be able to write well and fascinatingly is an

innate gift. Good writers are born. In fact, writing is merely one of language skills.

Phar and Buscemi accentuated that “writing is a skill, much like dancing,

swimming, cooking, sewing or playing golf.”30

Some people indeed can write a

bestselling book while others cannot. It is like there is a golf champion or famous

chef. One thing must be notified is that they work hard to achieve it. Whereas the

bestselling writer has begun practice writing, the others might still find excuses

not to write.

Writing is process of discovery.31

Writers sometime do not even know

what to write when they start writing. They just want to express their feeling in

written form. Then they conduct pre writing activities such as free writing or brain

storming to form their ideas. Even though when writers has found out what is

exactly they want to share, what might be the main point and what might be the

supporting details they can change the direction as they write. Writers find what

might be the supporting details can be powerful enough as their main point. In

addition, to support their point writers also discover many new information that

probably they do not know before writing.

In addition, Browne defined writing as a complex activity which includes

many skills. Those skills then used to identify ideas and to legibly deliver it in

28

John Langan, College Writing Skills with Readings, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2005),

6th

ed., pp.12-14. 29

Langan, loc. cit., p.12. 30

Donald Pharr and Santi V. Buscemi, Writing Today, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005),

p. 4. 31

Langan, op. cit., p.13

20

written form.32

It means that sufficient knowledge is important to determine what

to write. Well trained skill to transform the knowledge into written form is also

required due to share it to the readers. In other word writing is an activity to share

ideas in written form.

In conclusion, everyone can be the best writer they ever wanted to be,

because writing is skill that can be learnt. To write well requires some other skill

like critical thinking and sufficient knowledge about the arisen issue. Moreover,

writing is a way to communicate. To ensure the audience get exactly what writers

share, writers need to discover solid evidence to back up their view points.

2. The Purpose of Writing

Knowing the purpose of writing can help writers to write better. The

purpose of writing can help writers selecting organizational strategies which fit

the ideas. It also can motivate the writers to keep writing until they achieve

whatever makes them write in the first place. Dietsch divided purpose of writing

into general and specific purposes.33

Writing has four general purposes which are to inform, to persuade, to

express, and to entertain.34

A writer can of course have more than one general

purpose. A text which intends to persuade the reader may have some influential

information. Some writing is mainly expressive such as journal. It was created to

express the writer‟s feelings, opinions, or thoughts. Surprisingly travelling journal

can be a bestselling book since it has much useful information for readers. The

other kind of writing may primarily be entertaining like fiction or anecdote. In

fact, the writer may also have some serious points. Sometimes, the best way to

convey the message is in an amusing one.

Writing specific purposes can either be stated or unstated. The specific

purposes of writing help writer to develop topic sentence or thesis statement. It

32

Ann Browne, Teaching and Learning communication, Language and Literacy,

(London: Paul Chapman Publishing, 2007), p. 81. 33

Betty Mattix Dietsch, Reasoning and Writing Well, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2006),

p. 5 34

Ibid, p.5.

21

can serve as preliminary step to writing. It also help writer to focus on the ideas

while drafting. Writing specific purposes can be formed in purpose statement.

Statements below are the example of purpose statement.35

To inform the reader of the advantages and disadvantages of smoking habit.

To inform and entertain the reader by comparing the behavior of the male

daily routines to that of the female.

To convince the reader that mayo diet is the best way to lose weight.

On the other hand, Miller offered three writing purposes. First, writing to

understand experience. Many people like to keep journal around to record their

experience. They can use their journal to reflect their journey, set goal and keep

them stay on the track. From their journal writers can understand who they are and

why they be what they are. Second, writing to report information. Writing has the

function to present data. Writers can inform readers through their writing. Last,

writing to inspire others. The information or the experience that writers share in

their writing can inspire the reader. It can affect change in reader‟s perception. 36

3. Voice in Writing

Voice is usually produced when we are speaking. The product of writing is

text which literally is silent. Yancey explains that the term voice in writing is

actually a metaphor for one‟s audible speaking voice and is „„the individual

human being composed of words in the text‟‟37

. In the other word, by involving

voice to their writing someone can define who they trully are in written word. As

a proverb says, you are what you write.

Elbow also describes voice as power and resonance in the written word,

where power is the ability of the words to change readers‟ position, “to make them

hear what they do not want to hear or give them an experience they did not set out

to have‟‟. Resonance is the ability that writing has to truly capture the author‟s

being in such a way as to „„bore through the readers no matter what their

35

Diesth, op. cit., p. 5 36

Robert Keith Miller, Motives for Writing: 5th

edition (New York: McGraw—Hill, 2005)

pp. 47, 97, 521. 37

Yancey, Voices on voice: Perspectives, definitions, inquiry, (Urbana, IL: National

Council of Teachers of English) p. Ix.

22

disposition‟‟. 38

He also explains the power of being heard. Writer is conected with

the reader. This power can make writer motivated to write better. Since they are

heard they will improve and revised their writing so that their message is clearer

and louder.

Elbow‟s explanation also in line with the finding of the study that have

been conducted by Zhao and Llosa. They investigated the correlation of voice

with writing quality. The finnding suprisingly showed that writing with voice can

improve overall quality. They suggested that if applied carefully voice can act as

tool to improve overall writing quality.39

Ken Hyland defined voice as writer‟s mean to express their original

viewpoint, authoritativeness, and presence. In expressing their viewpoint writers

can chose how assertive or conciliatory they want to be. Writing can either be

convincing or unconvincing regarding how the writers use their voice. It is clear

enough that voice is also a tool to connect writers‟ with the readers.40

To sum up, voice is defined as the way writers expressing their ideas

which can connect writers with their readers. Writers with louder voice can of

course be more convincing than those with the weaker one. The connectivity

between writers and their readers can motivate them to create better writing

quality.

4. Assessing Voice in Writing

The research done by Helms-Park and Stapleton proved that the element of

voice in someone‟s writing can be assessed. They created Voice Intensity Rating

Scale which is an analytic rating scale that focuses to assess voice in writing. The

scale has four components which are assertiveness, self-identification, reiteration

of central point, and authorial presence and autonomy of thought. The first two

components assess the strength of individual voice at the sentence level, while the

38

Peter Elbow Writing with Power, (New York: Oxford University Press) p. 280. 39

Cecelia Guangfang Zhao and Lorena Llosa, Voice in High-Stakes L1 Academic

Writing Assessment: Implications for L2 Writing Instruction, Journal for Second Language

Writing, 2008, p. 164 40

Ken Hyland, Disciplinary Voices: Interaction in Research Writing, Journal of English

Text Construction 1:1, 2008, p. 5.

23

last two components assess the paragraph level and beyond. Assertiveness

demonstrated through linguistic devices such as hedges and intensifiers. Self-

identification demonstrated through the use of first-person pronouns and the like.

Reiteration of central point deals with how often and how explicitly the main

argument is rearticulated. Authorial presence and autonomy of thought assess the

overall presence of the author voice and to account for intangible quality of

identity in writing.41

Yeh in his research employed rubric that assess voice along with other

writing criteria such as development, organization, focus, clarity and convention.

The voice scale itself measures writing effectiveness in employing language for

rhetorical effect. The purpose of the scale is to include credibility appeal and

affective appeal conveyed through wording, phrasing, style and tone. Raters judge

the writing whether it possesses the immature or mature voice. Mature voice

defined as appropriate, sophisticated, audience-centered, and vivid language filled

with conviction. However, the rubric is too broad and did not measure specific

voice.42

The Vermont writing rubric also includes voice as one of the assessment

writing criteria. The voice scale measures the degree to which the writers‟

responds reflects personal investment and expression. Voice in Vermont writing

rubric considered as either appropriate or inappropriate. The voice or tone is

considered appropriate when it encourages readers to keep reading till the end.

The Vermont writing rubric assesses not only voice or tone, but also the other

criteria which are purpose, organization, details, and grammar usage and

mechanics.43

41

Rena Helms-Park and Paul Stapleton, Questioning the Importance of Individualized

Voice in Undergraduate L2 Argumentative Writing: an Empirical Study with Pedagogical

Implications, Journal of Second Language Writing, 2003, p. 248. 42

Stuart S. Yeh, Validation of a Scheme for Assessing Argumentative Writing of Middle

School Students, Assessing Writing, 5 (1), 1998, p. 140. 43

Marry L. Deremer, Writing Assessment: Raters‟ Elaboration of the Rating Task,

Assessing Writing, 5(1), 1998, pp. 11-12.

24

C. Argumentative Writing

Argumentative writing is type of writing development in which writers

delivering controversial point or supporting a position on which there are

difference viewpoints. The main purpose of argumentative writing is to convince

the reader of writers‟ point of view also to persuade them to do something.44

In

order to do so, writers need to propose their viewpoint about certain topic along

with supportive evidence. It is clear enough that writing is about expressing

writers‟ opinion. However, again expressing writers‟ own opinion of certain topic

is not enough. Providing strong and logic evidence is also highly needed due to

reach the goal. For example, when a writer aims to convince his/her opinion about

the danger of smoking, he/she need to give the clear explanation why such thing is

dangerous. The writers must seek a lot of evidence regarding why it is dangerous

or what are the side effects. Therefore, the readers can easily get writer‟s point of

view even better they will take action which is to stop smoking.

On the other hand, Moore and Parker suggested four important elements in

argumentative writing. The first is statement of the issue. Writers should clearly

state the discussed issue due to give clearer description about what is being

discussed throughout the essay and to identify viewpoints. The second is

statement of writers‟ position on that issue. It is important to take position in

which the writers argue for or against the discussed issue. Vagueness can weaken

the writers‟ arguments. The third is arguments which support writers‟ position.

After opposing position writers need to explain why they decide to argue for or

against the discussed issue. More important is to give strong argument supported

with as much evidence as possible. The last is rebuttal arguments which support

contrary position. Sometimes, it is not enough to merely stating writers‟ position.

Adding the weakness of contrary position can strengthen writers‟ argument.45

44

Langan, op. cit., p. 163. 45

Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker, Critical Thinking, (New York: McGraw-Hill

Companies. Inc., 2007), 9th ed., p. 71.

25

In addition, according to Oshima and Hogue argumentative writing is

about writers‟ opinion supported with reason and specific details. It is allowed to

have controversial view point as long as supported with solid evidence.46

In line

with Hillocks explanation as cited by Indah that argument relates to probabilities.

Only the most qualified argument can convince the reader. He also explained that

there are two important elements of argumentative writing which are recognizing

opposing argument and making counter argument.47

To sum up, argumentative writing presents writers‟ view point of

controversial topic. The aim of the writing is to convince reader of writers‟ point

of view and to persuade them to do something related to the topic. Due to

accomplish the goal writers must support their point of view with logical reason

and evidences.

1. Generic Structure of Argumentative Writing

Writing organization is very crucial in forming argumentative essay. In

order to form logic and concise argumentative writing, writers need to organize

their ideas well. All the ideas must flow smoothly to help the reader get the initial

information to the next. Generic structure of argumentative essay includes

introduction, body, and conclusion as described in the table below.48

Table 2.4

Essay Organization

I. Introduction

General statement

Thesis Statement

46

Alice Oishima and Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing, (New York: Pearson

Education, Inc., 2007), 3rd

ed., p.169. 47

Rohmani N. Indah, Critical Thinking, Writing Performance and Topic Familiarity of

Indonesian EFL Learners, Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2017, p.

229. 48

Oshima and Hogue, op. cit., p. 147.

26

II. Body

A. Topic sentence

1. Support

2. Support

3. Support

Concluding sentence

B. Topic sentence

1. Support

2.Support

3. Support

Concluding sentence

C. Topic sentence

1. Support

2. Support

3. Support

Concluding sentence

III. Conclusion

Restatement or summary of the

main point and final comment

The first part of argumentative essay is introduction. Introductory

paragraph explains the essay topic. It also arouses readers‟ interest to read the

whole essay. That is why strong introductory paragraph is highly needed. What

included in introductory paragraph are general statement and thesis statement.

27

The first thing to do in making argumentative essay is to find out the main

point which writers intend to present. The writers view point then formed in one

sentence which is thesis statement.49

Oshima and Hogue explain that in general

statement writers lead readers from general idea to very specific one which can be

the thesis statement. Writers can also acknowledge opposing view point first due

to clarify their position.50

Moreover, Langan also points out that general statement

of introductory paragraph supplies background information related to the topic to

help readers understand what the topic is about.51

Sometimes, writers also include

the method in which they organize the essay.

The second part of argumentative essay is the body. The body of the

argumentative essay contains more than one topic sentence. The topic sentence is

the specific evidence which supports the thesis statement or the view point that

writers made. Each topic sentence must also followed by supporting details to

strengthen each paragraph. Therefore, the argumentative essay is powerful enough

to convince the readers.52

The last part of argumentative essay is conclusion. An effective

concluding paragraph is also as important as strong introductory paragraph to

form an argumentative essay. It is the summary of the essay. Here, writers can

also state their final thought or recommendation. The function of this part is to

remind the reader of writers‟ main point, to emphasize main point with final

thought, and as signals the end of the essay.53

2. Writing Process

Learning writing process can help writers to write easier and more

efficiently. Following writing process can help writers break their mental block.

For example, writer might feel confused what to write. They do not know what to

put in their first draft. Planning before drafting can help their difficulties.

49

Langan, op. cit., p.76. 50

Oshima and Hogue, op. cit., p.171. 51

Langan, op.cit., p.86. 52

Oshima and Hogue, op. cit., p. 173. 53

Ibid., p. 174.

28

Basically writing process is about drafting and revising over and over until writers

got desired final draft to be published. However, Langan proposed four writing

processes which are prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.54

a. Prewriting

Prewriting is the first step in writing process to determine what to write.

Here, writers create the ideas. There are some techniques which can help writers

develop their ideas such as free-writing, questioning, listing, and clustering.

Firstly, free-writing is to jot down whatever is in writers mind without worrying

about grammatical or spelling error. Writers usually set time for how long they are

going to do free-writing. The purpose of this activity is to generate some possible

topics. Secondly, questioning is about making as many questions as possible to

create topic and its‟ supporting details. The question include why, where, who,

when, and how. Thirdly, listing is about making list of ideas or details related to

the topic without necessarily putting them in order. Finally, clustering is also

known as mapping. Clustering starts from making mind point and put it in the

center of blank paper. Then, when another ideas or details come up, put them

around the main point. Connect each point with arrows. This activity is suitable to

those who like to think visually55

.

b. Drafting

Drafting is about putting together the ideas in sentences. It is time to

organize the ideas. Writers need to explain the thesis clearly and develop the

content with as many specific details as possible. Here, writers write and add more

details quick without thinking about grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Focus on

putting the ideas into paper. Making mistake is allowed in this process. The result

might not be too structured because it is going to be revised later.56

54

John Langan, English Skill with Readings, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2008), 7th

ed., pp.

19-26. 55

Ibid. 56

John Langan, College Writing Skill with Readings, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2005),

6th

ed., p. 31.

29

c. Revising

Revising means rewriting the paper and adding some more details due to

strengthen it. Eliminate some ineffective sentences and grammatical or spelling

error. There three stages in revising process: revising content, revising sentences,

and editing. Revising can be done along with drafting. However, the best time to

revise is after the first draft finished. Take a few hours off then start revising. It is

even better to put aside the first draft for a day or two to freshener the mind.57

d. Editing

Editing is polishing what have been written. It can be done during

revising. The thing is editing focus on correcting grammatical, punctuation, or

spelling error. The purpose of editing is to elevate the paper to the next level. Also

getting use to correct paper is in line with getting use to employ sentence skill

consistently. In other word editing help writers practice to improve their sentence

skills.58

3. Voice in Argumentative Writing

Voice in argumentative writing like in any other writing plays significant

role which is as a tool to enhance writing quality. In line with Elbow explanation

that voice is defined as a power which is the ability of the word to change readers‟

perspective.59

To make them believe what writers want them to believe. As

mentioned before that the aim of argumentative writing is to convince the reader.

Therefore, writing argumentative essay with voice can convince the reader even

more.

Good argumentative writing is infused with voice.60

Voice is a particular

way in expressing argument. Louder the voice, more chance to be heard. It means

closer to achieve the goal of argumentative writing which are to convince reads

57

Ibid., p. 33. 58

Langan, op. cit., p.34 59

Elbow, op. cit., p. 280. 60

Abbas Zare-ee, Navvab Hematiyan, and Sajjad Askari Matin, Individualized Voiced in

Undergraduate Writing in English as a Foreign Language, Procedia – Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 46, 2012, p. 5786.

30

and encourage them to do something related to the topic. Moreover, voice makes

readers keep reading till the end.

Infusing argumentative writing with voice also gives more motives to

write. When involving voice in their writing, writers know that they are being

heard. Writers will put more effort in composing the paper, because they realize

that they have audiences. They will probably revise and edit over and over to

make sure that they give the readers crystal clear message.

C. Related Previous Studies

The first previous study which relates to this research was conducted by

Rahmani N. Indah. She investigated the relationship among critical thinking,

writing performance, and topic familiarity of EFL students. She believes that

understanding the pattern of the relationship among critical thinking, writing

performance and topic familiarity is important to develop teaching syllabus,

materials, and evaluation method for critical writing. The participants of the study

were 121 English department students of Maulana Malik Ibrahim University who

had passed courses on paragraph writing and academic writing. She obtained the

data using writing prompt and rubric for assessing critical thinking, writing

performance, and topic familiarity. There are two different topics namely students

initiated topic and teacher initiated topic. The result showed that regardless the

type of the topic the better reading about the given topic the higher writing

performance will be and the higher writing performance the better reflection of

their critical thinking skill will be.61

This study investigated the same issues as the

recent study which is critical thinking and writing. What differ the previous and

the recent study is that the recent study investigates more specific skill in writing

which is involving voice ability. Also the recent study did not discuss the topic

familiarity.

While Ahmad Sugianto conducted a research to prove whether there is

significant relationship between critical thinking ability and writing ability. The

population was 121 English education students of Jakarta Islamic State

61

Indah, op. cit., pp. 229-236.

31

University. From the population only 60 students were taken as the subjects of the

study by using purposive sampling technique. The finding proved that students

with better critical thinking ability have better writing ability. The more critical

they think, the creative they develop writing ideas which lead to their good

writing attainment. He also suggested that the teachers should facilitate their

students to develop critical thinking ability while teaching writing.62

This study

investigated the same issues as the recent study which is critical thinking and

writing. What differ the previous and the recent study is that the recent study

investigates more specific skill in writing which is involving voice ability.

Moreover, Zhao and Llosa explored the relationship between voice and

overall writing quality. They assumed that the presence of authorial voice plays an

important role in the evaluation of the overall quality of students writing. To

prove their assumption, they examined such relationship in the context of a first

language high-stakes academic writing assessment. 42 anchor papers from the

January 2007 administration of the New York State Regents Examination in

English Language art were examined using Voice Intensity Rating Scale. The

result indicated that there is significant relationship between voice intensity and

writing quality. Although the participants of the study were mostly first language

writers, they still believe that voice plays important role in second language

writing because second language writers will be examined with the same criteria

eventually.63

The previous and the recent study discussed the same topic which is

voice in writing. Those two studies also used the same instrument which is voice

intensity rating scale. Zhao and Llosa correlated involving voice ability with the

overall quality of students‟ writing, while the recent study correlate students‟

critical thinking ability and their involving voice ability in writing.

In line with the study established by Zhao and Llosa, Zare-ee, Hematiyan,

and Matin conducted identical study to find out whether component of voice

62

Ahmad Sugianto, The Relationship between Critical Thinking Ability and Writing

Ability, A Skripsi Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyaa and Teachers’ Trining in UIN Syarif

Hidayatullah Jakarta, Jakarta, 2014, pp. 24—26, Not Published. 63

Zhao and Llosa, op. cit., pp. 153-170.

32

correlate with the quality of EFL writing. 42 undergraduate EFL learners from a

university in central Iran were examined using the same Voice Intensity Rating

Scale as those used by Zhao and Llosa. The Spearman Correlation coefficient was

employed to investigate whether there was a correlation between voice and quality

of EFL writing. The analysis of the result indicated that the voice intensity

especially the component of assertiveness was related to the quality of writing.

The result confirms that voice plays important role in EFL writing and that its

intensity can vary across learner groups.64

This study discussed the same issue as

Zhao and Llosa‟s study. What differ them is the participant of the study. The

participant of this study is EFL students while the participant of Zhao and Llosa‟s

study is English native speakers.

Another study was conducted by Nuray Alagozlu. She investigated two

issues which underlined the weakness of Turkish EFL students in expressing their

original viewpoint namely critical thinking and individual voice. The study aimed

to find out whether Turkish EFL users display elements of critical thinking and

voice and whether they think they possess those elements. 76 essays of students‟

sophomore undergraduate students in English language teaching department were

analyzed in terms of the elements of critical thinking voice. The questioner

showed that the students desired to express their view point without reflecting the

text or teachers‟ ideas. However, their writing demonstrated contrast result. Their

writing lacks of the elements of critical thinking and voice. The result suggested

that critical thinking skill and involving voice skill of EFL students need to be

supported even though they presume themselves to be good critical thinkers to

overcome their difficulties in writing.65

The recent and previous study discussed

two main issues underlining students‟ weaknesses in writing which are critical

thinking and voice. However, the previous study only investigated whether or not

64

Abbas Zare-ee, Navvab Hematiyan, and Sajjad Askari Matin, Individualized Voiced in

Undergraduate Writing in English as a Foreign Language, Procedia – Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 46, 2012, pp. 5782-5786. 65

Nuray Alagoozlu, Critical Thinking and Voice in EFL Writing, Asian EFL Journal,

2010, pp. 118-135.

33

students possess those two skills. While the recent study correlated students‟

critical thinking ability and their involving voice ability in writing.

D. Conceptual Framework

Composing argumentative writing is not an easy task. It is more than just

expressing opinion in written form. It is about convincing and persuading people

of our view point. Someone has to infuse his/her voice into text to make readers

hear what he/she are trying to say. It is considered hard for certain people. There

are many skill require to be able to write good argumentative essay. It includes

critical thinking.

Critical thinking is very essential skill for writers. It allows writers to plan

writing process efficiently and to create more comprehensible and more

convincing writing. Because having critical thinking ability means having good

skill to examine the arisen issue. This skill also helps writers to reflect what they

read and heard so that they can have more reliable and trusted evidence to back up

their ideas.

Some people might consider composing argumentative writing as a hard

task. Instead of putting their original thought, they tend to straightforward cite

other people ideas. This problem is associated with lack of individual voice. Some

people are too afraid to express their independent thought. This might be because

they are not accustomed to express their ideas. This phenomena is related to

Indonesian learning culture which mostly teacher centered. Students tend to agree

to whatever the teachers say or whatever information they got. Moreover, critical

thinking assumed to be able to encourage the awareness of one‟s individual voice.

The role of critical thinking is essential to bring about individual voice.

The relationship between them seems to be equal and parallel. It means that if

writers have a good critical thinking skill, they are supposed to have good

involving voice ability in writing. Meanwhile, if writers lack of the ability to think

critically, they are supposed to have poor ability to involve their voice in writing.

34

E. Research Hypotheses

This study proposed two hypotheses as follow:

Null Hypothesis (H0): there is no significant relationship between critical

thinking ability and involving voice ability of the 6th

semester students of

english education department of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Islamic State

University.

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): there is significant relationship beween critical

thinking ability and involving voice ability of 6th

semester students of english

education department of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Islamic State University.

35

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents research methodology employed. It includes the

period when the study was conducted and the place where the study was

implemented. Research instruments, population, and sample are also included.

This chapter also discusses how instruments were applied and how the data was

analyzed.

A. Time and Place of the Study

The study was carried out from May to June 2017. It was conducted at

English Education Department of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University

Jakarta which is located at Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 95, Ciputat, Tangerang Selatan.

The study was conducted to distribute critical thinking test and to collect

respondents’ writing.

B. Research Design

The study is quantitative research which is correlational design. According

to Creswell, correlational design is employed to predict score and explain the

correlation between two or more variables. Correlation statistical test is used in

describing and weighing up the degree of association among variables.1 In this

case, the research design was employed to find out the relationship of students’

critical thinking ability and students’ ability of involving their voice in their paper.

Figure 3.1

Research Design

r

From the chart above, the correlational design will be used due to identify

the relationship between two variables. X as independent variable which is critical

1 John. W. Creswell, Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating

Quantitative and Qualitative Research, (Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2012), 4th ed., p. 338.

X Y

36

thinking ability and Y as dependent variable which is involving voice ability. The

study aimed to find out whether those variables influence each other.

C. Population and Sample

The population was sixth semster students of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

Islamic State University in academic year 2016/2017. The target population was

chosen because they have attended several writing course. Therefore, they already

have enough knowledge about how to make a good paper. There are three classes of

sixth semester in academic year 2016/2017 which are sixty one students. The sample

was 30 students who were selected from convenience sampling technique.

Convenience sampling technique is also known as haphazard sampling technique

which is the process of including any available population.2 Meanwhile, the other 31

students were not selected because they are not available to be participant of the

study. The tests were administered to the 61 students. However, only 30 students did

the tests. The other 31 students are less accessible. They are difficult to contact or

reluctant to participate.

D. Research Instrument

Tests were used as the instrument of the research. First, critical thinking test

was administered to identify students' critical thinking ability. Second, writing test

was also be administered to know how well students’ involving the element of voice

to their writing.

1. Cornel Critical Thinking Test Level X

The critical thinking test used in this research was Cornell Critical Thinking

Test level X. The CCTT is a standardized test developed by R. Ennis, Millman, and

Tomko in 1980. This test was considered suitable to be used in the present study

because it is claimed by its developers to be a general critical thinking test which

2 L. R. Gay, Geoffrey E. Mills, and Peter Airasian, Educational Research: Competencies for

Analysis and Application,(Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012), 10th

ed., p. 140.

37

attempts to measure the critical thinking skills as a whole.3 It is also suitable to

measure critical thinking ability of undergraduate students. Moreover, the test has

been widely used throughout the world for more than twenty years for determining

critical thinking ability of a group or individuals for the purposes of admission to

academic programs or as a criterion for employment.

Level X includes the following skills: induction, deduction, credibility, and

identification of assumptions. The validity and reliability of CCTT was already being

tested. The developers argue for the construct validity of the CCTT based on its

content validity. The test was developed based on a sound rationale and that the test

items were intensively discussed by the test developers who were scholars involved

in the Illinois Critical Thinking Project. Meanwhile, the developers claimed that the

reliability coefficient of the CCTT Level X ranges from .67 to .90.4

2. Voice Intensity Rating Scale

Voice intensity rating scale was employed to measure students’ involving

voice ability in writing. The scale developed by Rana Helms-Park and Paul Stapleton

was selected as the instrument because it can measure the element of voice

exclusively. The scale has four components which are assertiveness, self-

identification, reiteration of central point, and authorial presence and autonomy of

thought. The first two components assess the strength of individual voice at the

sentence level, while the last two components assess the paragraph level and beyond.

Assertiveness demonstrated through linguistic devices such as hedges and

intensifiers. Self-identification demonstrated through the use of first-person pronouns

and the like. Reiteration of central point deals with how often and how explicitly the

main argument is rearticulated. Authorial presence and autonomy of thought assess

3 Rosyati Abdul Rashid and Rosna Awang Hashim, The Relationship between Critical

Thinking and Language Proficiency of Malaysian Undergraduates, Sustainability in Higher Education,

2008, p. 375. 4 Ibid., p. 376.

38

the overall presence of the author voice and to account for intangible quality of

identity in writing.5

Table 3.1

The Voice Intensity Rating Scale

Assertiveness 20-25 Displays strong commitment to assertions. Hedges are

rarely or never used to soften author’s claims.

Intensifiers are usually used to strengthen author’s

claims.

15-19 Displays fairly strong and commitment to assertions.

Hedges are seldom used to soften the author’s claims.

Intensifiers are sometimes used strengthen the author’s

claims.

10-14 Opinions are conveyed fairly mildly. Hedges are

occasionally used to soften author’s claims. Intensifiers

are rarely or never used to strengthen the author’s

claims.

0-9 Opinions are conveyed very mildly. Hedges are usually

used to soften the author’s claims. Intensifiers are

rarely or never used to strengthen author’s claims.

Self-identification 20-25 First person singular is frequently used. Active voice

constructions are preferred to passive and impersonal

constructions to express author’s personal opinions.

15-19 First person singular occasionally used. Active voice

constructions are generally preferred to passive and

impersonal constructions to express author’s personal

opinions.

5 Rena Helms-Park and Paul Stapleton, Questioning the Importance of Individualized Voice

in Undergraduate L2 Argumentative Writing: an Empirical Study with Pedagogical Implications,

Journal of Second Language Writing, 2003, p. 248.

39

10-14 First person singular is seldom, if ever, used. The

author’s personal opinions are express mainly through

passive and impersonal constructions.

0-9 First person singular is never used. The author’s

personal opinions are express only through passive and

impersonal constructions.

Reiteration of the

central point

20-25 The central point is restated frequently and clearly.

15-19 The central point is more than once in a fairly clear to

very clear manner.

10-14 The central point is stated once in a fairly clear to very

clear manner.

0-9 The central point is either not stated or is not stated

directly.

Authorial presence

and autonomy of

thought

20-25 The reader feels that the author expressing his or her

special views on the topic, and separates these views

from opposing ones. A very strong sense of

individuality is displayed in the writing.

15-19 The reader feels that the author is mostly expressing his

or her special views on the topic. A fairly strong sense

of individuality is displayed in the writing.

10-14 The reader feels that the author often does not separate

his or her own ideas from those of other people’s. A

somewhat weak sense of individuality is displayed in

the writing.

0-9 The reader feels that the author generally does not

separate his or her own ideas from those of other

people’s. There is little or no sense of individuality

displayed in the writing.

40

E. Technique of Data Collection

Before collecting the data the researcher made sure that the students were

ready to do the test. Each test was conducted in different day. The first test that was

being administered was critical thinking test and continued by argumentative writing

test.

1. Critical Thinking Test

a Firstly, the participants were asked to fill out the name, date of birth, age, and

date of the test in the answer sheet.

b The participants were asked to read the direction of the test

c The researcher explained the direction of the test and how to answer the test.

After the participants were ready, the test was started and the researcher

supervised the test.

d The participants had to finish 70 questions of critical thinking test in 50

minutes.

e After the participants did the test, the participants’ answers were score and the

results were analyzed.

2. Argumentative Writing Test

a Firstly, the participants were asked to fill out the name, date of birth, age and

date of the test in the answer sheet.

b The participants were asked to read the direction and the scoring criteria of

the test.

c The participants were free to choose one from the 4 topics given.

d The students were asked to write argumentative essay in 30 minutes with the

length of the essay was at least 300 words.

e After the participants finished the writing test, their writings were scored and

the results were analyzed.

41

F. Technique of Data Analysis

Data analysis will involve scoring technique and hypothesis testing. The

scores gathered from both critical thinking ability test and involving voice ability test

will be computed in SPSS program. The porduct moment correlation will be

employed to determine the relationship between two variables. Here is the formula to

find out Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient values:

√

The descriptions of the formula above are explained as follow:

r : Correlation coefficient value

N : Number or sum of the participants

Σ X : Sum of X score

Σ Y : Sum of Y score

Σ XY : Sum of the products paired scores

After getting the index score of r correlation, product moment usually used

the interpretation such as bellow6.

Table 3.2

Correlation Coefficient Interpretation Table

The Correlation Coefficient Interpretation

0.00 – 0.199 Very low correlation

0.20 – 0.99 Low correlation

0.40 – 0.599 Moderate correlation

0.60 – 0.799 High correlation

0.80 – 1.000 Very high correlation

6Sugiyono, Statistika Untuk Penelitian (Bandung: Alfabeta, 2013), p.231.

42

Then, the contribution of the independent variable (x) towards the dependent

variable (y) was investigated through the determination coefficient (r2) as follows:

R = r2 x 100%

R = value of determinant coefficient

r2 = value of the squared correlation coefficient

G. Statistical Hypothesis

To know whether or not there is any significant correlation between X

variable and Y variable, the statistical hypotheses were used as follows:

1. If r > rt = Ha is accepted and Ho is rejected. It means that there is a significant

correlation between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability.

2. If r < rt = Ha is rejected and Ho is accepted. It means that there is no significant

correlation between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability.

43

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter reports and discusses the research findings from the data that

had been already collected. The findings and discussions are elaborated in data

description, testing hypotheses, research discussions, and limitations or challenges

that were found as the research was being conducted.

A. Data Description

1. Critical Thinking Ability Data

Critical thinking ability of sixth semester students of English education

department is obtained from the result of critical thinking test. The result is

determined by calculating the number of correct answer of the critical thinking

test. This figure below is the illustration of the critical thinking ability data:

Figure 4.1

Histogram of Frequency Distribution of Critical Thinking Ability

44

From the figure 4.1 above, the total number of respondents who did the

critical thinking test is 30 respondents. The most frequently appeared score

(mode) are the group score in the interval of 60—65 which are 8 respondents.

Next, 2 respondents are found to have the highest score indicated by the last

highest interval score 75−80 whereas 1 participants are in the last lowest interval

score 30−35. Evidently, the histogram above revealed that the data of critical

thinking ability is normally distributed.

Moreover, the statistical score of critical thinking ability were counted

using Frequencies of Descriptive Statistics in SPSS statistic program version 21.0.

The result revealed the mean, mode, median, and standard deviation score of the

critical thinking ability test. It can be described as follows:

Figure 4.2

Descriptive Statistic of Critical Thinking Ability Data

Figure 4.2 reveals the data of students’ critical thinking skill based on the

descriptive statistic. The average score (mean) of the critical thinking data is 60.26

45

and the middle point (median) score is 61. The most frequently appeared score

(mode) is 60. Moreover, the highest score of critical thinking ability is 79 whereas

the lowest score is 30. Therefore, the range score between the highest and the

lowest score is 49.

In addition, the variability distribution of students’ critical thinking is

indicated by the standard deviation and the variance. Figure 4.2 shows the

standard deviation of critical thinking data is 9.98 with variance 99.51. Next, the

dispersion shape of the data distribution is indicated by skewness and kurtosis

scores found respectively are -0.63 and 1.91. Both of these scores indicate that the

shape of data dispersion is slightly skewed left and flat. It is interpreted as a

reasonably normal distribution since the score are in between -2 and 2.

2. Involving Voice Ability Data

The involving voice ability of the sixth semester students of Department of

English Education is determined from the students’ responses in the test of written

English (independent essay) which were rated by two raters. Two raters were

employed due to decrease scoring subjectivity as Hughes suggested to at least

employing two independent raters when testing is subjective1. Table 4.1 below

describes the comparison scores of the writing ability rated by the first rater and

the second rater as follows:

Table 4.1

Descriptive Statistics of Involving Voice Ability Data

Rater 1 Rater 2

Mean 62.27 62.57

Median 64.50 65.00

Mode 50.00a

70.00

Std. Deviation 10.88 11.06

Variance 118.27 122.32

Skewness 0.08 0.06

1 Arthur Hughes, Testing for Language Teacher, (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 2003), 2nd

, p. 43.

46

Std. Error of Skewness 0.43 0.43

Kurtosis -0.82 -0.82

Std. Error of Kurtosis 0.83 0.83

Range 39.00 40.00

Minimum 46.00 46.00

Maximum 85.00 86.00

a Multiple mode exist the smallest value is shown

Based on Table 4.1 represented above, in terms of the central tendency of

data distribution between the two raters, the most frequent scores of the first and

the second rater found respectively are 50.00 and 70.00. Next, it is found that the

median and mean scores of the first rater is lower than the second rater

(Median=64.50<65.00 and Mean=62.27<62.57). Similarly, the lower scores are

also found in the first rater in the case of maximum scores in comparison to the

maximum scores of the second rater (Maximum=85.00<86.00). However, the

minimum score of both raters is the same which is 46.00.

In addition, according to Table 4.1, the variability of data distribution

between the first and second raters also encounters some various scores. First, the

first rater is found to have the lower range score than the second rater

(39.00<40.00). Also, the standard deviation and variance of the first rater is found

to have the lower score than the second rater (Standard Deviation=10.88<11.06

and Variance=118.27<122.32), which mean that the involving voice ability data

set of the first rater is more homogenous than the second rater. Besides, the data

distribution of the first and the second rater is slightly right-skewed and peaked.

The skewness score are respectively 0.08 and 0.06 while the kurtosis score of both

raters is -0.82. In addition, the skewness and kurtosis of the two raters’ score are

in between -2.00 and 2.00, which mean that the data have a fairly normal

distribution.

The score of both raters shows differences but the differences are not

significant. Inter-rater reliability test was also conducted to measure agreement

between two raters. The test measured Cohen’s Kappa in SPSS program. The

47

Kappa score gained is 0.678 which means that there is moderate agreement

between the two raters. Figure 4.3 below shows the Kappa score of the two raters.

Figure 4.3

Inter-rater Reliability of the Two Raters

Next, Figure 4.4 below shows the final score of involving voice ability:

Figure 4.4

Histogram of Frequency Distribution of Involving Voice Ability Final Score

The final score of involving voice ability obtained from the average score

between the first rater and the second rater. In this case, it reveals that from the

test of written English (independent essay) conducted by the 30 participants, the

most frequently score found is shown by the interval score 65- 70 of which

participants are 8. Besides, 1 participant is found to have the highest score within

the interval score 85-90, and there are 4 participants included into the lowest

interval score 45-50 found. In addition, by examining Figure 4.4 presented above,

48

the involving voice ability data sets of the two raters clearly describe that the data

are normally distributed.

B. Data Analysis and Testing Hypotheses

1. Data Analysis

Before the data is analyzed, the linearity and normality distribution of the

data sets of the two variables (critical thinking ability and involving voice ability)

are tested first. The linearity of the tests was conducted due to find out whether

the regression of relationship between two variables is linear or not. The normality

of the tests was also conducted in order to find out whether the data populations of

the tests are normally distributed or not. The explanation of test of linearity and

normality distribution are presented as follows:

a Linearity Test

The linearity of critical thinking skill and involving voice in writing skill

data are analyzed using SPSS version 21.00 and presented by ANOVA Table. The

result of the analysis is represented in the table below:

Figure 4.5

Figure 4.5 reveals that critical thinking ability and involving voice ability

in writing have linear regression. The result of linearity is 0.004 and deviation

from linearity is 0.935 in which the data distribution is a good linear regression

because the significant of linearity is smaller than the significant of 5% (0.004 <

0.05) and deviation of linearity is bigger than 0.05 (0.935 > 0.05).

b Normality Test

The normality test was conducted using SPSS version 21.0. The normality

test is conducted in order to know whether the populations from which the

49

samples are taken are normally distributed or not. It is important because normal

data is an underlying assumption in parametric testing. The result of normality test

is presented as follow:

Figure 4.6

From the result above, both critical thinking ability and involving voice

ability in writing score are normally distributed because the values of both score

are higher than value of 5% or 0.05. Due to the total number of samples less than

50, the test of normality was analyzed using Shapiro-Wilk. The test results reveal

that the significant value of involving voice ability is 0.161 (0.161 > 0.05).

Moreover, the significant value of critical thinking ability is 0.178 (0.178 > 0.05).

Since the data distribution is normal and linear, the statistical analysis will use

parametric procedure, which is Product Moment Correlation.

c Pearson Product Moment Correlation Test

Due to the fact that both of the data (critical thinking skill and involving

voice in writing skill) are linear and normally distributed, the parametric statistic

is used in this study which is Pearson Product Moment. It is used to analyze the

correlation coefficient between two variables. The final score of variables X and

Y are presented in the following table:

Table 4.2

Critical Thinking Skill and Involving Voice Skill Final Score

No Participants X Y X^2 Y^2 XY

1 Student 1 63 65.5 3969 4290.25 4126.5

2 Student 2 69 69.5 4761 4830.25 4795.5

50

3 Student 3 60 60 3600 3600 3600

4 Student 4 46 49 2116 2401 2254

5 Student 5 65 46 4225 2116 2990

6 Student 6 60 56 3600 3136 3360

7 Student 7 50 80 2500 6400 4000

8 Student 8 53 46 2809 2116 2438

9 Student 9 60 78 3600 6084 4680

10 Student 10 55 46 3025 2116 2530

11 Student 11 79 85.5 6241 7310.25 6754.5

12 Student 12 66 67 4356 4489 4422

13 Student 13 30 50 900 2500 1500

14 Student 14 63 65 3969 4225 4095

15 Student 15 73 62 5329 3844 4526

16 Student 16 52 52 2704 2704 2704

17 Student 17 62 70 3844 4900 4340

18 Student 18 65 69.5 4225 4830.25 4517.5

19 Student 19 50 50 2500 2500 2500

20 Student 20 55 65 3025 4225 3575

21 Student 21 63 65 3969 4225 4095

22 Student 22 55 50 3025 2500 2750

23 Student 23 60 64.5 3600 4160.25 3870

24 Student 24 63 69.5 3969 4830.25 4378.5

25 Student 25 50 50 2500 2500 2500

26 Student 26 65 70 4225 4900 4550

No Participants X Y X^2 Y^2 XY

27 Student 27 72 75 5184 5625 5400

28 Student 28 66 63.5 4356 4032.25 4191

29 Student 29 59 58.5 3481 3422.25 3451.5

30 Student 30 79 74.5 6241 5550.25 5885.5

Total 30 1808 1872,5 111848 120362.25 114779.5

The table above revealed the following data:

N : 30

ΣX : 1808

ΣY : 1872.5

Σ XY : 114779.5

ΣX² : 111848

ΣY² : 120362.25

51

The data above shows that N indicates the number or sum of the participants. ΣX

indicates the sum of variable X score. ΣY indicates the sum of variable Y score.

While, ΣXY is the symbol of the sum of the variables paired scores. From those

data, the correlation coefficient between two variables is tested using Pearson

Product Moment. It is symbolized with r. The calculation of r is presented in

details as follow:

√

√

√

√

√

To gain more accurate result, the data was computed in SPSS statistic

program version 21.0. Pearson Product Moment was calculated to see whether the

calculation that has been calculated manually is correct or not and to make sure

that there is no mismatching calculation between score that the writer counted.

The calculation of Pearson Product Moment is described as follows:

52

Figure 4.7

Pearson Product Moment Correlations

The results of those calculations; manual calculation and calculation using

SPSS statistic program version 21.0 are equal, in which the value of r is 0.608. It

means that there is no mismatch in the process of calculating the data.

Furthermore, to calculate the contribution of variable X (critical thinking skill)

towards variable Y (Involving voice skill), the determination coefficient (R) is

investigated. The detail calculation of R is presented below:

R = r2 x 100%

R = 0.6082 x 100%

R = 0.369664 x 100%

R = 36.9664%

The result of determination coefficient is 36.9664%. It means that the

contribution of variable X (critical thinking ability) towards variable Y (involving

voice ability in writing) is 36.9664%.

2. Testing Hypotheses

To test the hypotheses, the correlation coefficient from the calculation (r)

is compared to the correlation coefficient from Product Moment table (rt). In the

term of the statistical hypotheses, these can be portrayed as follows:

a. If r > rt = Ha is accepted and Ho is rejected. It means that there is a significant

correlation between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability.

b. If r < rt = Ha is rejected and Ho is accepted. It means that there is no significant

correlation between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability.

53

To find the value of rt on the r table, the degree of freedom must be determined

with the formula:

df = N – nr

df = 30 – 2 = 28

The descriptions of the formula above are explained as follow:

df : degree of freedom

N : number of respondent

nr : number of variable

In the table of significance (see appendix 10), it shows that the rt of a two-

tailed test in the significance of 1% and df of 28 is found to be 0.463. It is obvious

that the score of r is higher than rt which is 0.608 > 0.463. It means that Ha is

accepted; or in other words there is a significant correlation between critical

thinking ability and involving voice ability in writing.

C. Discussion

Based on the data description, the sixth semester students of English

Education Department in academic year 2016/2017 found to have quite low

critical thinking skill. It is indicated by the result of the average critical thinking

skill score which is 60.27. While the average of involving ability score of the

students is slightly bigger than the average of their critical thinking ability score

which is 62.41. It means that the sixth semester students of Department of English

Education should enhance their critical thinking skill and their involving voice

ability in order to be able to compose good writing.

Furthermore, the correlation coefficient (r) gained in this research is 0.608.

It is indicated that there is high correlation between critical thinking and involving

voice ability skill. It can be seen in the interpretation table below2:

Table 4.3

Correlation Coefficient Interpretation Table

The Correlation Coefficient Interpretation

0.00 – 0.199 Very low correlation

2 Sugiyono, Statistika Untuk Penelitian (Bandung: Alfabeta, 2013), p.231.

54

0.20 – 0.99 Low correlation

0.40 – 0.599 Moderate correlation

0.60 – 0.799 High correlation

0.80 – 1.000 Very high correlation

Moreover, the contributions of variable X which is critical thinking

towards variable Y which is involving voice ability is 36.9664%. It means that to

have good involving voice ability in writing students need to have good critical

thinking skill. However, there are still 63.0336% other factors which can

influence involving voice ability in writing skill such as grammatical knowledge,

vocabulary mastery, topic familiarity, etc.

In addition, the findings revealed that there is significant relationship

between critical thinking skill and involving voice ability in writing. It is indicated

by the r value and the tcount score which are higher than rtable and ttable. In this case,

the correlation coefficient gained is 0.608 and the t-test score is 4.05. While the

rtable and ttable in the significant level 0.01 respectively are 0.463 and 2.76.

Therefore, the Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted which is there is significant

relationship between students critical thinking ability and involving voice ability

in writing.

Next, the linearity test finding in this study indicated that the relation

between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability in writing is linear. It

means that students with higher critical thinking skill have higher involving voice

ability in writing too. Those two skills is needed in order to be better writer as

Zhao and Llosa reported that involving voice ability in writing can enhance

overall writing quality.3 In line with this, Ahmad Sugianto also reported that the

higher critical thinking skill, the better writing performance.4

3 Cecelia Guangfang Zhao and Lorena Llosa, Voice in High-Stakes L1 Academic Writing

Assessment: Implications for L2 Writing Instruction, Journal for Second Language Writing, 2008,

p. 153 4 Ahmad Sugianto, The Relationship between Critical Thinking Ability and Writing

Ability, A Skripsi Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyaa and Teachers’ Trining in UIN Syarif

Hidayatullah Jakarta, Jakarta, 2014, pp. 24—26, Not Published.

55

In summary, the finding revealed that English education department

students have adequate critical thinking ad involving voice ability in writing. The

result also indicated that there is significant correlation between critical thinking

and involving voice ability in writing. The correlation between the two variables

is linear which means that the higher critical thinking skill the better involving

voice in writing skill.

D. Limitation

There are some limitations and challenges in conducting this research. The

first is the data collection. It was very hard to collect the data especially the

writing test. The critical thinking and writing test was distributed to 61 students.

However, only 50 students did the critical thinking test and only 30 students did

the writing test. Since the research need both writing and critical thinking test, so

there were only 30 students qualified to be the sample.

The second problem is the number of respondent of this study was only 30

students. Even though the number of participant has met the requirement, it is

better to have more respondents. Gay suggested that in correlational study, the

bigger number of respondent the better. The result will be more valid and

reliable.5

Another challenge is in finding previous related study. Both critical

thinking and involving voice in writing tend to be western culture. The previous

study results show that Asian students do not possess those skills (Alagozlu, 2010:

Djiwandono, 2013). Consequently, researches underlining the two skills are

limited especially the research in Indonesian context.

In addition, respondent did not seem at ease when doing the test. When the

test was conducted, the respondents were facing their examination. Therefore,

they may have difficulties to concentrate. In result, there some respondents who

did the test carelessly.

5 L. R. Gay, Geoffrey E. Mills, and Peter Airasian, Educational Research: Competencies

for Analysis and Application,(Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012), 10th

ed., p. 205.

56

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

The final chapter explains the conclusion drawn from previous chapter. It

also discusses pedagogical implications regarding critical think and involving

voice ability in enhancing writing quality. Suggestions to further research are

discussed as well.

A. Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between

critical thinking skill and involving voice skill in writing. Students’ critical

thinking test score and their writing test score was gathered to analyzed the result.

Those scored then calculated to find out coefficient correlation between each

variable in Pearson Product Moment.

Based on the research findings in the previous chapter, it can be concluded

that there is a significant relationship between critical thinking ability and

involving voice ability of the sixth semester students of English Education

Department of Syarif Hidayatullah University academic year 2015/2016. The

finding reveals that the coefficient correlation between students’ critical thinking

ability and students’ involving voice ability in writing is 0.608. It is indicated that

there is high correlation between the variables. Similarly, the significance of t

reveals that the result was significant. The tcount score is higher than ttable. The score

of significance tcount is 4.05. Meanwhile, the df is 28 indicates significant score of

5% is 2.76. Therefore, the Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted which is there is

significant relationship between students critical thinking ability and involving

voice ability in writing. Next, the linearity test finding in this study indicated that

the relation between critical thinking ability and involving voice ability in writing

is linear. In conclusion, students with higher critical thinking skill have higher

involving voice ability in writing too.

57

B. Implications

As mentioned in the previous chapter that the previous study proved

involving voice ability can improve overall writing quality. This study also proved

that student’s with high critical thinking ability has high involving voice ability as

well. The contribution of critical thinking ability towards involving voice ability

in writing is 36.9664%. Consequently, it is highly recommended to writing

lecturers in English Education Department to design course which can encourage

students’ critical thinking ability and involving voice ability in order to help them

creating a good piece of writing.

C. Suggestions

This study proposes several suggestions as follow:

1. Students should enhance their ability to think critically and to involve their

voice in writing due to enhance their writing quality. Furthermore, critical

thinking skill is very beneficial not only in writing but also in any other

course. Moreover, critical thinking is not only beneficial in the world of

education but also in the world of work.

2. Teacher should encourage their students to enhance their critical thinking

skill, since critical thinking is a skill that can be taught.

3. Regarding the importance of critical thinking skill and involving voice ability

in writing, further research in how to design course that encounter those skill

is needed.

58

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Journal, 2010.

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2009.

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Browne, Ann, Teaching and Learning communication, Language and Literacy,

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Cottrell, Stella, Critical Thinking Skill: Developing Effective Analysis and

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Creswell, John. W. John. W., Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and

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Deremer, Marry L., Writing Assessment: Raters’ Elaboration of the Rating Task,

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Dietsch, Betty Mattix, Reasoning and Writing Well, New York: McGraw Hill,

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Djiwandono, Patrisius I., Critical Thinking Skill for Language Students, TEFLIN

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Elbow, Peter Writing with Power, New York: Oxford University Press.

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Halpern, Diane F., Manual Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, Schuhfried

GmbH, 2010.

59

Helms-Park, Rena and Stapleton, Paul, Questioning the Importance of

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Hughes, Arthur, Testing for Language Teacher, 2nd

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Hunter, David, Practical Guide to Critical Thinking: Deciding What to Do and

Believe, Hoboken: John Wiley and Son, Inc., 2009.

Hyland, Ken, Disciplinary Voices: Interaction in Research Writing, Journal of

English Text Construction 1:1, 2008.

Indah, Rohmani N., Critical Thinking, Writing Performance and Topic Familiarity

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Krathwohl, David R., A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview, Theory

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Critical Courses: Principles and Applications”, in Dana S. Dunn, Jane S.

Halonen, and Randolph A. Smith (Eds.), Teaching Critical Thinking in

Psychology: A Handbook of Best Practices, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell,

2008.

Langan, John, College Writing Skills with Readings, 6th

ed., New York: McGraw

Hill, 2005.

Langan, John, English Skill with Readings, 7th

ed., New York: McGraw Hill,

2008.

Lau, Joe Y. F., an Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More,

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60

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The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2012.

Scriven and Paul, Defining a Critical Thinking, 2007,

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1.2, 2010.

Sugianto, Ahmad, The Relationship between Critical Thinking Ability and

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Teachers’ Trining in UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Jakarta, 2014, Not

Published.

Sugiyono, Statistika Untuk Penelitian, Bandung: Alfabeta, 2013.

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http://www.criticalthinking.com/cornell-critical-thinking-tests.html.

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A

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E

N

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I

C

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S

62

Appendix 1

Cornell Critical Thinking Test Series

THE CORNELL CLASS-REASONING TEST, FORM X

by

Robert H. Ennis William L. Gardiner

Richard Morrow Dieter Paulus LuciIIe Ringel

Fill in the blanks when you are asked to do so:

Name : Age :

Today's date : month day year

General directions:

This is a test to see how well you do a particular kind of thinking. We call it "class reasoning". You will see that you already do some of this kind of thinking. The sample questions make clear what is expected.

DO NOT GUESS WlLDLY. There is a scoring penalty for guessing wrong. If you think you have the answer, but are not sure, mark that answer. But if you have no idea, then skip the question.

There are 6 sample questions, then 72 others. You should work as quickly as you can, but do not rush. This is not a speed test. Once you do the samples, you will be able to move right along.

D O N O T T U R N T H E P A G E U N T I L Y O U R E X A M I N E R T E L L S Y O U T O D O S O .

© 1964 by R. H. Ennis

Published by Illinois Critical Thinking Proiect, Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

63

Answering the questions:

In answering each question, use only what you are told in that question. In order to do this, you should imagine that your mind is blank, because some of the things you are told are obviously false. Even so, you should suppose that they are true--for that question only.

You will be given one or more sentences with which to think. You will then be given another sentence, about which you must decide, using only what you were told.

There are three possible answers. This is what they mean:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE It may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

The meaning of the possible answers is given at the top of each page to help you remember. Each question has only one correct answer.

Mark your answers on this booklet by drawing a circle around the right answer. Remember: If you have no idea what the answer is, skip the question and go on to the next. Do not guess wildly, but if you think you know, then answer the question.

Sample questions:

Read the first question and see how it is marked.

1. Suppose you know that

Bill is next to Sam. Then

would this be true?

Sam is next to Bill.

1. A. YEYSES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

The correct answer is A, "YES". If Bill is next to Sam, then Sam must be next to Bill. It must be true, so a circle is drawn around "YES".

Here is another sample. This time you circle the answer.

2. Suppose you know that

The sparrow is over the hawk.

Then would this be true?

The hawk is over the sparrow.

2. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

You should have circled B. "NO". If the sparrow is over the hawk, then the hawk can't be over the sparrow. It can't be true.

64

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE It may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

Circle the answer to this next sample. Be careful:

3. Suppose you know that

Jane is standing near Betsy.

Then would this be true?

Betsy is standing near Jane.

3. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

The correct answer is C, "MAYBE". Even is Jane is standing near Betsy, Betsy may be sitting. Betsy might be standing near Jane, but she might be sitting near Jane, or something else. You were not told enough to be certain about it, so "MAYBE" is the anwer.

Circle the answer to this next sample question. Remember that your mind is supposed to be blank at the beginning of each question.

4. Suppose you know that

California is near New York.

Then would this be true?

New York is near California.

4. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

The correct answer is A, "YES", even though New York and California are not really near to each other. If California were near to New York, then New York would be near to California. It would have to be true.

Remember: You should suppose that what you are told is true--for the question you are answering.

65

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

So far in the sample questions you were told only one thing. In this one you are told two things. Circle your answer.

5. Suppose you know that The pit is inside of the mouth of the

fox. The cherry is inside the mouth of the

fox.

Then would this be true?

The pit is inside the cherry.

5. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

The correct answer is C, "MAYBE". All you are told is that the pit and the cherry are both in the mouth of the fox. There is no way to be certain whether the pit is in the cherry or not.

Here is the last sample question. This time the letters "X" and "Y" are used. They can stand for anything you like. Circle your answer.

6. Suppose you know that

X is next to Y.

Then would this be true?

Y is next to X.

6. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

The correct answer is A, "YES", no matter what X and Y stand for. If X is next to Y. then Y must be next to X.

Now that you have done the practice questions you probably understand what is expected. If you have any questions, ask them now.

DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

66

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

7. Suppose you know that

All the cars in the garage are Mr. Smith's.

All Mr. Smith's cars are Fords.

Then would this be true?

7. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

All of the cars in the garage are Fords.

8. Suppose you know that

All John's pencils are blue.

Then would this be true?

At least some of John's pencils are not blue.

8. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

9. Suppose you know that

All the books about sailing are Bill's. All the green books are Bill's.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the green books are about sailing.

9. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

10. Suppose you know that

None of Jane's dolls have hats.

Then would this be true?

None of the dolls that have hats

are Jane's

10. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

67

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

11. Suppose you know that

All the red books are John's

Then would this be true?

All John's books are red.

11. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

12. Suppose you know that

All of Mary's books are about horses. None of the books on the shelf are about

horses.

Then would this be true?

At least some of Mary's books are on the shelf.

12. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

13. Suppose you know that

All Jean's pencils are red. All the pencils on the table are red.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the pencils on the table are Jean's.

13. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

14. Suppose you know that

At least some of the children in the Martin family take out books from the library.

All people who take out books from the library have library cards.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the children in the Martin family have library cards.

14. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

68

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

15. Suppose you know that All X's are Y's. No Z's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

At least some X's are Z's.

15. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

16. Suppose you know that

At least some of Fred's pencils are green.

Then would this be true?

None of Fred's pencils are green.

16. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

17. Suppose you know that

None of Sue's books are about animals

Then would this be true?

None of the books about animals are Sue's.

17. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

18. Suppose you know that

At least some of Kate's pencils are blue. All the pencils in the box are blue.

Then would this be true?

At least some of Kate's pencils are in the box.

18. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

69

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

19. Suppose you know that All Z's are Y's. All Y's are X's.

Then would this be true?

All Z's are X's.

19. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

20. Suppose you know that

None of the fifth grade boys are on the football team.

John is a fifth grade boy.

Then would this be true?

John is not on the football team.

20. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

21. Suppose you know that

All the members of the school band have been in Boston.

No one in Frank's class has been in Boston.

At least some members of the school band are in Frank's class.

21. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

22. Suppose you know that

All X's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

At least some X's are not Y's.

22. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

70

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

23. Suppose you know that

All boys are painters. All children are painters.

Then would this be true?

At least some children are boys.

23. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

24. Suppose you know that All the second grade children are out on

the playground.

Then would this be true?

All the children out on the playground are in the second grade.

24. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

25. Suppose you know that

At least some of the books on the table are about stars.

None of Bob's books are about stars.

Then would this be true?

All of the books on the table are Bob's.

25. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

26. Suppose you know that

All the boys in John's class are football players.

Fred is a football player.

Then would this be true?

Fred is not in John's class.

26. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

71

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

27. Suppose you know that All the pets of the Greens won some

prize in the pet show. Fido is one of the Greens' pets.

Then would this be true?

Fido won a prize in the pet show.

27. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

28. Suppose you know that

No animals are dogs.

Then would this be true?

No dogs are animals.

28. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

29. Suppose you know that

Eileen is one of the children on the playground.

Then would this be true?

Eileen is not one of the children on the playground.

29. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

30. Suppose you know that

All X's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

All Y's are X's.

30. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

72

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

31. Suppose you know that

All cats can fly. All animals that can fly are black.

Then would this be true?

All cats are black.

31. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

32. Suppose you know that

All the things in the trunk are Bill's. The brown baseball bat is Bill's.

Then would this be true?

The brown baseball bat is in the trunk.

32. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

33. Suppose you know that

None of Bob's books are on the table, but there are books on the table.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the books on the table are not Bob's

33. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

34. Suppose you know that

All X's are Y's. All Z's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

At least some Z's are X's.

34. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

73

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

35. Suppose you know that

All Mary's pencils are yellow.

Then would this be true?

At least some of Mary's pencils are not yellow.

35. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

36. Suppose you know that

All pencils are heavy. Nothing made of wood is heavy.

Then would this be true?

At least some pencils are made of wood.

36. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

37. Suppose you know that

At least some of the green pencils are Dick's.

Then would this be true?

All Dick's pencils are green.

37. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

38. Suppose you know that

No X's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

No Y's are X's.

38. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

74

39.

Suppose you know that

All dogs are brown.

Then would this be true? 39. A. YES

At least some dogs are not brown. B. NO

C. MAYBE

40.

Suppose you know that

All the cookies Jane made for the fair

40. A. YES

All the cookies with nuts in them were B. NO

sold.

C. MAYBE Then would this be true?

All the cookies Jane made for the fair were sold.

41.

Suppose you know that

All brown animals have four legs.

41. A. YES Then would this be true?

All animals with four legs are brown.

B. NO

C. MAYBE

42.

Suppose you know that

All members of the football team weigh

42. A. YES

Henry does not weigh over 150 pounds. B. NO

Then would this be true? C. MAYBE

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

had nuts in them.

over 150 pounds.

Henry is on the football team.

75

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

43. Suppose you know that

All of John's candy is in the box. All of the candy that is not chocolate is

also not in the box.

Then would this be true?

At least some of John's candy is not chocolate.

43. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

44 Suppose you know that

All the papers in the box are torn. None of John's papers are in the box.

Then would this be true?

None of John's papers are torn.

40. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

45. Suppose you know that

All of the boys are singing.

Then would this be true?

All of the people who are not singing are also not boys.

45. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

46. Suppose you know that

All the math homework is due today. None of John's homework is due today. All the homework for Mr. Miller's class

is math homework.

Then would this be true?

None of John's homework is for Mr. Miller's class.

46. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

76

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

47. Suppose you know that All the pencils in the box are green. All Sue's pencils are sharp. All the green pencils are Sue's.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the pencils in the box are not sharp.

47. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

48. Suppose you know that

None of my shirts are wool. None of the shirts hanging up in the

closet are wool.

Then would this be true?

At least some of my shirts are hanging up in the closet.

48. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

49. Suppose you know that

All X's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

All things that are not Y's are also not X's.

49. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

50. Suppose you know that

All four-legged animals can fly. No horses can fly. All fast runners are four-legged animals.

Then would this be true?

No horses are fast runners.

50. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

77

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

51. Suppose you know that

All of the boys in the class collect stamps.

All students who are not members of the Stamp Club also do not collect stamps.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the boys in the class are not members of the Stamp Club.

51. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

52. Suppose you know that

All of the boys are running, but not everyone is running.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the people not running are not boys.

52. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

53. Suppose you know that None of Tom's books are on the shelf. No science books are on the shelf.

Then would this be true?

At least some of Tom's books are science books.

53. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

54. Suppose you know that

All of Bill's five uncles are allowed to drive.

All people who have a license have passed a driving test.

All people who are allowed to drive have a license.

Then would this be true?

At least one of Bill's uncles has not passed a driving test.

54. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

78

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

55. Suppose you know that

All of the band members are working.

Then would this be true?

Everyone who is not working is also not in the band.

55. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

56. Suppose you know that

All the books on the shelf belong to the library.

No science books belong to the library. At least some of the books that Elmer

likes are on the shelf.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the books that Elmer likes are not science books.

56. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

57. Suppose you know that

All the people who live on Main Street were born in Milltown.

None of the students in Room 352 live on Main Street.

Then would this be true?

None of the students in Room 352 were born in Milltown.

57. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

58. Suppose you know that

At least some of Mr. Johnes' students ride the bus to school. All students who live on Route 55 own dogs. All students who ride the bus to school

live on Route 55.

Then would this be true?

None of Mr. Johnes' students own dogs.

58. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

79

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

59. Suppose you know that All Y's are X's. No Z's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

No Z's are X's.

59. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

60. Suppose you know that

All teachers are college graduates. All people who have gone to high

school are men. All college graduates have gone to high

school.

Then would this be true?

At least some teachers are not men.

60. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

61. Suppose you know that

All Z's are Y's. No X's are Y's. All T's are Z's.

Then would this be true?

61. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

No X's are T's.

62. Suppose you know that

All students who do not have a star are also not swimmers.

Frances is a swimmer.

Then would this be true?

Frances does not have a star.

62. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

80

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

63. Suppose you know that All the people in the auditorium are

watching a movie. All students in the senior play are in the

auditorium. Esther is a student in the senior play.

Then would this be true?

63. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

Esther is not watching a movie.

64. Suppose you know that

All birds have three eyes. No ducks are birds.

Then would this be true?

No ducks have three eyes.

64. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

65. Suppose you know that

No Z's are Y's. No X's are Y's.

Then would this be true?

At least some Z's are X's.

65. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

66. Suppose you know that

All of the red pencils are broken. Emil's pencil is not broken.

Then would this be true?

Emil's pencil is not red.

66. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

81

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

67. Suppose you know that

All Z's are Y's. All Things that are not X's are also not

Y's.

Then would this be true?

At least some Z's are not X's.

67. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

68. Suppose you know that

At least some of Mrs. Brown's flowers are not roses.

At least some of the flowers in the flower show are not roses.

Then would this be true?

At least some of Mrs. Brown's flowers are in the flower show.

68. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

69. Suppose you know that

All the pencils in the box are yellow. None of the broken pencils are yellow. All Dick's pencils are in the box.

Then would this be true?

69. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

None of the broken pencils are Dick's.

70. Suppose you know that

All the people who live near the lake can swim.

None of the students in Mr. Smith's class live near the lake.

Then would this be true?

At least some of the students in Mr. Smith's class cannot swim.

70. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

82

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

71. Suppose you know that

None of the houses on Main Street are made of brick.

Allan's house is not made of brick.

Then would this be true?

71. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

Allan's house is on Main Street.

72. Suppose you know that

At least some of the boys in the class have bicycles.

All those who are not here also do not have bicycles.

Then would this be true?

72. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

No boys in the class are here.

73. Suppose you know that

All dogs are red.

Then would this be true?

All animals that are not red are also not dogs.

73. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

74. Suppose you know that

All Mr. Smith's cars have polished bumpers.

The red car does not have a polished bumper.

All the cars in the garage are Mr. Smith's.

Then would this be true?

The red car is not in the garage.

74. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

83

Here is a reminder of the meaning of the possible answers:

A. YES It must be true. B. NO It can't be true. C. MAYBE I t may be true or it may not be true.You

weren't told enough to be certain whether it is "YES" or "NO".

75. Suppose you know that

No ducks are birds. Nothing with large feathers is a bird.

Then would this be true?

At least some ducks have large feathers.

75. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

76. Suppose you know that

All alligators are smart animals. All animals that cannot sing are also not

smart.

Then would this be true?

At least some alligators cannot sing.

76. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

77. Suppose you know that

All the students who live in the country have pets.

Barbara does not live in the country.

Then would this be true?

77. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

Barbara does not have a pet.

78. Suppose you know that

All X's are Y's. All Z's are T's. All Y's are Z's.

Then would this be true?

At least some X's are not T's.

78. A. YES

B. NO

C. MAYBE

E N D O F T E S T . G O B A C K A N D C H E C K Y O U R A N S W E R S .

RE:ml M/H P18

84

Appendix 2

ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING TEST

Time : 30 Minutes

Direction:

1. Read the essay questions/topics carefully;

2. There are four topics given, and you are free to choose only ONE of them;

3. You have 30 minutes to plan, write, edit and revise your response;

4. The length of the essay you write should be approximately 300-350 words;

5. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Watching television is bad for children.

Face-to-face communication is better than other types of communication,

such as letters, email, or telephone calls.

Students should not wear uniforms.

Smoking should be banned.

85

Appendix 3

VOICE INTENSITY RATING SCALE

Helms-Park and Stapleton created Voice Intensity Rating Scale which is

an analytic rating scale that focuses to assess voice in writing. The scale has four

components which are assertiveness, self-identification, reiteration of central

point, and authorial presence and autonomy of thought. The first two components

assess the strength of individual voice at the sentence level, while the last two

components assess the paragraph level and beyond.

1. Assertiveness

Assertiveness demonstrated through linguistic devices such as hedges and

intensifiers (Fox, 1994; Ivanic & Camps, 2001; Ramanathan & Atkinson,

1999;Wu & Rubin, 2001).

2. Self-Identification

Self-identification demonstrated through the use of first-person pronouns and the

like (Cadman, 1997; Cai, 1999; Hinkel, 1999; Hyland, 2001, 2002a, 2002b;

Ivanic, 1998; Ivanic & Camps, 2001; Tang & John, 1999; Wu & Rubin, 2001)

3. Reiteration of Central Point

Reiteration of central point deals with how often and how explicitly the main

argument is rearticulated (Cai, 1999; Fox, 1994; Ramanathan & Kaplan, 1996a;

Wu & Rubin, 2001).

4. Authorial Presence and Autonomy of Thought

Authorial presence and autonomy of thought assess the overall presence of the

author voice and to account for intangible quality of identity in writing. this

category is meant to assess the writer’s use of ‘‘countervoices’’ since

incorporating other perspectives or voices in Westernstyle argumentation

indicates that the author has considered alternative viewpoints, thus bolstering the

persuasiveness of his or her arguments (Ramanathan & Kaplan, 1996a).

86

The Voice Intensity Rating Scale

Assertiveness 20-25 Displays strong commitment to assertions. Hedges

are rarely or never used to soften author’s claims.

Intensifiers are usually used to strengthen author’s

claims.

15-19 Displays fairly strong and commitment to assertions.

Hedges are seldom used to soften the author’s

claims. Intensifiers are sometimes used strengthen

the author’s claims.

10-14 Opinions are conveyed fairly mildly. Hedges are

occasionally used to soften author’s claims.

Intensifiers are rarely or never used to strengthen the

author’s claims.

0-9 Opinions are conveyed very mildly. Hedges are

usually used to soften the author’s claims.

Intensifiers are rarely or never used to strengthen

author’s claims.

Self-identification 20-25 First person singular is frequently used. Active voice

constructions are preferred to passive and

impersonal constructions to express author’s

personal opinions.

15-19 First person singular occasionally used. Active voice

constructions are generally preferred to passive and

impersonal constructions to express author’s

personal opinions.

10-14 First person singular is seldom, if ever, used. The

author’s personal opinions are express mainly

through passive and impersonal constructions.

0-9 First person singular is never used. The author’s

personal opinions are express only through passive

87

and impersonal constructions.

Reiteration of the

central point

20-25 The central point is restated frequently and clearly.

15-19 The central point is more than once in a fairly clear

to very clear manner.

10-14 The central point is stated once in a fairly clear to

very clear manner.

0-9 The central point is either not stated or is not stated

directly.

Authorial presence

and autonomy of

thought

20-25 The reader feels that the author expressing his or her

special views on the topic, and separates these views

from opposing ones. A very strong sense of

individuality is displayed in the writing.

15-19 The reader feels that the author is mostly expressing

his or her special views on the topic. A fairly strong

sense of individuality is displayed in the writing.

10-14 The reader feels that the author often does not

separate his or her own ideas from those of other

people’s. A somewhat weak sense of individuality is

displayed in the writing.

0-9 The reader feels that the author generally does not

separate his or her own ideas from those of other

people’s. There is little or no sense of individuality

displayed in the writing.

88

Appendix 4

STUDENTS’ WRITING SAMPLE

Students should not wear uniform

I believe that students should not have to wear uniforms. Uniforms take away our

individuality. Confidence is much harder to achieve while wearing a uniform.

Wearing them can get distracting during the day. Some schools say uniforms

make us united as a school, but I don’t think they do anything but bother students.

Simple rules instead of a uniform could easily be put in place.

Instead of having uniforms I believe we should just have simple guidelines as to

what we can and can’t wear. Following the guidelines would help to make us

responsible because when we get ready to have a career, our clothing will most

likely not be completely decided for us. We will have to follow guidelines for that

particular company. Having guidelines for how we dress will also help teach us to

follow simple directions. With different rules in place we can reclaim our

individuality.

When wearing uniforms, it is a struggle to be an individual. Teachers are always

saying how important it is to just be ourselves and not worry about what others

might think. Having a uniform takes that away from us, and this may lead students

to try to find other ways to be different. They might begin to act out so they stick

out from the crowd. Without uniforms we can show everyone who we are through

our clothes. Opinions shouldn’t be based solely on clothing of course, but clothing

is a fun and easy way to show who are. Being different is huge part of being in

school and I think we should be able to have the privilege of wearing what we

want. It can also give us more confidence.

With so much stress about getting good grades and getting everything done on

time, we shouldn’t have to deal with the stress of uniforms. Students already have

so many things taken away from them during school hours, individuality and

confidence shouldn’t have to be hidden by uniforms. Having a few dress code

guidelines is quite an easy fix to these issues. I believe that students should not

have to wear uniforms.

assertiveness Self-

identification

Reiteration

of the

central

point

Authorial

presence and

Autonomy of

thought

Total

score

Rater

1 20 20 18 22 80

Rater

2 21 21 20 24 86

89

Smoking should be banned

smoking is considered a lifestyle that people do nowadays. No matter if they are a

woman or man, they still do it. Despite being reminded many times about the

Danger of smoking, people are still smoking. Studies shown that one cigarettes

contain 4000 chemicals, including 43 elements that caused cancer and other 400

toxins. These cigarettes ingredients include, nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, as

well as, ormaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT. Nicotine is

a chemical that is found in bug sprays, Tar is also found in a material to make

roads and any other dangerous things. Imagine how many dangerous chemicals

that can caused cancer. Imagine smoking two to five cigarettes each day is

tantamount to consume a lot of toxins consciously, and eventually led to a slow

death.

Besides that, smoking can lead to poor athletic skills. One of the main

disadvantages of smoking is the decreasing of lung performance. Resulting in,

decrease in stamina and performance. Did you know that Smoking can leads to

Bad skin condition, bad breath and bad odour? Smoking limits the blood vessels,

it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin which is why smokers

often appear unhealthy. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis,

or persistent bad breath. The smell of smoke tends to stay, not just on people's

clothing, but on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it is often hard to get the smell

of smoke out.

Not only it is dangerous for those who smoke it, but also for people who breathes

the smoke. This phenomenon called ‘’The passive smoker’’. Second-hand smoke

kills about eight adults a day from lung cancer and 35,000 deaths per year from

heart disease. It is also tied to 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia each

year. In conclusion, based on the statements above, smoking is undoubtedly

bringing danger to the person and to the others around them. And it should be

banned in various laws.

assertiveness Self-

identification

Reiteration

of the

central

point

Authorial

presence and

Autonomy of

thought

Total

score

Rater

1 18 13 16 18 65

Rater

2 18 13 17 18 66

90

Watching TV is Bad for Kids

Most children nowadays, watch television as part of their leisure time. It is found

that watching television for young children has both its advantages and

disadvantages. A child can learn quite a lot of useful things and entertain himself

by watching television but he can also become addicted to watching television and

take bad things from it.

Television offers programs which can learn the child good qualities that should be

in him as he grows up. this includes educational programs and cartoons. A child

can learn languages, math, to depend on himself, take actions, work harder, how

to reach goals and others. For example, a cartoon I saw when I was young called

captain Majid' is based on a football player named Majid where hes the captain of

his team and he tries his best to get goals for his team. Other players pass the ball

to him and he runs with the ball, not afraid of anyone, trusting himself and makes

the right shot at the goal keeper of the other team which results in an extra goal for

his team. I learned from this how to be confident in myself and how to always try

hard until I reach my goal.

Television also can bring harmful effects to children. Children can learn bad

words or to be violent. The child himself can also become addicted and this will

prevent him from doing other important activities he should be doing. For

Instance, a cartoon called tom and jerry, which I loved to watch when I was

young, is very addictive, is based on a cat and mouse fight where the cat always

tries to catch the mouse. In most cases the cat fails to do this, however. you learn

violence from this, in confidence and inability to try to reach your goal.

In conclusion, Televison can lead to benefits or bad effects on children depending

on hoe its used. Parents should restrict their children to see only programs that

that can lead to better improvements in their children and their time spent on

television, hoping that their children become good people who benefit their

community and the world.

assertiveness Self-

identification

Reiteration

of the

central

point

Authorial

presence and

Autonomy of

thought

Total

score

Rater

1 13 11 18 10 52

Rater

2 11 13 18 10 52

91

Appendix 5

Involving Voice Ability Score

No Participants rater 1 rater 2 Final Score

1 Student 1 65 66 65.5

2 Student 2 69 70 69.5

3 Student 3 60 60 60

4 Student 4 49 49 49

5 Student 5 46 46 46

6 Student 6 56 56 56

7 Student 7 80 80 80

8 Student 8 46 46 46

9 Student 9 78 78 78

10 Student 10 46 46 46

11 Student 11 85 86 85.5

12 Student 12 67 67 67

13 Student 13 50 50 50

14 Student 14 65 65 65

15 Student 15 62 62 62

16 Student 16 52 52 52

17 Student 17 70 70 70

18 Student 18 69 70 69.5

19 Student 19 50 50 50

20 Student 20 65 65 65

21 Student 21 65 65 65

22 Student 22 50 50 50

23 Student 23 64 65 64.5

24 Student 24 69 70 69.5

25 Student 25 50 50 50

26 Student 26 70 70 70

27 Student 27 75 75 75

28 Student 28 63 64 63.5

29 Student 29 58 59 58.5

30 Student 30 74 75 74.5

92

Appendix 6

Critical Thinking Ability Score

No Participants Score CT

1 Student 1 63

2 Student 2 69

3 Student 3 60

4 Student 4 46

5 Student 5 65

6 Student 6 60

7 Student 7 50

8 Student 8 53

9 Student 9 60

10 Student 10 55

11 Student 11 79

12 Student 12 66

13 Student 13 30

14 Student 14 63

15 Student 15 73

16 Student 16 52

17 Student 17 62

18 Student 18 65

19 Student 19 50

20 Student 20 55

21 Student 21 63

22 Student 22 55

23 Student 23 60

24 Student 24 63

25 Student 25 50

26 Student 26 65

27 Student 27 72

28 Student 28 66

29 Student 29 59

30 Student 30 79

93

Appendix 7

Stastistical Calculation of Involving Voice Ability Score

Rater 1 Rater 2

Mean 62.27 62.57

Median 64.50 65.00

Mode 50.00a

70.00

Std. Deviation 10.88 11.06

Variance 118.27 122.32

Skewness 0.08 0.06

Std. Error of Skewness 0.43 0.43

Kurtosis -0.82 -0.82

Std. Error of Kurtosis 0.83 0.83

Range 39.00 40.00

Minimum 46.00 46.00

Maximum 85.00 86.00

94

Appendix 8

Staistial Calculation of Critical Thinking Ability

95

Appendix 9

Pearson Product Moment Calculation

KEMENTERIAN AGAMA

FORM (FR)

No. Dokumen : FITK-FR-AKD-082

UIN JAKARTA Tgl. Terbit : 1 Maret 2010

FITK No. Revisi: : 01

Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No 95 Ciputat 15412 Indonesia Hal : 1/1

SURAT PERMOHONAN IZIN PENELITIAN

Nomor : Un.01/F1/KM.01.3/............./2017 Jakarta, 2 Juni 2017

Lamp : -

Hal : Permohonan Izin Penelitian

Yang terhormat

Kepala Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Dr. Alek, M. Pd

Assalamu’alaikum wr.wb.

Dengan hormat kami sampaikan bahwa,

Nama : Meti Anggraeni

NIM : 1112014000084

Jurusan : Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Semester : X (Sepuluh)

Judul Skripsi : The Correlation between Students’ Critical Thinking Ability

and Involving Voice Ability in Writing

Adalah benar mahasiswi Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan UIN Syarif

Hidayatullah Jakarta yang sedang menyusun Skripsi, dan akan mengadakan

penelitian (riset) di sekolah yang Saudara pimpin.

Untuk itu, kami mohon Saudara dapat mengizinkan mahasiswi tersebut

melaksanakan penelitian yang dimaksud.

Atas perhatian dan kerja sama Saudara, kami ucapkan terima kasih.

Wassalamu’alaikum wr.wb.

Tembusan :

1. Dekan FITK

2. Pembantu Dekan Bidang Akademik

3. Mahasiswa