Using Mind Mapping to Develop Students' Writing Skills

Abstract

This research aimed to improve the writing skills of seventh grade students at MTs Negeri 2 Bandar Lampung using mind mapping. The research subjects consisted of thirty students, 11 males and 19 females, and the research was conducted using classroom action research, which consists of two cycles of four steps: planning, action, observation, and reflection. The writer conducted a pre-cycle to assess the students' writing skills and difficulties before moving on to cycle 1. The writer collaborated with the English teacher of VII A grade at MTs Negeri 2 Bandar Lampung to collect student data. The writer focused on improving the students' learning activities and writing skills. Improvement in students' learning activities was observed from the average score of cycle 1, which was 7.16 (quite active), while cycle 2 was 7.87 (active). The improvement of students' learning activities between cycle 1 and cycle 2 was 0.71 points. Improvement in students' writing ability was observed from the pre-cycle average score of 64.03, with 17 students passing the minimum mastery criterion. The first cycle's average score was 69.03, with 20 students (66.66%) passing the minimum mastery criterion, while the second cycle's average score was 78.36, with 25 students (83.33%) passing the minimum mastery criterion. Based on the data analysis results, it can be concluded that classroom action research through mind mapping can improve students' learning activities and writing ability.