Microsoft Word - 5 silalahi https://jurnal.unigal.ac.id/index.php/jall/index JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 Received Accepted Published November 22 nd 2021 February 19 th 2022 February 27 th 2022 WRITING ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL Roma July Venny BR. Silalahi* romajuly2626@gmail.com English Education Department, Universitas Prima Indonesia Mia Audina Simbolon miaaudinasimbolon@gmail.com English Education Department, Universitas Prima Indonesia Erikson Saragih erikson.saragih@gmail.com English Education Department, Universitas Prima Indonesia ABSTRACT Writing assessment strategies are strategies that combine theory and practice and are then used to assess students' writing abilities and potential. This study looks at how teachers employ strategies to help students learn English in the subject of writing. This study employs quantitative research to get replies and answers from a variety of teachers regarding writing assessment procedures. Ten English teachers from various schools were asked to respond to a series of questions. Data collection was carried out through the distribution of google form links as material for analyzing answers from several teachers. After the nine steps have been completed, the teacher has different goals in mind, but the end aim is the same which is students should be able to understand writing lessons and write appropriately. Keywords: Teaching Writing, Writing Assessment, Writing Strategy. INTRODUCTION Writing is considered as an active creation of text that involves, on the one hand, lower-order transcription skills such as handwriting, punctuation, and spelling, and on the other hand, higher-order self-regulated thinking processes such as planning, sequencing, and expressing the content (Berminger et al, 2002). It necessitates the writer's expression of the writing's material into a decent composition while considering the features of writing that the readers understand. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 74 Nunan (2003: 88) states that writing is an intellectual activity of finding ideas and thinking about the way to express and arrange them into a statement and paragraph that is clear to be understood by the people. It implies that the writers are expected to express their ideas and organize them into a well-written piece. Furthermore, writing conveys the author's perspective on a topic to the general public. It necessitates the systematic writing down of ideas. Based on the explanations, it can be stated that writing is an endeavor to convey the writer's thoughts, feelings, or ideas in written form while taking into account writing features and phases so that the readers may understand them clearly. According to Brown (2003: 4), assessment is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain. To do an assessment, a teacher should consider many aspects in determining the final scores of the students. In addition to the mid-semester and final semester scores, the teacher should also pay attention to the students` participation, motivation, presentation, performance, paper, portfolio, presence, homework, etc. In this case, before making the final grades of students, a teacher must go through various processes of teaching writing and consider many aspects as described by Brown. Writing assessment can be used for a variety of purposes both inside and outside the classroom, including assisting students, awarding grades, placing students in appropriate courses, permitting students to drop out of a course or a sequence of courses, certifying proficiency, and assessing programs are just a few examples. Given the high- stakes nature of many of these assessment purposes, assessment processes must be directed by strong principles to ensure that they're accurate, objective, and appropriate for the context and purposes for which they're intended. The purpose of this position statement is to provide that direction. This should be taken into consideration because writing is rather different with another skill, like speaking that used performance test based (Ismailia , 2021). Writing assessment is most effective for improving teaching and learning. Any assessment's design, implementation, and generation, and dissemination of results should all be guided by its core goal. Assessment should be led by pedagogical and curricular purposes, which are formatively influenced by the assessment. When creating assessments, teachers and administrators should consider the context of the classroom, program, or department. The aims or outcomes that are assessed should result in assessment data that is sent back to persons involved in the regular activities that are being assessed so that the JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 75 assessment results can be used to make adjustments in practice. Best assessment practice is driven by local aims rather than external constraints. Even when external factors necessitate evaluation, the local community must maintain control over the evaluation process, including the selection of the assessment instrument and criteria. Regular chances for professional improvement are provided by best assessment practice. Assessments should be used by colleges, universities, and secondary schools as chances for professional growth and the sharing of information regarding student talents and institutional expectations. Previous research that used assessment as an aim and focus of research found that the relationship between students and assessment had a significant impact on the outcome, despite the lack of importance. It does, however, imply that there is something significant about assessment that needs to be investigated; to be clear, past studies are used as evidence and references to support this study. Every teacher is frequently faced with the challenge of deciding how to teach writing in a way that students can understand. Making these selections is difficult since many relevant considerations are required in determining what is good and what is wrong so that pupils are not harmed. Enough information about students, such as their understanding of the material, attitudes, and behavior, is required to make the best and most informed decisions. Assessment is critical in this scenario because it provides instructors with objective feedback on what students have learned, how they learn, and how effective their learning is. To characterize the capacity of the students being assessed, assessment should be done regularly. From the research we conducted on several junior high school English teachers from different schools, there are several ways of teaching and assessment that teachers do to achieve the desired writing target. Based on a survey of ten teachers from various schools, researchers discovered multiple strategies of teaching writing and also techniques before generating a writing assessment. The teacher must be able to motivate students to write when teaching writing. Students find it difficult to produce texts based on what they think in their heads because writing in English is a huge barrier for them. Because writing is a challenging activity for students, particularly in junior high school. As a result, the researcher's focus in this study was on the teacher's strategies. Of course, there is a technique for teaching writing English. Students' learning skills do improve as a result of the technique employed. A teacher must JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 76 be able to assist students to grasp, recall, investigate, and develop what they have learned when teaching writing so that writing may be used to aid and increase student learning. Based on the preceding description, the researcher believes that a teacher must be creative while delivering writing classes to develop writing evaluations that meet the required goals. METHOD This research uses qualitative research with descriptive method. According to Creswell (2012), qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social human problem. The process of research involves emerging questions and procedures; collecting data in the participant's setting; analyzing the data inductively, building from particulars to general themes; and making interpretations of the meaning of data. The final written report has a flexible writing structure. Walliman (2011) defines that descriptive research relates to an observation in collecting the data. Based on the statement above the qualitative research employed to assist the writer in describing the data may be seen in the statement above. The results of the study will serve as a description of the inquiry that was carried out through individual or group observations. Qualitative research, particularly described, are the most effective way to assist the writer in analyzing the data. The author conducts an open questionnaire survey as part of the triangulation method. The study was undertaken at several junior high schools. The participant is a junior high school English teacher. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION In this section, the research question is answered by the researchers. It includes the research findings as well as a discussion. The Use of Questionaire Distributed Through Google Form Writing Assessment Strategies of English Teacher in Junior High School Based on the author's questions, several steps need to be prepared before moving on to the writing assessment stage, including the frequency of teaching, the source of the material, the form of the exercise, how many practice questions are in one session, whether writing learning is done separately or in combination with other skills, about the writing assignment at home, how the writing theme is, what the form of the writing questions is, JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 77 what percentage of the writing material in the exam, and the last step is to enter the writing target in one semester as a reference for writing assessments. 1. First Respondent Ineke Putri Sitompul, an English teacher from Yayasan Smile Program answering that the frequency of teaching writing is always done every week and for writing, learning is carried out alone/distinctive. The source of writing material comes from a textbook, then she also mentions that exposition, narrative, and descriptive texts are used as a form of the writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she always gave writing assignments to do at home. Vocabulary, description is the theme of teaching writing chosen by her. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions itself is based on the structure of the research, namely Compiling data collection instruments in the form of a list of written and structured questions, the questions asked are arranged in sequence and the contents are in the form of an elaboration of the results of the research topic. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 75% and the final target of the writing assessment is to make scientific papers. 2. Second Respondent Sondang Marlina, an English teacher from Yayasan Pendidikan Nurcahaya answering that the frequency of teaching writing is sometimes done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from one's experience of the students then she also mentions that scripts, novels, sonnets are used as a form of the writing exercise. In one writing session, five practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she often gave writing assignments to do at home. The theme of teaching writing is chosen by types of students' experiences to be written in one learning session. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is an essay. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 90% and the final target of the writing assessment is the students can write a sentence, can read what the students have written in the class. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 78 3. Third Respondent Frans Iwama, an English teacher from SMP Swasta Pasundan Medan answered that the frequency of teaching writing is sometimes done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from google, then he also mentions that sentence building, arranging jumbled words, translation is used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, five practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, he often gave writing assignments to do at home. Recount text is the theme of teaching writing chosen by him. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is the inversion of auxiliary. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 20% and the final target of the writing assessment is students would be able to write accurately. 4. Fourth Respondent Ariani Perangin-angin, an English teacher from SMP Negeri 7 Medan answered that the frequency of teaching writing is often done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from textbooks, then she also mentions that writing a genre (type of text), writing the letter, write the application letter are used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, five practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she often gave writing assignments to do at home. Type of text (genre) is the theme of teaching writing chosen by her. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is about how to write scientifically. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 15% and the final target of the writing assessment is students would be able to write scientifically. 5. Fifth Respondent Arief Hadziq Fikri, an English teacher from SMP Manbual Ulum Jakarta answered that the frequency of teaching writing is often done every week and for writing learning is alone/distinctive. The source of writing material comes from textbooks, JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 79 then he also mentions that descriptive text is used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, he often gave writing assignments to do at home. Describing entities is the theme of teaching writing chosen by him. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is about to describe yourself, friends, and favorite things. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 80% and the final target of the writing assessment is students would be able to write a descriptive text. 6. Sixth Respondent Nani Hartati, an English teacher from SMP Negeri 1 Tirtamulya answered that the frequency of teaching writing is often done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from textbooks and google then she also mentions that descriptive, narrative, recount, procedure, and report text, short functional text: advertisement, notice, short message are used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she often gave writing assignments to do at home. The theme of teaching writing she chooses is vocabulary strengthening. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions are wh - questions cause its basic question in a language. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 25% and the final target of the writing assessment is the students will have knowledge, skills, and produce some products of writing. 7. Seventh Respondent Safani Indah Pebriani Simbolon, an English teacher from SMP Sawasta Cenderamata answered that the frequency of teaching writing is sometimes done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from textbooks then she also mentions that grammar and structure are used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, five practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she sometimes gave writing assignments to do at home. The theme of teaching writing she chooses JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 80 about the holiday. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is how to make a narrative and descriptive text. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 50% and the final target of the writing assessment is the students can be known how to make writing and evaluate learning outcomes. 8. Eighth Respondent Hery Siswanto, an English teacher from SMP PGRI answered that the frequency of teaching writing is always done every week and for writing learning is alone/distinctive. The source of writing material comes from google, then he also mentions that theme of the lesson adjusted to the RPP is used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, he often gave writing assignments to do at home. The descriptive and narrative text is the theme of teaching writing chosen by him. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is about the descriptive and narrative text. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 60% and the final target of the writing assessment is students can make writing and read in front of the class. 9. Ninth Respondent Puspita Purba, an English teacher from SMP Budi Murni answered that the frequency of teaching writing is sometimes done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from e-books then she also mentions the students can make writing and answer the teacher's questions are used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she often gave writing assignments to do at home. The theme of teaching writing she chooses about the descriptive text. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is how to make a descriptive text. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 80% and the final target of the writing assessment is the students can be know how to write correctly in one semester. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 81 10. Tenth Respondent Lasmian Jana P. Sitinjak, an English teacher from SMP Negeri 1 Tirtamulya answered that the frequency of teaching writing is always done every week and for writing, learning is carried out in combination with other skills. The source of writing material comes from textbooks then she also mentions thesis and essay are used as a form of a writing exercise. In one writing session, ten practice questions are given to determine how far the students understand the lesson. After the writing learning process, she always gave writing assignments to do at home. The theme of teaching writing she chooses to structure and translation. Next, enter the exam session where the form of the writing questions is an essay because the students will understand and be able to answer the question correctly. The percentage of writing material in the exam is 75% and the final target of the writing assessment is the students can create a good composition in writing, comprehend the writing text, and be able to make write correctly. CONCLUSIONS There were a variety of responses about different writing assessment strategies among the ten teachers that completed the questionnaire. Four teachers answered they teach sometimes, three answered they teach often, and three answered they teach always. They are divided into two types in the writing learning section: alone and combined with other skills. It was established that seven teachers chose combined with other skills, while three others chose alone/distinctive. Five teachers chose textbooks as a source of learning materials, two teachers chose Google, one teacher chose textbook & Google, one teacher chose e-books, and the other teacher chose one experience. There are several answers in the writing exercise section, including writing from various forms of literature. Six teachers chose ten questions as exercises for each meeting, and four teachers chose five questions as exercises for gaining understanding. Seven teachers choose to give assignments often, two teachers chose to give assignments always, and one teacher chose to give assignments sometimes. The teaching themes and types of questions throughout the exam were distinct but related to the information in the writing class, according to ten teachers. Two teachers choose to include 80 percent of writing material in the exam questions, two teachers choose 75 percent, one teacher chooses 90 percent, one teacher chooses 60 percent, one teacher chooses 50 percent, one teacher chooses 25 percent, and JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 82 one teacher chooses 15 percent. After the nine steps have been completed, the teacher has different goals in mind, but the end aim is the same which is students should be able to understand writing lessons and write appropriately. REFERENCES Assessing Writing | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/assessing-writing Bulan, A., Suryaman, M., Nurhasanah, E., Mardiah, M., & Hasan, H. (2020). Assessment of English Language Learning in 2013 Curriculum. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Studies, 2(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.29103/IJEVS.V2I1.2036 Efendi, Z., Usman, B., & Muslem, A. (2017). Implementation of portfolio assessment in teaching English writing. English Education Journal, 8(2), 187–198. http://jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/EEJ/article/view/7227 Fathin RestiMartanti, I. (2015). Holistic English Mid-Term Assessment for Junior High Schools. In Indonesian Journal of English Language Studies (Vol. 1, Issue 1). Fitriani, Y., Mulyadi, M., & Jayanti, F. G. (2019). AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), 3(2), 96–107. https://jurnal.unigal.ac.id/index.php/jall/article/view/2541 Gong, T., Zhang, M., & Li, C. (2021). Association of keyboarding fluency and writing performance in online-delivered assessment. Assessing Writing. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ASW.2021.100575 Ismailia , T. (2021). PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT USING RUBRIC TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy , 65-82. Ketut Indriyani, D., Artini, L. P., Diah, L., & Adnyani, S. (2021). The analysis of assessment instruments in English teacher lesson plans at junior high school in Singaraja Bali. Journal of Research on English and Language Learning (J-REaLL), 2(2), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.33474/j-reall.v2i2.10118 Maisarah, I. (2016). DEVELOPING READING AND WRITING ASSESSMENT FOR SEVEN GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP IN MERANGIN DISTRICT BASED ON SCHOOL-BASED CURRICULUM. Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang, 4(1), 421–430. http://ejournal.unp.ac.id/index.php/selt/article/view/6953 Pujiawati, N. (2019). Evaluating Teachers’ Assessment Practice on Students Writing Performance. Journal of English Language Studies, 4(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.30870/JELS.V4I1.4462.G3753 Refnaldi, R., Zaim, M., & Moria, E. (2017). Teachers’ Need for Authentic Assessment to Assess Writing Skill at Grade VII of Junior High Schools in Teluk Kuantan. https://doi.org/10.2991/ISELT-17.2017.32 Scientia, L., Dwiyanti, K. E., Komang, N., & Suwastini, A. (2021). ASSESSMENT FOR JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), ISSN 2598-8530, February, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2022 83 WRITING SKILLS IN ONLINE LEARNING. Lingua Scientia, 28(1), 8–19. https://ejournal.undiksha.ac.id/index.php/JJBI/article/view/29069