Peer Review : THE USE OF MIND MAPPING TO IMPROVE STUDENT’S ABILITY IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS FOR SEVENTH GRADERS

This study aimed to help seventh graders write descriptive writings more effectively by using mind
mapping. Action research was used to describe this study. Two cycles of execution were used for the
actions. The seventh graders from SMP Negeri 2 Gamping Sleman Yogyakarta served as the study's
subjects. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used in the study. The students, the English
teacher, and the collaborator were all interviewed after watching the teaching and learning process in
action. The information was presented as field notes, interview transcripts, and pictures. While this was
going on, the quantitative data were gathered by conducting pre- and post-tests following Cycle I and
Cycle II. By using democratic validity, dialogic validity, catalytic validity, and result validity, the
validity of the data was established. The results of the study demonstrated that using mind maps to
show students how to write descriptive texts could enhance their writing abilities. Additionally,
employing mind maps to teach students how to write descriptive texts might grab their interest and
motivate them. According to the quantitative data, the students' mean pre-test score was 9.970, and
their post-test scores for Cycle I and Cycle II were 11.191 and 13.191, respectively. The gain score at
that time was 3.221. It showed that the students' writing of descriptive paragraphs significantly
improved.