Establishing Commitment to Improve Students’ Writing Skill through Writing Across Curriculum (WAC)

Establishing Commitment to Improve Students’ Writing Skill through Writing Across Curriculum (WAC)

By: Denny Nugraha

Department of English Education 5^th semester

The State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Syekh Nurjati Cirebon

Introduction

            This paper will review the importances of establishing commitment to improve students’ writing skill since elementary school. The policy of writing across curriculum (WAC), based on the book of essays “Islam, Culture, and Education” is offered by the late Chaedar Alwasilah because it is the best approach to develop students’ writing skill in every school subject. This policy cannot work well if there is no collective endeavor from many parties involved such as teachers of all subject as they have moral obligation to teach and educate their students in school. Parents should also render a significant contribution in improving their children writing’s skill in home. Thus, the approach requires a strong commitment from all parties as explained above.

            The policy perceives writing as the central learning tool of all subjects in school. However, as Alwasilah (2014) stated that writing is often perceived as the most difficult skill by students to learn and teachers to teach. Yet every parent and teacher believes that writing is a teachable and learnable skill, by it is taught and learned in a correct approach. Considering that it is the crucial skill that has to be acquired by students for their success in the future. Therefore, students should be equipped with the proper writing skill since elementary school. Writing across curriculum (WAC) has three important functions as an approach to improve students’ writing skill: building self-awareness, emerging creative and critical thinking, and actualizing self-existency.

The Importances of Writing Across Curriculum (WAC) approach

            Firstly, writing constitutes an act in which students do like speaking in daily conversation. It represents the language and expression that determine individual character and moral of students. In addition, as Alwasilah (2014) explained that writing holds everyone responsible for their words and ultimately makes them more thoughtful and responsible human beings. For instance, when students do writing personal experience in their language, they will think that what they write should be adapted from their real experience. They cannot possibly write it if it is not what they feel and do in the past. Thus, it implies that writing can develop self-awareness and responsibility in communicating their words namely by thinking before acting.

            Secondly, writing leads to the important change in students’ life socially. It emerges creative, innovative, and critical thinking that are useful in society context. It is the main purpose of writing that students are expected to be more creative and critical in expressing their ideas. Because writing (academic writing) needs long time to be mastered, so it should start from childhood. Even simple general/non-academic writing like personal experience or diary is useful to develop individual coordination of mind. Simultaneous practices of those writing generate and lay the groundwork for professional or academic writing. Teachers and parents should show appreciation to students’ writing result by giving feedback (writing sincere comments, impressions) and by showing interest to help them.

            Thirdly, writing helps students actualize themselves as expected in academic as well as in non-academic contexts. Through writing across curriculum approach, students will be ready to enter the higher level of writing in college. Unconsciously, they have mastered the basic knowledge and informed understanding of writing during elementary school until high school. Continuous reading and writing for pleasure are needed because writing skills can only be developed through much reading and practice of writing. Students should be encouraged to reading simple short story, pictured-story and other literary works. As stated by Alwasilah (2014) that fiction is sometimes a more valuable source of information about the natural world than even scientific textbooks.

Conclusion

            In conclusion, writing across curriculum (WAC) is aimed to be the proper way in improving writing skill. Elementary level is intended to provide students with basic reading and writing. So that, every teacher of all subject in elementary school should be conditioned to support this objective by assigning students the task of writing appropriate with the subject. In addition, Alwasilah (2014) reported that almost all courses in college classes require students to write assignments on certain topics such as research, chapter and book reporting. Therefore, it is important for students to master as early as possible the basic of writing before entering college. Finally, they graduates from college without problem in academic writing and then they are ready to face professional world of job.

References:

Alwasilah, Chaedar. 2014. Islam, Culture, and Education. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya

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