THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN WRITING CLASS

Writing is one of the basic soft skills in language learning besides listening, speaking, and reading. Most people believe that it gives us a lot of advantages, especially to earn much money by writing a book or an article in the newspaper. Someone can be a successful writer because he or she knows the tricks how to write correctly. The students in English Language Education Study Program also have to know it because the students are always related to this skill everyday. There are many ways to achieve success in writing class, such as reading a lot, mastering the basic writing skills, and managing the time in a disciplined way.

Reading a lot is one of the elements to achieve success in writing class. Most students think that reading is a boring activity because they have to face a lot of sentences and need many hours to do that. Thus, it makes them feel tired. However, it is not absolutely true because reading can arouse their creativity, intelligence, and innovation. Those elements are needed to get a new brilliant idea. Reading many various books will enrich their vocabularies because they can find many words which they have never known before. It will encourage them to find the meaning of each word then their brain will keep the new vocabularies directly.

To compose a good writing, the students have to master the basic writing skills, such as grammar and minimum requirements (punctuation marks, spelling, and diction). They do not only have to know the basic writing skills but also mastering it. It will make their writing more professional. Thus, the people really want to read the students’ writing because they can learn and get the new information through reading. Using the appropriate grammar, punctuation marks, spelling, and diction will make the idea or the information more understandable for the reader. Sometimes, confusion comes when the students are not fluent in English. They write without considering the grammar such as using an Indonesian grammar while writing an English sentence. The students also have to make sure their sentences grammatically and semantically correct.

Managing the time in a disciplined way will help the students to achieve success in writing class. This important principle should be embedded in the first meeting to make the students accustomed to finish their writing on time, based on the lecture’s deadline. A good time management in writing class can be formed by implementing the writing steps; they are choosing the mastered-topic, making an outline and a draft, then revising the draft to be the final writing. This habit will help the students become professional writers or journalists. The students can also build their writing career from now by working as freelance writers or journalists.

Those are the three important things to achieve success in writing class. Reading a lot helps the students to improve their vocabularies. Mastering the basic writing skills will make their writing more professional. Managing the time in a disciplined way makes them accustomed to finish their writing on time. Those will really help the students to pass their writing class with a good mark and improve their ability in writing.

The Lady, or the Tiger? (Based on Frank R. Stockton with additional conclusion)

A long time ago, there was a semi-barbaric king who very loved his daughter, the princess of his kingdom. In the other hand, one of the courtiers also loved the princess, and so she did. The princess and this young man loved each other. Their love moved on happily for many months until the king knew it. It would be terrible for them, especially for a young man. He cast into prison, waiting for the day of his fate when he had to be in King’s arena. The arena was a place where somebody had to be responsible for his deed, as a judgment. There were two doors which should be opened. In which, there was a tiger or lady in each door. The day when he had been waiting came. All people knew these two possibilities. Choosing the tiger, he would be died, and choosing the lady, he would be lived and married with her. The princess also knew about it. She knew these two possibilities were not good for her, although his father wanted it. The princess very loved the young man. She didn’t want the young man died or married with the other woman. These possibilities could not make her happy.

Now, it was his time to open the door. He chose the right door. All people were curious. They yelled, a half of them shouted tiger and the others lady. The semi-barbaric king were smiled as a sign of his victory, nobody could wrest his daughter, the diamond of his life. The princess could not do anything. She did not want to look it, her two hands closed over her beautiful face. A young man did not know what will happen with him. These two doors could not make him got the princess, a lady that he wanted to be married. His fancy was the lady behind the door a princess, his love. He knew it was a foolish thing that could not become true. He was back to the fact.

Tiger! He wanted a tiger as his fate. He did not want to make princess sad. A tear-drop was a wound for him. His love was as big as king’s love. It was so painful that nobody could know this. He wanted to shout that he loved princess more than anything. He felt a princess as his soul, his life.

The door was opened. All people in the arena were silent for a moment. Today was a wedding for him. A very beautiful lady came out of the door. A priest, a band of choristers, and dancing maidens came out of the door opposite him which beneath the king’s place was in. All people in the arena yelled joyfully. A young man could not do anything. Now, he was a husband of a very beautiful lady who was not princess. His eyes moved on to the king and princess. The semi-barbaric king stood up and waved hand to a young man, a fortune person of the day. He bowed head to the king. Although he was smiling to the king, he very hated him, someone who made his life like in a hell now. He looked at princess, gold of his heart. She did not give him smile or tear. A semi-barbaric king was happy. He could prove that he was a powerful man more than anyone. One thing, he could keep his diamond, the princess. Nobody could wrest her from him, he wanted to have her forever.

The day was going on, the princess was sorrowful. This condition made a bad appetite for her. She did not want to eat anymore. The king knew it but he could not do anything now. He did a lot of things to make her daughter becoming normal again. Day after day, the princess was in a bad condition. It happened for a long time. The end was a princess died. A semi-barbaric king felt painful. Tiger could tear human, but his princess’ death torn his heart. His heart was died. It was more painful than a dead body.