AN ANALYSIS OF THE INTRODUCTORY PART OF RESEARCH PROPOSALS WRITTEN BY THE STUDENTS OF THE ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM

Abstract

This study focused on the levels of students’ ability in writing the introductory part of their research proposals and the difficulties they faced in writing their introductory part. This study used qualitative method in case study form. The students’ introductory parts were analysed by using rubric scoring related to the criteria of a good introductory part that was adapted from PHILO-notes to determine the students’ level of ability. To find out the students’ difficulties, an interview in a focus group discussion form was used. The result shows that the student’s level of ability was varied. From the total of 13 students, four were considered poor level, six were considered average level, two were considered good level, and only one was considered as excellent. Based on the interview, the students found it difficult in providing the gap and goal of their research, organizing their sentence and paragraph structure, and using the correct grammatical and mechanical rules. Besides, the students also found it difficult because they lack of references, did not know when and how to start, did not get enough guidelines from the Research Methodology course, and had to do online consultation due to the pandemic situation. In conclusion, the students’ levels of ability in writing the introductory part of their research proposals were considered as average level and they found a lot of difficulties in writing the introductory part of their research proposals.