Exposition Writing Performance
a. Concept of Exposition
Exposition is used in giving information, making explanation, and interpreting meaning. It includes editorials, essays, and informative and instructional material. Used in combination with narrative, exposition support and illustrates. Used apart from narrative, it stands alone as an essay. Used alone or with narrative, exposition may be developed in a number of ways.
1) Process
Exposition may be used to explain a process, that is, to tell how something is made or done.
2) Definition
An explanation of what a word or a term means is another kind of exposition. The simplest form is a statement of, first, the general class to which the word belongs and, second, its distinguishing features.
3) Analysis
The form of exposition which divides a subject into parts and examines those parts is called analysis.
4) Criticism
Criticism involves evaluation, that is, analyzing and weighing strengths and weaknesses.19
Pardiyono states that exposition contains an argument, point of views; a problem or other thing.20 From that definition can be understood that exposition explains an idea or argument about the phenomena so the reader can receive and agree what the writer writes.
In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary the word of performance can defined as the way a person performs in a play, concert, etc.21
Competence refers to one’s underlying knowledge of system, event, or fact. Performance is the overtly observable and concrete manifestation or realization of competence.22
Chomsky likened competence to an “idealized” speaker-hearer who does not display such performance variables as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, errors, and hesitation phenomena, such as repeats, false starts, pauses, omissions, and additions.23
Thus, from the explanation above it can be understood that exposition writing performance is the realization of competence to transfer information from the writers to the readers in written form to give information.
3. Time Limitation
a. Concept of Time Limitation
Based on Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary time means what is measured in minutes, hours, days, etc.24 And then limitation means the act or process of limiting or controlling sb/sth.25 It means that time limitation is the process of limiting or controlling the time.
Based on Wikipedia, time limitation is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.26 It means that the time given in doing an objective or task is limited, before the time is over that objective or task must be finished.
Time limitation is a time period within which something must be done or completed.27 It means that time limitation limits someone to do something. Before the time limitation is over, the task or doing something must be finished.
More importantly and underlying all these is the time allocated, which is a crucial element in the teaching and learning of the writing process. Writers need time to decide, to toy with ideas; time to write and rewrite sentences for new emerging lines of thoughts and arguments. Writers also need time to try out new words and make changes. Everything is in a state of flux, and time should not be a factor restricting revision, which is part and parcel of the writing process. Hence for any curriculum planning, time limitation should be provided to allow students the freedom to explore and take risks in order to develop as writers. Given time for such activities, students will likely be able to produce an interesting piece of writing, which is organized and accurate. This is because given time student writing has the chance to move from inchoate and vaguely defined thinking to more organized, coherent, and polished presentation of ideas and subject matter. Need for more time for teaching such long drawn-out writing techniques. This poses problems for ESL teachers, teaching these time-consuming of writing skills have limited time in the curriculum to teach English writing. Essays written under timed conditions become a key criterion for establishing the level of proficiency of the students’ written language.28
Time limitation basically means lack of time or shortage of time to do a particular task or activity.29
The time given is considered limited because students have to digest all input given within a short period of time and are yet expected to achieve the required proficiency set by the Ministry of Education. Consequently, in writing classes students often hand in their first drafts of their writing as their final products. They produce multiple drafts of their essays because of time constraints, the large number of students in a classroom, absence of the practice of process writing and motivate the students. These limitations help students in achieving the acceptable writing proficiency level. In any kind of learning, feedback plays a central role to ensure effectiveness.30
Time is a crucial element of the writing process. Writers have time to make decisions, time to play around with ideas, time to construct and reconstruct sentences, to form and re-form arguments, to experiment with new words, and above all, time to change their minds. Time should be a constraint, and revision should be a built-in part of the writing process. So when we plan our curriculum, it is important for us to include enough time for students to explore a topic thoroughly. Only in that way they will be able to make their writing more interesting, organized, and accurate.31
From those meaning can be understood that time limitation is the time is given which an objective or task must be accomplished before the time is over.
4. The Influence of Time Limitation toward Exposition Writing Performance
H. Douglas Brown states that “… If you are teaching in an EAP context, would be train your students to make the best possible use of such time limitations.32
Moreover, Jeremy Harmer explains that we will have to think about what students are likely to be able to accomplish in a lesson, say, of 50 minutes. We will need to consider how many students can work with individually in that time. We will have to consider the implications for us of responding (outside lesson time) to a number of different drafts per students.33
Brown states that “… practice in writing, you can help your students deal with time limitations.”34
Such time constraints, for a high school or college student to write anything thoughtful. Even if the examiner merely wants to assess grammar and mechanics, he or she should ensure that sufficient time is given to students for planning and organizing main ideas with supporting details.35
Even though the effects of time restriction on writing performance of students many international examinations in English continue to include essays that have to be written under several time constraints. In fact, essays written under timed conditions become a key criterion for establishing the level of proficiency of the students’ written language. And this practice is gaining currency.36
Based on the quotation above, it can be understood that time limitation has influence in exposition writing.