THE EFFECT OF USING INSTAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHY MEDIA ON STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY IN DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of using Instagram Photography Media on students' writing ability in descriptive texts at SMP Negeri 15 Tegal. The study was conducted because many students experienced difficulties in generating ideas, organizing paragraphs, and using appropriate vocabulary when writing descriptive texts. This study employed a quantitative approach using a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group. The participants consisted of two eighth-grade classes selected through purposive sampling. Class VIII B served as the experimental group and was taught using Instagram Photography Media, while Class VIII C served as the control group and received conventional instruction. The data were collected through writing tests and analyzed using descriptive statistics and an Independent Samples t-test. The findings revealed that the experimental group achieved better writing performance than the control group after the treatment. The post-test mean score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, and the Independent Samples t-test showed a significance value (Sig. 2-tailed) of 0.000, which was lower than 0.05. These results indicated that the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted, confirming that Instagram Photography Media had a significant positive effect on students' writing ability.