Writing is a means of communication where people deliver their thoughts or information in written form, for various purposes and different audiences. Therefore, it needs to be learned carefully and it requires a certain skill so that the intended message can be delivered to the readers effectively. In academic setting, especially in
university, students are required to have a good skill of writing to be able to complete a lot of assignment in written form, especially in writing essays. If a student wants to be a good writer, there are aspects that should be learned. According to Jacobs et al. (1983), as cited by Adjani, there are five important aspects of writing, namely content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. Out of those five aspects, this thesis will focus on the aspect of vocabulary. It was chosen because vocabulary is very essential in determining the clarity of one’s writing. Raimes
(1985), as cited by Nation (2008), stated that vocabulary is needed by students to be able to generate, develop, and present ideas in their writing. There are many ways of learning to develop one’s knowledge of vocabulary, and one of them is by reading. The present study investigated how far one’s reading habit expands one’s knowledge of vocabulary as reflected in the choice of words when one writes an essay. |