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Date of Award
7-3-2014
Document Type
Thesis-ISU Access Only
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of English
First Advisor
Jim Kalmbach
Abstract
This qualitative research study, conducted in a high school English classroom, asks, "What are students learning as they write their memoirs?" Writing was compiled from 18 students throughout the course of a semester-long memoir project in Spring 2014. Students filled out two questionnaires, both at the beginning and the end of the project, and seven students participated in a focus group halfway through the semester. The findings reveal that students' efforts to engage with past memories promoted a heightened self-awareness, which included feelings of connectedness to a variety of groups. This self-awareness encouraged experimentation with and a more dynamic understanding of "voice" in writing, and created valuable opportunities for self-assessment. An explanation of the semester-long memoir project is presented, followed by a review of relevant literature related to creative nonfiction, voice in writing, and self-assessment in a writing classroom. Research methods are explained, followed by an explanation of the findings of this study.
Recommended Citation
Wyant, Christopher Randall, ""some Things Are Worth the Pain They Cause": a Study of Self-Awareness, Voice, and Assessment in a High School Memoir Project" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 214.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/214
DOI
http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2014.Wyant.C
Page Count
93
Comments
Imported from ProQuest Wyant_ilstu_0092N_10322.pdf