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Graduation Term

2014

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Department of English

Committee Chair

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.

Access Type

Thesis-ISU Access Only

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2014.Wyant.C

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