EXPOSING THE ESSAY: A STUDY OF NINTH GRADERS AND ...

EXPOSING THE ESSAY: A STUDY OF NINTH GRADERS AND EXPOSITORY

WRITING

A Thesis

Presented to

the School of Education

Biola University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts in Education

By

Sarah Charlotte Evensen

December 2008

Copyright ? 2008 by Sarah Charlotte Evensen

ABSTRACT

EXPOSING THE ESSAY: A STUDY OF NINTH GRADERS AND EXPOSITORY WRITING

Sarah Charlotte Evensen

This thesis uses empirical research in order to understand effective strategies for

successfully teaching of the expository essay to ninth grade students. Five focal areas are studied

for targeted intervention in order to discover best practices for maximizing student learning of

the essay format. The study hypothesizes that in order for ninth grade students to gain mastery of

the expository essay they must: tap into prior knowledge, attain metacognitive awareness while

writing, have a thorough understanding of essay structure, and display the confidence as well as

the language mastery necessary to respond fluidly to expository writing prompts.

2

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iii

CHAPTER

1. ESSAY WRITING AND STUDENTS ...................................................................1

Ms. Murphy¡¯s Classroom.........................................................................................1

The Problem .............................................................................................................1

Background of the Problem .....................................................................................2

Purpose and Significance of the Study ....................................................................4

Research Question ...................................................................................................4

Hypothesis................................................................................................................4

2. FIVE FOCAL AREAS FOR STRATEGIC INTERVENTION ..............................6

Metacognition ..........................................................................................................6

Prior Knowledge ......................................................................................................8

Structure ................................................................................................................10

Interest ...................................................................................................................13

Language Mastery .................................................................................................16

3. ANATOMY OF THE RESPONDENTS ..............................................................19

Research Design.....................................................................................................19

Sampling, Populations, and Participants ................................................................19

Data Collection ......................................................................................................20

i

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download