[e-mail] Programme for Teacher Education/ PLU

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Randi.Moxnes.Karlsen_at_plu.ntnu.no Programme for
Teacher Education/ PLU
Quality in Student Texts

• Theme Quality in Student Texts
• I. Research Design
• Quantitative? qualitative? quantitative (Brannen
  2005)
• II My Choice
• Population 995 student texts /the KAL-project
• My sample 57 texts, stories/ short stories
• 35 of which both censors agreed upon grade 2
• 22 of which both censors agreed upon grade 5
• III Main Aims
• Search for positive qualities in both text
  groups
• Structure content length
• IV Research Question

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Research Question

• What are students in lower secondary school able
  to write as they are writing for their national
  exams in year 10?
• How do they write stories and short stories?
• Which quality features are dominant?

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Focus in This Presentation

• Processing data
• Structural features, differences and similarities
• Content, 1) Special structures
• 2) Leading verbs
• 3) Ways of writing descriptions
• Length, comparison

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Qualitative Approach, Processing Data
PROCESS

Reading all texts from some classes from different regions in Norway Picking texts for analyzis Defining problem What do student manage as they leave lower secondary school A. How do they write their stories? B. Which quality is dominant? Those with lowest and highest grades or what to choose? Highest but one and lowest but one Theory reading Labov Aaslestad and Swales, Halse, Smidt, Iser, Evensen, Hoel, Austad, Fossestøl, Hultman/ Westman, Vinje, Skjelberd, Aase, Deep diving in certain texts Summing up quality and quantity More theory reading Quailitative Methods by Postholm Finding the threads Presenting different aspects
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Structure and Content

• Typical 2 texts
• Linear, no leaps in time
• Direct speech simple verbs to start dialogues
• Typical 5 texts
• Frame stories, stories within stories
• Parallel stories, melting together in the end
• Systematic repetitions of words, utterances,
  lines (ex.)
• In Medias Res, exciting starts, leaps in time
• When there is direct speech started by advanced
  verbs

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Story with Repetition

• Structure in text 507, three different varieties
  (transp.)
• 1) repeated question 2) claim 3) the word liar/
  
• 
  løgner
• 1) Hvordan kunne du? in sentences 3, 20, 32, 34,
  43 62 and 63
• 2) men ikke din type in sentences 6, 7, 11
• 3) løgner in sentences 14, 15

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Leading Verbs Dialogues

• Texts that are graded 2
• In 14 out of 35 texts there are direct dialogues
• In 23 out of 35 texts there are in indirect
  dialogues (Penne 198982).
• Leading verbs for the dialogues say ask -
  answer
• Mostly used verb is to say with 74 examples
  once together with the adverb quickly and in one
  other text there is an additional to himself.
• To ask 42 examples
• To answer9 examples (total of 125)
• Besides these 3 verbs a few unusual verbs are
  used once or twice mase, kviskre, hulke, tenke,
  utbryte, rope, true, kjefte, lyge, foreslå,
  avhøre, forklare, love, ønske, lure på, bestille,
  avvise, fortelle, kreve, vite, høre, godsnakke
  and innrømme (total of 23).
• The 2 writer is not using a variety of leading
  verbs in his dialogues compared to the 5 writer.

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Example of verbs in one 5 text

• Text 230 shows a variety of leading verbs. This
  seems to be a quality that the censors might have
  recognized and all utterance does not necessarily
  contain a leading verb (Aaslestad 199963).
• Leading verbs in text 230
• 5 to say 4 to ask 3 to answer
• 1 comfort 1 cry 1 tempt at 1 pray
• In total in one text 16 leading verbs in 26
  dialogues
• This shows that this writer uses 7 different
  leading verbs in one text. The leading verb is
  also often added by an adverb or a sentence

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Say - Ask Answer examples

• Sier Kenneth fort og veldig lavt
• Svarer han stille
• Prøver Silje seg
• Sier hun forsiktig
• Ber Silje med sammenfollede hender
• Sier Kenneth og smiler gjennom tårene
• Svarer Kenneth og stråler av forelskelse
• Skriker Silje og løper opp på rommet sitt
• Sier Silje og smiler tilbake
• Sier han med et blikk som viser at han virkelig
  mener det

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Skildringer / descriptions

• In 2 texts 36 examples
• In 5 texts 156 examples
• håret var tjafsete og slitt, hun var fryktelig
  tynn og en sigarettsneip hang ut av munnvika. Jeg
  presenterte meg som Kari, dotter di. Hun fikk
  ekte hakaslepp og stod bare og måpa. Etter ei
  stund ba hun meg kommeinn, vi satte oss på sofaen
  (5 text 869)

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Quantitative example Length

• The shortest 2 text has 93 words /13 lines
• and the longest has 774
  words /71 lines
• The shortest 5 text has 458 words /60 lines
• and the longest has 1367
  words /121 lines

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A Picture of Length

• 1 The shortest 2 text 93 words
• 2 186
• 3 186
• 4 199
• 5 227
• 6 242
• 7 250
• 8 252
• 9 259
• 10 270
• 11 289
• 12 289
• 13 294
• 14 306
• 15 321
• 16 325
• 17 330
• 18 342
• 19 362

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Literature on Methodology

• Postholm, May Britt (2005) Kvalitativ metode. En
  innføring med fokus på fenomenologi, etnografi og
  kasusstudier. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo
• Brannen, Julia (2005) Mixing Methods qualitative
  and quantitative research. In International
  Journal of Social Research Methodology Theory
  and Practise volum 8, issue 3.

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Literature (a selection)

• Labov -structure in stories
• Aaslestad -content in stories
• Berge
• Dysthe
• Evensen
• Hoel
• Halse
• Hultman/Westman
• Johnsen
• Kibsgaard
• Lorentzen

• Linnarud
• Moslet
• Ongstad
• Penne
• Skjelbred
• Smidt
• Swales
• Sørensen
• Togeby
• Vagle
• Vinje