Writing Narratives: An exploration of the role of essay writing in the lives of undergraduate studen

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Writing Narratives An exploration of the role of
essay writing in the lives of undergraduate
students
Becca Westrup Educational Research, Lancaster
University r.westrup_at_lancaster.ac.uk
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Background

• Academic Literacies approach to student writing
  Academic writing as a social practice (Lea and
  Street, 1998 2000) the identification of some
  barriers to students writing
• The experiences of the individual student within
  the academic writing Community of Practice
  (Wenger, 1998)
• Questions I had
• What subject positions were students taking? How?
  Why?
• What do undergraduate students say about their
• experiences of essay writing?
• What is the role of essay writing in their lives
  as
• students?

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Theoretical Framework

• Key concepts
• Positioning in relation to cultural models (Gee,
  1996, 1999) which draw on wider discourses
• Holland et al. (1998)
• figured worlds are historical phenomena, to
  which we are recruited or into which we enter,
  which themselves develop through the works of
  their participants they are social encounters
  in which participants positions matterand they
  are socially organized and reproduced they
  divide and relate participants (almost as roles)
  and they depend upon the interaction and the
  intersubjectivity for perpetuation (p.41)
• history-in-person the sediment from past
  experiences upon which one improvises, using the
  cultural resources available, in response to the
  cultural resources available in response to the
  subject positions afforded one in the present.
  (p. 18)
• Objectification, Reflection Refiguring

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Researching Student Writing The role of essays
in students lives

• Sample
• Applewood 26 students
• Sunnyshire 18 students
• Multi-method design
• 7 Focus Groups
• 20 Individual Interviews
• Stories
• Seminar groups individual student narratives

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Analysing the Data

• Focus group data as narratives (Sfard Prusak,
  2005). The stories we tell ourselves and
  sometimes others.
• Sub- groups?
• Discursive patterns and subject positions?
• Tensions Contradictions?

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Some Key Themes

• The Studiers The Socialisers
• Students (group) constructions of writing essays
• Students (group) constructions of their tutors
  tutor feedback
• Effort, Fairness Recognition
• Independence Autonomy

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The Studiers The Socialisers
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Phoebe Peter Vs. Nathan discussing drinking
Me What do you enjoy about
university? Phoebe first, can I say one
thing I dont enjoy is how we are all
labelled as people who stay in bed or drink
beer in the pub all day. Nathan I cant
see nothing wrong with going to the pub all
day, or staying in bed for that matter Peter
well, not all of us dont do any work and
are alcoholics and party all night and sleep
all day Nathan and were not all people
who have no lives
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Studying Vs. Socialising
Richard I like to socialise, of course I do- I
would be a complete geek if I didnt but
its about moderation, isnt it? I allow
myself to go out with friends when Ive finished
my work, I see it as a reward. Becky
I dont really have any time to study, I dont
like essays, theyre right borin, nah
thats not for me. If I have an essay to do
it always happens a few hours before its
due. Beatrice How come? yeah? Becky
Youre probably think thats well bad, but
Ive got so many other things to do,playing
sport, meeting up with friends, Lightening
on Monday, The Loft on Tuesday, The Cross on
Wednesday and Sense on Thursday and Saturday.
And I just feel rough durin the days, cant do
nowt but sleep.
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Essays are important

• Cultural models the studiers draw on
• Students should spend the majority of their time
  studying
• Students should work throughout the academic
  year, not just at deadlines
• Essay writing has an exchange value
  (Understanding- Marks-Degree-Career)
• To be successful at writing essays there is a
  need to understand and connect

The need to understand we do this throughout
life it is the means by which we come to make
sense of ourselves in the world. We develop a
desire to understand rather than a need to know
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Essays are not important

• Cultural models the socialisers draw on
• Students should have a good time
• Whilst at university it is not cool to be seen
  studying or doing work
• Socialising, Partying and friendships are more
  important than studying
• Understanding and connecting ideas is not
  important
• Essay writing has an exchange value (Marks-
  Degree- Career NO understanding)

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Lias Story.

• Angst-ridden Socialiser
• Lias History-in-Person
• Publically constructed focus group story
• going out with friends every evening is what I
  love about universitytheres always someone to
  have a drink , or 10 with laughs and then I
  find time to study when I get in after, or the
  morning before
• Individual story
• you know I said in the focus group that I do my
  work after nights out, well I dont but everyone
  thinks I do, its the cool thing to doI feel
  annoyed by this sometimes because I actually like
  doing the reading and essay sometimesI used to
  like it in first year but I wasnt sure if it was
  worth all the work and its easier to have fun,
  less pressure.

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Conclusions

• The undergraduate students figured world(s) are
  full of complexities
• Within the focus groups there are a variety of
  discursive positions available to students.
  Positions in individuals stories are not always
  the same.
• Why do students take up particular positions?

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References
GEE, J. (1996) Social Linguistics and Literacies
ideology in discourses. London Taylor
Francis. GEE, J. (1999) An introduction to
discourse analysis theory and method. London
Routledge. HOLLAND, D., LACHICOTTE, W., SKINNER,
D., CAIN, C. (1998) Identity and Agency in
Cultural Worlds. Cambridge Harvard University
Press. LEA, M., STREET, B. (1998) Student
Writing in Higher Education an academic
literaces approach in Studies in Higher
Education, 23 (2), 157-172. LEA, M. and STREET,
B. (2000). Student writing and staff feedback in
higher education an academic literacies
approach in LEA, M. STIERER, B. (eds.) Student
writing in higher education. Buckingham, Open
University Press. SFARD, A., PRUSAK, A. (2005)
Telling identities in search of an analytic
tool for investigating learning as a culturally
shaped activity. Educational Researcher, 34(4),
14-22. WENGER, E. (1998)  Communities of
practice. Learning, meaning and identity.
Cambridge Cambridge University Press.