seban, demet akdeniz üniversitesi - eğitim fakültesi - ilköğretim bölümü, Turkey

The Role of Gender and Grade Level on Topic Selection in Writing

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The purpose of this study was to examine the preferred writing topics of students in different writing genres and the effect of gender and grade level upon the students’ selection in choosing their own topics. The data consists of 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students’ written texts. A total of 350 documents written by students were analyzed using conventional content analysis. The results indicate that students preferred to write mainly on topics related to their own life experience and on the topics that they are more knowledgeable about and interested in. The choice of topic for free writing varied according to the students’ gender and grade level. Gender stereotypes were exposed through the choices made in topic selection. When teaching writing, teachers need to think about both the grade level and the students’ interests. They also need to be aware of the role of gender in topic selection in order to create an environment for students to question and to deconstruct their written products that recreate gender stereotypes.

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Writing , Topic Selection , Gender , Grade Level

Mediterranean Journal Of Humanities

285