Alton Pitts

Date of Award

1988

Type

Thesis

Major

Specialist in Education

Degree Type

Special Degree in Education in English Education

Department

Teacher Education

First Advisor

Dr. James M. Brewbaker

Second Advisor

Dr. John D Schaeffer

Third Advisor

Dr. D. Glen Walls

Abstract

This study attempted to discover if there was any difference between the writing achievement of below-average ninth-grade students and above-average ninth-grade students as revealed on literature tests stressing analysis of character. Fifty individuals were randomly selected from a population of over three hundred students. Using the Analyzing Characters in Literature (ACL) exam, differences were drawn between the groups in the following areas: substantiation, form, content, and subjective reasoning. The independent samples were evaluated descriptively to determine whether a difference existed between ability groups. While the majority of the Individuals In both high and low ability groups were able to properly identify a trait of the central character in the prose selection, the extent to which the analysis was developed and substantiated in a coherent and logical manner varied significantly with a one-tailed probability of 0.0001.

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