Making Non-readers Read: using stylistic analyses to explore the literary engagement of low-attainers in Key Stage 3

本研究将透过不同的文体分析，比较儿童文学与国中三课程所设定的文本在文体上的复杂性。它将解决一些文本如何吸引或未能吸引7年级学生的目标读者群，特别是关于该队列中的低成就者。我将开始全面分析各种儿童文本，选择他们的文体突出性，评论家的赞誉和7-12岁目标受众中的现有流行度。在我的硕士论文的基础上，我的目标是确定帮助这个年龄段的孩子参与文学的经常性技术，例如个性化的叙述者，熟悉的人物和观点。由于对这种材料的学术研究几乎不存在，这项工作本身将是开创性的。然后，我将运用同样的分析，以文本上常用的KS 3课程（包括1914年前的材料），以建立是否当代儿童文学提供了一个可比程度的文体复杂性。我将评估这两套材料的文体复杂性，并研究文体特征是否是7年级学生参与和理解的关键。这将使我能够考虑KS 3英语的某些方面是否可以通过当代儿童文学有效地解决，以及这是否会增加学校的参与，特别是在低成就者中。然后，我将通过对7年级学生的访谈进行试点研究来检验这些发现。这是我现有研究的逻辑延续，在我现有的研究中，我一直对7-12岁的文学采取文体学方法，因为文体学提供了一种独特的方法来评估读者的反应。诺丁汉大学在文体学领域享有盛誉，拥有Peter Stockwell和Violeta Sotirova等领先的专家，他们拥有相关的经验，进行基于读者反应的研究。

This project will compare the stylistic sophistication of children's literature with texts commonly set bythe KS3 curriculum through a variety of stylistic analyses. It will address how some texts engage, or failto engage, the target readership of Year 7 students, particularly concerning low-attainers within thatcohort.I shall begin with a comprehensive analysis of a variety of children's texts, selected for their stylisticsalience, critical acclaim and existing popularity among the target audience of 7-12 year-olds. Buildingon my MA dissertation, I aim to identify recurrent techniques that help children of this age engage withliterature, such as personalised narrators, familiar characters and viewpoint. As academic study onthis material is virtually non-existent, this work in itself will be ground-breaking. I shall then apply thesame analyses to texts commonly used on the KS3 curriculum (including pre-1914 material) toestablish whether contemporary children's literature offers a comparable degree of stylisticsophistication. I shall assess the stylistic complexity of both sets of material and examine whetherstylistic features are key to engagement and understanding for Year 7 students. This will enable me toconsider whether some aspects of KS3 English might be as effectively addressed throughcontemporary children's literature, and whether this would increase engagement in schools,particularly among low-attainers. I will then test these findings with a pilot study of interviews with Year7 students.This is a logical continuation of my existing research, in which I have consistently taken a stylisticapproach to literature for 7-12 year-olds, as stylistics offers a unique way of assessing engagement byfocusing on reader-response. The University of Nottingham has an established reputation in the fieldof stylistics, with leading experts such as Peter Stockwell and Violeta Sotirova, who has relevantexperience conducting reader-response based research.