ABSTRACT
The book has nine chapters. Chapter 1 revealed the autobiographical origin of this research topic. In Chapter 2 I argued for the need to study autobiographical writing and identity of EFL student writers and to adopt an expanded view of L2 learner identity. In addition, the chapter also argued for the need to distinguish two types of identities, i.e., English-writing-mediated identities and writer identities, and to develop a narrative sense of identity work. Chapter 3 argued for the use of an emergent case study design. In response to changes in the research site, an autobiographically oriented extracurricular writing group was set up, which gave me access to a wide range of autobiographical writing samples from the members. Chapters 4–7 told individual case stories about four group members: Abby, Matt, Beth, and Anne. Chapter 8 foregrounded contexts and identity work by comparing the four case studies. This research yielded two major findings, which are rooted in individual case studies but crystallised through comparisons. First, it is possible for EFL student writers to engage in identity work through autobiographical writing in English in an extracurricular writing group. Four phases of identity work were identified: performing, reflecting, re-visioning, and re-authoring. Second, autobiographical writing in this educational context is a best viewed as a social practice.
