Vocabulary review of award-winning works in Zeynep Cemali story contests (2007-2011)

Vocabulary is a key element of a language's capacity and power of expression. It is also a mirror of the culture of a society. For this reason, it is necessary to teach new generations the vocabulary of the mother tongue and ensure their effective use of these elements. In this study, 30 stories, which were successful in Zeynep Cemali Short Story Competitions (2011-2017), were examined in terms of vocabulary items. The frequency and percentages of each vocabulary item across stories were demonstrated in tables. The vocabulary items in the stories are indicated with "sentence" and "page numbers" in which they appear. By means of the results obtained, the level of using vocabulary of Turkish by the students of 6th, 7th and 8th grades was evaluated and compared across years. At the end of the study, it was concluded that students' use of the idioms and the reduplication are more frequent than other vocabulary items. It was also understood that they also did not sufficiently use proverbs and dialects that are prevalent throughout Anatolia. Words and terms about relationship, on the other hand, are included in almost every story. As the competition has been held throughout Turkey, the results were also evaluated in terms of social linguistic criteria. The level of students' use of vocabulary items has also been informative about the level of achievement of relevant outcomes that aimed to increase the vocabulary of Turkish education programs. Based on the data obtained, suggestions have been made to increase students' vocabulary and awareness about this subject.