Problems and Strategies in Learning to Write a Thesis Proposal: A Study of Six M.A. Students in a TEFL Program

Abstract

This study explored how six graduate students of a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) program learned to write their MA thesis proposals in English in a graduate course. Multiple sources of evidence were collected, including questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, and presentation profiles. Data analyses showed that the students encountered difficulties in selecting a research topic, designing the proposal research, grasping the genre of the thesis proposal, and doing a critical literature review, but varied in their attitude toward getting support from their supervisors. By holding discussions with their supervisors, observing their peers' presentations on research proposals, and reading relevant literature, they eventually completed the writing of their research proposals.

Chinese Efl Undergraduates’ Academic Writing: Rhetorical Difficulties and Suggestions

“…To some extent, it is not anticipated that teacher-student communication was uniformly perceived by the supervisors as the other reasons. This shared perception also reinforces the views that effective collaboration and communication between supervisors and students are crucial for helping the students develop academic literacy competence (Belcher, 1994;Dong, 1998;Wang & Yang, 2012).…”

“…This perception is also evident in Bitchener and Basturkmen's (2006) study, where supervisors considered that students experienced a high level of difficulty in meeting the requirements of genres while writing DRS. Additionally, there are several other studies which have indicated that Chinese undergraduates need to be explicitly exposed to the different genres of academic writing (e.g., Qian & Krugly-Smolska, 2008;Wang & Yang, 2012).…”

“…Suggestions such as frequent supervisor-student communication, student willingness to communicate with the supervisor, face-to-face feedback, and feedback focused on rhetorical issues, once again support the view that AWE at university is not an isolated, independent task, but a process of composing and learning through interaction and collaboration. Wang and Yang (2012)'s study indicated that, to establish good supervisor-student communication, students needed to make sufficient preparation for meetings with supervisors, actively participate in negotiating with their supervisors, and take a positive attitude towards supervisor-student negotiation. In fact, to communicate effectively, it is vital that both sides take an active role.…”

A Training Program to Enhance Postgraduate Students' Research Skills in Preparing a Research Proposal in the Field of Curriculum and Instruction Methods of Arabic Language

“…1). Preparing an RP is an essential part of the process of thesis preparation at the postgraduate level, which usually involves identifying a research topic, writing a proposal, conducting research, and writing up the thesis (Riazi, 2000;Wang & Yang, 2012).…”

“…In addition, the preparation of an RP is difficult, for various reasons (Wang & Yang, 2012); therefore, postgraduate students should pay close attention to preparing their RP, because it is expected to:  show that [they] are engaging in genuine enquiry, finding out about something worthwhile in a particular context  link [their] proposed work with the work of others, while proving [they] are acquainted with major schools of thought relevant to the topic  establish a particular theoretical orientation  establish [their] methodological approach, and  Show [they] have thought about the ethical issues (Monash University, 2014, p. 2).…”