A Study Of Problems And Solutions In Thesis Writing For Master’s Students In Linguistics And Applied Linguistics

Thesis writing is an important way to test the learning achievements of graduate students.In recent years,the relevant education departments have paid more and more attention to the role of thesis in the cultivation of postgraduates,and paper review has become more and more rigorous,so thesis writing is important for postgraduates.Compared with foreign countries,students in domestic universities have more problems in thesis writing,mainly in the form of irregular academic writing.Some studies have analyzed the problems of theses in some disciplines,but the research on thesis writing in linguistics and applied linguistics is still blank and needs further exploration.At the same time,the existing studies are mostly from the perspective of supervisors,focusing more on how supervisors guide students’ thesis writing.This study focuses on the topic of thesis writing,takes students as the main entry point,examines the problems and corresponding countermeasures in the writing of master’s students in linguistics and applied linguistics,and discusses the path to improve academic writing ability.This paper uses in-depth interviews and focus group interviews to collect students’ and supervisors’ opinions on thesis writing,and focuses on the following research questions:(1)What kinds of problems exist in the thesis writing of master’s students in linguistics?How to solve these problems?(2)What are the components and influencing factors of the academic writing ability of master’s students in linguistics?The findings of this study are as follows:(1)The problems of thesis writing of master’s students in linguistics are manifested in both the vertical writing process and the horizontal writing elements,each of these dimensions has different problems.The problems in the writing process involve five modules:difficulty in selecting thesis topic、unclear ideas in the introduction、many problems in the literature review、irregular design of the questionnaire and lack of depth in the discussion content.The main problems of writing elements are poor expression、imperfect logic and incorrect format.(2)To address the writing problems,the study summarized the corresponding countermeasures.In the writing process,we should identify the topic through various channels、adopt a problem-oriented introduction writing style、pay attention to the literature review writing、pay attention to the research design、discussion with holistic thinking.In the writing elements,we should use language that readers can easily understand、adopt the "pyramid" mode of thinking and use more visualization tools.(3)The root of the problems in thesis writing lies in the lack of academic writing ability.The study discusses the ways to improve academic writing ability.Firstly,academic writing ability includes five components:information processing ability、logical argumentation ability、written expression ability、interaction and collaboration ability、research innovation ability.Secondly,the influencing factors of academic writing ability are divided into internal and external factors.Therefore,academic writing ability can be improved from internal and external ways respectively.