Completing a thesis is a crucial final stage in many bachelor's and master's programmes across Europe and beyond. However, the process of thesis writing, how it is experienced by the writers, and how those experiences impact on writing remain underexplored. This book examines the student experience of thesis writing through an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on theories of learning, emotions, and genre and narrative/discursive analysis. As a result of this approach, the thesis is reconceptualised as a multilayered experience from the point of view of student writers. The chapters, which arose out of a collaborative research project across 10 European countries, employ an innovative combination of methods including the use of journey plots to provide a complex picture of the thesis writing process, which will be of interest to readers involved in academic writing at all levels.

Unique focus on thesis writing from the students' perspective

About the Author

Bojana Petric is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Birkbeck, the University of London, UK. Her research interests include multilingual writers' academic literacy practices and experiences, particularly their citation practices, source use, writer voice, disciplinary socialisation and interdisciplinarity.

Montserrat Castello is a Full Professor of Educational Psychology at Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain. Her research interests include academic and research writing, doctoral writing, writing regulation, doctoral trajectories and researcher identity development.

Reviews

Many BA and MA degree programmes do not provide adequate training and research supervisors may struggle to teach students all that is required at this level. In this timely and much-needed volume, the authors enable insight into supervisees' experiences of the research process, with particular attention to the epistemological, methodological and emotional challenges related to becoming an early career researcher.

* Louisa Buckingham, University of Auckland, New Zealand *
This book is a powerful reminder of the cognitive, emotional and social effort that thesis writing entails, and the transformative experience of those who succeed. Importantly, the chapters underscore the need to understand better - and support better - our students' writing development over time. From both a teaching and research perspective, food for thought indeed. * Lisa McGrath, Sheffield Hallam University, UK *
This book addresses a highly relevant but under-researched topic. It is hard to list all of the book's virtues: methodologically creative and reflective, a state-of-the-art literature review, illustrative interviews, coverage of many European countries and languages, suggestions for future research, and advice for thesis supervisors. A must-have for anyone involved in writing studies. * Otto Kruse, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland *



Book Information
ISBN 9781800413986
Author Bojana Petric
Format Hardback
Page Count 238
Imprint Multilingual Matters
Publisher Multilingual Matters
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 14mm