Understanding Chinese Postgraduate Students’ Experiences of Writing Their Master Degree Thesis: Challenges, Support and Prospects

Abstract: This study investigated the challenges and support for L2 Chinese postgraduate students in their master’s degree (MA) thesis writing. The five participants, currently PhD candidates in applied linguistics, shared their experiences of MA thesis writing. The data include multiple drafts of theses and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that these participants went through four kinds of challenges: (1) selecting the research topic and theoretical basis; (2) meeting the high requirements of MA theses, using new research tools, and overcoming linguistic barriers; (3) writing the literature review; and (4) writing the discussion. These challenges were caused by four levels of inner contradictions in activity systems.The main support was provided by their supervisors while the related academic writing courses were not effective as expected. More sources of support came from their fellow students, the assessment panels of the research proposal, and the thesis defense. The analysis illustrated how these participants managed to receive support by interacting with the academic community. Due to the great development of AI, ChatGPT becomes an important tool in writing. The study discusses about the prospects of using AI in academic writing, which brings new challenges and support for both postgraduate students and supervisors. This study is expected to shed light on postgraduate education in general and the sustainable development of individual students and MA programs.

Keywords: L2 postgraduate students; master’s thesis writing; challenges and support; Activity Theory