Challenges of Academic Writing: An Overview of Academic Writing of Master’s Level Students in Nepal

Purna Bahadur Kadel, Bhuban Bahadur Bohara

Abstract

This study explores the challenges of academic writing of Master’s level students when carrying out assignments and writing theses at the Tribhuvan University. The phenomenological research design under the qualitative research approach was adopted for this study. Six students in the fourth semester of the Master of Education in English were selected through a judgmental non-random sampling procedure. An in-depth interview was implemented as a research instrument to elicit data from the respondents who have been writing these at Tribhuvan University. An interpretive research paradigm was executed to analyze and interpret the data. The findings show that feedback and comments were inadequately provided to the students; they did not have critical reading skills, incorporation of the latest APA, MLA, and Chicago writing manuals in the curriculum, and lack of awareness of the consequences of unacademic writing. Academic writing skills are the backbone of Master’s level students in carrying out assignments and theses; therefore, academic writing should be focused on at the beginning of the Master’s level.

 

Keywords: thesis writing, feedback, academic writing, pre-service teachers.

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.63.1


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