difficulties encountered by english - majored students when conducting a graduation thesis a case study of department of english language and culture, school of foreign languages, can tho university

CAN THO UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

GRADUATION THESIS

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH - MAJORED
STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING A GRADUATION THESIS:
A CASE STUDY OF
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES,
CAN THO UNIVERSITY

Supervisor:

Student:

TRƯƠNG THỊ NGỌC ĐIỆP, M.Ed

NGUYỄN THỊ XUÂN VINH
Student code: 7116894
Class: XH11Z8A1
Course: 37

Can Tho, May 2015
i


CAN THO UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

GRADUATION THESIS

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH - MAJORED
STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING A GRADUATION THESIS:
A CASE STUDY OF
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES,
CAN THO UNIVERSITY

Supervisor:

Student:

TRƯƠNG THỊ NGỌC ĐIỆP, M.Ed

NGUYỄN THỊ XUÂN VINH
Student code: 7116894
Class: XH11Z8A1
Course: 37

Can Tho, May 2015

ii


STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby declare that this graduation thesis is conducted under the guidance of
Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc Diep (M.Ed.), at Department of English Language and Culture,
School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University. This thesis is the work of mine. All

of information quoted or paraphrased from other materials are acknowledged.

Nguyen Thi Xuan Vinh
May, 2015

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I am particularly grateful to my supervisor, Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc
Diep for her encouragement and dedicated guidance. My thesis would be never perfect
without her encouragement, valuable comments, careful proof-reading and corrections.
Above all, she showed me how to be a real researcher, how to think independently and
how to work seriously on my thesis.
Then, I would like to thank Mr. Huynh Minh Hien for teaching me how to use
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in his course.
Next, I wish to thank 12 participants who helped me answer the questionnaire.
The graduation thesis could not be completed without their help.
Last but not least, I am most thankful to my beloved family and my friends for
their support and valuable suggestions.

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ..............................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ...........................................................................vi
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ vii

TÓM LƯỢC ............................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................1
1.1 Rationale................................................................................................................1
1.2 Research objectives and significance ....................................................................3
1.3 Research organization ........................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................4
2.1 Role of graduation thesis ....................................................................................... 4
2.2 Requirements of a graduation thesis .....................................................................4
2.2.1 Requirements for writing skill .......................................................................4
2.2.1.1 Title .........................................................................................................5
2.2.1.2 Abstract ...................................................................................................6
2.2.1.3 Introduction ............................................................................................ 6
2.2.1.4 Literature review..................................................................................... 8
2.2.1.5 Methods ..................................................................................................8
2.2.1.6 Results ..................................................................................................10
2.2.1.7 Discussion and conclusion ...................................................................10
2.2.2 Requirements for format of a graduation thesis ..........................................12
2.3 Mistakes in students' graduation theses .............................................................. 12
2.3.1 Writing skill .................................................................................................12
2.3.1.1 Abstract .................................................................................................13
2.3.1.2 Introduction .......................................................................................... 13
2.3.1.3 Literature review................................................................................... 13
2.3.1.4 Methods ................................................................................................ 13
2.3.1.5 Results ..................................................................................................14
2.3.1.6 Discussion and conclusion ...................................................................14
2.3.2 Research skill ............................................................................................... 14
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2.3.3 Presenting format ......................................................................................... 14

2.4 Difficulties facing students in the process of conducting a graduation thesis ....15
2.4.1 Writing skill .................................................................................................15
2.4.2 Psychology ...................................................................................................15
2.4.3 Support from the institutions and from the supervisors............................... 15
2.5 Suggestions for improving thesis quality ............................................................ 16
2.5.1 Using software ............................................................................................. 16
2.5.2 Asking for other people's help .....................................................................16
2.5.3 Independent work......................................................................................... 16
2.5.4 Supervisors' assistance .................................................................................17
2.5.5 Institution's assistance ..................................................................................17
2.6 Previous studies ...................................................................................................17
2.7 Research questions .............................................................................................. 21
CHAPTER 3: METHODS .......................................................................................... 22
3.1. Research design ..................................................................................................22
3.2. Participants .........................................................................................................22
3.3. Instrument...........................................................................................................22
3.4. Procedure ............................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ......................... 24
4.1. The questionnaire ............................................................................................... 24
4.2. Summary of the questionnaire ...........................................................................24
4.3. Difficulties encountered by students in conducting a graduation thesis ............25
4.3.1. Writing skill ................................................................................................ 25
4.3.2. Research skill .............................................................................................. 26
4.3.3. Presenting format ........................................................................................ 26
4.3.4. Psychology ..................................................................................................27
4.3.5. Support from the institution and from the supervisors ............................... 28
4.3.6. Other difficulties ......................................................................................... 28
4.4. Remedies for difficulties in conducting a graduation thesis .............................. 29
4.4.1. Using software ............................................................................................ 29
4.4.2. Having the others' help ...............................................................................29

4.4.3. Independent work........................................................................................ 30
iv


4.4.4. Other suggestions ........................................................................................ 30
4.5. Expectations .......................................................................................................31
4.5.1. Expectations from the department and from the supervisors ..................... 31
4.5.2. Other expectations ...................................................................................... 31
4.6. Discussion ..........................................................................................................32
4.7. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................33
CHAPTER 5: LIMITATIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
.......................................................................................................................................35
5.1. Limitations .........................................................................................................35
5.2. Implications ........................................................................................................35
5.3. Suggestions for further research.........................................................................36
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................37
APPENDICES ..............................................................................................................39
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ..........................................................................39
APPENDIX B: OUTPUT DATA...............................................................................42
APPENDIX C: THE QUESTIONNAIRES AFTER COLLECTED ...................... 55

v


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 2.1 Requirements for writing introduction section................................................7
Table 2.2 Requirements for writing literature review section.........................................8
Table 2.3 Requirements for writing methods section ...................................................... 9
Table 2.4 Requirements for writing results section ....................................................... 10
Table 2.5. Requirements for writing discussion and conclusion sections ..................... 11

Table 4.1 Summary of the questionnaire .......................................................................24
Figure 4.1 Difficulties in terms of writing skill ............................................................. 25
Figure 4.2 Difficulties in terms of research skill ........................................................... 26
Figure 4.3 Difficulties in terms of presenting format .................................................... 27
Figure 4.4 Difficulties in terms of psychology.............................................................. 27
Figure 4.5 Difficulties in terms of support from the institution and from the supervisors
.......................................................................................................................................28
Figure 4.6 Using software ............................................................................................. 29
Figure 4.7 Having the other's help .................................................................................29
Figure 4.8 Independent work ......................................................................................... 30
Figure 4.9 Expectations from English Department and from the supervisors ..............31

vi


ABSTRACT
Conducting a graduation thesis is difficult for English-majored students.
Previous studies have focused on challenges in thesis writing, or mistakes in theses
(Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007, Han, 2014). Although these studies have mentioned
difficulties facing students in conducting a graduation thesis, few researchers have
researched on students' perceptions about their difficulties in conducting a thesis in
greater depth, which is the rationale of implementing this current thesis. This present
study is to achieve three objectives: (1) investigating difficulties facing students in
conducting a thesis, (2) finding out remedies that students apply to overcome those
difficulties, and (3) learning about students' expectations. Descriptive, quantitative and
qualitative research design have been employed in this project. The questionnaire
included 37 statements with a five-points likert-scale used to evaluate students'
attitude. Three open-ended questions were also included in this questionnaire. The
questionnaires were delivered to 12 English-majored students who were on the process
of conducting a graduation thesis. The results of the study showed that students faced

difficulties in research skill (50% in average), writing skill (17.85% in average),
psychology (75% in average), presenting format (25% in average), and support from
the institution and from the supervisors (33.3% in average). In addition, students faced
difficulties in accessing high quality articles, designing questionnaire, analyzing data,
making the participants concentrate on answering the questionnaire. They also lacked
time to complete the thesis, lacked good strategies and lacked good advice for
conducting a thesis. This study may be the reference material for students who would
like to conduct a thesis, for instructors who guide students in conducting a thesis. Also,
this study has some recommendations that the Department of English Language and
Culture could consider to help students improve thesis quality.

vii


TÓM LƯỢC
Thực hiện luận văn là một việc khó đối với sinh viên ngành Tiếng Anh. Có
nhiều nghiên cứu về những thách thức khi viết luận văn hay những nghiên cứu tìm
hiểu về các lỗi trong luận văn (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007, Han, 2014). Những
nghiên cứu này có đề cập đến những khó khăn mà sinh viên đối mặt khi làm luận văn.
Tuy nhiên, ít có nhà nghiên cứu nào tiến hành nghiên cứu sâu hơn để tìm hiểu nhận
thức của sinh viên về những khó khăn khi thực hiện luận văn. Nghiên cứu này nhắm
tới ba mục tiêu: (1) điều tra về những khó khăn mà sinh viên vấp phải khi thực hiện
luận văn, (2) tìm ra những phương pháp mà sinh viên áp dụng để khắc phục những khó
khăn đó, (3) tìm hiểu về những mong đợi của sinh viên khi làm luận văn. Nghiên cứu
này sử dụng kết hợp cả thiết kế nghiên cứu mô tả, định lượng và định tính. Bảng hỏi
gồm có 37 mục hỏi, sử dụng thang đo Likert gồm 5 mức để đo lường thái độ của sinh
viên đối với mỗi vấn đề được đặt ra. Ngoài ra bảng hỏi cũng có thêm 3 câu hỏi mở.
Bảng hỏi được phát cho 12 sinh viên đang trong quá trình thực hiện luận văn tốt
nghiệp. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy sinh viên gặp khó khăn về kỹ năng nghiên cứu
(trung bình 50%), kỹ năng viết (trung bình 17.85%), tâm lý (trung bình 75%), trình

bày hình thức của luận văn (trung bình 25%), sự hỗ trợ từ viện đại học và giáo viên
hướng dẫn (trung bình 33.3%). Sinh viên còn gặp khó khăn trong việc tiếp cận các bài
báo có chất lượng cao, thiết kế bảng hỏi, phân tích số liệu, thu hút đối tượng tham gia
nghiên cứu trả lời bảng hỏi. Ngoài ra, sinh viên cũng thiếu thời gian để hoàn thành
luận văn, thiếu chiến lược tốt và lời khuyên tốt cho việc thực hiện luận văn. Nghiên
cứu này có thể được sử dụng làm tài liệu tham khảo cho những sinh viên lựa chọn làm
luận văn và các giảng viên hướng dẫn sinh viên làm luận văn. Hơn nữa, Bộ môn Ngôn
ngữ và Văn hóa Anh có thể xem xét đến những đề xuất trong nghiên cứu để từ đó có
thể có những biện pháp nhằm hỗ trợ sinh viên trong việc thực hiện luận văn.

viii


CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION
This chapter includes (1) rationale, (2) research objectives and significance,
and (3) research organization.
1.1 Rationale
According to Nguyen (2013), conducting thesis is a major job in curriculum of
a university, and the grade of graduation thesis always occupies a highest proportion
compared to other subjects. He also claims that writing thesis helps develop students'
study ability and graduation thesis is a reliable tool for evaluating students’ study
competence. Graduation thesis plays an important role in evaluating quality of
education in independent institutions (Han, 2014). Han (2014) also says that
graduation thesis is a big project for English as Foreign Language students to
complete. Thesis writing requires knowledge relating to a certain field of study and
such knowledge must be used to argue over the findings of the study in a logical and
coherent way (Council of Graduate Schools in the U.S., 1991, cited in Dong, 1998).
Therefore, it is hard for those who use their first language to write thesis, and the
difficulties are even greater when they write thesis in foreign languages (Zimmermize,
2000, cited in Han, 2014).

Through mistakes of students' theses, their difficulties may be explored.
Students write too long thesis title and make mistakes when writing each part of a
thesis including introduction, literature review, argumentation, conclusion, and
acknowledgement (Han, 2014). Also, students commit grammatical mistakes when
writing thesis (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007). Maybe, students make those
mistakes because they face difficulties in writing skill. Graduate students have limited
vocabulary, have difficulties in using English, and because of weakness in English,
students copy exactly sentences from others' work; therefore, they commit plagiarism
(Dong, 1998).
Besides, research skill is another difficulty facing students. Students choose
broad topic, collect data from a small scale, lack ability in synthesizing information
from relevant materials, read few materials or read materials of low quality (Han,
2014). In addition, research question may not be addressed or remains unanswered
(Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007). Huhta, Varttala, & Ervaala, (2007) also indicate
that students use irrelevant background information, use too much direct quote, forget
1


making reference. Furthermore, students can hardly design a clear and simple
questionnaire (Hamatani & Pearson, 1997).
Apart from difficulties in terms of research skill and writing skill, students
receive insufficient support in the process of conducting a thesis. Graduate students
receive insufficient help from other people apart from their supervisor (Dong, 1998).
Moreover, students lack support from the department. In particular, a standard
guideline for thesis writing is not available (Hamatani & Pearson, 1997, Huhta,
Varttala & Ervaala, 2007).
If students do not have a standard guideline to follow, they may encounter
difficulties in presenting format of a thesis. Even students are provided a guideline for
thesis writing by their department, they do not pay much attention to citation style and
as a result, they commit mistakes in citation, quotation, and fonts (Han, 2014).

Students can ask for the others’ help to support them in conducting a thesis.
Students can have their friends proof-read their thesis (Dong, 1998). Dong also
suggests that supervisors should give specific comments when they correct students'
thesis and care of students' work more. Also, discussion between supervisors and
students should be enhanced (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007).
Moreover, the department can help students by establishing some policies and
offering courses that support students in conducting a thesis. An informal group for
reviewing the thesis should be established and courses that familiarize students with
thesaurus, software program, academic writing book, guideline of the thesis writing
should be offered before students conduct a thesis (Dong, 1998). Furthermore, more
academic writing courses should be offered (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007).
Students' thesis quality can be improved thanks to effective guidance, supporting in
terms of reference sources, enhancing teaching quality, building and improving
curriculum (Han, 2014). Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala (2007) suggest that guideline for
thesis writing should be available for students to use, strict rules for preventing
plagiarism should be established, native teachers should be invited to teach English.
Dong (1998), Hamatani & Pearson (1997), Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala (2007)
mention difficulties facing students in conducting a thesis. Nevertheless, difficulties
facing students may not been investigated in greater depth. Moreover, in his study,
Dong (1998) mentions graduate students' difficulties in conducting thesis, not
2


undergraduate students' difficulties. Suggestions for improving thesis quality are
presented in the studies of Dong (1998), Han (2014), Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala
(2007). However, there are few remedies suggested by students. In the study of Dong
(1998), very few expectations of students are mentioned. Therefore, this present study
aims to finding out difficulties facing students in conducting thesis, remedies they used
to solve difficulties and their expectations.
1.2 Research objectives and significance

This study is carried out to investigate difficulties facing students in conducting
a thesis and find out students' suggestions for improving thesis quality as well as their
expectations.
It is hoped that the findings of this study can help students avoid popular
mistakes when conducting a thesis, help them realize difficulties that may face them.
Also, some suggestions that may be helpful to students are given through the results of
the present study. Moreover, this study is expected to be the useful reference material
for teachers in guiding students for writing thesis. It is also hoped that
recommendations in the study could be considered by Department of English
Language and Culture.
1.3 Research organization
The study is divided into five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Literature review,
(3) Research methods, (4) Results, discussion and conclusions, and (5) Limitations,
Implications and recommendations.
In Chapter 1, background information relating to the topic are provided. The
situation and the findings of previous study are mentioned. The objectives and
significance of the research are addressed. The final part is the organization of the
research.
In Chapter 2, the previous studies which are relevant to the topic are
summarized and synthesized.
In Chapter 3, research design, participants, instrument, procedures are clarified.
In Chapter 4, the answers for the research questions are satisfied. Discussion
and Conclusion sections are also put in this chapter.
In Chapter 5, limitations, implications and suggestions for further research are
mentioned.
3


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter includes (1) role of graduation thesis, (2) requirements of a

graduation thesis, (3) mistakes in students' graduation theses, (4) difficulties facing
students in the process of conducting a graduation thesis, (5) suggestions for
improving graduation thesis quality, (6) previous studies, and (7) research questions.
2.1 Role of graduation thesis
Thesis writing in English is very popular because of the increasing number of
international programs and international students (Huhta, Vartalla & Ervaala, 2007).
Moreover, Huhta, Vartalla & Ervaala (2007) say that thesis is important because many
employers require a thesis written in English, thesis writing also makes a contribution
into research and development.
Conducting a graduation thesis gives students a chance to learn more about the
topic they are interested in, helps students read and analyze what they read in greater
depth and shows students' competence in reading, analyzing, thinking and writing
(Hamatani & Pearson, 1997). In the process of conducting a thesis, students can
identify problems of a particular area, examine optional solutions, apply results of the
research to new and changing situations (Opinnäytetyön laadun tekijät, 2006:6, cited
in Huhta, Vartalla & Ervaala, 2007).
Graduation thesis is a criterion to assess quality of education of an institution
and it cannot be replaced by other means of teaching (Han, 2014). Thesis develops and
shows students' competence in using knowledge and skills of their field of study to
research as an expert (Polytechnics Decree 352/2003, cited in Huhta, Vartalla &
Ervaala, 2007).
2.2 Requirements of a graduation thesis
2.2.1 Requirements for writing skill
A good thesis must satisfy requirements for writing skill. Huhta, Vartalla &
Ervaala 2007 claim that thesis should be understandable, functional, practical, clear,
and readable. These researchers also assume that various parts of the thesis should link
together, structure of the thesis must be logical, and register used in the thesis must be
appropriate. To conduct a good thesis which achieves those requirements, every word,
every sentence and every paragraph in the thesis should be written carefully.

4


Wallwork (2011) addresses requirements for writing words, phrases, sentences
and paragraphs in a paper: First, every word in the paper needs to be easily
understandable to encourage the readers to read and phrases copied from others work
must be easy to understand and popular; second, short and clear sentences should be
used to attract reader's attention and to avoid misunderstanding; sentences in a
paragraph should be connected with one another by moving from general to specific;
relative clause, gerund, article, noun, pronoun, and punctuation should be use carefully
to make sure that a sentence or phrase is not ambiguous or vague; third, to begin a new
paragraph, shorter sentences or dynamic language should be used to highlight
important points. Wallwork (2011) says that each paragraph of a paper must contain
topic sentence, intermediate sentences and the last sentence which are the same as title,
sections and conclusions of a paper. He presents the role of each type of sentence: The
topic sentence introduces the readers the main points of the paragraph and it needs to
be linked with previous paragraph; intermediate sentences are arranged in a logical
order to develop the topic sentence; and the last sentence can refer back to the topic
sentence or become a transitional sentence for the next paragraph. He also claims that
a paragraph needs to be linked with the previous paragraph as well as the following
paragraph; long paragraph should be broken up so that the readers can read it easily.
Wallwork (2011) also indicates requirements for writing a clear and simple
paper: Using tenses appropriately; restricting the use of direct quotations; cutting
unnecessary words and expressing concept with shortest words can remove
redundancy; using hedging by toning down verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and
decreasing the level of certainty make the paper easily accepted; moreover, using
personal style and passive voice should be followed instructions of the guideline.
Besides the requirements for whole thesis, requirements for words, phrases,
sentences and paragraphs, requirements for writing each part of the thesis are
indicated.

2.2.1.1 Title
Wallwork (2011) presents the rules for writing the title of the research papers:
A string of nouns should not be used because the title that includes prepositions can
make the title clearer; vocabulary and punctuation should be used effectively to make
the title dynamic and to draw readers' attention; the period (.) must not be at the end of
5


the title; if the title is a question, the question mark must be put at the end of the title;
syntax, vocabulary, spelling and capitalization are elements need to be satisfied; apart
from articles and preposition, each initial letter need to be capitalized; the title should
be specific and cover the content of the paper.
2.2.1.2 Abstract
According to Wallwork (2011), structure of an abstract includes these following
parts: First, background information about the context of the current situation should
be provided. Background information should not be given too much, but about two
lines. Also, background information should not contain old information that the
readers have already known, it should contain something new that the readers may not
know. Second, the aims of the research need to be stated. Third, the method for
conducting the paper should be reported. Fourth, the result of the research and the new
characteristic of the research compared to previous studies need to be addressed.
Finally, the implications and conclusions or recommendations should be mentioned.
Wallwork (2011) also mentions other requirements in an abstract: Mentioning
limitations in the abstract is unnecessary; background information should not be so
general; unnecessary claims, technical or generic terms, mathematical equations
should not be put in the abstract; unnecessary details like place names and references
of other research should be avoided; arranging information in a logical way,
highlighting important ideas, and being concise make the abstract have a great impact;
present simple is used for describing the content of paper, describing the experiment
and the opinion as well as conclusion of the author, present perfect is used for stating

past to present background information, past simple is used for stating the findings of
the author's research.
Similar to requirements that Wallwork (2011) mentions, English Department,
School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Can Tho University requires that the
abstract section must include the research problem and include the description of
participants, instrument, procedure, and the major results.
2.2.1.3 Introduction
In general, requirements for writing the introduction section established by
universities or indicated by authors are almost identical.

6


Table 2.1 Requirements for writing introduction section

School
Education,

of RMIT University

Wallwork (2011)

English

Can

Department,

Tho University

School of Social
Sciences

and

Humanities,

Can

Tho University
In the introduction The
section,

introduction The

The

research

the section should follow section should go problem must be

rationale, purpose, these
significance,

introduction

following straight to point, the mentioned and it

the requirements:

scope of the study, the

First, research questions can be researched;

background in the introduction Background

a preview of the information relating must be clear, and information,

the

organization

the

of to

the

research tenses must be used purpose

the other parts of question is provided. correctly:

of

Present research,

the thesis must be Second,

objective, simple should be importance of the

mentioned so that research

questions used to describe the research,

the readers could and scope of the general background organization of the
see
relationship

the research

are context

and

to thesis

addressed. Third, the describe the method included

must

be

in

the

between different rationale for finding used to conduct the introduction
components.

out the answer to the research;

research

past section.

questions, simple is used for

the method to find reporting
out the answers are contribution of the
stated,

organization person who do the

of the whole thesis research;

present

must be included in simple is used to
this section and the talk

about

the

introduction section solutions from past
should moves from up to now.
general to specific.
7


2.2.1.4 Literature review

Table 2.2 Requirements for writing literature review section

School

of RMIT

Education,

Wallwork (2011)

English

Can University

Department,

Tho University

School of Social
Sciences

and

Humanities,

Can

Tho University
Previous
relating

studies Previous
to

gaps

then,

or and

unsolved
problems

review,

First, this section
be

easily

findings

and well-organized.

limitations of these studies Second,

analyzed so need to be addressed and the information

cited

are that the gap gap of these studies need to must be relevant to

stated and some of
theoretical

those be indicated; present simple the

studies

knowledge can be could

from Then,

general
specific.

be in the introductory of the literature
literature

review;

review

present section

must

be

the perfect is used to mentioned ended by a short

to present
study

research

and present perfect are used problem. Third, the

mentioned in this realized.
section

literature

be mentioned in a logical order, understandable,

summarized, reviewed

then,

the

the studies need relevant studies should be should

research problem to
are

In

situations

from

past

to summary

of

the

will present; past simple is used literature including

fill that gap.

to reported other authors' research

question.

findings and past simple is Fourth,

if

also be used if the date is research

contains

indicated.
should

be

Redundancy hypotheses,
removed

the

then

and hypotheses need to

limitations of other works be

mentioned.

should be showed in a Finally, plagiarism
constructive way.

2.2.1.5 Methods
8

is not allowed.


Table 2.3 Requirements for writing methods section

School

of RMIT

Education,

Can

Wallwork (2011)

English

University

Departme-

Tho

University

nt,

School

of

Social

Sciences
and
Humanities
, Can Tho
University
First,

aim, Limitations

objectives,

The methods section must be clear

Research

of the chosen and its order must be logical. The design,

research design method must methods should provide the readers sample and
are mentioned be addressed. enough details. The description of the sampling,
and

research Literature

design may be review
qualitative,

can concise. To write a methods section, materials,

be used to these following steps must be done. procedure of

quantitative or explain
mixed. Second, the
this

methods needs to be complete and instruments,

for First, mentioning the problem and the the research

method subject that need to be studied. The must

be

section section. The hypotheses need to be showed. The described in

includes

procedure of location where the research is carried the methods

research

data

out and characteristics of this location section.

method,

collection

need to be reported. The way how to

research

and

question,

analysis must sample must be described. Next, what

hypotheses.

be explained. variable was measured and the reason

data design the experiment, the way how to

Third,

why it was

population and

explained. The way how the materials

sample of the

were treated, what equipment and

study must be

what protocol were used to collect

mentioned.

data need to be mentioned. The

Fourth,

the

measured

must be

process of analyzing the data and what
9


process

of

reference materials for describing the

collecting and

methods section more specific need to

analyzing

be

the

addressed.

difficulties

be stated. It is

conducting the research is necessary.

important

Comparison with previous authors'

advance

process

of

method should be made. Using past

instrument
the

the

the

data needs to

to

in

Mentioning

of

simple

study,

and

passive

voice

are

requirements for writing the methods

reliability and

section.

validity.

2.2.1.6 Results
Table 2.4 Requirements for writing results section

Wallwork (2011)

RMIT University

English

Department,

School of Social Sciences
and Humanities, Can Tho
University
Unexpected

findings

that Graphs

and

tables Tables of data and figures

contradict the hypotheses should

be

used need to be arranged in a

should be mentioned. Past appropriately.

logical order. In every table

simple is used to report the Information should not and figure, the description of
findings of the person who be repeated, interesting data must be stated.
conduct the research and and

unexpected

data

present simple is used to should be addressed.
mention the others' findings.

The results should not
be discussed in this part
if

the

discussions

section is put into a
separate part.

2.2.1.7 Discussion and conclusion
10


Table 2.5. Requirements for writing discussion and conclusion sections

School

of RMIT University

Wallwork, 2011

English

Education,

Department,

Can

School of Social

Tho

University

Sciences

and

Humanities,
Can

Tho

University
Explanation

In the discussion The discussion section should In

discussion

and discussion section, the results follow these following steps. and

of the findings of

the

research First, the data support to what sections,

of the study questions
belong

are established at the introduction whole

to explained.

chapter

four results

These section should be indicated. needs

will

the

the
research
to

to

the

others' What relating to

In results of previous findings. The link as well as the

hypotheses

final studies. The effects the difference compared to needs
of the method used other

conclusions

to collect data will discussed. Next, the findings Differences

and

also be discussed. should be explained and the similarities

ions,

studies

need

research

of the study is research
summarized.

or

the implications

method should

of
be

Furthermore, other
the

be

be discussed.

some limitations of the study should compared

the limitations of the be mentioned.

development

to

to

chapter,

recommendat- Moreover,

be

be Then, the findings need to be summarized.

discussion and compared with the compared
findings.

conclusion

or

to
studies

study should

addressed. discussed.

be
The

are also discussed Recommendation for further conclusion

The statement in this chapter. In research should be stated based section needs to
of the findings the
is

conclusion on the findings. In this section, satisfy

the

restated section, discussion active sentences should be research

briefly

and on importance of used

practical
solutions
implicated.

to

the study is made. distinguish

help

the

between

readers question
the hypotheses.

are This section also findings of the person who do Limitations,
clarifies

if

the research and the findings of the pedagogical
11

and


Limitations as research questions others.
well

the

conclusion implications,

as are satisfied or not. section, a short review of suggestions for

suggestions
for

In

Things

can

be important findings should be further research

further learnt or applied made. Next, the significance of should

research about from the results of the
unanswered

the

study

or suggestions

recommendations

need

next

to

be included in this

research should be showed and

Suggestions

for

needs

are judged. Then, limitations of the part.

questions are addressed.
provided.

findings

be

as

well

as

recommendations should be

studies mentioned. Present perfect is
to

mentioned.

be used to report what was done
during the research process and
simple past is used to state
what was done in the research
process.

2.2.2 Requirements for format of a graduation thesis
Each university, each department establishes its own rule for presenting format.
Because this present study is conducted at Can Tho University, criteria for assessing
format are mostly based on criteria of English Department, School of Social Sciences
and Humanities, Can Tho University, now it is renamed Department of English
Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages. Reference list must be made
based on APA style (B.A Thesis Evaluation Criteria 2014, English Department,
School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Can Tho University). Moreover, using
reference must be clearly indicated (Wallwork, 2011).

2.3 Mistakes in students' graduation theses
2.3.1 Writing skill
Students fail to meet the requirements in terms of writing skill. Students can
hardly realize major points from minor points of the materials they collect (Han,
2014). Also, students write the thesis in foreign language, the sentences they write in
their thesis may be so simple, so short and incoherent (Huhta, Vartalla & Ervaala,
2007). Moreover, components of a sentence sometimes do not link together because
12


relation between subject and verb as well as relation between adjective, adverb, noun
and verb are difficult to realize (Wallwork, 2011). Wallwork (2011) also indicates that
using sophisticated English makes the sentences incomprehensible and plagiarism is
also a common mistake that students often commit.
2.3.1.1 Abstract
Han (2014) finds out some mistakes in the abstract section of students'
graduation theses. He indicates that students cannot write an abstract which is formal
and objective because they even use abbreviation in the abstract. Han (2014) says that
some students write the abstract section by their native language, then translate it into
English; as the result, they make awkward expression; moreover, committing
grammatical mistakes leads to ambiguity in their thesis.
Another mistake is that students cannot show the readers the importance of their
thesis through the abstract. The results and the implications may not be included in the
abstract, students cannot explain in the abstract why their research useful; too much
information are provided in the abstract, so the abstract become difficult to understand
by the readers (Wallwork, 2011).
2.3.1.2 Introduction
The introduction may contain too much idea of the whole paper and too much
general statement that the readers have already known (Wallwork, 2011). Wallwork
(2011) shows that the rationale and objectives may not be mentioned in the

introduction section and information in this section are disorganized; the problem the
researcher mentions or the problem needs to be solved does not stated obviously; the
reason for choosing a certain method is unexplained; and many parts in the abstract are
cut and pasted into the introduction. The introduction section is too long; also, theme,
background information, research questions, and argumentation are not stated clearly
(Han, 2014).
2.3.1.3 Literature review
Students do not collect enough materials; the materials they select are not
reliable, representative, and scientific, so they cannot write a logical review of
literature (Han, 2014). Also, irrelevant reference materials are put in literature review
(Wallwork, 2011).
2.3.1.4 Methods
13


Description of the methods is insufficient because the number of samples is not
reported, what sampling method and the reason for choosing that method are not
mentioned; explanation for choosing a certain procedures is not stated (Wallwork,
2011).
2.3.1.5 Results
Wallwork (2011) addresses mistakes in the results section: Difference between
key findings and minor findings is not emphasized; the findings that contradict the
hypotheses are not mentioned; the length of the results section is exceeding and much
information in the results section are found in the discussion section; in addition, the
importance of the data is not showed.
2.3.1.6 Discussion and conclusion
In the discussion section, there is no link between the findings and observations
of the present study with the findings and observations of other studies; implications
and limitations of the study are not discussed; there are no explanations for the results
of the study (Wallwork, 2011). The ideas in conclusion section are incorrectly

summarized; popular mistakes in students’ conclusion section are exaggeration,
digression, over brevity, and redundancy (Han, 2014). Many parts of other sections in
the paper are repeated in the conclusion section; in this part, the researcher simply
summarizes the whole paper rather than shows the readers the value of the
contribution of the research (Wallwork, 2011).
2.3.2 Research skill
When writing thesis proposal, students choose the topic that is rather broad and
it cannot cover the main ideas of the thesis; they also tend to choose similar topics and
do not create anything new in the topic; students do not collect data from a wide scope;
students also lack competence for synthesizing information of the materials they
collect; and they even cite some information that is not relevant to their research (Han,
2014). Han also says that students do not read enough literature with high quality;
therefore, their thesis is not convincing, less academic and systematic.
2.3.3 Presenting format
Students sometimes choose long thesis title and there is no limitation for the
number of words used in thesis title; when students write thesis, they do not take much

14


interest in citation style; therefore, they commit mistakes in citation, quotation, fonts
(Han, 2014).
Some unnecessary references that do not play any role appear in the literature
review section; the context may not be objective because much of the papers are
collected from a national scale, not from foreign countries; information from a paper is
cited in the literature review section but that paper may not be listed in the references
and vice versa (Wallwork, 2011).
2.4 Difficulties facing students in the process of conducting a graduation thesis
2.4.1 Writing skill
Students can hardly state their ideas clearly and make their thesis coherent;

also, students cannot always keep formal expression (Han, 2014). Background skills of
some students are not adequate to make theoretical research; therefore, they commit
mistakes relating to grammar; students are not familiar with style of an academic
writing because their knowledge of English relating to academic style is limited when
they see and hear real life English in films, songs, on Internet or TV which use
informal language; students' level is inadequate to write a thesis in English; moreover,
students are under influence of mother tongue and cannot write a thesis that reaches
the style of an academic writing. (Huhta, Vartalla & Ervaala, 2007). Students also face
difficulties in using conjunctions, organizing ideas, understanding the meaning in
English; they also face other difficulties such as limited vocabulary, problems in
organizing the ideas, and spelling (Hamatani & Pearson, 1997 ).
2.4.2 Psychology
Psychological issues also affect students' thesis writing. Students fear that they
are incompetent for writing thesis and they fear that their thesis will be rejected;
moreover, students try to make their thesis as perfect as possible; as a result, they are
anxious about making mistakes; all of these psychological factors cause a negative
impact on students' ability in thesis writing (Paltridge & Starfield, 2007). Supervisors'
feedback plays a vital role in improving both content and language use in students'
thesis writing (Riazi, 1997, cited in Paltridge and Starfield, 2007). Meanwhile, fear of
supervisors or supervisors' feedback makes student tend to avoid a helpful source for
improving thesis writing (Murray, 2002, cited in Paltridge and Starfield, 2007).
2.4.3 Support from the institution and from the supervisors
15