Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

Brian Paltridge is Associate Professor of TESOL at the University of Sydney in Australia.
Sue Starfield is Director of the Learning Centre, and a Visiting Fellow in the Department of
Linguistics, University of New South Wales. They both have extensive experience in working
with students writing a thesis or dissertation in English as their second language.

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Thesis and Dissertation
Writing in a Second Language
A handbook for supervisors
Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield

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First published 2007 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2007 Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Paltridge, Brian.
Thesis and dissertation writing in a second language : a handbook for
supervisors / Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-415-37170-4 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-415-37173-5 (pbk. : alk.
paper) 1. Dissertations, Academic--Authorship. 2. Academic writing. 3. English
language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers. I. Starfield, Sue, 1952- II.Title.
LB2369.P353 2007
808'.042--dc22
2006038301
ISBN10: 0–415–37170–8 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–37173–2 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–96081–5 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–37170–4 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–37173–5 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–96081–3 (ebk)
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
ISBN 0-203-96081-5 Master e-book ISBN

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Contents
List of illustrations
vi
Acknowledgements
viii
1 Introduction
1
2 Working with second-language speakers of English
22
3 Thesis writing in English as a second language
43
4 Writing a research proposal
55
5 The overall shape of theses and dissertations
66
6 Writing the Introduction
82
7 Writing the background chapters
99
8 Writing the Methodology chapter
114
9 Writing the Results chapter
134
10 Writing Discussions and Conclusions
145
11 Writing the Abstract and Acknowledgements
155
12 Resources for thesis and dissertation writing
163
Appendix
168
References
175
Index
185

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Illustrations
Figures
1.1 Text and context in academic writing
18
2.1 Interrelationships between level of English language 
proficiency and research status
24
2.2 The role perception scale
38
3.1 A simplified model of the writing process
46
3.2 A more realistic model of the writing process
47
3.3 The reciprocal relationship of writing and thinking
47
6.1 The thesis hourglass
84
8.1 Visual map of typical components of a Methodology chapter
123
9.1 Making claims: some examples of hedging
143
Tables
1.1 The social and cultural context of theses and dissertations
8
1.2 Attitudes to knowledge, approaches to learning and different
levels of study
9
1.3 Characteristics of high and low quality theses
19
4.1 Purpose of each section of a research proposal
61
6.1 Typical moves in thesis Introductions
83
7.1 Degrees and the nature of the literature review
100
7.2 Steps and strategies for writing a literature review
104
7.3 Typical tenses used in the literature review
109
7.4 Choices of tense and reasons for their use
109
7.5 Linguistic strategies for commenting on previous research
111
7.6 Techniques for paraphrasing and summarizing
112
9.1 Typical elements in reporting Results sections of theses
135
10.1 Stance and engagement strategies
149
10.2 The typical structure of thesis-oriented Conclusions
152
10.3 Reporting, commenting and suggesting in the 
Conclusions section
153

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Illustrations
vii
11.1 Use of verb tenses in thesis and dissertation Abstracts
159
11.2 Moves in Acknowledgements sections
161
Boxes
2.1 Dai’s story
34
5.1 A ‘simple’ traditional thesis
68
5.2 A ‘complex’ traditional thesis
69
5.3 A topic-based thesis
71
5.4 A compilation of research articles presented as a PhD thesis
72
5.5 Summary of thesis types and their typical organizational
structures
73
5.6 Typical content of individual chapters
76
6.1 Language patterns in Move 3c
90
6.2 Extract from Introduction of a PhD thesis in physics
92
6.3 Extract from Introduction of a PhD thesis in history
95
7.1 Sample literature review chapters
102
8.1 Extract from table of contents of a thesis by compilation
115
8.2 Extract from table of contents of a PhD thesis in linguistics
116
8.3 Extract from table of contents of a PhD thesis in sociology
117
8.4 Extract from Research Design chapter of a PhD 
thesis in history
118
8.5 Extract from Methodology chapter of a PhD thesis
120
8.6 Example of justification of unit of analysis
121
8.7 Description and evaluation of data sources
124
8.8 Extract from Materials and Methods section of a PhD 
thesis in marine biology
125
8.9 Account of how data were processed from a PhD 
thesis in marine biology
127
8.10 Use of impersonal language in data analysis section 
of a PhD thesis in marine biology
128
8.11 Writer’s representation of herself as researcher in a PhD 
thesis in linguistics
130
8.12 Extract from Methodology chapter of a PhD thesis 
in which writer explicitly discusses the role of the researcher
131
9.1 Extract from Move 1 in Findings chapter of a PhD 
thesis in history
136
9.2 Extract from a PhD thesis in engineering illustrating Move 1
138
9.3 Extract from a PhD thesis in history showing Move 2
139
9.4 Extract from an engineering thesis showing use of Move 2
140
9.5 Extract from Move 3 of Findings chapter of a history thesis
142
9.6 Move 3 showing hedging in an engineering thesis
143
11.1 Analysis of a PhD thesis abstract
156

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This book is the result of many years of teaching, talking and thinking about
thesis and dissertation writing with our students, colleagues, friends and
families. We thank them all. We would also like to acknowledge the many
doctoral and master’s students whose theses have contributed extracts to this
book. Specifically we would like to thank Dwight Atkinson, Diane Belcher,
Chris Casanave, Andy Curtis, Tony Dudley-Evans, Chris Feak, Liz Hamp-
Lyons, Alan Hirvela, Cynthia Nelson, Louise Ravelli and John Swales for
their interest, support and inspiration; Tracey-Lee Downey for her help with
illustrations; our anonymous reviewers as well as Philip Mudd at
RoutledgeFalmer for his support for our project and Lucy Wainwright, also
at RoutledgeFalmer, for seeing our project through to completion.
Being able to develop and teach our courses in thesis and dissertation writ-
ing has been and continues to be a rewarding experience for us both. From what
our students tell us, they find the courses very helpful with the development of
their own writing. Writing a research thesis in a language that is not your
native one is undoubtedly a challenge. We hope that other students and their
supervisors will find our book helpful in meeting that challenge and that the
students’ unique contribution to knowledge in their field will be enhanced.
Sue would especially like to acknowledge her parents for their uncondi-
tional love and support and thank Alan, Sophia and Jeremy for putting up
with her during the writing process. She would also like to thank Adrian Lee
and Richard Henry for their encouragement and her Learning Centre col-
leagues for being passionate about writing. Brian would like to acknowledge
the support he has in his faculty for the work that he does, and his colleagues
and research students there for making it the place to be that it is.
Acknowledgements

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