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

Analysing sample theses and dissertations
It is useful for students to look at a range of sample texts as possible models
for their pieces of writing. One helpful way of doing this is to ask students to
choose a thesis with a topic and research perspective which is similar in some
way to their own and to use for their own ‘online’ genre analysis (Flowerdew
1993) of the text. In some universities, academic departments keep copies of
theses and dissertations that have been submitted in their area of study. These
copies are often easier to access than centrally held ones and are thus a better
starting point for students than those held in the university’s main libraries.
Completed theses and dissertations are also available via a number of online
services (see Chapter 12). Students can be asked to identify the typical macro-
structure of the kind of thesis they are preparing to write. They can be asked
to examine the way their sample text is divided up into stages, as well as con-
sider the function each of these stages performs in achieving its overall goal.