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

Psycho-affective/emotional issues
Under this heading a cluster of related issues can be grouped which may
directly affect a student’s ability to write. These are a lack of confidence, what is
Chapter 3
Thesis writing in English 
as a second language

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called the ‘impostor syndrome’, and fear of failure and rejection, or its counter-
part perfectionism. The unifying thread in all of these psycho-affective issues
that may lead to ‘writer’s block’ or the inability to write is the fear the writer
has that they are not competent to write a research thesis; they are an impostor
who will be ‘found out’ and unmasked. The impostor syndrome may affect the
second-language speaker more acutely for the reasons outlined in Chapter 2,