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

Conclusion
Writing the background chapters is an important part of the thesis and dis-
sertation writing process. It is where students ‘show what they know’ as well
as what they ‘think about what they have read’. Students are expected not just
to know the literature on their topic but also to critically evaluate it. The
notion of critical thinking is a culture-specific western idea, however, even
though it is often presented in the literature as a universal norm (Pennycook
1996; Canagarajah 2002). This notion, further, is often in direct conflict with
some second-language students’ cultural backgrounds and past educational
experiences. Angelova and Riazantseva (1999), for example, report on a
Russian student who said that where she came from it was dangerous to crit-
icize people in authority as this would be seen as an act of subversion, and
should be avoided. Their Indonesian students made similar comments. Scott
(1999) reports on a Korean student who describes the notion of critical think-
ing as an ongoing struggle. Others, such as Jones (2001) and Canagarajah
(2002), argue that second-language students are as capable of critical think-
ing as native-speaker students and that the stereotype of some
second-language learners, as being ‘passive and unable to think critically is
flawed’ (Jones 2001: 175). We agree with this view. It is not a case of whether
someone is capable of critically evaluating other people’s work or not, but
whether they know what they are expected to do, and how they should go
about doing it.
Writing the background chapters
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