Navigating the thesis writing process: an analysis of common problems experienced by MA students

Master of Arts (MA) programs strive to equip students with advanced knowledge and skills in their field of study. Additionally, these programs help students develop their abilities to conduct research and contribute to the existing body of knowledge within their disciplines. MA programs generally consist of the completion of the coursework and a thesis. Despite students’ familiarity with the course stage, writing a thesis can be a perplexing task for them to navigate. Consequently, numerous MA students encounter many problems as they write their thesis. Despite the growing body of research on graduate education, there is a noticeable lack of studies that address the challenges MA students face. Hence, this research explored problems that MA students in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program encountered before or while writing their thesis. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students to identify these challenges, which were analysed through content analysis. The findings indicated that factors related to academic literacy, research competence, psychological states, the supervision process, and institutions and bureaucracy set barriers to the thesis writing process and sometimes caused delays. This evidence led to the development of a comprehensive model to enhance thesis outcomes and inform graduate students and program administrators.