How thesis writers speak about their experiences: A linguistic perspective

Abstract

This chapter presents a qualitative study of the ways in which European students share their thesis writing experiences. The data obtained through the interviews with students who recollect and discuss the process of writing bachelor’s and master’s theses will be interpreted from a linguistic perspective. Unlike other chapters in this book which concentrate on the content of interview accounts, this particular chapter will approach interviews not as details about what students do or think, but rather as objects for narrative and discursive analyses. The chapter will begin with an overview of the transcribed research interview followed by an analysis of the global pattern of its organization. Then, the discursive strategies and most prominent linguistic means used by the students to communicate the significant events of their writing experience will be identified, categorized and discussed.