Research Into Thesis Writing Anxiety Of English Major Graduates

Thesis writing has become a very important part in graduate education, for it is a prerequisite for awarding a master degree, but more importantly, for it also gives a demonstration of the candidates’ability to conduct, with substantial independence, a rational and significant research and to report the results scientifically, creatively and logically so as to improve their comprehensible ability. Nevertheless, writing a qualified thesis has long been considered as the most difficult academic-task. Confronting various difficulties in thesis writing, the author found that affective variables, especially anxiety, can not be overlooked. However, foreign language writing anxiety has been put in a marginal status, let alone English major graduates’ thesis writing anxiety. Based on the affective filter hypothesis and Tobias theory, the present study aims to uncover the degree and features of anxiety in different writing processes, and to examine the causal factors of thesis writing anxiety.The present study conducted questionnaire survey to165English major graduates from Central South University, Hunan University and Hunan Normal University, interview to12of them, participatory observation to3of them. The results demonstrate that:1) English major graduates experienced high writing anxiety which is significantly correlated to the change of writing process. Specifically, at preparation stage, writing anxiety appeared with high degree; while writing anxiety slumped at research and writing stage; and at revision stage, writing anxiety reached the climax.2) As to the features of writing anxiety, except somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and avoidance behavior (Cheng,2004), anxiety in conception was also salient. Thus conception anxiety is also integrated as a component of writing anxiety. Generally speaking, somatic anxiety is prominent and permeated through the whole writing process; cognitive anxiety is even more prominent, especially at revision stage; conceptual anxiety is prominent at research and writing as well as revision stages; while avoidance behavior is not salient.3) Anxiety in different writing stages was caused by different factors. According to the correlation and regression analysis, preparation anxiety was mainly caused by writing strategy, writing task and linguistic knowledge; research and writing anxiety by professional knowledge external resources, linguistic knowledge, and writing strategy; and revision anxiety mainly by writing motivation.The result further revealed the nature of thesis writing that it is an anxiety inducing process, the deficiencies in English major graduates’ thesis education such as the insufficient thesis learning education, lack of critical thinking, wasting external resources, and overwhelming extrinsic motivation. At last, some suggestions toward alleviating graduates’ academic writing anxiety are offered to improve their academic writing ability.