Online Thesis-Writing Workshop I: Taiwan Literature Session

This online thesis-writing workshop addressed the stagnation and anxiety often experienced by in-service graduate students during their writing process. Ms. Tsai Yi-fang shared her practical experience of completing her master’s thesis, Ghostly Writing in Lukang, while managing heavy school duties and family responsibilities. As the moderator noted, most students do not lack ability; rather, they struggle with psychological and technical bottlenecks such as defining a topic, narrowing a research focus, and sustaining writing momentum—challenges this workshop was designed to help resolve.

Drawing from her own coursework, Ms. Tsai explained how class papers can serve as “testing grounds” for thesis development and emphasized the importance of strategic course planning and early data collection. She also introduced her concept of the “four types of advisors,” encouraging students to understand their own working style and select a thesis advisor whose guidance aligns with their needs. Emphasizing honest communication, she highlighted that even minimal daily engagement with writing—maintaining a “low-pressure, high-frequency” rhythm—prevents complete stagnation.

Director Liu Shu-Chin offered three concrete strategies: seeking help promptly, visualizing the thesis by treating it as a “book in production,” and managing progress through incremental drafting and structural mapping. Together, these approaches helped students transform abstract anxieties into actionable methods, giving clearer direction to their research and effectively reactivating their writing momentum.