Unblocking Practical Stumbling Hurdles in writing Master’s Dissertation Abstracts

Abstract

This study set out to identify the practical difficulties masters’ students face when writing their dissertation abstracts. Students in their final year of the masters’ programme were the participants. They were randomly selected using random purposive sampling from four different Cameroon state universities that were easily accessible (Universities of Buea, Douala, Dschang and Yaounde 1). Equally, some selected samples of the abstracts extracted from already defended dissertations were used for the study. Even though academic writing is a dynamic form of writing, its importance extends from educational to applied linguistics. Students have often therefore taken measures to see to it that they write abstracts that are acceptable, but they face difficulties doing so. Students in the course of writing master’s dissertation abstracts pause for a while to make sure they are doing the right thing. Findings show significant measurable challenges that students face in writing master’s dissertation abstracts for academic achievements. Solutions are proposed in that light to overcome the practical difficulties.