UNLEASHING THE POWER OF SUPERVISORY FEEDBACK IN ACADEMIC WRITING: STRATEGIES FOR TIMELY UNDERGRADUATE THESIS COMPLETION

Despite its critical importance in academic writing, effective feedback strategies in undergraduate thesis supervision remains under-researched. This case study aims to address this gap by examining the experiences of five English department students who completed their theses and the strategies their supervisors employed to facilitate timely completion. Utilizing semi-structured interviews and text analysis, the study addresses three key research questions: 1) how feedback is formulated; 2) what strategies are employed by supervisors; and 3) what are the students’ perception of the strategies. The findings indicate that most feedback was formulated as directive, and the supervisors’ strategies include timely, personalized feedback and additional supervision time. The strategies help improve student engagement, motivation, and thesis outcomes. The students also positively perceived the supervisors’ strategies. This study contributes mainly by highlighting the role of emotional support in thesis supervision, the dominance of directive feedback in fostering timely completion, and the importance of personalized, timely feedback for student engagement. Additionally, it emphasizes that supervisors need to employ strategic, multifaceted approaches that combine academic guidance with emotional encouragement.