IELTS Research Reports

Gaynor Lloyd-Jones, Charles Neame and Simon MedaneyWhilst none completed the ‘adversely’ box, seven supervisors supplied open comments which werecritical either of non-native English speakers writing skills in general (2) or of their superviseein particular (5).80% of supervisors stated that their students’ English language proficiency had adversely affectedtheir supervisory workload; the remaining 20% claimed it had had no effect. However, the supervisorof SOM2 reported that although his workload had been unaffected there had been a necessity to readseveral drafts and to focus on language rather than content. Twelve respondents wrote descriptivecomments about the supervisory experience, detailing how their work had been affected. Most referredto the extra time involved in reading multiple drafts and the additional feedback that was necessarywith each successive draft. The comments emphasised that it is not simply a matter of readingmultiple drafts but a necessary qualitative change in the task of reading which involves interpretingpoor English. As expressed in the words of one supervisor: ‘Several iterations of the same sectionswere sometimes necessary to establish clarity of thought and expression’. Two supervisors mentionedspecific difficulties with data and their presentation. One supervisor had spent considerable time onearly drafts and advised his supervisee to use a proof reader for help in preparing the final version.The replies to this question are shown for the students concerned in Table 9.SummerProgrammestudentEntry test score Exam script Effect uponsupervisor workloadThesis outcomeSAS1 Unavailable None Revise and representSAS2 None Partial access Adverse PGDiploma subjectto conditionsSAS3 Critical of language Adverse Revise and representSAS4 None Partial access Adverse Revise and representSAS5 None Partial access Adverse PassSAS6 Unavailable Unknown Revise and representSAS7 None None PassSAS8 None Unknown Revise and representSAS9 Critical of style Adverse Revise and representSAS10 None Adverse PassSAS11 None Adverse PassSOE1 TOEFL CBT 220 Unavailable Unknown PassSOE2 None Unknown PassSOE3 TOEFL CBT 243 None None Revise and representSOE4 IELTS 6.5 Unavailable Unknown Minor corrections168 www.ielts.org