Two sessions of the workshop on research writing strategies were jointly conducted by Dr Amy Dai and Ms Carmen Li from ELTU on 16 & 18 March 2020. Both sessions of the workshop took place during SPED3630 Introduction to Research Methods class time for current penultimate year students who are working on their research proposals. Due to the development of the Novel Coronavirus, the workshop was conducted online via Zoom.

The objectives of the 1.5-hour workshop include (1) providing feedback on SPED3630 research proposals from the previous two cohorts; (2) introducing effective thesis writing strategies; (3) understanding the overall structure of a thesis and research proposal, and the function & language of different sections and (4) highlighting the differences between research proposals and final reports. An introduction and demonstration session on the mobile application Capstone Ninja was conducted to provide students with some background information on the project as well as the functions and features of the app. Students were encouraged to browse the app for more writing and language tips to facilitate their self-learning.

The feedback survey results indicate that students appreciated the provision of the workshop. They acquired knowledge on the overall structure of a research thesis, the elements and content to be included in certain sections (e.g. abstract) as well as proper language use. The EAC team is happy to be able to interact with students on Zoom with the audio and chat functions and looks forward to providing individual feedback to these students on their research proposals by early May.