Final Semester Students' Reading Interests: Descriptive Studies as a Basis for Thesis Preparation Readiness

Abstract

This study aims to describe the reading interest of final-year undergraduate students in preparation for thesis writing. The research employed a quantitative descriptive design involving 37 final-year students selected through total sampling. Data were collected using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire measuring four key indicators: reading preferences and attitudes, reading habits and intensity, reading comprehension ability, and motivation and external support for reading.The findings reveal that students generally exhibit positive reading preferences and attitudes, indicating an awareness of the importance of reading in academic contexts. However, this positive disposition has not yet been fully translated into consistent reading practices. Reading habits and intensity are predominantly categorized as moderate, suggesting that reading activities are still situational and largely driven by immediate academic demands rather than sustained habits. In contrast, students demonstrate relatively strong reading comprehension abilities, indicating adequate cognitive capacity to understand academic texts and engage in research-related activities. Despite this, motivation and external support for reading are found to be relatively low, reflecting limited intrinsic motivation and insufficient environmental encouragement to support continuous reading engagement. Overall, the results highlight a discrepancy between students’ reading competence and their actual reading behavior. While students possess the ability to comprehend academic materials, their engagement in reading remains inconsistent and insufficiently supported by motivational factors. These findings underscore the importance of developing comprehensive academic strategies to enhance students’ reading interest, including the integration of literacy-based curricula, the provision of supportive learning environments, and the strengthening of instructional guidance. Such efforts are essential to foster sustainable reading practices and to improve the quality of undergraduate thesis writing and overall academic achievement.