A thesis proposal is the first step that plays an important role in writing a
thesis. However, since this is the first time students are writing a thesis proposal,
they often encounter various challenges and have their own experiences during the
writing process. Therefore, this study aims to investigate students' emotional
experiences and difficulties in writing a thesis proposal. This study used the
photovoice method as a research design to visualize the experiences and facilitate
obtaining detailed data from photographs, descriptions, and in-depth interviews
with participants. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic
analysis with six English education students in the class of 2021 who had
completed their thesis proposal. The researcher found that students experienced
emotional changes during the thesis proposal writing process. In the early stages,
students experienced negative emotions such as anxiety, worry, confusion,
uncertainty, fatigue, frustration, and difficulty. Over time, their emotions changed
to positive emotions such as happy, relief, pride, calmness, and satisfaction.
Students also face various difficulties, such as deciding on a title, finding relevant
theories and references, limitations in using good English, and a lack of self�confidence. Understanding the emotional experiences and challenges students
encounter is important for supervisors to overcome difficulties and provide
appropriate support during the thesis proposal writing process. Future research is
expected to find further solutions to the difficulties faced by students in this study