Overview
The Senior Capstone Experience in English is an opportunity for English majors to bring their interpretive abilities, their writing skills, and their understanding of the literary tradition to bear on a long-term, independent project in the form of a thesis or a comprehensive examination that will serve as the culmination of their literary studies at Washington College. The Senior Capstone Experience for English majors exemplifies each student's accumulated knowledge and mastery of literary analysis. All seniors majoring in English may choose between two options as a means of fulfilling the Senior Capstone Experience: writing a thesis or taking a comprehensive examination. Either option should be completed in the student's final semester at Washington College.
Thesis Deadlines
For students graduating in May 2009:
The thesis proposal deadline for SPRING 2009 graduates is April 4, 2008.
Thesis proposals must be submitted both to Prof. Moncrief (English
Department Chair) and to the primary thesis advisor (the professor who
will supervise the thesis). Proposals should be written in Word and
should be submitted electronically, by e-mail attachment.
Comprehensive Exam Dates
2009 dates TBA
All comprehensive exam sessions will take place in the Newlin Room of Miller Library.
Critical Thesis Prep
Preparation for the Thesis
The English department sees the thesis option for fulfilling the Senior Capstone Experience as a privilege. Therefore, it is vital that the student wishing to pursue this option demonstrate sufficient preparation though coursework, have a good working knowledge of the topic proposed, and show evidence of strong research and writing skills.
A student who chooses to write a thesis can use an essay written in a particular course as the foundation for further development into a thesis. A student electing to write a thesis must show initiative by conducting preliminary research to develop an appropriate topic. The completed thesis should demonstrate the student's ability to interpret literary texts and support the interpretation with secondary critical sources.
During the period of proposal formulation, a student should work in close contact with a member of the English Department. The English Department advises each student to begin consulting with this department faculty member during the junior year.
- A student should contact a member of the English Department who represents the field or literary period in which the student proposes to work to ask if that faculty member would be willing to serve as his or her thesis adviser.
- Each member of the English faculty has a limit of six Senior Capstone Experience students to advise, thus students who elect to pursue a thesis may not have their choice of advisers.
- After the student and adviser have agreed on a topic and approach, the student must complete a written proposal.
- Once completed, and approved by the individual faculty member who has agreed to direct the thesis, the proposal must be sent electronically to Professor Kathryn Moncrief, who will bring it to the entire department for its consideration.
Guidelines for Thesis Proposals
The proposal should be approximately 2 pages long (though it may be longer.) It should be narrative and free of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. The more specific the proposal (including the argument) is, the more likely it is to be approved without problems.
The thesis proposal must detail the project carefully. It must include a description of the scope and range of the projected thesis, an explanation of the problem or problems to be investigated, and a description of what strategies will be used in the investigation. The proposal must also include a clearly articulated thesis statement and well-documented bibliography.
It must include the following specific elements:
- A description of the proposed project (what the argument will be).
- A description of what has already been done. (This should include a list of relevant coursework and other preparation. It should also indicate if the thesis is an expansion of a paper from a class.)
- A description of critical or theoretical problems the thesis will investigate and the questions to be explored.
- A chapter outline with brief details about what each chapter will cover. For example, an introduction to the problem, chapter descriptions (this number will vary), and a conclusion.
- A working bibliography, including books and articles likely to be used, that shows familiarity with the field of study.
- A writing sample. This should be a sample chapter, if available, or the essay, submitted for a course, upon which the thesis will be developed.
Critical Thesis Submission
Guidelines for Thesis Completion
Research should begin as soon as the proposal receives formal approval from the English department. Following notification of approval during the spring of the junior year, students should begin researching their topic by surveying the critical literature related to the chosen subject. Students are expected to work through the summer. In early fall of the senior year, chapters must be completed to meet deadlines established by each thesis adviser. In the final semester of a student's undergraduate career, when the student is completing the thesis, he or she should register for ENG SCE for academic credit.
The thesis itself should be at least 50 pages. Theses are to be turned in electronically. The digitized theses will be made available to the college community via the library catalog.
Upon completion, the thesis adviser will evaluate the thesis to receive honors, pass or fail. If it appears that the thesis deserves honors or a failure, then all members of the department will read the thesis.
Guidelines for Thesis Formatting and Submission
Introductory Material should include:
- A coversheet including the thesis title, name of student, name of thesis advisor and date.
- A table of contents.
- The Honor Code statement (any thesis found to violate the Honor Code will be reported to the Dean's office. See the Important Note below).
- If images are used, a list of illustrations.
- An acknowledgements page (optional).
Overall
- All items should be in a single Word document, in their proper order.
- Insert page numbers (but no page number on the cover sheet).
- Be sure to include a Works Cited List. Either MLA or Chicago Style is acceptable, but the thesis must be consistent.
Submission:
- Step 1: Be sure to proofread everything before final submission. Do not rely on spell-check alone.
- Step 2: Print one hard copy for submission to the English Department. It must be in binder but a good 3-ring notebook (or something similar) is acceptable. Specific "thesis binders" are not necessary. (They are difficult to read, as the pages don't stay open well.) These should be delivered to the Cindy Foster in SMITH 224 on or before the deadline (April 18, 2008).
- Step 3: Submit a complete electronic copy (final version) to your thesis advisor on or before the deadline (April 18, 2008). Send this by e-mail attachment. Your advisor will mount it on a Blackboard page for English department faculty to access.
Important Note: Plagiarism is a serious academic and professional offense. Any thesis submission found to contain plagiarized material will be considered in violation of the Honor Code and will be reported to the Dean's office. The consequences for plagiarizing may include expulsion from Washington College. Washington College has contracted with Turnitin.com, a web-based plagiarism prevention service. Theses submitted for the Senior Capstone Experience may be submitted electronically to Turnitin.com.
Senior Comprehensive Examination
Outline of Comprehensive Examination Process
For the comprehensive examination a student will be responsible for preparing to take a three part examination:
- The General Exam treats five authors (a combination of British and American) from three periods. Students will be asked to select from a list of topics provided by the department and then write an essay on that topic as it applies to the work of five authors from three literary periods. Students may discuss any genre and should include works studied in the courses taken in the English major. At least one author should be British and at least one author should be American.
- The Poetry Exam asks for an analysis of a poem.
- The Period/Special Topics Exam requires knowledge of a particular literary period, major literary figure, or other specific topic that is selected with the adviser's discretion.
In the final semester of a student's undergraduate career, he or she should register for ENG SCE for academic credit and plan to take the comprehensive exam at the end of the semester.
- A faculty member selected by the student guides the preparatory work for the comprehensive examination. The faculty member's qualifications with regard to a particular literary period should be the basis of the student's selection.
- Students must contact a member of the English department to ask the faculty member if he or she would be willing to serve as the comprehensive exam adviser.
- Each member of the English faculty has a limit of six Senior Capstone Experience students to advise, thus students who elect to take the comprehensive exam may not have their choice of advisers. If their first choice of adviser is not possible, students will select an alternative period to study.
Comprehensive Exam Preparation Guidelines
During the last semester of a student's undergraduate career the student will meet regularly with the comprehensive exam adviser. Active inquiry and integration of acquired knowledge and skills will be at the heart of the preparatory tutorial sessions.
In preparation for the General Exam, students should compile a reading list of literary works and selected critical texts they have studied in their English courses. Additionally, students are required to develop an annotated bibliography that shows familiarity with the critical literature related to the specific period that they have selected. Students are expected to use both the general reading list and the books on their period-specific bibliography to focus their preparation.
Successful completion of the comprehensive examination serves notice to the college community that a particular student has been recognized by the members of the English department as having acquired depth and range in English and American literary studies.
Upon completion, the comprehensive exam adviser will evaluate the exam to receive honors, pass or fail. If it appears that the exam deserves honors or a failure, then all members of the department will read the exam.
Important Note: Plagiarism is a serious academic and professional offense. Any comprehensive exam found to contain plagiarized material will be considered in violation of the Honor Code and will be reported to the Dean's office. The consequences for plagiarizing may include expulsion from Washington College. Washington College has contracted with Turnitin.com, a web-based plagiarism prevention service. Comprehensive exams submitted for the Senior Capstone Experience may be submitted electronically to Turnitin.com.