Notes
ENGL 5960 may not be completed earlier than the semester in which all course work is completed. Students must notify the graduate adviser one semester before they intend to take the comprehensive examination. Advancement to candidacy and approval of the department’s Graduate Studies Committee are required prior to taking the Comprehensive Examination. Students will write a thoroughly developed, analytical essay(s) in response to a question based on one of the departmentally approved reading lists. Examinations will be evaluated as “passing” or “failing” by at least two faculty members.
A project is fulfilled by the completion of an original pedagogical portfolio. Students choosing this option must possess a Single Subject Credential in English or have completed at least one course that focuses on pedagogy in English studies (ENGL 5040 or a similar course approved by the graduate adviser).
The pedagogical portfolio affords students the opportunity to extend their studies by investigating issues related to teaching a specific area in English. By completing the portfolio, students will demonstrate how their graduate studies in English have prepared them to teach at the secondary school or community college level. The portfolio could take two forms, each of which is described below. Both options must be prefaced by a written abstract that details the projects significance, objectives, methodology, and a conclusion or recommendation. Option A, designing a specific course, requires students to create a course and develop pertinent, original materials for it. Option B, approaches to teaching requires students to write three to four original essays that explain how a specific text or cluster of texts should be taught and why.
(A) Designing a Specific Course
Students will write a philosophy of teaching composition, language and/or literature (1,500-2,000 words) that demonstrates an understanding of current trends in pedagogical theory as practiced in English studies. Students will also produce an original, substantive curriculum plan for an English/Language arts course suitable for the secondary school or community college classroom. The curriculum plan must be for a new course that the student has not yet taught and include a course description/overview, desired learning outcomes, a detailed description of each component of the course, a sample syllabus, sample teaching materials (lecture/discussion outlines or narratives, in-class learning activities, writing prompts, assessment activities, etc.), and a bibliography. The curriculum plan must demonstrate the student’s in-depth knowledge of the texts assigned. Portfolios will be evaluated as “passing” or “failing” by at least two faculty members with expertise in the area.
(B) Approaches to Teaching
These essays should be modeled upon those published in the MLA “Approaches to Teaching” series. The three to four essays in this portfolio could focus on texts in one particular historical field or area or cover a variety of texts and thus demonstrate the breadth of the student’s MA experience.
Thesis (3 or 6 units) - Students who choose to complete a thesis as their culminating activity will devise an original project in one of the following fields of English studies: literature (3 or 6); composition, rhetoric, and language (3 or 6); or creative writing (6). The thesis in literature or composition, rhetoric, and language will demonstrate the student’s ability to analyze texts and their contexts, generate and prove a sophisticated and original argument, and situate that argument in existing critical conversations. The thesis in creative writing will indicate the literary/critical traditions in which the original work is grounded. Students who choose to complete a thesis must be advanced to candidacy before enrolling in ENGL 5990. The thesis will take one of two forms, option A or option B. Thesis option A is narrower in scope and has a preprofessional component in its analysis of scholarly journals in the field.
Thesis Option A
Under Thesis Option A, students will produce a 20-30 page original, analytical essay with potential for publication, conference presentation, or further development in a doctoral program. This artifact should, with lucid and polished prose, demonstrate the student’s ability to analyze texts and their contexts, generate and prove a sophisticated and original argument, and situate that argument in existing critical conversations. The essay could be either a thorough, substantive revision of a seminar paper or a new project. If a revision, the original, graded essay must be submitted with the final project. Students revising a seminar paper are expected to reconceptualize and restructure their arguments as necessary, conduct additional research, and demonstrate the contribution their argument makes to the field. the essay must be accompanied by a list of 2-3 journals to which the student could submit the essay, along with a detailed, written justification of the journals chosen. The structure and style of the essay should adhere to those of one of the selected professional journals. Students will form a committee of at least two faculty members with expertise in the area in which the essay is grounded who will evaluate the essay as “passing” or “failing.” There is no oral defense of the essay.
Thesis Option B (6)
A thesis under Option B may take one of three forms:
A thesis in literature should concentrate on such issues as the analysis of a text or body of texts, a literary genre, and/or the literary treatment of a theme or social development.
A thesis in composition, rhetoric, and language should focus on the analysis of pedagogical approaches to the teaching of writing and the scholarship supporting that pedagogy or the analysis of a rhetorical or linguistic feature present in a text or body of discourse.
A thesis in creative writing will present a body of original work by the student with an introductory essay that significantly places the original work within its literary and critical traditions.
The length of the thesis will be determined by the subject, but will generally range from 40-70 pages. Option B requires formal approval of the thesis proposal by a thesis director and two additional thesis committee members, enrollment in 6 units of ENGL 5990, and an oral defense of the thesis. (One unit of ENGL 5990 is to be devoted to preparation of the thesis proposal. A student may not enroll in the remaining 5 units of ENGL 5990 until the proposal has been approved.)
Under Option B, students who will be writing the thesis in literature (6) or composition, rhetoric, and language (6) must synthesize a wider range of texts and contextual materials than the option a thesis (3).
