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English Department Honors Thesis Proposal - Creative Writing
    The proposal should be given to English Department Chair by 3 p.m. on the due date.
Your advisor will inform you of the due date, usually the Wednesday before Spring Break

Students proposing a thesis in creative writing must have completed at least 2 semesters (2 credits) in fiction or poetry workshops before beginning the thesis.

The English Department requires that students preparing proposals will work closely with an advisor in the Department, meeting weekly during the first seven weeks of the spring term.  Your goal is to complete the following tasks.
    1.  Settle on a workable idea of the form and content of your thesis.
    2.  Read a selection of works by published authors that can be seen as related to your own work.
    3.  Develop and compose your formal proposal, using the form that follows.
Completing this work by the deadline is essential if you expect the Department to approve your proposal.
 

Format
Please include the following information on your cover page.

Name:
Month and Year of Graduation:
Thesis advisor:

List the courses (title, term, instructor) you have completed and are currently taking in creative writing (CRW).
List literature courses (ENG) you have taken in the English Department (title, term, instructor).
List other courses relevant to proposed thesis topic taken outside the English Department.

Attach a discussion (4 - 8 pages) of your proposed thesis topic.  This document should include the following items.

1.  Describe your plans for your thesis.  What form will it take?  What will be included?
2.  Describe your preparation for this project, both the work you have done before this term and the work you've done during this term with your thesis advisor.
3.  Be sure to explain the current state of the items you plan to include.
    How long have you been working on each item?
    Which ones are complete or near completion?
    What kinds of work do the others need?
    Do you plan to include items that have not yet been drafted?  Why?  What do you know about these items at this point?
4.  Develop and include a complete list in MLA Bibliography form of all the materials you plan to read for your thesis.
    You should be aware of other writers whose works are related to yours by influence, or similarity, or contrast
5.  Make and include a weekly schedule of your plans for summer work.
        Your summer goals should be to complete a substantial course of reading and to have drafted all of the material that will appear in your thesis.  You should not take on more than you can complete during the summer.  You need to set a reachable goal for each week.
    Your plan should be realistic, taking into consideration other obligations you will have during the summer, but it should be substantial. Be sure to consider fully your actual summer schedule, so you can plan around family obligations and your summer job, if you have one.

At the beginning of Fall term, the English Department will discuss your summer work with your thesis advisor.  The Department will want to see that you have made enough progress to be able to complete your thesis during the fall term.  If your summer work creates doubts, the Department may require you to end the project.