Proposal for a Senior Essay or Senior Thesis in English and American
Literatures, 2011-12
This form asks you to provide us with information concerning your Senior Essay or Senior
Thesis in the English and American Literatures Department, and allows you to express your
preference for an advisor for the project. Please fill out this form and bring it with you to
the Senior Work Kick-Off Dinner, Thursday September 15 (6:30-8:00 p.m. in the
Atwater Dining Room).
Your name:
I.D. Number:
Email Address:
Month and year of graduation:
Joint Major? If so, what department?:
Box number:
Note: It is expected that all students proposing to write a critical Senior Essay or Thesis will
have completed the Junior seminar (either at Middlebury or abroad) as a prerequisite to the
project or will have secured approval for the project from the department chair. You are
strongly discouraged from attempting to take your junior seminar in the same
semester as your senior essay.
Please indicate seminar prerequisite (course, instructor, semester, year) or departmental
approval here: ___________________________________________________________
In addition, all majors in English and American Literatures who wish to elect a creative
Senior Essay or Thesis must have completed two 300-level courses in creative writing,
and must have received a grade of at least B+ in both of these courses before undertaking
an essay; or at least A- in those courses to qualify to write a thesis. The creative writing
faculty will grant approval to write a thesis (two semesters) only to the strongest such
proposals. List creative writing courses here:
Please provide on the next page of this form a preliminary description of your proposed
project, and check the appropriate boxes below for your intended project scope and
schedule:
ENAM 700 (Critical Essay)
Fall
or
Spring
ENAM 701 (Creative Essay)
Fall
or
Spring
ENAM 710 (Critical Thesis)
Fall
Winter
Spring
ENAM 711 (Creative Thesis) Fall
Winter
Spring
Description of Proposed Project (100-200 words):
(Students proposing to undertake two-semester creative thesis projects, please attach 10
pages of your best creative prose, or 5-8 poems, to this proposal.)
Proposed Advisor
First Choice: __________________________
Second Choice: ________________________
Third Choice: __________________________
It is your responsibility to find potential advisors for your project. Though it may not be
possible for you to work with the advisor of your first choice, the Department is committed to
helping you find an advisor with whom you would be content to work. See the Complete
Guide to Writing Your Critical [Creative] Senior Essay or Thesis for a list of possible advisers
and their areas of interest.