Proposal for a Senior Essay or Senior Thesis in
English and American Literatures
This form asks that you provide us with preliminary information concerning your
intention to undertake a Senior Essay or a Senior Thesis in the English and
American Literatures Department in your Senior year. Students entering
Middlebury before September 2008 may choose to write a senior essay/thesis
OR take the Senior Comprehensive Exam in Winter Term of their senior year.
Return this form to Anna Harlan, in Axinn 306, by Friday, November
12th. If you do not return this form, we will assume that you intend to take
the Comprehensive Exam in January, 2011.
The categories from which you may select are as follows:
ENAM 700
ENAM 701
ENAM 710
ENAM 711
Senior Critical Essay (critical/analytical, one semester, Fall or
Spring)
Senior Creative Essay (creative writing, one semester, Fall or
Spring)
Senior Critical Thesis (critical/analytical, two semesters,
Fall/Spring or Fall/Winter or Winter/Spring)
Senior Creative Thesis (creative writing, two semesters,
Fall/Spring, Fall/Winter or Winter/Spring)
Your name:
I.D. Number:
Month and year of graduation:
Telephone:
Box number:
Note: It is expected that all students proposing to write a Senior Essay or Thesis
in the English Department will have completed an advanced seminar (either at
Middlebury or abroad) as a prerequisite to the project or will have secured
approval for the project from either the relevant advisor(s) or department chair.
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
either a Senior Creative Essay or a Senior Creative 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. (See page 3.)
Please provide on the reverse side of this form a preliminary description of your
proposed project, checking the appropriate boxes for categories:
ENAM 700 (Critical Essay)
Fall
Spring
ENAM 701 (Creative Essay)
Fall
Spring
ENAM 710 (Critical Thesis)
ENAM 711 (Creative Thesis) (see page 3 of this handout for application
procedure)
Description of Proposed Project:
Proposed Advisor
First Choice: __________________________
Second Choice: ________________________
Third Choice: __________________________
It is your responsibility to seek out, at your earliest opportunity, an advisor 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. To this end, please consult with the Chair
of the English Department, the Director of the Creative Writing Program, or the
Director of Senior Critical Work to identify possible advisors for your project.
SENIOR CREATIVE WRITING THESIS PROPOSALS
Students who wish to begin a senior thesis (two-semester project) in creative
writing in the fall must present a 500-word proposal to the English and
American Literatures Academic Coordinator in Axinn 306 by the April deadline in
the spring term of their junior year. This proposal will be considered by the thesis
committee of the creative writing program. It should outline the basic idea for the
thesis, including its scope and possible length.
Writers of fiction or nonfiction theses should include a writing sample of
ten pages of prose. Writers of poetry should include ten pages of poetry.
With your proposal and writing sample, please list your previous courses in
creative writing (you must have taken at least three, including two at the 300level, one of which should be a full semester course), including the name of
the instructor and the grade received in each course.
Please note that only the most promising students of creative writing will be
admitted to undertake such projects. Students must have at least a grade of Ain creative writing courses to be admitted, and their proposal must be accepted
by the thesis committee.