Writing a thesis as part of your master’s degree allows you to practice what professionals in the field do—design a project, collect information, read extensively, perhaps design an experimental element, and write your conclusions for a professional audience. In a thesis, you embark on extended research and develop your own, presumably publishable, ideas about writing, rhetoric, or literature. The department envisages such theses as extensive and engaged (50 or more pages) discussions of some segment of English studies that you have defined and delineated. Because of the advanced nature of the enterprise, a thesis should not be taken on lightly or unadvisedly. It is a rigorous process that demands a sustained commitment from the candidate. The successful proposal and completion of a thesis needs considerable preparation and intellectual thought.

If you decide to write a thesis, there are a number of steps you need to a follow as discussed below. In addition, you should consult VCU’s official handbook for theses, Thesis and Dissertation Manual, available from the School of Graduate Studies at http://www.library.vcu.edu/services/binding.html. This handbook specifies the format and other details related to the physical properties of your written project. Below, we lay out both the process and the product in a briefer form, focused on the English department. We do not describe here the intellectual aspects of your project--those are the purview of the writer, director, and committee.

Thesis Process

1. Selecting a director

Writing a thesis requires that you match your interests—in methodology and in subject—with those of a faculty member who will serve as director. As you begin to articulate the project, you should be engaged in preliminary discussions with potential directors. You must design a thesis with abilities and expertise of the department in mind; that is, a thesis on Chinese translations is probably inappropriate in this department. It is your responsibility to reach agreement with an advisor, although the Director of the MA will consult with you should you have questions.

2. Prospectus

At the beginning of your project, you should submit to your director a brief (one to two page) proposal with a bibliography. The prospectus should describe the scope and methodology of the project, detail the specific issues or questions it engages, and suggest the preliminary conclusions reached. While, like any intellectual project, some aspects of the thesis may change in the course of your investigation, the prospectus should provide a clear sense of your project’s purpose, relevance, and organization. The bibliography serves an equally important role, for it demonstrates your conversance with related work in the field, indicates the breadth of your preparation, and, typically, reveals your methodology or theoretical orientation. The bibliography should follow either MLA or Chicago documentation style.

When your director has approved the prospectus, forward it to the Director of the MA, who will forward it to the MA Committee. Care should be taken with the prospectus; it represents your intellectual plans to the Director of the MA and the MA Committee and will be carefully scrutinized. Frequently, the MA Committee will suggest revisions to or request further information regarding the prospectus. Once the MA Committee has approved the prospectus, you will be permitted to enroll for thesis credit. Provide enough time in the planning process to organize your thoughts and fully prepare a prospectus. Also, it is advisable to submit thesis proposals for the fall before the end of the previous spring semester. You may encounter difficulty in waiting until summer to have your prospectus approved.

3. Enrollment for thesis credit

Use the 798-799 rubric to enroll for three to six hours of thesis credit. You will need a signed course permission override card to register. It may be useful to you to think about a thesis as a two-semester commitment—use the first semester to read, research and draft the thesis, and the second semester to polish and revise the final document.

4. Identification of thesis committee

In addition to the thesis director, each candidate must have a thesis committee consisting of at least two readers from the department and at least one reader from outside the department. You must submit the committee list to the MA Committee for approval. Normally, your director will consult with you about the committee. At least three months before you plan to finish your thesis (that is, October 1 in the fall, February 1 in the spring, May 1 in the summer), you should have identified a thesis committee and had that committee approved by the MA committee.

5. Working with your director and thesis committee

The director of your thesis will be your primary advisor for the project; nevertheless, you need to contact the other members of your committee throughout the thesis process. Each director has his or her own way or working, but you might be aware of usual procedures related to the drafting of the document. Typically, you present drafts of the thesis to your director. It may be advisable to establish a schedule early in this process to ensure the work can be completed within the time allotted. When you and your director think you are beginning to have a finished project, or sections of the project, you give those more advanced drafts to each of your readers for commentary and advice. Some readers will want to see early stages of the project; most will not. Most reader prefer to have at least two weeks to comment and reflect upon your work. However, do not simply provide a draft of your thesis to your readers two weeks before you wish to defend; these readers and their expertise are central to your work. Stay in contact with them and expect them to provide additional insight and suggestions for revision throughout the project. After you receive initial responses to your draft(s), you should have sufficient time to revise and redistribute your thesis prior to the defense. Note that this part of the process, like the thesis project itself, is greatly facilitated by careful planning on the part of the candidate.

6. Defense of the thesis

Your defense is an opportunity for you, your committee, and your colleagues to discuss the thesis, to offer additional suggestions, and to interrogate your arguments. The School of Graduate Studies specifies that the department must give official notice of a defense "to the university community" to which the defense is open; officially, a defense may be attended by any colleagues or faculty members who wish. Normally, the Director of the MA provides notice of and helps to arrange the defense. It must be scheduled at least one week before the deadline for submission in final form to the dean’s office. That date is determined by the university and published in the bulletin; usually it is the last class day of the semester. The dates November 25, April 24, and August 5 serve as good approximate targets.

The actual format of a defense is contingent on what you and your director agree upon. Often, the candidate will make brief opening remarks that explain the origins of the project. Typically, the committee members ask the candidate specific questions about methodology, the scope or implications of the project, and any future plans for the thesis. Finally, members of the audience, if any, have an opportunity to ask questions. When the committee is through querying the candidate (after probably an hour), the candidate and non-committee members leave the room while the committee evaluates the candidate’s performance and thesis. This process is not pro forma; however, if you have been working closely with your director and committee, the defense can be a relatively pleasant and intellectually stimulating conversation.

If, after consultation, the committee passes the candidate at the defense and does not require significant revisions, members will often sign the thesis approval sheet at that that time. You must have an original approval sheet with each copy of the thesis submitted to the University. Approval pages cannot be copied. Be absolutely certain all titles, names and ranks are correct. See Example A for sample. The candidate is encouraged to provide more than the required number of approval sheets to avoid any unforeseeable problems.

7. Submission of thesis

You are required to submit three copies of your thesis to the Dean’s office in the College of Humanities and Sciences. Two will be bound for the library and one for the department. You can, at the same time, pay for additional copies to be bound for your own use. Please see the Graduate Office’s Thesis and Dissertations Manual for information about the copies ultimately submitted to the library. The format (include margins, title pages, etc.) is rigid and no exceptions are allowed. It is very frustrating for a candidate to expend considerable time and effort on a thesis only to have the Graduate School reject it because, for example, the margins are incorrect. The required thesis format is summarized below, but it is imperative you also reference the specific requirements of the Graduate Office; occasionally requirements change between academic years. The Thesis and Dissertation Manual should be the ultimate authority.

Thesis Format

(This information is summarized from the School of Graduate Studies’ Thesis and Dissertations Manual available in the Office of Graduate Studies.)

· Documentation: The thesis should follow the MLA Handbook or Chicago Style Sheet in matters of style, documentation, and references.

· Paper: The paper must be white, 8 ½ by 11 inches, and "acid-free, archival quality." For specific brands, see the Manual.

· Number of copies required: three.

· Typeface: The Graduate Office specifies that "non-standard type faces such as script are not acceptable." A conservative serif font such as Times Roman 12 point would be appropriate. If you have any doubts about the acceptability of your font, have it approved by the Graduate Office. You may use italics rather than underlining for titles. The text must be double-spaced; inset quotations and notes should be single-spaced. Handwritten corrections on the final copies are not permitted under any circumstances.

· Margins: Margins must be 1 ¼ inches on every side of the page. These margins are not the default margins on any computer. If any text exceeds these margins, the Graduate Office will not accept the thesis.

· Pagination: With the exception of the signed approval sheet, all pages are counted. Suppress the number on the title page. The Manual states: "All numbers are placed without punctuation in the upper right-hand corner, 1 inch from the top edge and 1 ¼ inches from the right margin, except on the first page of the chapters, where the number is centered 1 inch from the bottom edge." If you use preliminary pages, number them with lower-case roman numerals. If you have tables, figures, or illustrations, consult the official Manual for appropriate formats.

· Order of materials: Collect the parts of your thesis in the following order (see official Manual for an example):

blank sheet
approval sheet (all three must be originals) (see Example A)
title page (see Example B)
acknowledgments page (optional)
table of contents
list of tables, figures, and abbreviations, if appropriate
abstract (see Example C)
thesis (the heart of all this!)
endnotes
works cited
appendices, if any
vita or brief biography
blank page

If you wish to insert a copyright page, do so between the approval sheet and title page.l