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English Masters Thesis Collection

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Team building through game-based learning in the Technical Communication classroom , Debra J. Crawford

Abductive empiricism: the significance of substance in Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary , Jordan Maloney

Liberty, Post-Colonialism, and RuneQuest: the discourse of Imperialism in tabletop RPGs , Thomas W. Nelson

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

A winter of animal suffering: sacrificial logic, the discourse of animality, and sensory rhetoric in Richard Adam's Watership down , Miina De Lara

Dreamin in Sahuptin: considering David Sohappy , Mikelle Gaines

The acceptance of womanhood: gender performance and self-actualization in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the island , Lauren M. Hinshaw

Queer historicism as literary theory: an exploration of three texts , Theodore D. Kenning

Performative history: parody and rock 'n' roll in David Bowie's The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars , William R. McPhee

Extranormal sorcery in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon , HarleyQuinn Wahl

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Realism as weaponry: challenging Victorian ideals of femininity in Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's secret and Wilkie Collins' Armadale , Taylor Aalgaard

Navigating the labyrinth of House of leaves through a postmodern archetypal literary theory , Samuel K. Hval

The value hierarchies of J.R.R. Tolkien and his legacy: a reimagining of fantasy fiction and the propagation of colonial racism , Alexander Richburg

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

"Trying hard to keep her from feeling outdoors": race, ability, and eugenics in early Morrison , Grace Caraway

Teaching fantasy fiction in K-12 classrooms: purpose, texts, and unit plans , Rachel Lynne Carroll

(Missed) connections: how the textual communication environment caused by Covid-19 impacted English Composition instructors' ability to communicate and connect with colleagues and students , Alyssa G. Cummings

Animistic poetics: William Carlos Williams' Paterson and Animistic ecology , Kurtis Ebeling

"It's odd, isn't it?": irony, breakdown, and self-healing in Doris Lessing's The golden notebook , Rachel M. Goodner

"To find healing in my wounds": the transformation of memory and trauma into art in J.R.R. Tolkien's The lord of the rings , Graysen S. Russell

Creating usable and accessible courses through usability testing in higher education: a Canvas usability assessment for diverse students , Carrie Schreiner

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Teaching in hagwons in South Korea: a novice English teacher’s autoethnography , Brittany Courser

Facing the horror of uncertainty: using female slashers as a model for thinking about and practicing English Literature and Composition , Rose Hall

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Mapping the Intertextual Parataxis “Cover Her Face”: Feminist Geography and the Reclaiming of Masterless Women , Cheryl L. Beedle

“A dark archway of rusticated stone”: depictions of moral obligation in Greene’s The Human Factor and Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited , Thomas J. Carter

“Racism doesn’t exist anymore, so why are we talking about this?”: An action research proposal of culturally responsive teaching for critical literacy in democratic education , Natalie Marie Giles

"Could I annoy you for a drink?" : Social management and alcoholism in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Tender is the night , Lucy Anderson Granroth

Stylistic imitation as an English-teaching technique : pre-service teachers’ responses to training and practice , Min Yi Liang

Considerations for selecting an edition of Daisy Miller , Katie J. Peterson

Sororal bonds actualized: sisterhood in Charlotte Bronte's Shirley and Louisa May Alcott's Work , Lorin Richard

Higher-order thinking in synchronous online discussion , Kathy L. Rowley

Telling stories and contextualizing lived experiences in the Cuban heritage language and culture: an autoethnography about transculturation , Tatiana Senechal

“This is the oppressor’s language, yet I need it to talk to you”: a critical examination of translanguaging in Russian speakers at the university level , Nora Vralsted

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Multimodal Approaches to Literacy and Teaching English as a Foreign Language at the University Level , Ghader Alahmadi

Educating Saudi Women through Communicative Language Teaching: A Bi-literacy Narrative and An Autoethnography of a Saudi English Teacher , Eiman Alamri

The value of journaling on multimodal materials: a literacy narrative and autoethnography of an experienced Saudi high school English teacher , Ibrahim Alamri

Strategic Contemplation as One Saudi Mother’s Way Of Reflecting on Her Children’s Learning Only English in the United States: An Autoethnography and Multiple Case Study of Multilingual Writers at the College Level , Razan Alansari

“If you wanted me to speak your language then you should have stayed in your country”: a critical ethnography of linguistic identity and resiliency in the life of an Afghan refugee , Logan M. Amstadter

Comparing literate and oral cultures with a view to improving understanding of students from oral traditions: an autoethnographic approach , Carol Lee Anderson

Practical recommendations for composition instructors based on a review of the literature surrounding ESL and identity , Patrick Cornwall

One size does not fit all: exploring online-language-learning challenges and benefits for advanced English Language Learners , Renee Kenney

Understanding the potential effects of trauma on refugees’ language learning processes , Charis E. Ketcham

Let's enjoy teaching life: an autoethnography of a novice ESL teacher's two years of teaching English in a private girls' secondary school in Japan , Danielle Nozaka

Developing an ESP curriculum on tourism and agribusiness for a rural school in Nicaragua: a retrospective diary , Stan Pichinevskiy

User experiences of Spanish-speaking Latinos: usabiltiy of the Frontier Behavioral Institute website , Raquel Ramos

A Literacy Narrative of a Female Saudi English Teacher and A Qualitative Case Study: 12 Multilingual Writers Identify Challenges and Benefits of Daily Writing in a College Composition Class , Ghassoon Rezzig

Proposed: Technical Communicators Collaborating with Educators to Develop a Better EFL Curriculum for Ecuadorian Universities , Daniel Jack Williamson

Capital games: the Bourdieuxian movements of Heathcliff and Nelly Dean in Neo-Victorian revisitations of Wuthering Heights , Ryan S. Wise

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

BELL HOOKS’ “ENACTMENT OF NON-DOMINATION” IN THE “PRACTICE OF SPEAKING IN A LOVING AND CARING MANNER”: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF A SAUDI “WIDOW’S SON” , Braik Aldoshan

WHEN SPIRITUALITY AND PEDAGOGY COLLIDE: ACKNOWLEDGING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND VALUES IN THE ESL CLASSROOM , Carli T. Cumpston

HERITAGE LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE: A MEXICAN AMERICAN MOTHER’S SUCCESS WITH RAISING BILINGUAL CHILDREN , Maria E. Estrada-Loehne

TEACHING THE BIOGRAPHY OF PEARL S. BUCK: DEVELOPING COLLABORATIVE READING STRATEGIES FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS , Nichole S. La Torre

An Autoethnography of a Novice ESL Teacher: Plato’s Cave and English Language Teaching in Japan , Kevin Lemberger

INQUIRY-BASED PHILOSOPHICAL DIALOGUE FOR ESL COLLEGE COMPOSITION AND FOR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS , Aiko Nagabuchi

A TRIPLE CASE STUDY OF TWO SAUDI AND ONE ITALIAN LANGUAGE LEARNERS' SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF TARGET LANGUAGE (TL) SPEAKING PROFICIENCY , Jena M. Robinson

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

"I am from Epifania and Tomas": an autoethnography and bi-literacy narrative of a Mexican American orchard workers' daughter , Brenda Lorena Aguilar

Technology use in young English language learners: a survey of Saudi parents studying in the United States , Hamza Aljunaidalsayed

Bilingualism of Arab children in the U.S.: a survey of parents and teachers , Omnia Alofii

"If you're not talkin' mess, then you should be ok": collegiate student-athletes' strategies and practices on social networking sites , Marc C. Anderson

College-level ELLs in two English composition courses: the transition from ESL to the mainstream , Andrew J. Copley

Increasing multimedia literacy in composition for multilingual writers: a case study of art analysis , Sony Nicole De Paula

Reviewing critical pedagogy's criticisms and providing a pragmatic heuristic , Dominick S. Giguere

Be loved from the other side: Amy Denver's influence in Toni Morrison's Beloved , Aubra D. Godwin

Multilingual writers' unintentional plagiarism: action research in college composition , Jacqueline D. Gullon

Games for vocabulary enrichment: teaching multilingual writers at the college level , Jennifer Hawkins

Exploring methodologies in feminist rhetoric and education: using Kirsch and Royster's terms of engagement in the college classroom , Elizabeth M. Matresse

The warrior kings and their giants: a comparative study of Beowulf and King David , Fred McFarland

Critical reflection and the savior role in service learning , Bradley W. Plummer

Identifying as author: exploring the pedagogical basis for assisting diverse students to discover their identities through creatively defined literacy narratives , Amber D. Pullen

Saltine box full of dreams: one Mexican immigrant woman's journey to academic success , Adriana C. Sanchez

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

An integrative approach to English composition, ESL, English for specific/special purposes (ESP), and technical communication , Brandy R. Bippes

Teaching the biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder: fostering a media literacy approach for multilingual writers , Kelly G. Hansen

Implementing a modified intercultural competency curriculum in an integrated English 101 classroom , Kathryn C. Hedberg

"Don't wake me, my desk is far too comfortable": an autoethnography of a novice ESL teacher's first year of teaching in Japan , Delaney Holland

ESL ABE, VESL, and bell hooks' Democratic education: a case study of four experienced ESL instructors , Michael E. Johnson

Hunter S. Thompson and gonzo journalism as literature , Michael P. Kiernan

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Beyond Fascism: W.B. Yeats’s A Vision and the Complexities of His Authoritarian Politics , Justin Abel

Using Media to Teach Grammar in Context and UNESCO Values: A Case Study of Two English Teachers and Students from Saudi Arabia , Sultan Albalawi

A Double Case Study of Latino College Presidents: What Younger Generations Can Learn From Them , Sara Aymerich Leiva

ENTROPY, EVOLUTION, AND INFORMATION THEORY: SOCIAL ANXIETIES IN THE TIME MACHINE AND THE CRYING OF LOT 49 , Sara Jo Barrett

WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN THE L2 WRITING CLASSROOM , Daniel Ducken

Clothing in An American tragedy: a "True picture of life" , Rachel L. Flynn

Academic Reading and Writing at the College Level: Action Research in a Classroom of a homogeneous Group of Male Students from Saudi Arabia , Margaret Mount

TRANSFORMATIVE PEDAGOGY FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: TEACHING TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION STUDENTS TO BRIDGE WITH ANZALDÚAN THEORIES OF SOCIAL CHANGE , Carlos Munoz

Reflections on Teaching and Host Mothering Chinese Secondary Students: A Novice ESL Teacher’s Diary Study and Autoethnography , Diane Thames

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Peer editing in composition for multilingual writers at the college level , Benjamin J. Bertrand

Educating Ana: a retrospective diary study of pre-literate refugee students , Renee Black

Coming home: storytelling, place, and identity in N. Scott Momaday's House made of down and Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony , Azalyn Croft

The loathly lady from archaic to modern tales , Kirsten M. Dresker

Social pressure to speak English and the effect of English language learning for ESL composition students in higher education , Trevor Duston

The ABC's of font: effects of changing default fonts , Amanda P. Erickson

"The worry that you are yourself": Darl's unforgivable neurodiversity in As I lay dying , Neal Hallgarth

The Ogbanje in Little Bee by Chris Cleave , Courtney A. Harler

Othello as an enigma to himself: a Jungian approach to character analysis , Eric Iliff

Once upon a time: fairytales past and present , Jordan L. Keithley

Poetry in translation to teach ESL composition at the college level , Peter M. Lacey

Using media to teach a biography of Lincoln and Douglass: a case study of teaching ESL listening & viewing in college composition , Pui Hong Leung

The rhetoric of hyperreal hybrids: taming the multiracial woman in advertising , Karhonkwison Logan

"Rosa alchemica," "The tables of the law," and "Adoration of the magi," edited and with an introduction , Brady J. Peneton

Developing a pedagogy of pluralistic linguistic expression in the first year composition classroom , April Dawn Ridgeway

Learning how to learn: teaching preliterate and nonliterate learners of English , Jennifer L. Semb

Non-cognitive factors in second language acquisition and language variety: a single case study of a Saudi male English for academic purposes student in the United States , Nicholas Stephens

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Home > College of Arts and Sciences > English Language and Literature > Master's Theses

Master's Theses - English Language and Literature

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

“Hideous things have happened here”: Rape myths, rape culture, and healing in adolescent literature , Holly J. Greca

Moments of excess: Type 1 diabetes and the myth of control in adolescent fiction for girls , Michelle E. LeGault

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

A sociophonetic analysis of female-sounding virtual assistants , Alyssa Allen

Vampire narratives: Looking at queer-centric experiences in comparison to hetero-centric norms in order to model a new queer vampiric experience , Marah Heikkila

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Overhearers’ perceptions of familiarity between interlocutors in computer-mediated communication based on GIF usage , Alexa F. Druckmiller

Feminism by proxy: Jane Austen’s critique of patriarchal society in Pride and Prejudice and Emma , Alexis Miller

The memory of mythmaking: Transgenerational trauma and disability as a collective experience in Afrofuturist storytelling , Jessica Tapley

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Body image/imagining bodies: Trauma, control, and healing in graphic memoirs about anorexia , Kristine M. Gatchel

Word-final /t/-release and linguistic style: An investigation of the speech of two Jewish women from metro Detroit , Janet Leppala

Hermione syndrome: Reexamining feminist sidekicks and power in 2000-2010 children’s and young adult fantasy literature , Josiah Pankiewicz

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Fear and (non) fiction: Agrarian anxiety in “The Colour Out of Space” , Antonio Barroso

Sculpted from clay, shaped by power: Feminine narrative and agency in Wonder Woman , Mikala Carpenter

Players in a storm: Climate and political migrants in The Tempest and Othello , Darcie Rees

Reclaiming racial/ethnic identity vs. reconstructing Asian American masculinity in Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese , Hyun-Joo Yoo

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

The organization of turn-taking in fieldwork settings: A case study , Amy Brunett

Exploring the political impact of literature and literary studies in American government , Taylor Dereadt

"We met in a bar by happenstance": Master narratives in couples stories , Brent A. Miller

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

What is the negro woman's story?: Negro Story Magazine and the dialogue of feminist voices , Maureen Convery

Illustrating adolescent awareness: Teaching historical injustices and promoting agency through picture books in secondary classrooms , Melissa Hoak

Phonemic inventory of the Shor language , Uliana Kazagasheva

Cannibalism in contact narratives and the evolution of the wendigo , Michelle Lietz

Parody and the pen: Pippi Longstocking, Harriet M. Welsch, and Flavia de Luce as disrupters of space, language, and the male gaze , Kelsey McLendon

Haec fortis sequitur illam indocti possident: A linguistic analysis of demonstratives in genres of early Latin fragments , Erica L. Meszaros

Tricking for change: Establishing the literary trickster in the western tradition , Christopher Michael Stuart

Because, x: A new construction of because in popular culture , Stephanie Walla

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Home > ACADEMIC-UNITS > College of Arts and Sciences > Department of English Language and Literature > ENGLISH_ETD

MA in English Theses

Theses/dissertations from 2018 2018.

Implementing Critical Analysis in the Classroom to Negate Southern Stereotypes in Multi-Media , Julie Broyhill

Fan Fiction in the English Language Arts Classroom , Kristen Finucan

Transferring the Mantle: The Voice of the Poet Prophet in the Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson , Heidi Brown Hyde

The Effects of Social Media as Low-Stakes Writing Tasks , Roxanne Loving

Student and Teacher Perceptions of Multiliterate Assignments Utilizing 21st Century Skills , Jessica Kennedy Miller

The Storytellers’ Trauma: A Place to Call Home in Caribbean Literature , Ilari Pass

Post Title IX Representations of Professional Female Athletes , Emily Shaw

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

“Not as She is” but as She is Expected to Be: Representations, Limitations, and Implications of the “Woman” and Womanhood in Selected Victorian Literature and Contemporary Chick Lit. , Amanda Ellen Bridgers

The Intrinsic Factors that Influence Successful College Writing , Kenneth Dean Carlstrom

"Where nature was most plain and pure": The Sacred Locus Amoenus and its Profane Threat in Andrew Marvell's Pastoral Poetry , James Brent King

Colorblind: How Cable News and the “Cult of Objectivity” Normalized Racism in Donald Trump’s Presidential Campaign , Amanda Leeann Shoaf

Gaming The Comic Book: Turning The Page on How Comics and Videogames Intersect as Interactive, Digital Experiences , Joseph Austin Thurmond

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Nature, Function, and Value of Emojis as Contemporary Tools of Digital Interpersonal Communication , Nicole L. Bliss-Carroll

Exile and Identity: Chaim Potok's Contribution to Jewish-American Literature , Sarah Anne Hamner

A Woman's Voice and Identity: Narrative Métissage as a Solution to Voicelessness in American Literature , Kali Lauren Oldacre

Pop, Hip Hop, and Empire, Study of a New Pedagogical Approach in a Developmental Reading and English Class , Karen Denise Taylor

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Abandoning the Shadows and Seizing the Stage: A Perspective on a Feminine Discourse of Resistance Theatre as Informed by the Work of Susanna Centlivre, Eliza Haywood, Frances Sheridan, Hannah Cowley, and the Sistren Theatre Collective , Brianna A. Bleymaier

Mexican Immigrants as "Other": An Interdisciplinary Analysis of U.S. Immigration Legislation and Political Cartoons , Olivia Teague Morgan

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

"I Am a Living Enigma - And You Want To Know the Right Reading of Me": Gender Anxiety in Wilkie Collins's The Haunted Hotel and The Guilty River , Hannah Allford

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Gender Performance and the Reclamation of Masculinity in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , John William Salyers Jr.

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

"That's a Lotta Faith We're Putting in a Word": Language, Religion, and Heteroglossia as Oppression and Resistance in Comtemporary British Dystopian Fiction , Haley Cassandra Gambrell

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Mirroring the Madness: Caribbean Female Development in the Works of Elizabeth Nunez , Lauren Delli Santi

"Atlas Shrugged" and third-wave feminism: An unlikely alliance , Paul McMahan

"Sit back down where you belong, in the corner of my bar with your high heels on": The use of cross-dressing in order to achieve female agency in Shakespeare's transvestite comedies , Heather Lynn Wright

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Between the Way to the Cross and Emmaus: Deconstructing Identity in the 325 CE Council of Nicaea and "The Shack" , Trevar Simmons

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Graduate Thesis Examples

The subjects of MA theses have included studies of individual poets or dramatists, novelists or autobiographers, as well as explorations of literary movements, themes or periods. View our more recent titles below.

Our Recent Titles:

• “The Bottom and the Orchard: Where Space and Place are Created, Controlled, and Maintained in  Sula  and  Recitatif ” (2024 Anyabwile)
• “The Great (Genre) Escape” (2024 Perrin)
• “Modality and Sociality in Elizabeth Gaskell’s  Cranford ” (2024 Perry)
• “‘Don’t Question the Experts’: Autistic Autobiographies, Expert Paratexts, and Epistemic Injustice” (2024 Thompson)
• “Preracial Panem: Understanding Racial Identity in Suzanne Collins’s  The Hunger Games  Trilogy and Prequel  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ” (2024 Wooten)
• “Parts of the Story: An Illustrated Short Story Collection” (2023 Beal)
• “‘What lady wouldn’t wish to join causes with women who stood up for other women?’: Heroines’ Rivalries and Friendships in Popular Romance Novels” (2023 Bradford)
• “Breaking Away: Some Essays on Influence” (2023 Ferrer)
• “Posting to Engage: A Study of the Effects of Recovery-Oriented Rhetoric on Community Building for Individuals with Eating Disorders and Associated Symptoms on Instagram” (2023 Horton)
• “Being Born: A Memoir of Self-Making in Four Parts” (2023 Langford)
• “‘Widen the Lens and See’: Poetry, Photography, and the Act of Witness in Muriel Rukeyser’s ‘The Book of the Dead’” (2023 Marlow)
• “Engaging Secondary Students Through Secondary Worlds: An Approach to Teaching Tolkien at the High School Level” (2022 Casey)
• “The Religious and the Secular Mythology in  Idylls of the King ” (2022 Kirkendall)
• “‘…A Hideous Monster’: Social Repression and Rebellion in Gregory Corso’s ‘The American Way’” (2022 LeBey)
• “Individualism, Materialism, and Sacrifice in Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ and Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Nightingale’” (2022 Nalbandian)
• “Burying the Carnival” (2022 Overdurf)
• “Attending to Time in Narratives of Enslavement: Temporal Alterities and Lived Experiences of Time in Toni Morrison’s  Beloved ” (2021 Bischoff)
• “‘Beasts who walk alone’: Narrating Queer Abjection in Djuna Barnes’s  Nightwood  and Jordy Rosenberg’s  Confessions of the Fox ” (2021 McGuirk)
• “Reach Out and Touch Faith: Haptic Reciprocity in Milton’s  Paradise Lost ” (2021 Ricks)
• “Gender Matters: Amante’s Gender Construction in Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Grey Woman’” (2021 Willis)
• “Braddon’s Body of Bigamy: A Corpus Stylistics Analysis” (2021 Waxman)
• “‘Memory is all that Matters;’ Queer Latinx Temporality and the Memory-Making Process” (2020 Caicedo)
• “Old Wives’ Tales: Mothers & Daughters, Wives & Witches (Stories)” (2020 Champagne)
• “‘Numbed and Mortified’: Labor, Empathy, and Acquired Disability in  King Lear  and  Titus Andronicus : (2020 Harrington)
• “‘More Forms and Stranger’: Queer Feminism and the Aesthetic of Sapphic Camp (2020 Kennedy)
• “A Discourse and Statistical Approach to Intersections of Gender and Race in Melville’s  Typee ” (2020 Post)
• “Prophetic Un-speaking: The Language of Inheritance and Original Sin in  Paradise Lost  and S alve Deus Rex Judaeorum ” (2019 Darrow)
• “‘The Frame of her Eternal Dream’: From  Thel  to Dreamscapes of Influence” (2019 Gallo)
• “‘The Murmure and the Cherles Rebellying’: Poetic and Economic Interpretations of the Great Revolt of 1381” (2019 Noell)
• “Dialogic Convergences of Spatiality, Racial Identity, and the American Cultural Imagination” (2019 Humphrey)
• “Troubling Vice: Stigma and Subjectivity in Shakespeare’s Ambitious Villains” (2019 Simonson)
• “Beyond Mourning: Afro-Pessimism in Contemporary African American Fiction” (2018 Huggins)
• “‘Harmonized by the earth’: Land, Landscape, and Place in Emily Brontë’s  Wuthering Heights ” (2018 Bevin)
• “(Re)membering the Subject: Nomadic Becoming in Contemporary Chicano/a Literature” (2018 Voelkner)
• “Werewolves: The Outsider on the Inside in Icelandic and French Medieval Literature” (2018 Modugno)
• “Towards Self-Defined Expressions of Black Anger in Claudia Rankine’s  Citizen  and Percival Everett’s  Erasure ” (2018 Razak)
• “Echoes Inhabit the Garden: The Music of Poetry and Place in T.S. Eliot” (2018 Goldsmith)
• “‘Is this what motherhood is?’: Ambivalent Representations of Motherhood in Black Women’s Novels, 1953-2011” (2018 Gotfredson)
• “Movements of Hunters and Pilgrims: Forms of Motion and Thought in  Moby-Dick ,  The Confidence Man , and  Clarel ” (2018 Marcy)
• “Speaking of the Body: The Maternal Body, Race, and Language in the Plays of Cherrie Moraga, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Kushner” (2018 King)
• “Passing as Jewish: The Material Consequences of Race and the Property of Whiteness in Late Twentieth-Century Passing Novels” (2017 Mullis)
• “Eliot through Tolkien: Estrangement, Verse Drama, and the Christian Path in the Modern Era” (2017 Reynolds)
• “Aesthetics, Politics, and the Urban Space in Postcolonial British Literature” (2017 Rahmat)
• “Models of Claim, Resistance, and Activism in the Novels of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Hays, and Frances Burney” (2017 Smith)
• “English Literature’s Father of Authorial Androgyny: The Innovative Perspective of Chaucer and the Wife of Bath” (2017 Ingold)
•  “’Verbal Hygiene’ on the Radio: An Exploration into Perceptions of Female Voices on Public Radio and How They Reflect Language and Gender Ideologies within American Culture” (2017 Barrett)
• “Divided Bodies: Nation Formation and the Literary Marketplace in Salman Rushdie’s  Shame  and Bapsi Sidhwa’s  Cracking India”  (2016 Mellon)
• “Metaformal Trends in Contemporary American Poetry” (2016 Muller)
• “Power Through Privilege: Surveying Perspectives on the Humanities in Higher Education in the Contemporary American Campus Novel” (2016 Klein)
• “‘I always cure you when I come’: The Caregiver Figure in the Novels of Jane Austen” (2016 McKenzie)
• “English Imperial Selfhood and Semiperipheral Witchcraft in  The Faerie Queene, Daemonologie,  and  The Tempest”  (2016 Davis)
• “With Slabs, Bones, and Poles: De/Constructing Narratives of Hurricane Katrina in Jesmyn Ward’s  Salvage the Bones , Natasha Trethewey’s  Beyond Katrina , and Selah Saterstrom’s  Slab”  (2016 Lang)
• “The Ghost of That Ineluctable Past”: Trauma and Memory in John Banville’s Frames Trilogy” (2016 Berry)
• “Breaking Through Walls and Pages: Female Reading and Education in the 18th Century British Novel” (2015 Majewski)
• “The Economics of Gender Relations in London City Comedy” (2015 Weisse)
• “Objects, People, and Landscapes of Terror: Considering the Sublime through the Gothic Mode in Late 19th Century Novels” (2015 Porter)
• “Placing the Body: A Study of Postcolonialism and Environment in the Works of Jamaica Kincaid” (2015 Hutcherson)
• “Wandering Bodies: The Disruption of Identities in Jamaica Kincaid’s  Lucy  and Edwidge Danticat’s  The Farming of Bones ” (2015 Martin)
• “Mythogenesis as a Reconfiguration of Space in an ‘Alternate World’: The Legacy of Origin and Diaspora in Experimental Writing” (2015 Pittenger)
• “Cunning Authors and Bad Readers: Gendered Authorship in ‘Love in Excess’” (2015 Bruening)
• “‘The Thing Became Real’: New Materialisms and Race in the Fiction of Nella Larsen” (2015 Parkinson)
• “‘Projections of the Not-Me’: Redemptive Possibilities of the Gothic within Wuthering Heights and Beloved” (2015 Glasser)
• “Distortions, Collections, and Mobility: South Asian Poets and the Space for Female Subjectivity” (2015 Wilkey)
• “From Text to Tech: Theorizing Changing Experimental Narrative Structures” (2015 Ortega)
• “A Moral Being in an Aesthetic World: Being in the Early Novels of Kurt Vonnegut” (2015 Hubbard)

How to Write a Master's Thesis: A Guide to Planning Your Thesis, Pursuing It, and Avoiding Pitfalls

#scribendiinc

Part 1: Initial Considerations

Who needs to write a master’s thesis.

Thesis writing is one of the more daunting challenges of higher education. That being said, not all master's students have to write a thesis. For example, fields that place a stronger emphasis on applied knowledge, such as nursing, business, and education, tend to have projects and exams to test students on the skills and abilities associated with those fields. Conversely, in disciplines that require in-depth research or highly polished creative abilities, students are usually expected to prove their understanding and independence with a thesis.

What's Your Goal?

Do you want to write a thesis? The process is a long one, often spanning years. It's best to know exactly what you want before you begin. Many people are motivated by career goals. For example, hiring managers may see a master's degree as proof that the candidate is an expert within their field and can lead, motivate, and demonstrate initiative for themselves and others. Others dream of earning their doctorate, and they see a master's degree as a stepping stone toward their Ph.D .

No matter what your desired goal is, you should have one before you start your thesis. With your goal in mind, your work will have a purpose, which will allow you to measure your progress more easily.

Major Types of Theses

Once you've carefully researched or even enrolled in a master's program—a feat that involves its own planning and resources —you should know if you are expected to produce a quantitative (which occurs in many math and science programs), qualitative (which occurs in many humanities programs), or creative (which occurs in many creative writing, music, or fine arts programs) thesis.

Time and Energy Considerations

Advanced degrees are notoriously time and energy consuming. If you have a job, thesis writing will become your second job. If you have a family, they will need to know that your thesis will take a great deal of your attention, energy, and focus.

Your studies should not consume you, but they also should not take a back seat to everything else. You will be expected to attend classes, conduct research, source relevant literature, and schedule meetings with various people as you pursue your master's, so it's important to let those you care about know what's going on.

As a general note, most master's programs expect students to finish within a two-year period but are willing to grant extra time if requested, especially if that time is needed to deal with unexpected life events (more on those later).

Part 2: Form an Initial Thesis Question, and Find a Supervisor

When to begin forming your initial thesis question.

Some fields, such as history, may require you to have already formed your thesis question and to have used it to create a statement of intent (outlining the nature of your research) prior to applying to a master’s program. Others may require this information only after you've been accepted. Most of the time, you will be expected to come up with your topic yourself. However, in some disciplines, your supervisor may assign a general research topic to you.

Overall, requirements vary immensely from program to program, so it's best to confirm the exact requirements of your specific program.

What to Say to Your Supervisor

You will have a supervisor during your master's studies. Have you identified who that person will be? If yes, have you introduced yourself via email or phone and obtained information on the processes and procedures that are in place for your master's program? Once you've established contact, request an in-person meeting with him or her, and take a page of questions along with you. Your questions might include:

• Is there a research subject you can recommend in my field?
• I would like to pursue [target research subject] for my thesis. Can you help me narrow my focus?
• Can you give me an example of a properly formatted thesis proposal for my program?

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help (to a Degree)

Procedures and expectations vary from program to program, and your supervisor is there to help remove doubt and provide encouragement so you can follow the right path when you embark on writing your thesis. Since your supervisor has almost certainly worked with other graduate students (and was one at some point), take advantage of their experience, and ask questions to put your mind at ease about how to write a master’s thesis.

That being said, do not rely too heavily on your supervisor. As a graduate student, you are also expected to be able to work independently. Proving your independent initiative and capacity is part of what will earn you your master's degree.

Part 3: Revise Your Thesis

Read everything you can get your hands on.

Whether you have a question or need to create one, your next step is simple and applies to all kinds of theses: read.

Seek Out Knowledge or Research Gaps

Read everything you can that relates to the question or the field you are studying. The only way you will be able to determine where you can go is to see where everyone else has been. After you have read some published material, you will start to spot gaps in current research or notice things that could be developed further with an alternative approach. Things that are known but not understood or understood but not explained clearly or consistently are great potential thesis subjects. Addressing something already known from a new perspective or with a different style could also be a potentially valuable project. Whichever way you choose to do it, keep in mind that your project should make a valuable contribution to your field.

Talk with Experts in Your Field (and Don't Be Afraid to Revise Your Thesis)

To help narrow down your thesis topic, talk to your supervisor. Your supervisor will have an idea of what is current in your field and what can be left alone because others are already working on it. Additionally, the school you are attending will have programs and faculty with particular areas of interest within your chosen field.

On a similar note, don't be surprised if your thesis question changes as you study. Other students and researchers are out there, and as they publish, what you are working on can change. You might also discover that your question is too vague, not substantial enough, or even no longer relevant. Do not lose heart! Take what you know and adjust the question to address these concerns as they arise. The freedom to adapt is part of the power you hold as a graduate student.

Part 4: Select a Proposal Committee

What proposal committees are and why they're useful.

When you have a solid question or set of questions, draft a proposal.

You'll need an original stance and a clear justification for asking, and answering, your thesis question. To ensure this, a committee will review your thesis proposal. Thankfully, that committee will consist of people assigned by your supervisor or department head or handpicked by you. These people will be experts who understand your field of study and will do everything in their power to ensure that you are pursuing something worthwhile. And yes, it is okay to put your supervisor on your committee. Some programs even require that your supervisor be on your committee.

Just remember that the committee will expect you to schedule meetings with them, present your proposal, respond to any questions they might have for you, and ultimately present your findings and thesis when all the work is done. Choose those who are willing to support you, give constructive feedback, and help address issues with your proposal. And don't forget to give your proposal a good, thorough edit and proofread before you present it.

How to Prepare for Committee Meetings

Be ready for committee meetings with synopses of your material for committee members, answers for expected questions, and a calm attitude. To prepare for those meetings, sit in on proposal and thesis defenses so you can watch how other graduate students handle them and see what your committee might ask of you. You can even hold rehearsals with friends and fellow students acting as your committee to help you build confidence for your presentation.

Part 5: Write Your Thesis

What to do once your proposal is approved.

After you have written your thesis proposal and received feedback from your committee, the fun part starts: doing the work. This is where you will take your proposal and carry it out. If you drafted a qualitative or quantitative proposal, your experimentation or will begin here. If you wrote a creative proposal, you will now start working on your material. Your proposal should be strong enough to give you direction when you perform your experiments, conduct interviews, or craft your work. Take note that you will have to check in with your supervisor from time to time to give progress updates.

Thesis Writing: It's Important to Pace Yourself and Take Breaks

Do not expect the work to go quickly. You will need to pace yourself and make sure you record your progress meticulously. You can always discard information you don't need, but you cannot go back and grab a crucial fact that you can't quite remember. When in doubt, write it down. When drawing from a source, always create a citation for the information to save your future self time and stress. In the same sense, you may also find journaling to be a helpful process.

Additionally, take breaks and allow yourself to step away from your thesis, even if you're having fun (and especially if you're not). Ideally, your proposal should have milestones in it— points where you can stop and assess what you've already completed and what's left to do. When you reach a milestone, celebrate. Take a day off and relax. Better yet, give yourself a week's vacation! The rest will help you regain your focus and ensure that you function at your best.

How to Become More Comfortable with Presenting Your Work

Once you start reaching your milestones, you should be able to start sharing what you have. Just about everyone in a graduate program has experience giving a presentation at the front of the class, attending a seminar, or watching an interview. If you haven't (or even if you have), look for conferences and clubs that will give you the opportunity to learn about presenting your work and become comfortable with the idea of public speaking. The more you practice talking about what you are studying, the more comfortable you'll be with the information, which will make your committee defenses and other official meetings easier.

Published authors can be called upon to present at conferences, and if your thesis is strong, you may receive an email or a phone call asking if you would share your findings onstage.

Presenting at conferences is also a great way to boost your CV and network within your field. Make presenting part of your education, and it will become something you look forward to instead of fear.

What to Do If Your Relationship with Your Supervisor Sours

A small aside: If it isn't already obvious, you will be communicating extensively with others as you pursue your thesis. That also means that others will need to communicate with you, and if you've been noticing things getting quiet, you will need to be the one to speak up. Your supervisor should speak to you at least once a term and preferably once a week in the more active parts of your research and writing. If you give written work to your supervisor, you should have feedback within three weeks.

If your supervisor does not provide feedback, frequently misses appointments, or is consistently discouraging of your work, contact your graduate program advisor and ask for a new supervisor. The relationship with your supervisor is crucial to your success, especially if she or he is on your committee, and while your supervisor does not have to be friendly, there should at least be professional respect between you.

What to Do If a Crisis Strikes

If something happens in your life that disrupts everything (e.g., emotional strain, the birth of a child, or the death of a family member), ask for help. You are a human being, and personal lives can and do change without warning. Do not wait until you are falling apart before asking for help, either. Learn what resources exist for crises before you have one, so you can head off trauma before it hits. That being said, if you get blindsided, don't refuse help. Seek it out, and take the time you need to recover. Your degree is supposed to help you become a stronger and smarter person, not break you.

Part 6: Polish and Defend Your Master's Thesis

How to write a master’s thesis: the final stages.

After your work is done and everything is written down, you will have to give your thesis a good, thorough polishing. This is where you will have to organize the information, draft it into a paper format with an abstract, and abbreviate things to help meet your word-count limit. This is also where your final editing and proofreading passes will occur, after which you will face your final hurdle: presenting your thesis defense to your committee. If they approve your thesis, then congratulations! You are now a master of your chosen field.

Conclusion and Parting Thoughts

Remember that you do not (and should not) have to learn how to write a master’s thesis on your own. Thesis writing is collaborative, as is practically any kind of research.

While you will be expected to develop your thesis using your own initiative, pursue it with your own ambition, and complete it with your own abilities, you will also be expected to use all available resources to do so. The purpose of a master's thesis is to help you develop your own independent abilities, ensuring that you can drive your own career forward without constantly looking to others to provide direction. Leaders get master's degrees. That's why many business professionals in leadership roles have graduate degree initials after their last names. If you already have the skills necessary to motivate yourself, lead others, and drive change, you may only need your master's as an acknowledgement of your abilities. If you do not, but you apply yourself carefully and thoroughly to the pursuit of your thesis, you should come away from your studies with those skills in place.

A final thought regarding collaboration: all theses have a section for acknowledgements. Be sure to say thank you to those who helped you become a master. One day, someone might be doing the same for you.

Image source: Falkenpost/Pixabay.com 

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