Guidelines for MAPW Capstone Projects
Portfolio, Thesis, Practicum

To be submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts in Professional Writing degree

Department of English
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Kennesaw State University

Prerequisite: Completion of 27 credit hours in the MAPW program and at least four courses in the concentration

Definition

Capstone projects are the culmination of the writer’s work in the MAPW program. Candidates for the MAPW degree demonstrate their achievements in one of three formats:

• The Professional Portfolio
• The MAPW Thesis
• The Practicum

The nature of these capstones is described in detail below.

All three capstone formats require a preface of self-assessment and reflection that frames, informs, and contextualizes the documents that the writer chooses to present as the portfolio, thesis, or practicum for an audience of MAPW faculty, students, and alumni. The preface should relate the materials in the capstone project to the writer’s development during the time of his or her MAPW coursework, joining together academic understanding, writing workshop experience, workplace experience, and future professional goals.

Portfolio

KSU Graduate Catalogue Description
PRWR 7980: The Professional Portfolio
A collection of original writing samples that demonstrates the candidate’s writing expertise. After they have approved a portfolio proposal, two faculty members evaluate and offer revision advice on portfolio materials. The candidate must revise and submit the portfolio at least two weeks prior to either 1) a discussion about the contents of the portfolio with the faculty committee, or 2) a public reading of a part of the portfolio for faculty and peers. The candidate will consult with the portfolio committee chair and committee member about which option to choose.

A portfolio is a collection of a student's best work that includes self-assessment and reflection. It is a deliberate compilation of representative samples of a student's best writing, gathered according to some plan or argument, for use by an identified reader or readers for specific needs or purposes. In educational and professional settings, a portfolio may be used to demonstrate a student's writing competence. In the portfolio, the student includes samples from a variety of genres of writing to demonstrate his or her versatility. In addition to assembling the portfolio and revising the pieces to be included, the student is required to reflect on and make a case for his or her development as a writer.

After completion of twenty-seven credit hours and at least four courses in the concentration, the student who chooses the portfolio option to complete the MAPW degree requirements may register for at least 6 hours of PRWR 7980: The Professional Portfolio. The student may choose to register for 3 hours of PRWR 7980 in two successive semesters.

Content And Length
The portfolio presents a developmental perspective on the writers's progress through the MAPW program with representative pieces of writing. The portfolio should be 50 to 100 pages in length, include a number of pieces of revised writing from a variety of genres, and begin with a prefatory essay approximately 10 pages long that introduces the reader to the works in the portfolio, reflects on their relation to the MAPW course work, and makes an argument about some aspect of professional writing. Students will also write intertexts or interchapters that will reinforce the thread and progress of the argument that holds the portfolio together. In addition, students may include an assessment of a piece of writing rather than a revision. The portfolio may include work that has been accepted for publication while the writer has been a student in the MAPW program. It should be kept in mind that the portfolio is a substantive project and should reflect the highest quality of writing the student has produced. Ideally, a student finishing the portfolio will have several pieces that may be submitted for publication and/or that may be used to provide evidence of the student's expertise in professional writing to prospective employers.

The total length of the portfolio may vary depending on the field and genres in which the writer is working. The final length should result from consultation with the student's portfolio committee, as this committee will ultimately approve or reject the project; however, for students in all concentrations, the portfolio should be about 50 to 100 pages long. For creative writers, guidelines of lengths of various genres are as follows:

• Prose: A minimum of 75 pages. This may include 3 or more short stories, 3 or more creative nonfiction essays, or a combination of these. As an alternative, it may include several chapters or a section of a novel. Writers of short-short fiction may include fewer pages, contingent upon approval of the portfolio committee.
   
• Poetry: A minimum of 15 poems. Writers of very long poems may be allowed to include fewer poems, writers of very short poems may be required to include more, contingent upon consultation with the portfolio committee.
   
• Playscripts or Screenplays: A minimum of 60 pages (minutes). This may be one full-length script or several shorter scripts.
   
• Mixed genres: Writers may compile work from several genres. The length of the manuscript may vary depending on the weight given to any particular genre and should result from consultation with the portfolio committee.

Thesis

KSU Graduate Catalogue Description
PRWR 7990: The MAPW Thesis
A critical investigation of writing theory, pedagogy, or practice leading from work examined in the MAPW program or a manuscript of creative work. After submitting an approved thesis proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to write, revise, and produce original research or previously unpublished creative work. The candidate must submit the thesis at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the thesis with the faculty committee, or 2) a public reading of a part of the thesis for an audience of faculty and peers. The candidate will consult with the thesis committee chair and committee member about which option to choose.

Research Thesis
The research thesis should demonstrate a student's ability to carry out independent research. This research should be closely related to the student's major area of concentration in the MAPW program and contribute to knowledge in the field. The student should select a research topic as early as possible in his or her graduate career in consultation with his or her adviser. When choosing a topic, the student should take into consideration his or her background and interest, ability to handle the problem, accessibility of research materials, and the probable significance of the project to the professional community for which it is intended. Students are required to follow the procedures established by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for all research involving human participants.

Content and Length
The total length of the research thesis may vary depending on the field and genre in which the writer is working. The final length should result from consultation with the student's thesis committee, as this committee will ultimately approve or reject the project.

Creative Thesis
For creative writers, a thesis would be a full-length book manuscript. This option may be advisable for a student who has already completed a large portion of the proposed work. For example, the novelist may already have a rough novel manuscript and will spend the thesis writing period revising the manuscript; or a poet may have a large number of poems which will need to be revised and ordered into a book.

After completion of twenty-seven credit hours and at least four courses in the concentration, the student who chooses the thesis option to complete the MAPW degree requirements must register for at least 6 hours of PRWR 7990: The MAPW Thesis. The student may choose to register for 3 hours of PRWR 7990 in two successive semesters.

Content and Length
The creative thesis should begin with a preface that puts forth a single and unified aesthetic statement that explains how the writer conceives the purpose and effect of the work.

For creative writers, guidelines for lengths of various genres are as follows:

• Prose: A novel or book of creative nonfiction should be about 200 pages; a collection of short stories, short-short stories or creative nonfiction essays about 150 pages; and a novella about 150 pages.
   
• Poetry: A book of poems should include about 30 poems. Writers of very long poems may be allowed to include fewer poems; writers of very short poems may be required to include more, contingent upon consultation with the thesis committee.
   
• Playscripts or Screenplays: A minimum of 100 pages (minutes).
   
• Mixed genres: Writers may compile work from several genres. The length of the manuscript may vary depending on the weight given to any particular genre and should result from consultation with the thesis committee.

The Practicum

KSU Graduate Catalogue Description
PRWR 7970: The Practicum
A project, accompanied by a rationale for its purpose and design, that involves electronic and/or print media and is relevant to the student’s concentration in professional writing. After submitting an approved practicum proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to produce the project. The candidate must submit the practicum at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the practicum with the faculty committee, or 2) a public presentation about the project for an audience of faculty and peers. The candidate will consult with the practicum committee chair and committee member about which option to choose.

Content and Length
The practicum must be a writing project that demonstrates the student’s expertise in developing an actual workplace document or text, such as a company’s or organization’s Web- site, a corporate intranet Website or electronic training module, or a consulting project—such as the editing of a major work or design of a Website. A student must contract with a client—who may be the employer—to deliver a document or set of documents for use by the client. Obtaining the client’s permission is necessary as the document(s) may be published as content in the student’s final practicum, either in part or in whole. Moreover, in reflecting on the success of the project, the student will want to discuss the client-student relationship in the development of the project.

Total length of the capstone practicum may vary depending on the type of document the student is working on, but the practicum project must be substantive. The final length should result from consultation with the student’s capstone committee, as this committee will ultimately approve or reject the project. However, a minimum length should be fifty pages.

Statement of Responsibility

Each student is responsible for adhering to the requirements set forth in this document. It is expected that a portfolio/thesis/practicum free of stylistic, mechanical, grammatical, and formatting errors will be submitted to the committee.
Any deviation from the requirements set forth in this document must be reviewed and approved by the MAPW Committee.

Style Manual

The portfolio/thesis/practicum should be prepared according to the requirements in the latest edition of the style manual appropriate to the fields of professional writing in which the student is writing (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago). If the project is made up of separate pieces of writing from a variety of genres, a variety of styles may be followed. However, if points of difference arise, the statements in this document take precedence.

Procedures

Petition to Graduate
MAPW Candidates must petition to graduate at least one semester prior to completion of program requirements. Before MAPW students can petition to graduate, they must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. The petition form may be obtained from the MAPW Graduate Secretary in the English Department office or online. The student must obtain the MAPW Graduate Director’s signature before submitting the petition to the business office and the Registrar.

Capstone Committee
During the term prior to compiling and revising the portfolio/thesis/practicum, the student will consult with the faculty advisor and/or the MAPW Graduate Director about appropriate members for the committee. The two committee members should be familiar with the student's work in the program.

A student must have studied with his or her supervising faculty member or chair in at least one course in his or her concentration before selecting that faculty member as chair of the committee. The second member of the committee should represent another concentration in the MAPW program, if possible. After the student has secured the agreement of a chair and a committee member, the student will inform the MAPW Graduate Director.

Students are advised to plan ahead. Depending on how many committees a faculty member is already serving on, he or she may not be available to serve on another committee.

Proposal
Before beginning work on the portfolio/thesis/practicum, the student must prepare a proposal and have it approved by the committee. The student must have the proposal approved and the cover sheet signed by all committee members by the last day of classes in the term preceding the final term of enrollment.

The proposal should include:

• a detailed statement of the rationale for the capstone project
• a list of the parts of the project
• a plan for the revision and/or production of the parts of the project
• a timeline for the completion of the parts of the project
• a definite plan for how the writer will get advice from committee members about project materials and how the writer will respond to that advice, e.g., meetings, e-mail attachments, etc.

After approval by the committee, a copy of the approved proposal and the completed, signed cover sheet (exhibit A) should be submitted to the MAPW Graduate Director for the student's file. The Graduate Director will then clear the student for enrollment in PRWR 7970, 7980, or 7990.

Discussion with Committee or Public Presentation in MAPW Portfolio/Thesis Showcase
In consultation with the committee, the student will choose to complete the capstone in one of two ways:

1. A discussion about the contents of the capstone project with the faculty committee, or
    
2. A public presentation (about 10 minutes) of part of the portfolio/thesis/practicum for faculty and peers at the MAPW Showcase.

Discussion with Committee
The student schedules an hour-long final discussion or presentation with the committee. The discussion may vary in content and format; it must take place at least two weeks prior to the date of graduation.

The student must distribute final copies of the portfolio to the committee at least three weeks prior to the date of graduation.

After the student completes the final discussion, the committee chair and member sign the Certificate of Approval (exhibit B). When the student has made all corrections required by the committee, the committee chair and members sign the Notice of Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum Completion (exhibit C). The MAPW Graduate Secretary forwards the Notice to the Registrar.

MAPW Showcase
The student will participate in a public presentation for faculty and peers during the MAPW Showcase, scheduled during the last week of classes. The student should seek guidance from the committee chair about how to choose an excerpt from the project that would be appropriate for about 10 minutes and about how to prepare for the presentation. Consult the Guidelines for Reading in the Kennesaw State MAPW Showcase available from the MAPW Graduate Secretary and online.

The student must distribute final copies of the capstone project to the committee at least three weeks prior to the date of graduation.

After the student completes the public presentation, the committee chair and member sign the Certificate of Approval (exhibit B) and the Notice of Portfolio / Thesis / Practicum Completion (exhibit C). When the student has made all corrections required by the committee, the committee chair signs the Notice of Completion. The MAPW Graduate Secretary forwards the Notice to the Registrar.

Grading
PRWR 7970/7980/7990 receive a grade of "S" or "U." "S" indicates that credit has been given for completion of degree requirements other than academic course work. "U" indicates unsatisfactory performance or progress in an attempt to complete degree requirements other than academic course work.

Final Deposit of Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum Copies and Fees
After the committee chair signs the corrections section of the Notice of Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum Completion, the student deposits copies at the Library.

A Certificate containing the original signatures of the student's committee should be submitted with the first Library copy for final deposit. A copy of the signed Certificate must be included with each additional copy of the portfolio/thesis/practicum.

Students must make an appointment to take their Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum to the Library for binding. Call 770-423-6196 or e-mail eriley@kennesaw.edu to make an appointment. Hours available for appointments are Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The student must provide three unbound copies of the capstone project for the Library. (Two are for the Library and one is for the English Department.) The first copy must be on 8.5 X 11”, 25% rag content (linen or cotton) paper. The additional two copies must be on 8.5 X 11 standard bond paper. The library pays for the binding of all three copies.

In addition, the student may submit additional personal copies for binding. The student must pay for the binding of any personal copies. The charge for binding is $16.00 a copy plus five percent sales tax. Binding services can be obtained and paid for in the Technical Services Department in the basement of the Sturgis Library. Payment is accepted in the form of check or money order only. Make checks or money orders payable to National Library Bindery. Cash, credit or debit cards will not be accepted. Payment must accompany the capstone project when it is taken to the Library for binding. Binding takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks. The student will be notified by phone when the copies are received.

Copies must be deposited with the library, no later than one week prior to graduation.

Then the MAPW Graduate Director signs the Notice of Completion and forwards the Notice to the Registrar.

The student who fails to meet the final deposit deadline is automatically removed from the graduation list.

Arrangement of the Manuscript

The portfolio/thesis/practicum should include:

1. A title page (exhibit D)
    
2. A certificate of approval page (exhibit B)
   
   The Certificate of Approval containing the original signatures of the student's committee should be submitted with the first Library copy of the capstone project for final deposit. A copy of the signed Certificate must be included with each additional copy. The Certificate is counted as page ii of the portfolio/thesis/practicum, but the number is not typed on the page.
    
3. An optional acknowledgment page - Here the student has the option of making a brief statement of gratitude for special assistance.
    
4. A table of contents page
    
5. Preface - The prefatory essay provides background information on the contents of the portfolio/thesis/practicum that will contribute to an informed reading of it. The student may react to theories, processes, and or practical skills which he or she has learned and the affect on the creation of the works; the student may formulate an artistic statement; the student may write a narrative of his or her development as a writer up to this point; or the student may discuss a combination of these or related subjects.
    
6. The text of the capstone project
    
7. A curriculum vitae, biography, or résumé - The student should include a vita, biography, or résumé (not to exceed three pages) that highlights his or her achievements in a field or fields of professional writing. This may include previous education in professional writing, attendance of workshops or professional conventions, prizes and awards, a list of publications, and paid or volunteer employment in the field of professional writing.

Format and Appearance

Paper
The first copy of the portfolio must be on 8.5" x 11", 25% rag content paper. Additional copies must be on 8.5" x 11" standard bond paper. The same paper must be used throughout each copy.

Preparation of Manuscript

1. Printing
   Printing should include computer technology using laser printer, not dot-matrix.
   
   Certain symbols, characters, or special markings and other fonts not available to certain printers must be drawn neatly and uniformly by hand with black, permanent, drawing ink.
   
   The final copy should be a clean, correctly printed copy with no detectable corrections. No erasures, crossouts, strikeovers, insertions, correction fluid, or tape permitted.
    
2. Margins
   Each page must have a margin of 1.5" on the left and at least 1" on the other three sides. On the first page of every major division (e.g., chapter, table of contents, references, etc.), a 2" margin is required at the top. All tables and figures must conform to the margin requirements (photographic reproduction--with enlargement or reduction--may be necessary).
   
   A subhead at the bottom of the page must have at least two full lines of type below it, or it should begin on the next page.
    
3. Page Numbering
   Beginning with the title page, every page is assigned a number. The preliminaries are numbered in lower-case Roman numerals placed without punctuation in the center of the page at least 3/4" (5 lines) from the bottom of the page. The title page and the certificate of approval are considered to be pages i and ii, but numbers are not typed on these pages.
   
   Text and reference pages are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals beginning with 1 on the first page of the text. The numbers are placed without punctuation in the upper right corner 1 inch form the right and at least 3/4" (5 lines) from the top of the page. All pages of the text and reference material, including appendices, references, and cover sheets (if used) are counted and numbered.
    
4. Spacing
   The general text of the portfolio/thesis/practicum is double-spaced. Single spacing is used for long tables, itemized or tabular material, footnotes, multi-line captions. Long quotations and reference entries should be spaced following the style used throughout the project (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA).
   
   Photographs can be printed from the negatives on 8.5” x 11” photographic paper to eliminate the problems involved in attaching photographs to thesis paper. Charts, maps, drawings, etc., may be photographed on 8.5” x 11” photographic paper. If illustrations are mounted, dry mounting or permanent paper cement (dried under weight) may be used. Do not mount with rubber cement, glue, photo-mounting corners, tape, or staples.
   
   Use of oversized material should be avoided. If a folded page must be used, the folded edge should be at least ¼” from the right edge of the manuscript to avoid cutting at the bindery. The page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of the folded page in alignment with the pagination in the text. Large materials may be folded and inserted in a pocket in the appendices.

Format for Electronic Submissions

Those students wishing to submit electronic materials as part of their portfolios or even as the entire portfolio or practicum must use the following guidelines, as directed and approved by the capstone committee:

Web Site, Online Tutorial, or Other Electronic Document: Color screen shots of each page in the electronic document. Two screen shots may be placed on one page providing the text is readable and images are clear though one screen shot per page is preferred. Each screen shot must be clearly labeled with a descriptive title. In the introduction to the material, the student should refer to any accessible Web address by providing the URL. If the material is not hosted on a server and is not company-proprietary material, then the student should also include as part of the submission a diskette or CD/ROM containing the electronic files.

Electronic Capstone Project: Some students may wish to prepare the entire portfolio in Web-based format or some other electronic format. However, all documents, including electronic ones, must follow print document guidelines, as a print copy is still required for the library to file. Thus, a document developed in electronic format requires a corollary—a print document containing all of the contents specified for publication of a capstone project (e.g., front matter, including table of contents; preface; copies of documents, including screen shots of each page in an electronic document; and appropriate back matter). Additionally, the student should also include as part of the submission a diskette or CD/ROM containing the electronic files.

Exhibit A

Master of Arts in Professional Writing
Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum Proposal Cover Sheet

Name _______________ SS#_______________________

Projected Completion Date ________________________

Title:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Exhibit B

College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia
Certificate of Approval

This is to certify that the Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum of

Has been approved by the committee
For the capstone requirement for the Master of Arts in
Professional Writing in the Department of English
At the (month and year) graduation

Portfolio committee:

_______________________________
Capstone supervisor

_______________________________
Member

Exhibit C

Kennesaw State University
Master of Arts in Professional Writing
Notice of Portfolio/Thesis/Practicum Completion

original to Registrar
copy to: student’s file

Exhibit D

<Title>

By

<Author>

A portfolio/thesis/practicum submitted in partial fulfillment of the

Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Professional Writing in the Department of English

In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw, Georgia

2002