• PRWR 611 - Rhetoric: The Pursuit of Eloquence (3)

• PRWR 612 - Rhetorical Grammar (3)

• PRWR 613 - Theory of Exposition (3) This course must be taken within the first twelve hours of degree work.

• PRWR 615 - History and Development of Prose Style (3)

• PRWR 617 - Editing (3) This course must be taken within the first twelve hours of degree work.

• PRWR 797 - Internship in Professional Writing (3)

All students in the Professional Writing program are required to take the qualifying exam between completion of 12-18 hours of degree work. The format for the "exam" will be an evaluation of a portfolio of work completed by the student in the Professional Writing program. October 31 during the fall semester and April 1 during the spring semester. Drop the portfolios off in Geoffrey Becker's mailbox located in the English Department Mailroom, LI 218D. Please submit two copies in flat folders or report covers.

Portfolios will be read by two PRWR professors. Portfolios will receive either a passing or a failing grade. Portfolios that receive a failing grade must be resubmitted after a conference with the program director and the student's advisor.

Evaluation criteria of the portfolio will generally be as follows.

Your portfolio should

1. represent a range of application and show flexibility and variety in addressing various writing situations.
2. show focus on a topic and deliver sound, reasonable evidence to support or develop the topic.
3. be clearly and logically organized and show evidence of organizational craft--i.e., that it's a carefully designed piece.
4. have paragraphs that are unified, well-developed, and internally cohesive.
5. have sentences that are clear, concise, artful, and masterfully wrought.
6. display diction that is consistently precise and accurate, showing command of a broad vocabulary.

Overall, the writing should be powerful, emotional, clever, creative, intelligent, thought-provoking--in short, graceful and interesting whatever the content.

The graduate school requires that all programs give a test midway through a student's program. The test requires students to display a level of subject mastery demonstrating that they are learning the appropriate skills needed in the curriculum to complete the degree successfully.

This "exam" is an opportunity to create a professional portfolio that students might present at the end of the program to show what they've mastered.

 

It would be a good idea, though it's not required, to meet with your advisor to make sure you're submitting appropriate materials. If you have general questions about submitting work, please send Geoffrey Becker an e-mail with your questions (gbecker@towson.edu).

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Master's Thesis Option

 

What a Thesis is

 

Part of the strength of Towson's PRWR program lies in the creativity and flexibility which the program allows its candidates. A thesis may take many forms to reflect the differing professional interests of the students.

In every case, a thesis should be a significant, substantive, original, representation of the culmination of your work in the PRWR program.

A thesis counts for six graduate credits.

 

Thesis Length

 

A thesis should be no fewer than 50 pages of significant, original work. The length of your thesis, of course, needs to be discussed with and approved by your thesis advisor.

 

Thesis Advisor

 

You should choose a thesis advisor who is familiar with your work, and whose field of expertise complements your thesis. Together, you and your thesis advisor will select the two additional members of your thesis committee.

 

Thesis Proposal

 

Your proposal of 3-4 pages (typewritten, double-spaced) must be reviewed first by the faculty member with whom you will be working, then submitted to your thesis committee for final approval.

The following are to be included in the proposal:

 

1. A statement of need, which establishes a rationale for the proposed thesis and the audience toward whom it will be directed. The statement of need will consist of one or more of the following as they are applicable to your specific project:

   a review of the literature relevant to the question you propose to explore

2. research for your finished product

3. a description of your projected work and its genre, as well as documentation of your previous experience in this or a related genre.

4. A statement of purpose or objectives, which clearly focuses your idea and tells exactly what you expect to accomplish. The scope of your topic should be made clear in this section.

5. An outline of the projected thesis, which gives readers a preliminary plan for the project and an estimated time table.

Progress Report

 

When your proposal is approved, you must then establish with your thesis director a schedule of monthly meetings at which you will present written progress reports. The thesis option differs both from a traditional course or directed reading in that your director, in commenting on your work, will function in a purely advisory capacity. You are ultimately responsible for content, organization, and style.

 

The Thesis Defense

 

 

When you and your director agree that your work has reached a satisfactory conclusion; you should apply, in writing, to the thesis committee for a defense committee (consisting of two members from the PRWR faculty and one outside member appointed by the Graduate School) and a defense date. Your application must be accompanied by four copies of your thesis, executed in the stylistic format your director has deemed appropriate for your project. The deadline for submission to the graduate thesis committee is April 1st for May graduation, and November 1st for January. Any revisions required by your defense committee must be made before your thesis can be considered completed and the six credits for which you applied entered on your transcript.

 

 

Graduate School Requirements

 

You are responsible for meeting all the requirements of the Graduate School. Check the Graduate School Handbook, pp. E- 2-ff, for the regulations regarding deadlines for filing for graduation, and the procedures for defending your thesis.

Clearly, the thesis option is considerably more arduous than the six hours of course-work it replaces. It demands a well- articulated project sufficiently compelling to sustain solitary effort over a substantial period of time. Since unforeseen obstacles can delay the completion of a thesis, which in turn will delay your degree, we strongly urge you to consider this option's drawbacks as well as its rewards.

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