The EHP has established careful guidelines for each of the six types of English honors theses accepted by the department: literary and cultural studies, nonfiction writing, electronic writing and multimedia production, English education, creative writing, and interdisciplinary, which allows a study to earn honors in two departments with one, lengthier project.

Literary or Cultural Studies Thesis
A literary or cultural studies thesis must include a 30-40 page focused essay, a comprehensive written bibliography, and a 4-5 page written overview. The essay must demonstrate a grasp of relevant creative and critical perspectives in its field, moving beyond mere summary of what others have said to make an original contribution to critical thought on the student's chosen topic. In the overview, the student reflects on the research agenda, general rationale, and intellectual moorings of the project from beginning to end.

Nonfiction Writing Thesis
Students who wish to write a nonfiction thesis must show a pattern
of course work in nonfiction writing that meets the approval of the
Honors Director and the Director of the NWP. The recommended pattern
of course work is at least three nonfiction writing classes and an
overall g.p.a. in nonfiction writing of at least 3.5.

The nonfiction thesis project consists of three parts: a creative piece of 25-60 pages; an annotated reading list of 12-15 works; and a reflective essay of 8-10 pages examining an issue of craft, subject or genre. For the creative piece, students may work within any nonfiction genre approved by the thesis advisor: literary essay, personal essay, nonfiction novel, prose poem, memoir, travel essay, etc.

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Electronic or Multimedia Thesis
A student who wishes to produce this kind of thesis (hypertext, CD-ROM, web site, video or audio documentary, etc.) must create an intrinsically electronic or multimedia project. The thesis must be one that could not possibly be produced in the conventional manner; in other words, its electronic nature must be essential to its theme or subject manner.

The thesis must be accompanied by an annotated bibliography and a 15-20 page written overview. The bibliography should contain sources of some historical breadth, demonstrating mastery of relevant critical perspectives and arguments in the field. The overview should supplement the thesis by analyzing the critical context. This analysis should not attempt a point-by-point translation of the thesis into discursive form, but should instead engage in a critical dialogue with contemporary works, both theoretical and creative, on the student's subject and method.

Interdisciplinary Thesis for Double Honors
In order for a thesis to satisfy the honors requirements of English and another department must meet the following criteria, the student must gain approval from and work with an adviser in both departments. A double honors thesis must be interdisciplinary in nature. The thesis must show a command of each discipline in a comprehensive research bibliography and represent a comparable expenditure of intellectual work as two honors theses in terms of research and scope. Finally, the thesis must be supplemented by an 8-10 page written overview in which the student reflects on the research agenda, general rationale, and interdisciplinarity of the project from beginning to end.

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English Education Thesis
A thesis in English education must be written under the supervision of a member of the English education faculty. The project must be 30-40 pages and integrate the student's studies in English and education and demonstrate mastery of relevant theoretic perspectives and arguments in the field of English education.

Creative Writing Thesis
Students who wish to produce a creative thesis in fiction or poetry writing must show pattern of course work in creative writing that meets the approval of the Honors Director and a faculty member of the Writers' Workshop.

A thesis in creative writing should consist of three parts: a creative piece of 25-60 pages; an annotated reading list of 12-15 works; and a reflective essay of 8-10 pages examining an issue of craft, subject or genre.

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