Senior Capstone

Guidelines for ENGL 485, Senior Capstone in English

All English majors must complete a capstone experience, no exceptions. Students taking ENGL 485, Senior Capstone in English, must wait until the last semester of enrollment to register for the course. With prior approval, special projects such as the Washington Semester may be substituted for this course requirement–but all students (whether enrolled in ENGL 485, in Washington Semester, or in any other approved alternate program) must complete all additional requirements of the Capstone course during the final semester of enrollment. These requirements are: résumé/job search workshops, exit survey, final portfolio submission, and capstone presentation.

Capstone project

Under the supervision of a full-time faculty instructor from the Department of English and Modern Languages, the student will propose a project, have the proposal approved, and execute the project. The student should concentrate on experiences s/he has had at Shepherd that would be useful to graduate school or career choices. Projects may include but are not limited to: drafting and revision of a piece of creative writing, preparation and presentation of a conference paper, development of a substantial website, creation of a special workshop for other English majors, and participation in a dramatic performance. At the end of the semester, students will present their projects to the full-time English faculty and anyone else interested in the presentations.

Capstone presentation

All students completing the capstone course or an alternate capstone experience (e.g., Washington Semester) will be required to present their work to the full-time English faculty. 

Résumé/job search workshops

Each semester, the capstone course will include workshops on job searches, writing résumés and application letters, and interviewing. Attendance at these job workshops is mandatory for English majors in their final semester of enrollment (whether enrolled in Senior Capstone, Washington Semester, or any other approved alternate program). Students in their final semesters will work with a full-time faculty instructor on their résumés and their sample job application letters; both documents will then be included in the final portfolio.

Graduate school workshops

Each semester, a full-time faculty instructor will conduct a workshop on application to graduate school. This workshop will be available to any student, even those who do not see graduate school in their futures at present.

Portfolio

Each student will create his/her portfolio under the close supervision of a full-time faculty instructor. In addition to the résumé and sample application letter (both developed with guidance from the faculty instructor and the Department of Career Services), the portfolio will include an overall assessment letter and three to five samples of the student’s work. The students must work closely with the instructor to create a portfolio that represents the breadth of the student’s achievements in the English program. The student will choose the work from his/her courses that best demonstrates the learning goals the Department of English and Modern Languages has identified as outcomes for our program. These are:

1. Student will demonstrate clear and effective expression in written English.
2. Student will demonstrate the ability to research from a variety of sources and evaluate, analyze, and synthesize the information.
3. Student will organize ideas in a clear and lucid argument.
4. Student will appreciate the global significance of humanist tradition as manifested in the literature of various times and cultures.
5. Student will demonstrate original and critical thinking including the ability to analyze texts.

The portfolio will include:

1. Table of contents
2. Cover letter to department (letter will reflect on student’s learning experiences with specific references to the portfolio contents that demonstrate the Department of English and Modern Languages learning outcomes)
3. Résumé and application letter (a one-page résumé and one-page application letter to a potential employer)
4. Three to five pieces from class work to be showcased (student-selected works that demonstrate the outcomes listed above; works included will probably be primarily from upper-division or advanced courses and will utilize MLA or other appropriate format; other pertinent material could also be included, e.g., original pieces written in Creative Writing classes, Picket articles, peer tutoring assignments, conference papers, websites, PowerPoint presentations, etc.)

Hard copy versions of the portfolio should be submitted in a three-ring binder. Web portfolios (with relevant texts hyperlinked) are also permissible.

The Department of English and Modern Languages is pleased to provide these examples of past Capstone projects:

• Ashley Barr, The Trilogy of Carter’s Asylum (short story collection)
• Allison Brashears, A Foundling (novel in progress)
• Keara Heck, “Double-Consciousness of the Lost Generation in James Baldwin and Ernest Hemingway”
• Ashley Hess, “Identifying the Self and the Rejection of the Absurd: Zadie Smith’s NW”
• Tiffany Kline, The Magic Within (novel in progress)
• Olivia Mason, “A Search for Identity: Live Performance by Natalie Blake in Zadie Smith’s NW”
• Alex McCarron, “Models of Female Depravity: Hélène Kuragina, Sonya Rostova, and Gendered Redemption in War and Peace”
• Linnea Meyer, Three Fairy Tale Retellings (short story collection)
• Zoe Nicewander, Paint Me Tangerine (poetry collection)
• Sarah Strong, Poetry Collection
• Fiona Tracey, Where the Wild Wind Blows on the Mountain Side (poetry collection)