Supplement to the Graduate School’s
Guide for the Thesis Writer:
Formatting the Thesis: The Graduate School has provided a detailed and specific guide to assist you in formatting your thesis. Go pick one up at room 112 and study it. You will need to meet with Martha Khan to have your formatting checked and corrected. Before you meet with her, it is a good idea to have the following pages formatted:
1. your title page
2. the approval page
3. your table of contents
4. and two or three pages from the body of your thesis
This last item is simply to give Martha Khan an idea of what the finished body text of your thesis will look like. She is not at any point in this process interested in the content of the thesis, but only in making sure that you adhere to the strict formatting guidelines set forth by the Graduate School.
Likely you will be required to revise your formatting. Don’t worry, it’s almost impossible to get right on the first try. If you find that you are asked to make revisions, make sure you meet with Martha again, before you turn in your final draft.
Content of the Thesis: This has been mentioned already in the Studentguide, but it’s important enough that it bears mentioning again. Your thesis must consist of work you have written for your workshops at BU. Stories you’ve written while here, but which you have not been reviewed in class are not acceptable. You may continue to add new material to your novella, as long as the core structure of the whole remains the same.
Your thesis will consist of a Title Page, Copyright Page (optional), Approval Page, Acknowledgements (also optional), Table of Contents, and a number of stories, a novella, or part or all of a novel. You are not required to include an abstract in the thesis.
Length of the Thesis: Your thesis must be at least 90 pages long for fiction, 35 for poetry, and roughly 80 pages for playwriting.
The Approval Procedure: Both of your readers will need to sign your approval pages. It’s probably a good idea to print your thesis out on regular paper when handing it to your readers. Make sure you print out four copies of your approval page (just in case some get destroyed, rained on, or if you’d like to keep a few as souvenirs) on good paper for your readers to sign. Thesis review is a pass/fail process, i.e. if your readers are not willing to sign it, or if they demand significant revisions, you will need to revise and resubmit for the next available graduation date.
The Approval Page: Just to make sure everyone gets the names, academic titles, and degrees right, here’s the pertinent information for our main faculty members.
In Fiction:
Leslie Epstein, D.F.A.
Professor of English [not reading in 2009]
Ha Jin, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Allegra Goodman, Ph.D.
Visiting Associate Professor (of Creative Writing)← optional
Daphne Kalotay, Ph.D.
Lecturer (in Creative Writing)
In Poetry:
Robert Pinsky, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Louise Glück
Visiting Professor (of Creative Writing)← optional
Maggie Dietz, M.A.
Lecturer (in Creative Writing) ← optional
Rosanna Warren, M.A.
Emma MacLachlan Metcalf Professor of the Humanities,
University Professor and Professor of English and
Modern Foreign Languages [not reading in 2009]
In Playwriting:
Kate Snodgrass, M.A.
Artistic Director
Melinda Lopez, M.A.
Adjunct Assistant Professor (of Creative Writing)
Ronan Noone, M.A.
Adjunct Assistant Professor (of Creative Writing)
Richard Schotter
Lecturer (in Creative Writing)
NOTE: The punctuation of academic degrees follows the form set forth by The Chicago Manual of Style (14th Edition). Chicago Style notes that degrees may be listed without punctuation, (MFA, DFA, PhD etc.), however, no matter which form you use, make sure to be consistent.
