Master of Arts in English Culminating Project

The Master of Arts in English degree requires students to take ENG 7800 (offered in Spring semesters) and complete a culminating project that speaks to the student’s personal or professional goals. Working with the instructor of ENG 7800 and a second approved faculty mentor, students develop their culminating projects by revising and conducting additional research relative to a major assignment they have previously completed as part of their graduate coursework at Wright State.

Examples of Projects

Examples of culminating projects include:

• a revised essay suitable for use as a writing sample for Ph.D. applications or for submission to a peer-reviewed journal or academic conference
• a teaching portfolio that includes a statement of teaching philosophy and sample assignments, lesson plans, in-class activities, and other materials (such as a teaching video, CV, and evaluations) suitable for use in professional educational contexts
• a collection of revised poems, short stories, nonfiction essays, public-facing scholarship, or other examples of creative writing suitable for submission to professional publication venues
• a portfolio demonstrating the student’s aptitude for professional and technical writing and editing
• a podcast, video, community engagement, or digital project suitable for inclusion in a professional portfolio
• additional projects similar in scope and scale may be pursued with DGS and ENG 7800-instructor approval

Requirements

All culminating projects must be based on work previously submitted in a graduate-level course taken at Wright State—and evince revisions as well as advanced, original research conducted by the student in the fields associated with English studies.

Culminating projects must also be accompanied by the following, which students will prepare as part of their coursework in ENG 7800:

• an abstract of 150–250 words
• a reflection essay of 1250–1500 words; the essay should describe the project, articulate how it engages peer-reviewed research, and explain how the project reflects the student’s intellectual development throughout their graduate studies and helps fulfill their personal and/or professional goals
• a substantial bibliography of relevant and focused peer-reviewed sources that have informed the project; students completing projects that do not rely on conventional citation practices may be required to submit an annotated bibliography
• a 10-15 minute presentation (with slides) about the project developed by the student in ENG 7800 and delivered in person at a scheduled Scholarship Day held during finals week.

Evaluation

Culminating projects—including the reflection essay, abstract, bibliography, and presentation—will be evaluated by at least two graduate faculty in English based on a standard rubric.

Previous Projects

• Glenn Danielson, “Insights into L1 and L2 Reading from Eye-Tracking Studies” (dir: Dr. Shengrong Cai, 2023)
• Jessica Thomas, “Getting Free: A Case Against Mass Incarceration in Toni Morrison’s Beloved” (dir: Dr. Andrew Strombeck, 2023)
• Ian Avery, “A White Object Creates the White Subject: Nick Shay’s Baseball in Don DeLillo’s Underworld” (dir: Dr. Andrew Strombeck, 2024)
• Abigail Bond, “Discourse Analytics: Linguistic Functions in LEP Conversation” (dir: Dr. Shengrong Cai, 2024)
• Cassandra Brausch, “The Network Society in Charles Yu’s How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” (dir: Dr. Andrew Strombeck, 2024)
• Aisha Idrees, “Developing Teachers’ and Students' Intercultural Communicative Competence in ESL/EFL Classrooms “ (dir: Dr. Shengrong Cai, 2024)
• Kristina Bringman, “Reclaiming La Llorona: The Wailing Woman’s Narrative in Karen Tei Yamashita’s Tropic of Orange” (dir: Dr. Andrew Strombeck, 2025)
• Paul Hobbs, “Education Theory for English Education in Japan” (dir: Dr. Shengrong Cai, 2025)
• Natalie McCollum, “Casting (Out) the Runes of Old English: An Alternative Theory on Why English Lost Its Runes” (dir: Dr. Deborah J. Crusan, 2025)
• Tristen Pitzer, “Horrific Crimes: The Intersections of Crime Fiction and Horror” (dir: Dr. Erin Flanagan, 2025)
• Kaylee Raines, “Much Ado About Beatrice: Feminist Appropriations of Shakespeare in Taylor Swift’s Music” (dir: Dr. Carol Mejia-LaPerle, 2025)
• Christian Sanders. “‘America’s voice of Female Righteousness’: Gone Girl and the Carceral Politics of the Neoliberal Family” (dir: Dr. Andrew Strombeck, 2025)
• Stefanie Wilcox, “The ‘Chunking’ Method: Teaching Shakespeare in Secondary ELA Classrooms” (dir: Dr. Carol Mejia-LaPerle, 2025)