Students are expected to consult with their preferred faculty advisors well in advance of preparing their proposals and to complete their proposals on time and strictly according to the guidelines stated below. Acceptance of proposals is contingent upon the approval of a committee composed of the faculty advisor, the appropriate concentration director (Creative Writing; Literature and Film; Writing, Rhetoric, and Publication), and the Associate Chair of the Department.
Eligibility
To propose a Bachelor’s Essay or Independent Study in English, a student must:
- have completed 60 hours of coursework, including ENGL 299
- not have exceeded 9 hours of independent study (including Tutorials, Bachelor’s Essays, and Independent Studies)
- identify a BE or IS faculty director in English
- consult with the director while preparing the proposal according to the guidelines below
Submission
Submit the proposal, via your director, to the committee no later than one week before the first day of classes for the semester in which the work is to be done. It is preferable to submit the proposal much sooner, preferably in the prior semester.
Proposal Guidelines
Your proposal should be 400-500 words long—one single-spaced page—excluding the bibliography. Place your name at the top of the first page along with the name of your faculty advisor, and indicate whether you are proposing an Independent Study or a Bachelor’s Essay. Proposals should include the following:
- An intriguing and informative title.
- A brief, engaging introduction that identifies your primary sources and strategically frames your project. You can do this in any number of ways, but successful strategies include establishing broader contexts for your project (historical, theoretical, generic), modeling your proposed engagement with the text(s), and/or emphasizing why your topic is timely and important.
- A tentative—but pointed and specific—project goal. For critical projects, this will be a research question or, if your project is more developed, a thesis. For creative projects, this will be a statement of intent. The goal here is to articulate what you hope to achieve in this independent project.
- A focused account of the conversation your project participates in. This might include key critical arguments or creative practices you hope to address and extend. Try to cite at least two sources, though there probably won’t be room for substantial quotations. You might also describe in greater detail the theoretical, methodological, or creative foundations indicated in your introduction.
- A project timeline, noting completion dates for specific stages of the project (annotated bibliography or creative review, section and chapter drafts, final copy, etc.). Please also note the anticipated size of the project and related outcomes. Independent studies typically require 25 pages of formal writing, though not necessarily in the form of one long essay. Bachelor’s Essays typically require 50 pages of formal writing and a defense.
- A grading plan explaining how the course will be graded. Faculty advisors may choose to adapt one of the following sample grading plans:
- Grading Plan for Independent Study – The faculty advisor will assign a grade based on two factors: participation (e.g., attendance at and preparedness for weekly meetings) and written work, which will consist of _________.
- Grading Plan for Bachelor’s Essay – The faculty advisor will assign a grade based two factors: participation (e.g., attendance at and preparedness for weekly meetings) and the writing project. The writing project will be at least 50 pages long and show evidence of substantial primary and/or secondary research. The student will defend the writing project orally before a panel including the faculty advisor and two additional faculty members.
- A statement of the Student Learning Outcome(s) for the project. Faculty advisors may choose to adapt the following SLO:
- Student Learning Outcome for Bachelor’s Essay/Independent Study: Student will demonstrate the ability to plan and effectively carry out an extensive research and/or writing project independently.
- A bibliography, including no fewer than ten primary and secondary sources.
Please note that the bullet points above merely list several important features of the proposal. They are not meant to serve as an outline of your proposal, which should unfold in a series of strategically organized paragraphs that combine these features as best suits your project. Nor are they exhaustive. You may, for example, also want to discuss the experiences and qualifications that have led you to and prepared you for your proposed project.
A few additional notes
Because decisions about Bachelor’s Essays and Independent Studies are likely to be made after registration has begun, students should register for classes as if they will not be doing independent work.
Bachelor’s Essays with an ENGL prefix can be applied to the Open Electives requirement of the English Core. Students can apply both semesters of their Bachelor’s Essay (499A & 499B) to this 6 credit hour requirement.
Independent Studies can be applied either to the Open Electives requirement or to the Focus Electives requirement of our three concentrations, provided that the content of the Independent Study project reflects the content of the concentration. If you would like to have your Independent Study applied as a Focus Elective within your concentration, please contact the Associate Chair.
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business is accepting applications for their annual New Ideas competition!
