English Department Honors Thesis Guidelines
An Honors essay on a literary topic should exhibit both the candidate's knowledge of the subject, and her or his scholarly and critical judgment. While it must be based on firm knowledge, including relevant scholarship and criticism, it is not merely a paper that collects and presents the conclusions of others. The essay should show that the candidate has grasped and explored the subject independently and has formed conclusions about it. Essays should run to a length of 40 to 70 double-spaced pages, or 12,000 to 20,000 words.
Quality rather than quantity is the important criterion. The essay’s organization should be clear, and may include carefully chosen chapter divisions and a table of contents, along with a well-constructed introduction.
The award of Honors recognizes that the student's written work, supplemented by the student's ability to discuss his or her project and research at the oral examination, has been an appropriate use of 6 credit hours (the equivalent of two upper division English classes). A literature thesis that is awarded Honors must demonstrate independence of thought and an awareness of relevant scholarship, and must contain a clear, well-structured argument. The creative writing thesis that is awarded Honors must demonstrate satisfactory ability in the chosen genre (novel, short story, poetry, etc.).
Students' skill in defending their written work in the oral defense will be taken into account in determining the final grade.
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is the guide in matters of documentation. Footnotes or endnotes may be used. A formal complete bibliography should come after the footnotes. (This bibliography should not be annotated.)
Honors theses must be prepared in a specific manner, i.e.:
- A binding margin of 1 and ½ inches must be provided on the left side of each page. All other margins must be at least one inch.
- The title page must conform to the format shown on the Charles Center website for honors and will be sent to seniors by the English honors director each spring. Committee members will sign the cover page at the completion of the exam. One signed cover sheet will be submitted with a digital copy that will be archived by the university; take an additional cover sheet if you wish to have a bound, signed copy.
- One copy of the Honors thesis must be submitted to the Director of Honors in mid-April, at a date determined yearly by the Charles Center. (A digital copy will suffice for the Honors Director). Three copies should be distributed to the student's examining committee (one copy per committee member) by the same deadline. Please consult your committee members about whether they would prefer electronic copies. If they do not prefer electronic versions, the default mode of delivery is a printed copy on any type of standard paper.
- Students should submit electronic copies of their theses (ETDs) to the W&M Publish platform, which is the William and Mary Libraries’ online platform for scholarly work.
A final copy of each defended thesis should be uploaded, with a signed cover sheet, to W&M Publish no later than 5:00 on the Friday before the commencement (for students defending in the spring) and 5:00 on the last day of exams (for students defending in the fall).
Full instructions from W&M Publish can be found here.
Contact wmpublish@lists.wm.edu with any additional questions.
Failure to meet these deadlines may result in the loss of honors.
