You'll be doing a good amount of writing throughout
program and developing the ability to express yourself
articulately is the goal of every strong graduate program.
(Faculty themselves struggle with writing all the time!)
Very often, returning students, especially those with
years of work experience, have difficulty making the
transition to the kind of expository prose that distinguishes
good graduate work. The program makes every effort to
address this issue, beginning with the introductory
course: LBST 6101 "Interdisciplinary Graduate Study."
You can and should always depend on your faculty and
on the Director of the Program to help you work through
any problems or questions you have about writing.
Some of your professors will ask for one middle-size
term paper (eight to twelve pages) at the end, and others
will ask for several shorter papers (three to five pages).
The final Masters thesis will be long enough to cover
the topic adequately. That usually means a minimum of
thirty-five pages.
What is "expository prose?"
It's the setting forth of ideas in clear and direct
prose. This isn't to say that there aren't other, perfectly
legitimate forms of writing that you may wish to develop.
But at the graduate level, you need to be prepared to
wite comprehensive and analytical work that both draws
on prior evidence (scholarship) and that clearly foregrounds
your own ideas.
How Will These Web Pages Help Me?
These pages represent a start, and reflect some of
the concerns you may have at the outset. Fortunately,
there are dozens, if not hundreds, of excellent books
available to help you organize your thinking and get
on with the work of writing. We'll develop a brief online
bibliography for you in the coming months, and will
place the "best" guides on permanent reserve
in the Atkins Library. What these pages will provide
you is only some insight into what kind of writing you'll
be doing for the program.
How to Start?
The LBST faculty has adopted the Modern Language Association
conventions as the standard for the program. As implied
above, you won't be expected to know them all at once.
Instead, in 6101 and 6102, these conventions will be
thoroughly reviewed and consistently applied throughout
your studies. All LBST student purchase two texts at
the beginning of their careers that not only serve as
a reference. but will also reacquaint with the the fundamental
processes of research writing. They are: The
College Writer's Reference and Strategies
for Successful Writing .
