The Master of Arts in Professional Writing program (MAPW) is a professional graduate degree program that prepares candidates for a wide variety of writing-related positions in business, education, publishing, and the arts. Coursework in three concentrations applied writing, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing allows students to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in various fields of professional writing. As students become experienced in producing and analyzing business, technical, journalistic, and creative texts, they develop a sophisticated understanding of style, structure, and audience. MAPW students will become writing professionals who can move in many directions during their careers. They will become flexible writers who can tune in to the writing conventions of a given genre, adapting their writing style to the requirements of various rhetorical contexts.
What is the MAPW Capstone Project?
A project designated as a thesis, portfolio or practicum and accompanied by a rationale for its purpose and design that involves electronic and/or print media and is relevant to the student’s concentration in professional writing. After submitting an approved capstone proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to produce the project. The candidate must submit the capstone project at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the project with the faculty committee, or 2) a public presentation about the project or a reading from the project for an audience of faculty and peers.
Capstones from 2019
Mezze: A Short Story Collection-in-Progress, Leata Thomas
Hot, Fiery, Fierce, Burning, Passionate: The Story of John Fry and Ardent Studios, Zack Zoeller
Capstones from 2018
All Writers Welcome: An Exploratory Study of the Potential Value of Academic Writing Center and Adult Community-Based Literacy Center Partnerships, Allison Bennett
Margin Matters: How to Live on a Simple Budget and Crush Debt Forever, Jason Brown
Adventures in Storytelling: An Editor's Guide to Better Fiction, Rachel Frank
Media Guide and Strategic Plan, Ella Greer
The biography of Dr. Joseph Mbelolo Ya Mpiku: A Congolese true to his roots, looking beyond the world he lives in., Zola Matingu
Unraveling Identity Signifier Literacy: A Case Study of First-Year Composition Students' Communication Practices, Bailey McAlister
Reflecting on and Shattering My White Lens: A Critical Autoethnography on My Experience as a White Editor Working with Authors of Color, Kelsey Medlin
Life: Told by Death, Shannan Rivera
Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Darker, Jennifer Sarra
Imprimatur: A Poetry Portfolio, Valerie Smith
The Edugametional Podcast Episode 1: Souls Games and Information Literacy, Brian Zabell
Capstones from 2017
Creating a Web Presence for a Small Business Using a Holistic Content Strategy Approach, Tabitha Akins
Highway 11: A Memoir, Judy Benowitz
Choosing the Best: A Rhetorical Analysis and Discussion of an Abstinence-Centered Sexuality Education Curriculum, Carolyn Buonomo
Wonders for the Dead, Sarah Cook
The Woods of Wander, Stephanie Dinizio
Batty Stories: Ramblings with Gramdad, Julie A. Donn
Carol and the Ugly Sisters: A Play in Three Acts, Judith Jones
Portosystemic Shunts in Cats: Management and Care, Rachael E. Konke
The Creative Voice--Dialogue Between Writer and Editor: A Portfolio, Valerie M. Mathews
Doorway to the Deep: Memoirs of Enduring Endometriosis and Embracing Life After Loss, Carma Peña
Patient Zero, Crystal Ramos
The "Wizards" Guide and Chapters, Jessica D. Sager Ms.
Bachelorette Sanctuary, Amanda Smith
Creating Effective Style Documents: A Practicum in Trade Publication, Kristen Tardio
Supporting Equine-Assisted Therapy: A Grant Proposal Writing Project for Healing Hands Youth Ranch, Nancy Tompkins
Capstones from 2016
SWAMP BANDIT: The Legend of John Ashley and Florida's Notorious Ashley Gang, Constance M. B. Briggs
On the Edge of a Knife; The Early Migration into Middle Tennessee and the Heroine Charlotte Reeves Robertson, Lisa C. Diglio
Rewriting the Sentence in First-Year Composition: Pedagogies and Perspectives, June G. Newton
Approaching Review: A Heuristic Assisting Scholars Navigating the Publication of Multimodal and Open-Access Webtexts within the Tenure and Promotion Review Process, Abigail H. Patterson
Enculturation Pedagogy, Robert Lane Rockett
Building a Case for Smaller English Class Sizes, Cara Lee Smith
Short Works: Things Gone By, Novel: Creatives, Elizabeth B. Visscher
Capstones from 2015
The Dirty Five, Mackleen Desravines
Editing in America, Don W. Fruman
Selections from "Darkness on the Edge of Town", Keaton K. Lamle
Lymphomania, Kristi S. Martin
Writing on the Margins: Student Experiences in a Learning Support English Course, Tabatha W. Martin
Identity-Based Assignments and Student Disinterest in FYC, Benjamin F. Pearce
If You Don’t Want to Talk About Food, Don’t Sit Next to Me, Judith L. Polk
A Few Slices of Pie: The Life and Legacy of Scottie Fitzgerald Smith, Melissa K. Roberson
Capstones from 2014
Lands of Gems, Nadia Abdulahi
Writing About Photography, Sarah E. Boslaugh
Graduate Teaching Assistants in Composition: How Does Preparation Translate to Practice?, Julia Mann Clem
Life Begins Tomorrow, DeLain Climmons
Engaging FYC Students with Quality Work Design, Candace Deal
MAPW Porfolio, Lason Chelsea Greenwood
Westfield, Javy Gwaltney
Nursing: The Next Chapter, Lance C. Hansard
Blue Silence, Michael Paul Harrison
Moral Geography: A Screenplay, Michael Heck
Braden Banks and the Legend of ELF, Inc. (Book 1), Cameron Kodiak Kerfoot
A Buffalo Home, Nicole Knox
Green Carnation, Sarah Poulsen
Student and Instructor Responses to E-Feedback, Julia Reidy
Telling My Story and the Stories of Others, Sandra L. Simpson
Tobacco Road Cowboy: Stories from a Carolina Lowcountry Tobacco Farm Childhood, Norma Jo Wall
Life Stories, Brenda Wilson
The Anderson Family: Lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Lorraine Wynn
Renal, Amanda Zubrowski
Theses/Dissertations from 2013
Critical Thinking and Argument in First-Year-Composition: A Two-Part Assignment, Jason Burge
Crisis and Opportunity, Peggy Comin
Capstone Practicum, Kiran Damania
On Leave: A Novella, Andrew T. Duvall
The Mark of a Dead Man, Dylan K. Edwards
Social Media and Peer Review: Edmodo in the Composition Classroom, Mark Gardner
Storm Stories, Megan Gehring
Flickers in the Dark, Stephanie Hines
The Use of Rhetoric in Public Relations: Kenneth Burke's Theory of Identification and Consubstantiality, Chonticia Y. Jackson
Working in a Second Language, Nicole V. Lyu
Second Coming on South Cobb Drive: Poems, Christopher Martin
Voices in Cyberspace: Testing the Effectiveness of Blogs as a Tool for Improving Voice in Student Writing, Caitlin Martinez
The Impact of User-Created Content on Traditional News, Aneesah McDonald
Last Trip to Disneyland, Freeman Mensa Montaque
Belong: Poetry and Prose on Being Adopted, Karen Pickell
Thresholds, Gabriel J. Pline
The Inn That Almost Wasn't: The Life and Times of the Len Foote Hike Inn, Jessica M. Price
Sisters of Sun and Moon, Crystal Rast
Remix and Rebalance: Copyright and Fair Use Issues in the Digital Age and English Studies, Scott A. Singleton
Finding Home, Ana Sosa
Z Word, Danielle Southwell
SociaLeighFood Memoir Cookbook, Leigh Takata
MAPW Thesis, Nathan M. Ware
Writing My Peace: Transforming Tragedy Into Art, Precious C. Williams
Perry Island, Stan Wyatt
To Love Again?, Shunkedra Zachery
Theses/Dissertations from 2012
Common Errors of Two Contemporary Classrooms: A Capstone, Helen M. Cauley
Ghosts Among the Kudzu, Melissa Davis
Social Media in Context: Writers Explore the Marketplace: A Practicum in Editing and Design, Denae Eagen
The Way Home, Michael J. Gavalas
Necroburbia, Sebastian Gregory
The Walton Way: A Tradition of Excellence, Jana Hoffman
A Strong-Minded Southern Woman: Sarah Joe Alston Claiborne, Catharine M. Johnson
Gaining Admission to the Medical Discourse Community: The Importance of Method Within Homeopathic Research, Katharina Jorgensen
From Homer to Hip-Hop: Using Popular Music to Teach Composition, Rebecca Kraegel
Sunflower Seeds & Quarter Waters, Imani Marshall