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.
Theses/Dissertations from 2001
Creativity in Corporate Writing, Stephanie D. Waldroup
Finding One's Place through Writing, Leslie M. Walker
The Importance of Family in My Professional Writing, April Sheffield Wallace
Spherical Angles: The Practical Pursuit of Stylistic Freedom, Kristie K. White
Putting the Pieces Together and Discovering a Story, Gina Woods
Theses/Dissertations from 2000
The Reader on My Shoulder: Teaching Writing through Audience Awareness, Sally Brock
Lost Princess: A Life of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, Cheryl Anderson Brown
Who Is My Audience? Journey of a Technical Communicator, Elizabeth B. Connell
The Design of a Writer: Parlaying a Professional Writing Program into a Professional Writing Career, Carissa Athena Craig
Relativity: A Writing Portfolio, Natalie Wolfe Fischer
Discovering Creativity in Applied Writing, Erika D. Hendrickson
The Burkemont Chronicles: A Short Story Collection, Virginia L. McCurry
Collaborative Writing in Corporate Marketing Communications, Irene K. Moore
Creative Writing Techniques across Genres: A Portfolio of Applied and Creative Works, Debra S. Rasure
Breach of Dignity, Lillian Richey
Perspectives in Fiction and Poetry: A Writing Portfolio, Margaret Songe
Process, Affect, and Autobiography: A Writing Portfolio, Laura B. Stoughton
Canyon Road: A Novel, Ellen Taber
Professional Writing Skills Applied to Program Development Enhances Likelihood of Program Success: A Writing Portfolio, Melissa Vickery
Writing the Out-Of-Doors: A Writing Portfolio, Amy Gayle Whitney
Theses/Dissertations from 1999
The Rhetorical Construction of History: A Historian's Journey in Professional Writing, Catherine A. Armstrong
Hudson City Rain: Collected Fiction, Mauro Bisiacchi
Flight: A Story Cycle, Traci Leigh Blanchard
Layers of Literacy: A Theoretical Journey, Melanie Blenis
Something to Cry About: A Writing Portfolio, Lauri Michelle Bohanan
Words Grow Like Ivy: Lessons from a Writer to a Writer, Jeanine A. Burns
The Development of a Writer's Gestalt: Lessons from a Writer to a Writer, Dianne McClintock Callahan
Professional Writing Functions of a Telecommunications Company Public Relations Department, Joy Dean Conn
Roads of the Past: The Autobiographical Route to Writing, Eric Durocher
Dead Asleep: A Full Length Screenplay, Wallace E. Edson
The Personal Travel Essay: Reflections and a Collection of Travel Essays, Margaret Gramoglia
The Balancing Act: Pedagogy of PRAXIS, Patsy Hamby
Teaching to Write and Writing to Teach: A Teacher's Circular Journey through Literacy, Bernadette Lambert
Honoring Truth in Writing, Dorinda Eller Paige
Reading Narratives and Reflexive Understanding, George M. Seaman
Discourse of Authority: Forays into the Dynamics of Authority, Power and the Construction of Knowledge through Writing, Karl A. Soetebier
Rising above Expectations: Personal Development through Education, Joyce Scott Tippens
Shapeshifting: Collecting and Connecting. The Experience and Application of Professional Writing, Mary Walker
Beyond the Classroom Experience: Integrating Education and Career, Yvonne Beard Wichman
A Day in the Life of a Reasonable Man: A Novel, Neil Wilkinson
Theses/Dissertations from 1998
A Writing Portfolio, Trudi Mitchell Bartow
Standing Down and Other Stories, Drew Brown
Therapy and Other Stories: A Writing Portfolio, Peggy L. Brown
Issues of Conflict in Collaborative Writing: A Writing Portfolio, Jennifer N. Carnahan
Business Communications in the Nineties, Stephanie Lynn Chambers
A Writing Portfolio, Bridget Anastasia Trainor Doss
Two Short Horror Screenplays, Bob Epperson
Writing Journey, Ruth Gaulke
A Writer's Portfolio, Saffura Chinniah Ghalili
Development of a Hypertext-Linked Localization Module, Gordon A. Harrison and Frances L. Weyand
Into the Woods: The Search for Direction within My Creative Writing Process, Kathleen Suzanne Hart
Writing as a Process: A Portfolio, Susan Lynn Wimberly Hartley
Creativity in Business Writing: One Student's Transformation, Patricia B. Long
Long Gone: A Novel, Man Martin
Collaborative Writing: Professional Accounts, Personal Discoveries, Lisa A. Mirando
The Evolution of a Professional Writer: A Writing Portfolio, Regina C. Rameizl
Paper Doll: A Writing Portfolio, Karen Diane Stewart Shelnutt
A Writing Portfolio, Cheryl A. Shinall
A Writer's Portfolio, Beverly C. Smith
Writing in the 21st Century: Essays on Adaptation and Change, John C. Snipes
A Journey of Personal and Professional Expression: A Writing Portfolio, Dian Stevenson
Giving Voice to Life's Experiences, Lynda S. Wheeler
Theses/Dissertations from 1997
The Role of Revision in Workplace and Creative Writing, Anne Marie Bennett
Getting There: A Writing Portfolio, Sean Andrew Brumfield
Writing For: Audience and Marketability, Marsha Proser Cohen
The Legal Power of the Written Word: A Rhetorical Analysis of Appellate Briefs, Althea Craig Curry
Love Is Signified with a Kiss, Necessity a Knot: A Portfolio of Poetry, Annette Harvill Davitte
Toward Defining Collaboration: A Writing Portfolio, Diane Dorland Dyer
The Roles of Genre, Audience, and Collaboration in Composing for Diverse Discourse Communities, Andrea Galloy
Reading, Writing, and Multimedia: A Writing Portfolio, Kathy A. Lynn
Teacher as Narrator, Researcher, and Facilitator: A Writing Portfolio, Milka Mustenikova Mosley
The Impact of Social Construction on Writing Centers, Jan Readling
A Writing Portfolio, Sarah Anne Shope
The Silence Within: A Writing Portfolio, Audrey Eitel Skinner
The Professional Portfolio: From the Workplace to the Realm of Fiction, Gary R. Smith
A Writing Portfolio, Len Sugar
A Writing Portfolio, Allen A. Thompson
A Writing Portfolio, Kathleen Marie Vetromile
Have Pen, Will Travel: A Professional Writer's Sojourn, Susan Nichols Weiss
The Wurffleins of Philadelphia: Artisan Gunmakers at the End of an Era, Ronelle Willadsen