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Department: COMM
Course No.: 296W
Title: Senior Thesis
Credits: 1-3
Contact: Ross Buck
WQ: W
Preparation of a thesis and its presentation to the department.
W Criteria: 1. Writing assignments will be central to learning the content of the course. COMM 296W is most often taken by Honors students during their final semester. The senior thesis represents the culmination of a research experience conducted under the supervision of a faculty advisor in the Communication Processes program. Specific content will be adapted to the student. In most instances the thesis will report an experiment in APA style consisting of five primary sections: (a) introduction and hypotheses; (b) methodology; (c) results; (d) discussion; and (e) references-figures-tables-appendices. In other instances, the thesis may report extensive and critical literature reviews, meta-analyses, test developments, or theoretical analyses. In all instances the students turn in multiple drafts of each section and receive continuing feedback regarding content, clarity of writing, APA style, and meaningfulness. Length of theses vary but are rarely less than 35 pages and never shorter than 15.
2. The primary modes of writing instruction in the course will be the written commentary on the drafts.
3. Revisions will be required based upon the written comments on the drafts.
4. The syllabus will inform students that they must pass the "W" component of the course in order to pass the course.