Criteria for Plan B Papers on the Language and Literature Program
I. Criteria
An acceptable Plan B paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA in Language and Literature must conform to the following criteria.
1. The paper must have been originally submitted for the partial fulfillment of course credit in an English graduate course at CMU.
2. The paper must be 20 pages minimum in length not including the bibliography. There is no maximum length.
3. The paper must address a text or problem appropriate to research in the field of English studies, e.g., literary studies, cultural studies, composition, linguistics, English education and others.
4. The paper must have a thesis about the text or problem discussed in the paper.
5. The paper must provide support for the thesis in the form of textual evidence, empirical data, or logical reasoning and an explanation of how the evidence supports the thesis.
6. The paper must conform to appropriate professional manuscript guidelines for citation and documentation, such as the most recent edition of the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or the Chicago Manual of Style.
7. The paper should contain properly documented Works Cited pages reflecting up-to-date and reputable scholarship in the field.
8. The general quality of the paper must exhibit the following criteria:
a. independence of thought and critical thinking skills
b. clear focus, intent, and organization
c. logical reasoning
d. absence of factual errors related to the material being discussed
e. effective presentation of evidence
f. clear, precise prose
g. competence in Standard Written English
A Plan B paper is not intended to be as comprehensive as a thesis nor necessarily a publishable article. It is intended to verify that the candidate for an MA in Language and Literature can produce competent scholarly work in the field of English.
II. Review Process–The Applicant’s Responsibilities
The candidate for the MA in Language and Literature is responsible for completing the following process for developing and submitting the Plan B paper, including meeting all deadlines.
1. At least 3 months before the planned graduation date, a student must secure the agreement of a graduate faculty member to serve as reviewer of the Plan B paper. This person will normally be the faculty member who taught the class for which the paper was originally submitted, but this need not always be the case. Faculty will generally be expected to agree to review papers only in the area of their scholarly expertise. A student may change reviewers at any point in the process.
2. The reviewer will make any suggestions necessary to bring the paper into compliance with the criteria for Plan B papers. The candidate is responsible for revising the original paper to meet the reviewer’s suggestions. The candidate and the reviewer will work cooperatively through the draft and revision stage with the reviewer serving as editor and mentor until such time as both parties are satisfied with the quality of the paper.
3. When the reviewer determines the paper meets all the minimum criteria, he or she will sign a cover sheet attesting to that fact, or if the paper has not been revised to the reviewer’s satisfaction, but the reviewer feels no further progress can be made with the student, he or she may forward the paper, with the student’s permission, to the Plan B Committee indicating a stalemate and requesting a judgment by the Committee.
4. On or before the end of the tenth week of the term the student plans to graduate or wants to have a Plan B paper approved, the student will submit the paper with the attached cover sheet to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English, who will in turn submit the paper to two members of the Plan B Committee for their approval. The candidate will also submit a copy of the Graduate College form, "Plan B Sign-Off," completed with everything except the authorizing signatures.
III. Review Process–Plan B Committee Procedures
The Plan B Committee will consist of the members of the Graduate Committee or their designees as long as the designees belong to the graduate faculty.
1. In the eleventh week of the fall and spring terms, the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English will convene a short meeting of the Plan B Committee to review the criteria and distribute the Plan B papers that have been submitted. In no case will the Plan B paper under scrutiny be submitted to the reviewer who worked with the candidate on the Plan B paper.
2. Plan B Committee members will have two weeks to read the papers and return them to the Coordinator, indicating their acceptance or rejection. In the case of rejection, members must add comments about why the paper was rejected. If the two readers disagree on the quality of a paper, it will be read by a third member who will cast the deciding vote, and, in the case of rejection, must also offer reasons for the rejection.
3. In the case of acceptance the Coordinator of Graduate Studies will forward the Plan B Sign-Off sheet to the Graduate College with the signatures of those Plan B Committee members who approved the paper and a copy of the reviewer’s approval. In the case of approval with revision, the Coordinator will return the paper with the comments and request the appropriate revisions by an agreed-on date.
4. In the case of rejection the Coordinator of Graduate Studies will return the paper to the candidate with the notification of rejection and with a copy to the reviewer.
5. Papers that are not accepted by the Plan B Committee cannot be resubmitted until the next regular meeting of the Plan B Committee the following semester.
6. Plan B papers will not be accepted in the summer terms, nor read by the Committee at any time during the fall and spring semesters except on the designated eleventh week date