Senior Thesis Paper

This section showcases my senior thesis project for the ENGL 185: Professional Writing Capstone class, where I delved into "Invisible Scholars: Confronting Barriers to Higher Education for Caregiving Students."

 

Course Overview:

ENGL 185 is a topical writing workshop focused on rhetorical strategies useful in written and multimodal genres. This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity for serious engagement with a writing project within their minor specialization, under close faculty supervision and within a constructive writing group. Activities include reading, discussion, oral presentations, rhetorical analysis, and the development of a professional portfolio.

 

Project Development:

In this capstone course, students are tasked with developing their capstone projects by identifying appropriate models, understanding generic expectations, and making strategic rhetorical choices. For my project, I chose to transform my research on caregiving students into a comprehensive research paper.

 

Personal Introduction:

I began my thesis with a personal introduction, sharing the story of how I became interested in this research. This personal touch is not customary in a true research paper for psychology, however, I aimed to connect with readers by highlighting my journey and the motivations behind my study.

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Thesis Highlights:

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• Introduction: Explored my personal experiences and how they led to my interest in researching caregiving students.

• Research Goals: Defined the purpose and objectives of the study, focusing on the unique challenges faced by caregiving students in higher education.

• Methodology: Detailed the mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue.

• Findings: Discussed significant themes and subthemes identified through the research, illustrating the academic, financial, and emotional impacts on caregiving students.

• Recommendations: Proposed actionable institutional changes to better support caregiving students, based on the study's findings.

 

My thesis was developed under the close supervision of faculty members, with significant guidance from Dr. Lene Levy-Storms and Dr. Mary Galvin-Lew. Their insights and feedback were invaluable in refining my thesis paper.

 

Explore my senior thesis to learn more about the critical insights and recommendations derived from my research on supporting caregiving students in higher education.