Capstone: Not an End, a Beginning

For many English majors, the ENG 4883: Publications and Portfolio Capstone course represents an end, not a beginning. And there’s something to that, to be sure. It’s called capstone for a reason. ENG 4883 is designed, in part, to facilitate the assembly of students’ senior portfolio. However, it does much more than that. In fact, it does things that are far more important than the assembly of the portfolio. 

Dr. McMahon and her Capstone Students at the Capstone Showcase last December 

Arguably, ENG 4883’s most critical function is not as a capstone, but as a foundation, or better yet, as stepping stone. ENG 4883 is designed to help ready English majors for the opportunities they will face after graduation. It helps them prepare resumes and write cover letters for jobs. It helps them understand how to present themselves effectively in personal statements, with an eye to the different situations for which those statements are produced, and the different audiences that will assess them. It helps students develop their confidence and competence as scholars. It acquaints them with the basic practices and expectations associated with attending conferences, giving conference presentations, and publishing in scholarly journals. It helps them locate these scholarly options. Moreover, it provides the supportive platform off which students can seize these opportunities. 

Not only does every student present original work in an on-campus showcase similar to an academic conference, students are encouraged to take their work on the road. And the majority of them do! For instance, in Fall 2019, seven of the eleven students enrolled in the class presented their work at an undergraduate or professional conference. And since the end of the fall semester, four more capstone students have had works accepted for conferences in 2020. 

Capstone isn’t just the pinnacle of your English coursework at ECU; it’s your step up to the place you want to go.