Date of Graduation

8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

English

Advisor/Mentor

Slattery, Patrick

Committee Member

Goering, Christian

Second Committee Member

McIntyre, Megan

Keywords

Dissertation; Graduate Capstone; Graduate Writing; Higher Education; Research Writing; Thesis

Abstract

For graduate students, capstone writing is often a stressful process that involves significant obstacles to progress. This dissertation presents an exploratory multi-case study of four graduate capstone writers to examine how institutional contexts and rhetoric shape students’ beliefs and related emotions and behaviors during the high-stakes, low-structure settings of capstone research projects. Data for this study was collected through interviews and reflexively compared with reflections from the principal researcher. To gather insights into the relationship between writers’ internal beliefs and institutional contexts, interview excerpts were analyzed according to both cognitive behavioral coaching and institutional critique frameworks. Findings indicated that students relied on limited institutional information to build schemas of their capstone projects, resulting in knowledge gaps and negative beliefs that inhibited progress, highlighting the critical connection between capstone writers and their educational contexts. These insights suggest a need for developing more intentional institutional structures during capstone projects. Additionally, this case study provides a foundation for future research on institutional patterns and power dynamics in graduate capstone writing.

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