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Graduate Thesis Style Guide: MFA in Creative Writing

Introduction and Student Responsibilities

This guide was developed for use by graduate students and thesis readers when preparing a manuscript to publish on Dominican Scholar to ensure that it:

  • Complies with the requirements of your department  and of  the University
  • That it meets a level of professional work
  • That it meets accessibility standards

While preparing your manuscript be sure to allow enough time for the following:

  1. Sending out and receiving copyright permissions for images
  2. Meeting with the Scholarly Communications Librarian to review formatting and accessibility
  3. Inevitable edits and corrections
  4. Submission of your final paper to Dominican Scholar

It is crucial for students to read and understand the information presented in these guidelines and to contact the Scholarly Communications Librarian immediately when clarification is needed. Manuscripts not meeting these guidelines will not be published.

Important: Remember that the submission of the manuscript to the Library occurs after all of your thesis advisors have approved the thesis and the Library has approved your formatting. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all readers are available to review the manuscript and to meet with the Scholarly Communications Librarian to review formatting so the thesis can be submitted in final form to Dominican Scholar by the deadline set by the author's department.

Meet with a Librarian

Meet with the Scholarly Communications Librarian early in the writing process to set up formatting and to anticipate potential problems. Additionally, if you are planning on using any images that you did not create (i.e. if you use any images, charts, maps, illustrations, etc. from another source), then you may run into some copyright issues. Make an appointment with the Scholarly Communications Librarian to identify potential conflicts. Start the copyright permission process as early as possible in case you are denied permission and need to find substitute images.

Required: Meeting with the Scholarly Communications Librarian, a minimum of one time, to review formatting prior to submission of your manuscript to Dominincan Scholar. Multiple meetings may be needed depending on the complexity of your document and the use of images and tables. Do not wait until your submission deadline to have these appointments.

Contact Information for the Scholarly Communications Librarian

 dominican.scholar@dominican.edu

 415-485-3254

Schedule an Appointment