I have a newfound appreciation for people who can write 15+ pages about a single topic! I just wrote my first 15-page paper for my LIT 499 capstone, and it was a draining, yet rewarding, experience.
For those of you who aren't familiar with LIT 499 capstone classes at TCNJ, the culminating project is usually a 15-page research paper on a topic of our choosing. For all of my previous college courses, the maximum amount of pages I've written for literature papers have been limited to about eight pages--so needless to say, 15 pages was quite a change of pace for me.
My LIT 499 capstone class this semester is an Ecocritical class, with a focus on 19th century British texts. For my final research paper, I decided to read Jane Austen's Emma and connect the setting of Emma with Austen's theme of social class.
The most amazing part of this experience is that the last eleven pages I wrote with a fever, since I've been confined to bed for the past five days. Now that I look back at what I've written, I feel accomplished. Perhaps I have what it takes to be a literary scholar :)
