The capstone project requires you to explore a specific topic within your major area of study. It can be challenging to determine what you will research and write about, but you need to think about the many topics you have studied in your major area of study and consider which one topic in your major area of study that you would like to explore in more depth. At this early stage in the course, it is important to choose an appropriate topic and make it as precise and focused as possible.
First, state your major area of study. Then, applying the methods described in the assigned reading, write about your process of selecting a topic in your area of study. What is your #1 choice for a topic? Explain how your personal background, career, and/or academic studies make you interested in this topic. Can you express this topic in the form of a question to be answered, or as a thesis that needs to be proven? Share with your classmates what you have developed thus far for additional input and discussion. [MO 1.1]
Written Assignment 2
Deciding on a topic for the capstone project can be a challenge. However, it is important to be as precise and specific as possible; this will allow you to investigate your topic with sufficient depth. Reflect on the courses you have taken in your major area of study to identify issues that have interested or fascinated you. While this project does not require you to make an original scholarly contribution to your field, it does require you to develop a deep acquaintance with your topic. You are expected to use a high level of academic rigor to locate and analyze published academic sources in your exploration of your topic.
Please refer to the Capstone Project section of the course website for full details and requirements. Written Assignment 1 is the first step toward completing the project. [MO 1.1, MO 1.2, MO 1.3]
Instructions
Write an introduction to your topic that incites interest and depicts the need for the study. Why should the reader be interested in this topic? What should the reader hope to gain from this project? Find a quotation, anecdote, news item, or some other element on the topic that can incite such interest as you open your paper.
Then, briefly describe the reasons for this choice of the topic and study, along with the other elements required as indicated below. Keep in mind, academic writing is supposed to be as objective and dispassionate as possible, which means you should avoid a conversational tone, all slang, and writing in the first or second person. Try wherever possible to write in the third person throughout academic writing. Even if there is some personal aspect that is to be addressed, there are ways to format such writing that do not involve using the first person.
This written assignment must include the following:
Introduce the topic.
Discuss your topic selection.
Review the outcomes for our major area of study and explain how your topic relates to your major area of study and one or more outcome within the major area of study.
Describe your personal interest in the topic.
State how it might be relevant to your future professional life and why you wish to research the topic further.
List the key words used to refine your topic or problem statement.
Provide the purpose of the paper (explain, analyze, or argue).
Identify intended audience (general or specialized).
Indicate your voice as the writer (informer or advocate).
Identify key points or main question to be studied.
Draft a preliminary problem statement, thesis statement, or opening hypothesis that includes mention of the context of your topic.
Provide a summary.