PHIL 110 3WK Overview of the Final Capstone Project

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Final Capstone Project Final Essay Submission and Showcase

Up to this point in the course, you’ve researched, composed and shared with others your thoughts regarding a topic about which you care deeply. Now it’s time to assemble your essay as the last step of your Final Capstone Project. You will demonstrate your mastery of the following learning objectives:

• Use critical thinking skills to assess information, solve problems, and make decisions; • Identify, reconstruct and appraise different argument types that appear in print/non-print

media; • Evaluate inductive and deductive inferences using the concepts of validity, soundness, reliability,

strength and cogency; • Construct and evaluate oral and written arguments emphasizing clarity and rationality; • Conduct research to locate, synthesize, and evaluate narrative and numerical information in

print, electronic, and live formats. The Final Capstone Essay grading rubric will be used to assess your work, so please read it carefully before you create your project. The length of your submission depends entirely on you, but don’t write just to add heft. Make your words count. Remember that it’s quality, not length, that will determine your grade on the assignment. Step #1: Prepare your notes for your Final Capstone Essay using the 7-step critical thinking process.

1. What are you asking your reader to believe or accept? In other words, what is your main claim? 2. What evidence is available to support this claim? (This could be bullet points or a set of short

paragraphs that serve as reasons or premises for the main claim, which is the argument’s conclusion.)

3. How would you rate the evidence based on its veracity (truthfulness) and its relevance to your main claim? (In other words, evaluate the evidence based on its accuracy and its logical connectedness to the conclusion.)

4. Can this evidence be interpreted differently? Identify any evidence that can support an alternative viewpoint. (This is important for detecting possible rebuttals, i.e., counter arguments, to your position.)

5. After evaluating the evidence, can you think if any possible objections (rebuttals) that might be raised against your argument? Can you find any holes in your argument or identify any possible fallacies?

6. What additional evidence would help you strengthen your argument? 7. Which set of evaluative criteria (inductive or deductive) seems best suited to assessing your

argument? (Unit 3 discusses these at length, so you may wish to review these standards for assessing arguments.) How would you evaluate your argument using the criteria most appropriate to it?

PHIL 110 3WK Overview of the Final Capstone Project

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Step #2: Compose your Final Capstone Essay Your final capstone essay will have five parts: (1) a prose presentation of your argument, delivered as briefly but effectively as possible; (2) a reconstruction of your argument, either as a standard format reconstruction (P1, P2, Pn … /C) or as an argument map (review Unit 2 for a brush-up on either); (3) an evaluation of your argument, using the set of criteria most appropriate to it (see Unit 3 for details); (4) a reflection on what you’ve learned about critical thinking from this project, and (5) a list of sources used in researching and preparing your Final Capstone Project. Here’s a step-by-step procedure for completing the Final Capstone Project: Part 1: prose presentation of the argument

1. In a single introductory paragraph, state your topic, explain your personal reasons for choosing it, and tell the reader what your main claim is – that is, what’s your conclusion or thesis? Do not include the reasoning (premises) for your conclusion in this paragraph.

2. In the next several paragraphs, present the your reasoning for your main claim or conclusion. Devote one paragraph to each reason you have identified, and include any evidence you’ve found to support the reason, either in the body of your text or as a footnote/endnote.

3. Once you’ve presented your thesis (paragraph 1) and your reasoning (the ensuing paragraphs), consider the most prominent possible rebuttal (objection) to your argument. State the objection in a paragraph and then explain why you think it is erroneous.

4. Wrap things up with a concluding paragraph, in which you summarize your argument. Don’t simply repeat what you’ve said; try to synthesize and condense the main points you’ve made. You could also describe any future research on the topic that might prove enlightening for interested readers.

Part 2: argument reconstruction

Reconstruct the argument in standard format (premise 1, premise 2, premise 3, etc., conclusion) or as an argument diagram or argument map.

Part 3: argument evaluation

Analyze the argument in terms of the evaluative criteria best suited to it. For instance, if it’s an inductive generalization or statistical syllogism, use the criteria of sample size, comprehensiveness/representativeness, and randomness (for a review of these, see Unit 4); if it’s a causal argument, use the criteria appropriate to hypothesis formation (see Unit 5); if it’s an analogical argument, ask if the comparative features are sufficiently similar and if there are enough similarities to justify the comparison (see Unit 6); if it’s a deduction, test for validity and the truth of the premises (see Unit 3).

Part 4: reflection

Conclude with a brief reflection on what you learned by completing this entire project and the steps leading up to it, including Capstone Project Parts 1 and 2.

Part 5: citation list of sources used, in APA format Properly cite in APA style all your scholarly resources, including the text from this course and any videos you’ve used.

PHIL 110 3WK Overview of the Final Capstone Project

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Step #3: Share your Final Capstone Essay Post your completed Final Capstone Essay in the Final Capstone Project Discussion Forum. Please use a title that includes both your name and your topic (for instance, “Final Capstone Project – Jane Doe — #MeToo). Read and comment on at least two other students’ projects, including one who worked on a different topic.