Yet another thread with questions about the Capstone...

[mysonx3]

I have a few questions about how to approach various requirements of the first written assignment for the Liberal Arts Capstone. Most of these questions stem from the requirement of things that I don't think I've seen in a research paper before, so maybe I'm just not looking at it the right way, and hoping y'all can help. But first, I just want to check - this assignment does eventually become part of my capstone, right? I'm not supposed to write my introduction as well as a separate written assignment that checks all these boxes (while keeping my actual paper free from the "weird" elements that seem out of place in a research paper), right?

Anyway, on to my specific questions:

First, the requirement to describe your personal interest in the topic. This is juxtaposed against the requirement to not use first or second person language. How can I describe my personal interest in a topic without using words like "I" or "my"? Does anyone have any examples of this?

Second, the requirement to "Explore its relevance to professional life and of such a research project". This one isn't even a coherent sentence, and I have no idea what it requires. I'm guessing I am just supposed to explain how my topic is relevant to the world?

Next, the requirement to "list the key words used to refine your topic or problem statement". I don't understand how this section is supposed to sound. I've seen keywords below the abstract, but I don't think I've seen them in the body of the paper before and I just don't know what that is supposed to look like.

"Identify intended audience" - I don't know that I've seen a research paper that does this. I've seen this as part of the writing process, but never seen it make its way into the paper. How would this sound?

"Indicate your voice as the writer (informer or advocate)" - This seems like it could be accomplished with just the tone that I strike. Do I need to explicitly state whether I will be informing or advocating, or is the mere act of doing so sufficient?

Provide a summary. Is this supposed to be a summary of the topic? A summary of the introduction that wraps it up and allows you to transition to the next section?

Another question: how long have people's first written assignments been? I wrote an introduction to my topic that is close to two pages, and leaves several boxes still to be checked from the written assignment checklist. Will I end up writing too much once I go and check all those boxes in the rest of my first assignment, do you think? I'm guessing not (I've got 40 pages to work with here), but I'm not too sure.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out - I'm very confused by the capstone right now, as I expected it to be much more of a traditional research paper, which would lack many of these elements that seem to be required, and which I'm struggling to find a way to integrate.

[davewill]

This does not sound like it's going to be part of the paper itself. I think this is more introducing the topic to your mentor to get feedback before you start.

[mysonx3]

This does not sound like it's going to be part of the paper itself. I think this is more introducing the topic to your mentor to get feedback before you start.

That's kinda what it sounds like from the description. I just emailed the mentor to find out. The odd thing is that I've already introduced the topic through the discussion forum, and I had previously been under the impression that the written assignments were just writing the various parts of the Capstone. Hopefully my mentor responds back quickly - I will feel much better if what you're suggesting is true.

[TexasTink]

I don’t know how the new Capstone course is structured, but I can tell you that the old course used all of your individual assignments in the final paper.

Writing in third person is definitely odd, but it’s doable with some creative thinking. It’s probably okay to refer to yourself now and then in the first person but overall they do want this sort of detached feeling to it. If it would be helpful, I have samples of all the assignments from the prior incarnation of this class. It might at least give you some ideas of what other people have done. Send me a dm if you’d like them.

[mysonx3]

I don’t know how the new Capstone course is structured, but I can tell you that the old course used all of your individual assignments in the final paper.

Writing in third person is definitely odd, but it’s doable with some creative thinking. It’s probably okay to refer to yourself now and then in the first person but overall they do want this sort of detached feeling to it. If it would be helpful, I have samples of all the assignments from the prior incarnation of this class. It might at least give you some ideas of what other people have done. Send me a dm if you’d like them.

That knowledge about the old course setup is what I had been basing my understanding on, but based on everything I've seen about the requirements I really hope that's changed and its separate now.

Certainly I can write in the third person generally, but it's hard to address questions like "What is *your* personal interest in the topic?" that way, unless I'm supposed to refer to myself as "the author".

Thanks to both of you for the input.

[suzycupcake]

I'm in the capstone right now and if you don't have samples, I can give them to you - my mentor posted them. I can email them to you if you need.

[Honguito]

I have exactly the same questions OP asked. If anyone have any samples to shared, please, my mentor hasn't shared any and I a bit confused. I only find samples to the old capstone
Thanks