Ready to throw in the towel on the Capstone...

[cookderosa]

...and it's only the second week of the course. :eek:

I am having the hardest time framing my topic coherently, and I feel I need a tutor just to get past this point. It's really humbling and embarrassing to realize that maybe the Capstone is out of my league. I'm overwhelmed, and reaching out to the mentor hasn't been as helpful as I thought it would be. Chapter 1 is due on Sunday and I am stuck at square one with a really intense fear of submitting this late.

Any words of wisdom? I have read and re-read threads here, but the frustration is still there.

You really need to narrow your topic a lot more. I know this isn't a grad level paper, but one thing I learned very quickly in grad school is that you have to be narrow, narrow, narrow. Like a single question. Your topic is HUGE and vague. If you zero in on a specific question, it will be MUCH easier to answer.

"My topic is how historical events and cultural taboos affect the view of mental illness in a specific community"

I would prompt you to clarify which specific historical event (not events) OR which specific cultural taboo (not taboos) affected a specific community's (city/state) view of a specific mental illness (not mental illnesses).

So, a targeted question would be more along the lines of asking how the neurological disorder epilepsy was misunderstood / misdiagnosed / misclassified as witchcraft in Salem, Mass and led to the prosecution/ execution of X number of people during the Salem Witch Trials. - not exact, but you get the idea. It's more about answering 1 question with facts/data (the trials happened, behavior that was strange was probably epilepsy) and then pulling in your research - it was probably epilepsy because...... (research from psych resource) and you wrap it up with how accurate diagnosis or hysteria or whatnot are better understood today, etc.

You'll do great! Just keep it narrow.

[sammeecat]

Thank you so much for that super helpful feedback, Jennifer.

So, I changed gears significantly over the weekend and went with a completely different topic. It was a stressful scramble to submit the first chapter, but it's done. The mentor already graded it, too, so I have useful comments and a direction to go in with the other components of the project. The only negative thing (aside from the stupid amount of stress I put myself through) is that my family has to eat PB&J tonight because I'm taking the night off. I hope they survive.

[High_Order1]

You really need to narrow your topic a lot more.

I logged in specifically to say this.

I see you've changed your topic; pity. Might have been an interesting read. But I understand both sides - get 'er done vs. My Personal Manifesto.

Whatever you did seems to be working for you, so congrats on getting over that hump!! You are closer than you were yesterday, right??

[sammeecat]

Sweetsecret, I don't know how I missed seeing your post, but I'm glad I saw it today. Thanks so much for your feedback and for sharing your thoughts about Nina Simone & Josephine Baker. So many topics could be written about both of them, and in fact, a capstone on either one of them and how their mental illnesses would be fascinating to read (and probably to write). Maybe someone will share that here.

Can we receive PMs here? Would you mind PMing the name of your proofreader? So far, I found Smarthinking to be helpful, but admittedly, I only used them once for a minor question.

[ladylearner]

I'm 2 or 3 months off from starting the capstone, and I'm terrified. I'm going to be in the same boat. I have no idea what type of topic to do. Ugh.

I'm definitely in the same boat and I'm about to jump overboard. In the midst of the capstone and so overwhelmed and behind it's not even funny.

[SweetSecret]

Sweetsecret, I don't know how I missed seeing your post, but I'm glad I saw it today. Thanks so much for your feedback and for sharing your thoughts about Nina Simone & Josephine Baker. So many topics could be written about both of them, and in fact, a capstone on either one of them and how their mental illnesses would be fascinating to read (and probably to write). Maybe someone will share that here.

Can we receive PMs here? Would you mind PMing the name of your proofreader? So far, I found Smarthinking to be helpful, but admittedly, I only used them once for a minor question.

Yes, I'll PM you.