Capstone
Project
HUM680
your
project
1
Your
project
will
generally
be
in
the
40-60
page
range,
but
it
can
be
longer.
It
can
be
an
extended
academic
study,
a
collection
of
poems
or
stories,
a
novel
or
novella,
or
a
creative
or
teaching
portfolio.
Your
project
should
also
demonstrate
writing
competence.
Successfully
written
projects
will
score
an
average
of
3
on
the
writing
rubric
provided
with
this
syllabus
for
writing,
content,
and
thesis
measurements.
The
Capstone
Project
for
Your
Master
of
Humanities
Degree
at
Tiffin
University
In
order
to
fulfill
your
degree
requirements
for
Tiffin
Universitys
Master
of
Humanities
program,
you
need
to
complete
either
a
Comprehensive
Exam
(HUM
681)
or
a
Capstone
Project
(HUM
680).
Youre
eligible
to
register
for
one
of
these
courses
once
youve
completed
twenty-one
hours
of
coursework
at
Tiffin
University.
This
course,
HUM
680,
is
the
Capstone
Project
option.
Over
the
course
of
the
semester
you
will
meet
weekly
with
faculty
and
fellow
students
on
discussion
threads
to
talk
about
your
progress,
to
seek
inspiration,
to
vent,
to
get
answers
to
your
questions,
and
to
be
directed
toward
some
useful
sources.
You
will
submit
your
final
project
in
a
single
Word,
.pdf,
or
.rtf
file
to
a
designated
folder
in
turnitin.com
before
m idnight
on
the
last
day
of
the
semester,
but
if
necessary
you
can
take
an
incomplete
for
one
semester
and
finish
your
project
before
the
end
of
the
following
semester.
Be
sure
to
read
the
entire
syllabus
so
that
you
understand
whats
expected
of
you
in
this
course.
1 2
Why
you
shouldnt
fear
the
project
FAQs
Q: How will my project be graded? A. Your writing will be held to "average" or above expectations for graduate student writing, which is about a three out of four on most measures of the WIC rubric. We expect your writing to be coherent, correct, and organized, somewhat polished, but not necessarily publishable at this stage. Rubrics will be posted to the course shell for academic writing, poetry, and fiction. Q: Who will be reviewing my project? A: Each section of HUM 680 will have two instructors assigned to it. We will try to group students and instructors by concentrations when possible. These instructors will be your guides throughout the semester as you work through your project. Both instructors will read and grade your project at the end of the semester. Q: What if I cant finish my project in one semester? A: Dont worry, you dont have to finish at the end of one semester. If necessary, you can take one incomplete and finish by the end of the next semester. If you have significant extenuating circumstances, document them, and inform your instructors as soon as possible. However, you cannot request an incomplete after the final due date.
Q: What is the difference between a Capstone Project and a thesis? A: The differences are only administrative. The same types of projects, of approximately the same minimum length, are allowed for both with the addition of a portfolio option. The main differences are that you dont have to find readers, you dont have to do an oral defense, you have two semesters to complete, and youre in a class with several fellow travelers for encouragement and support while youre carrying out your project. Q: What are you looking for in a successful Capstone Project? A: We expect any Capstone Project to be well-written and professionally presented, formatted following MLA style regardless of the type of project carried out. We expect your work to be original, and most of all, we expect it to be reflective of who you are as a scholar, a creative writer, or a professional about to enter a field.
Youve
done
this
kind
of
work
before
2
HUM680:
Capstone
Project
Syllabus
Policies
the
rules
well
go
by
General
Policies
1. This
course
will
follow
this
years
Academic
Bulletin
for
plagiarism
policies.
Students
who
plagiarize
significantly
will
be
assigned
a
grade
of
XF.
Please
carefully
follow
MLA
style
for
all
projects
and
c redit
all
of
your
sources,
both
with
inline
citations
and
properly
coordinated
works
cited
entries.
2. Students
are
advised
to
complete
their
project
in
one
semester
if
possible,
but
if
necessary,
students
may
take
one
(1)
incomplete
for
one
(1)
semester.
Students
who
need
to
take
an
incomplete
must
inform
their
instructors
at
least
one
week
prior
to
the
last
day
of
class.
Students
who
fail
to
receive
permission
to
take
an
incomplete
and
fail
to
submit
their
project
by
the
end
of
the
semester
will
be
assigned
a
grade
of
F
for
the
course.
3. All
projects
must
be
submitted
to
turnitin.com
in
order
to
receive
a
grade.
Projects
are
due
no
later
than
midnight,
December
7
2012
unless
the
student
has
made
arrangements
at
least
one
week
in
advance
for
an
incomplete.
All
times
posted
to
this
syllabus
or
on
the
course
shell
are
Eastern
Standard
Time
(UTC-05).
4. Students
must
create
a
turnitin.com
account
(if
they
do
not
already
have
one)
and
join
the
class
on
turnitin.com
in
order
to
receive
a
grade.
In
order
to
join
this
class,
log
in
to
turnitin.com
and
join
class
ID#
5354748
with
the
password
capprofa12.
5. Academic
projects
and
other
non-fiction
prose
will
be
graded
following
the
WIC
and
content/thesis
rubrics
integrated
into
turnitin.com
and
posted
to
eCollege.
Separate
rubrics
will
be
provided
for
fiction,
poetry,
and
portfolios.
Students
are
generally
expected
to
score
a
3
or
above
on
most
measures
of
the
rubrics
in
order
to
receive
a
passing
grade.
6.
The
week
will
run
from
Sunday
to
Saturday.
th
Semester
Workflow
1. After
the
first
week
of
introductions,
youll
start
by
writing
your
project
prospectus
for
the
class.
This
prospectus
should
be
five
to
seven
pages,
should
describe
y our
project,
what
it
will
accomplish,
what
methodology
you
will
follow
(if
appropriate),
will
review
literature
on
the
s ubject,
and
will
be
followed
by
a
bibliography.
2. After
that,
youll
spend
every
week
checking
in
with
the
class
with
threaded
discussion
board
posts
describing
your
reading,
your
progress,
your
frustrations,
your
accomplishments,
etc.
And,
ask
questions.
3. When
your
project
is
c omplete,
submit
it
to
the
designated
folder
in
turnitin.com.
HUM680:
Capstone
Project
Syllabus
1 2
Weekly
Schedule
Week
1,
Reading:
syllabus
and
all
material
under
Course
Home,
including
videos.
Review
of
course
structure
and
course
policies.
Student/faculty
introductions.
Post
an
introduction
to
the
appropriate
threaded
discussion
by
midnight
EST
on
Monday
and
respond
to
at
least
two
of
your
peers
by
midnight
EST
on
Friday.
See
the
Threaded
Discussion
rubric
posted
to
the
course
page
for
grading
policies
on
all
threaded
discussion
posts.
Week
2:
Post
your
Capstone
Project
prospectus
by
midnight
Wednesday
and
respond
to
at
least
two
of
your
peers
posts
by
midnight
Saturday.
Try
to
evaluate
the
thesis
and
methodology
of
proposed
academic
projects
and
the
originality
of
creative
projects.
Weeks
3-14:
Your
threaded
discussions
for
weeks
3-14
will
consist
of
an
initial
post
by
m idnight
EST
on
Wednesday
describing
your
progress
for
the
week.
Discuss
what
youve
read,
summarizing
your
readings
in
a
couple
of
sentences,
and/or
what
kind
of
writing
youve
done,
even
if
its
just
notes
on
your
reading.
If
you
have
questions,
ask
them.
If
you
have
concerns,
share
them.
Respond
to
two
of
your
peers
posts
by
midnight
Saturday.
Week
14:
Same
as
Week
3.
This
week
is
the
last
day
to
request
an
incomplete
for
the
semester.
Week
15:
Unless
you
contracted
for
an
incomplete
grade
by
Week
14,
you
need
to
submit
the
final
draft
of
your
Capstone
Project
by
m idnight
EST
th August
18 ,
this
Sunday
tonight.
Grading
Final
project:
1000
pts. Prospectus:
100
pts. Threaded
Discussions:
14
at
20
pts.
each,
280
pts.
total. Total:
1360
pts.
Incomplete
Grades
We
recommend
that
all
students
try
to
finish
their
Capstone
Projects
in
a
single
semester.
Dont
think
of
your
Capstone
Project
as
your
definitive
work
or
your
magnum
opus;
you
might
better
think
of
it
as
an
early
draft
of
this
future
definitive
work.
Dont
think
about
your
project
as
the
end
of
your
educational
career
either;
it
represents
a
m ilestone
in
your
progress,
but
not
the
end
point.
Even
if
you
never
go
back
to
school
you
will
continue
to
learn
and
grow.
Because
the
Capstone
Project
is
reflective
of
your
educational
achievement
and
professional
identity
at
this
stage
in
your
progress
you
do
want
to
do
the
best
work
possible,
but
the
best
work
possible
in
the
time
frame
that
you
have.
This
time
frame
is,
at
m ost,
two
semesters.
If
you
cant
complete
in
a
single
semester,
you
must
apply
for
this
incomplete
to
both
instructors
by
email
no
later
than
midnight
EST
on
the
Sunday
of
Week
14.
If
you
do
not
request
an
incomplete
by
this
date
and
time,
we
expect
you
to
submit
a
completed
project
by
the
last
day
of
the
semester.
If
you
are
granted
an
incomplete,
you
must
submit
a
completed
project
by
the
last
day
of
the
next
semester.
Even
if
you
request
an
incomplete,
we
expect
you
to
participate
in
weekly
threaded
discussions
as
assigned.
They
are
part
of
your
grade.
If
at
any
point
you
disappear
from
the
course
its
very
likely
that
your
request
for
an
incomplete
will
be
denied.
Dont
neglect
your
work
all
semester,
or
even
for
a
significant
part
of
it,
expecting
to
be
able
to
do
it
all
the
following
semester.
We
expect
you
to
make
progress
in
your
first
semester
even
though
we
allow
you
to
complete
it
in
a
second.
Your
Capstone
Project
will
demonstrate
your
mastery
of
and
engagement
with
your
fields
of
study.
HUM680:
Capstone
Project
Syllabus
1 2 3
Writing
Rubric,
Non- Fiction
Prose
Characteristics of an A paper: The A paper is a highly sophisticated paper that supports an original thesis with a complex argument that skillfully and correctly integrates substantial outside research. The A paper demonstrates not only substantial understanding of primary and secondary reading but the ability to advance knowledge with its insight into the material. It has few or no grammatical or punctuation errors -- no more than three or four for every five pages of writing -- and maintains a highly academic tone that correctly and effectively employs fieldspecific language. Paper is insightful, thought-provoking, and complex, and it is carefully argued, developed, and supported. Thesis is specific, significant, arguable, and wellwritten; it gives the reader a "roadmap" to the paper and leads the reader to think differently about the subject.
is promising but could be more specific, significant, and/or better written. The importance of thesis may need to be better explained and its implications more fully drawn out. In these papers, the conclusion simply restates the thesis suggested at the beginning of the paper rather than developing its thought. Characteristics of a C paper: The average college-level paper will receive a grade of C. This paper is written well enough to be easy to follow, but could benefit from some restructuring or additional paragraphs. It meets minimum assignment requirements for research and other elements and integrates sources correctly following the most basic
requirements of the assigned documentation style; in-text citations are clearly keyed to the references, bibliography, or works cited page. It demonstrates basic reading comprehension of both primary and secondary sources. It may have some minor punctuation, capitalization, grammatical, or spelling errors or some use of informal language but is generally appropriate and correct. Paper meets all requirements, but ideas are basic, obvious, and/or overly generalized; they may lack careful explanation and support. It may have one promising idea that may need to be more carefully thought out or developed. Thesis is adequate but may not demonstrate a high level of critical thinking or provide an adequate blueprint for the paper. It may be significantly lacking in one of the three qualities of being specific, significant, or arguable.
Characteristics of a D paper: The D paper is deficient in one or more of the following areas: structure/organization, research, reading comprehension, documentation, word choice, grammar, or punctuation, capitalization, or spelling. The grade of D indicates belowaverage achievement in organizing ideas, expressing ideas, understanding sources, writing correctly, or following documentation style. Most D papers contain serious errors in usage and fail to present a central thesis or to develop it adequately. Paper is limited in some way: (1) fails to meet all requirements; (2) lacks focus; (3) lacks insight, is unconvincing or underdeveloped; (4) does not successfully argue a thesis that fulfills the assignment. Paper may be limited in more than one of these ways. Thesis is weak; makes only a generic claim, an obvious claim, or an insignificant claim. The paper may be summarizing sources without stating any thought beyond its sources. These essay standards summarize the Writing Intensive Class rubric created by Dr. Jim Rovira and Dr. Sherry Truffin in the summer of 2011. The rubric itself is integrated into turnitin.com and will be used to score your papers.
Characteristics of a B paper: The B paper fulfills all requirements of the assignment. It meets or exceeds research requirements effectively, demonstrating comprehension of all sources. It properly documents its sources with no more than two or three citation errors. It is almost free of grammatical or punctuation errors, having no more than one or two errors per page, but while highly competent, the B paper lacks the insight and linguistic competence characterizing the A essay. Paper is very thoughtful and engaging but may not rise to the "superior" level in complexity, argumentation, development, or support. Thesis 5
HUM680:
Capstone
Project
Syllabus
1 2
GRADE
SCALE
A
93-100
A-
90-92
B+
87-89
B
83-86
B-
80-82
C+
77-79
C
73-76
C-
70-72
D+
67-69
D
63-66
D-
60-62
F
59
or
below
INSTRUCTORS
Instructor
1:
Dr.
James
Rovira
rovirajtiffin@gmail.com
419-448-3586
Associate
Professor
of
English
Tiffin
University
Instructor
2:
Dr.
Stavroula
Kalogeras
kalogerass@tiffin.edu
Contact
Information
and
Grade
Scale
Tiffin
University,
Office
of
Graduate
Student
Services
155
Miami
Street
Tiffin,
OH
44883
(800)
968-6446
grad@tiffin.edu
