2- Project Paper

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PHIL 110 Capstone Project (NACE)
Final Capstone Project
Final Project 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 Final Capstone Project and demonstrate
your mastery of our course-specific skills, to wit:
1. Use critical thinking skills to assess information, solve problems, and make decisions;
2. Identify, reconstruct and appraise different argument types that appear in print/non-print
media;
3. Evaluate inductive and deductive inferences using the concepts of validity, soundness,
reliability, strength and cogency;
4. Construct and evaluate oral and written arguments emphasizing clarity and rationality;
5. Conduct research to locate, synthesize, and evaluate narrative and numerical information
in print, electronic, and live formats.
You’ll also your display your grasp of the NACE career-readiness skills associated with “Critical Thinking”:
• Make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment.
• Gather and analyze information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully
understand a problem.
• Accurately summarize and interpret data with an awareness of personal biases that
may impact outcomes.
• Effectively communicate actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives
and lived experiences of stakeholders.
You will have a choice regarding how (in what medium or modality) you demonstrate both of these skill
sets. Depending on your learning style and preference, you may select one of the following three
mediums: a tweet, dialogue, or images/charts. It doesn’t matter which medium you select as long as you
follow the instructions carefully and attempt to demonstrate the skills outlined above. The Final Capstone
Project 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. It’s quality, not length, that will
determine your grade on the assignment.
An easy way to showcase your command of the NACE competency “Critical Thinking” would be to
situate your response in the vocation for which you are preparing. For future nurses, a medical setting
(say, a hospital) might be an appropriate context for a #MeToo tweet; for a business student, a dialogue
on socially responsible investment decisions could focus on immigration reform; for a future teacher, a
graphic presentation that illustrated pertinent data on gun violence in schools might be apt. The choice is
yours. The idea is to show your peers how you would use specific critical thinking and problem-solving
skills in the vocational field you’re planning on entering. Have fun and be creative!
Course Skills
NACE Skills
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PHIL 110 Capstone Project (NACE)
Here are the specific steps you should follow:
Step #1: Choose one of the three following mediums to initially present your argumentative position or
basic thesis.
• Choice A asks you to first compose a tweet, such as the Dalai Lama’s tweet found in Unit 11. The
tweet should be related to your topic (gun violence, immigration, or #MeToo) and no longer than
280 characters. The tweet should creatively express your thesis.
• Choice B asks you to compose a dialogue similar to the one you composed in Unit 2 (remember
the argument between Hiro and Angie about whether college was worth the expense and effort?).
The dialogue should feature 2-3 characters conversing about your topic (gun violence,
immigration, or #MeToo) in which each character presents an argument for or against a position
related to the topic. One of the characters should put forward your personal position.
• Choice C asks you to create a set of images or charts related to your topic (gun violence,
immigration, or #MeToo). Find or create your own images or charts that speak directly your topic.
You should have at least 3 images in your collection. Collectively, your images should support your
argumentative position.
Step #2: Present your extended argument
After you’ve creatively rendered your basic position in the medium of your choice (a tweet, dialogue, or
images/charts), reconstruct your argument in one of the following ways:
a. in standard form (P1, P2, etc., /C);
b. as an argument map/diagram (see Unit 2.2 video); or
c. with appropriate symbols (as discussed in Units 10 and 11 on sentential logic), but only if your argument
is deductive.
Step #4: Critical reflection on NACE and course competencies
Review the course and NACE skills (see page 1). Choose one skill from the course list and two from the
NACE list that you feel will be most useful to you, and then describe how these skills will advance your
career aspirations.
Step #5: Post your Final Capstone Project, and reply to two peers
Post your completed Final Capstone Project 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 Tweet”). Read and comment substantively on two other students’ projects.
Step #6: Compile and present your research sources in a Reference List, using APA format. Cite at least
four (4) sources. Here’s a link to an APA Citation Generator (https://www.citationmachine.net/apa).
Step #3: Evaluate your argument using the criteria best suited to it.
a. If it’s an inductive generalization or statistical syllogism, use the criteria of sample size, comprehensiveness,
and randomness
b. If it’s a causal argument, decide if its premises support a correlation between the proposed cause and the
proposed effect, or if its premises are sufficient, necessary, or merely contributory conditions for its
conclusion
c. If it’s an analogical argument, determine if the comparative features are sufficiently similar and if there are
enough similarities to justify the comparison
d. if it’s a deduction, test for validity and the truth of the premises.