PHIL 110 Capstone Project (NACE)
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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
egarding 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 learning objectives, 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 na
ative and numerical information in
print, electronic, and live formats.
You should also attempt display your understanding of the NACE career-readiness competencies
described in our syllabus:
• Think critically and solve problems;
• Effectively communicate in both written and oral prose;
• Collaborate within a team to produce successful outcomes;
• Utilize information technologies to increase productivity;
• Exercise leadership;
• Act professionally and ethically;
• Take responsibility for personal career management
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 ru
ic 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 grasp of the NACE competencies 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!
Here are the specific steps you should follow:
Step #1: Choose one of the three following mediums to initially present your argumentative position or
asic thesis.
PHIL 110 Capstone Project (NACE)
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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), do the following:
1. Reconstruct your argument in standard form reconstruction (premise 1, premise 2, premise 3,
etc., conclusion);
2. Evaluate your argument using the criteria best suited to it (for instance, if it's an inductive
generalization or statistical syllogism, use the criteria of sample size, comprehensiveness, and
andomness; if it's a causal argument, ask if its premises sufficiently confirm a co
elation
etween the proposed cause and the proposed effect, and if its premises sufficiently disconfirm
plausible alternative conclusions; if it's an analogical argument, ask if the comparative features
are sufficiently similar and if there are enough similarities to justify the comparison; if it’s a
deduction, test for validity and the truth of the premises); and
3. Visually represent your argument, either as an argument map/diagram (see Unit 2.2 video) or
with appropriate symbols (as discussed in Units 10 and 11 on sentential logic);
Step #3: Critical Reflection on NACE Competencies
Review the NACE competencies above. Choose three competencies that you feel are most germane to
your cu
ent or future career. Reflect upon and discuss meaningfully the relationship of these three
competencies to any of the critical thinking skills listed at the start of these instructions.
As always, properly cite in APA style all your scholarly resources, including the text from this course.
Step #4: Share your Final Capstone Project
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 on at least two other students' projects, including one who worked
on a different topic.
PHIL 110 Capstone Project (NACE)
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Professional Connections: This assignment is designed to help students develop the following
competencies, identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as one of eight
core skills linked to career success:
❏ Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
A student competent in critical thinking and problem solving:
❏ Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems;
❏ To obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process;
❏ Demonstrate originality and inventiveness.
PHIL 110 Final Capstone Project (NACE)
Criteria Accomplished
90.00 to 100.00 %
Proficient
80.00 to 90.00 %
Developing
65.00 to 80.00 %
Novice
0.00 to 64.00 %
Follows instructions (5%) The project fulfills all
the requirements of
the assignment,
including all four
equired steps
The project fulfills three
of the four required
steps
The project fulfills
two of the four
equired steps
The project fulfills one or
fewer of the four required
steps
Expresses an argument in a
tweet, a dialogue or set of
images
(10%)
The tweet, dialogue or
set of images provides
oth a concise thesis
statement and a clear
exposition of the issue
The tweet, dialogue or
set of images provides
oth a thesis statement
and an exposition of
the issue, but with
insufficient clarity or
concision
The tweet, dialogue
or set of images
provides either an
exposition of the
issue and a thesis
statement, but not
oth
The tweet, dialogue or set
of images provides neither
an exposition of the issue
nor a thesis statement
Extended argument
presentation
econstruction
(20%)
The project includes a
econstruction in
standard format (P1,
P2, P3, PN … / C) of an
extended argument
powerfully supporting
the argument thesis
put forth in the tweet,
dialogue or set of
images.
The project includes a
econstruction in
standard format (P1,
P2, P3, PN … / C) of an
extended argument
substantially supporting
the argument thesis put
forth in the tweet,
dialogue or set of
images
The project includes
a reconstruction of
an extended
argument modestly
supporting the
argument thesis put
forth in the tweet,
dialogue or set of
images, but without
including standard
format (P1, P2, P3,
PN … / C)
The project omits any
econstruction of an
extended argument
supporting the argument
thesis put forth in the
tweet, dialogue or set of
images
PHIL 110 Final Capstone Project (NACE)
Extended argument
evaluation (20%)
The project
evaluates the
econstructed
argument,
accurately using all
the criteria suited to
it (for inductive
generalization or
statistical syllogism,
the criteria of
sample size,
comprehensiveness,
and randomness; for
causal argument, its
premises sufficiently
confirm a
co
elation between
the proposed cause
and the proposed
effect, and its
premises sufficiently
disconfirm plausible
alternative
conclusions; for
analogical
argument, relevance
of comparative
features sufficient to
justify the
comparison; for
deductions, validity
The project evaluates
the reconstructed
argument, accurately
using most of the
criteria suited to it (for
inductive generalization
or statistical syllogism,
the criteria of sample
size,
comprehensiveness,
and randomness; for
causal argument, its
premises sufficiently
confirm a co
elation
etween the proposed
cause and the proposed
effect, and its premises
sufficiently disconfirm
plausible alternative
conclusions; for
analogical argument,
elevance of
comparative features
sufficient to justify the
comparison; for
deductions, validity of
the inference, truth of
the premises, and
soundness of the
inference)
The project evaluates
the reconstructed
argument, accurately
using some of the
criteria suited to it (for
inductive generalization
or statistical syllogism,
the criteria of sample
size,
comprehensiveness,
and randomness; for
causal argument, its
premises sufficiently
confirm a co
elation
etween the proposed
cause and the proposed
effect, and its premises
sufficiently disconfirm