Abraham Lincoln: Why did he free the slaves?
NOTE: I believe he freed the slaves because he was losing the war, not because he was anti-slavery. Make the paper support my thesis!
Written Assignment 1: Draft of Chapter 1
Organize your draft according to the outline below. In at least one solid paragraph for each subheading, prepare the following, using these headings:
• Introduction to the Chapter: Reveal your topic, state the gap in knowledge, creative process or problem, etc. that you are researching, investigating, or showcasing, and tell the reader what to expect.
• Background of the Topic: Relate only to societal, business, or artistic factors--NO personal factors. Cited literature should be included.
• Problem Statement: Identify the gap in knowledge, creative aspect, or problem. Ask the major question you are going to answer through your capstone project. Ask the sub questions you are going to use to answer the major question. ( Optimum sub questions: 3-4) The data from these sub questions will be used to answer the major question.
• Professional Significance of Your Work: Respond to the internal question: Why did I bother to produce this particular project? Be specific.
• Overview of Methodology: How do you expect to proceed in order to answer your sub questions? These sub questions answer the major question for you. Note: If you are thinking about using surveys or questionnaires, check first with your mentor. Only 10% return is typical and the time it takes to devise such instruments combined with the amount of time it will take to received them back and analyze the results might not give you enough time to complete your project by the end of the semester.
• Delimitations: What are the boundaries of your project?
• Definition of Terms: Consider your audience; the readers may not know what you mean by the terms you use. They may be technical terms or ordinary words used in a specialized way. Do not use dictionary definitions. These terms are particular to your project. Explain them accordingly in bullet format.
• Summary: All the chapters in your paper, including your introduction, must have a concluding paragraph that serves as a summary. Do not add any new ideas or information to the summary.
Written Assignment 2, Part I and Part II
This assignment has two parts, a review of the literature you have explored for your project and an annotated bibliography of the sources listed. Consult the following article for an explanation of what this involves:
• Developing the Literature Review
Your draft of Chapter 2 should be structured according to the outline given below, which lists the different subheadings you need to include. Consult the explanations given for guidance regarding what information to include under each of these subheadings:
Part I: Literature Review
Write and submit a draft of Chapter 2, the Literature Review, including headings appropriate to the content. Take notes from the sources and organize them according to content themes.
• Introductory paragraph
Begin with an introductory paragraph and place the informative thesis statement at the end of that first paragraph. The thesis statement is the major focus of the literature review chapter. All paragraphs relate in some way to that thesis statement.
• Body paragraphs
Each body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence and end with a concluding sentence. See See pp. 183-184 of the Writing the Winning Thesis or Dissertation textbook. Every paragraph must contain information you have read in sources. Do not use more than 10% quotes in the entire chapter. Every paragraph must have citations for all paraphrased information. Do not use any of your own opinions or experiences. This is purely information from researched sources.
• Concluding paragraph
End with a concluding paragraph that begins with a restatement of your thesis sentence that you used in the introduction. Add nothing new to the conclusion. It is a summary of the body paragraphs.
Note: Beware of inadvertent plagiarism. Do not use any wording or phrasing from the authors of your sources unless you place the words in quotation marks. Every idea MUST be cited, regardless of how you paraphrased the information. Please focus on the guidance provided by the OWL Web Site. You will be held responsible for the writing, as well as the content of this chapter.
Review punctuation, especially semicolons. If you do not know how to use them, don't! Review comma rules. Every comma has its own rule. Know why you are using them. Be sure to revise your work several times. Have someone else read your writing, as he or she will catch errors you missed. That is just common practice among writers. This is a scholarly work.
Part II: Annotated Bibliography
Prepare an Annotated Bibliography of sources based on the references you used for Part I: Literature Review.
• Use APA or MLA format to create the annotated bibliography. Note that all business, science, and social science disciplines must use APA format; creative, literary, theater arts must use MLA format. See the Purdue University Online Writing Lab [OWL] Web site.
• If using APA format, title this page References; if you are using MLA, title this page Works Cited.
• Place your Annotated Bibliography at the end of Chapter 2 (at this point). This will eventually become part of the References (APA) or Works Cited (MLA) that will be placed at the end of Chapter 5 of your capstone project.
Note: This assignment calls for an annotated bibliography. Review the material in your text.
Written Assignment 3: Draft of Chapter 3 Reading Assignment
For this assignment you are required to develop a Research Design Proposal, which after further work later in the course will become the third chapter of your project, Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology. This chapter cannot be finalized until the actual research involved has been completed as part of your work in Modules 4 and 5. You will have to return to Chapter 3 in Module 6 and write a draft before you submit the capstone. At this stage, you should be making an initial determination of the following:
• research perspective
• research type
• research method you will use when producing your capstone paper.
After making an initial determination of which perspective, type and method are best suited for your purposes, you will start to develop your research design proposal, which is a specific plan for studying a research problem that has been identified.
Tips for Reporting on Methods of Data Collection For Research and Applied Projects: Picture someone reading your Capstone and preparing to replicate your exact study. This scholar wants to walk in your shoes and do EXACTLY what you did to collect data. The steps leading to the discovery of the answer to each sub question should be clearly enumerated. Each separate sub question must be described in its own way. Make the job of replication as easy as possible for the scholar who wishes to extend your research. For Creative Projects: Explain exactly how you went about developing your product. Picture someone trying to emulate what you have done. You have no data, but you certainly can give advice to budding artists, writers, or musicians. Development and Structure of Your Research Design Proposal You will develop your research design proposal according to the outline given below. Content from this research design proposal will represent the formation of Chapter 3, which you will write following the actual execution of the design. Submit your research design proposal in the following format:
Introductory paragraph:
• State your major and sub research questions that you are attempting to answer in your capstone project. Then identify your research design and how that design accommodates your purpose.
Body paragraphs:
• Plan of Action: Describe your plan of action based upon how your research design relates to your project.
• Research Methodology for Data Collection for Research and Applied Projects: Introduce each sub question and explain in the paragraph how you will answer it. Take the reader step-by-step as you do your research. Explain what your sources of information are.
• Research Methodology for Creative Projects: Introduce each sub question. Explain what you plan to do to achieve the goals you have set for your Creative Project. Will you write something, draw something, or compose something to fulfill the need expressed in your sub questions? You may have to customize the procedures for achieving your goals if you are producing a Creative Project; contact your mentor for assistance.
Concluding paragraph:
• Organization and Analysis of Data: Explain how you will organize, then analyze the data leading to your project.
Written Assignment 4
For this assignment, you are to complete and submit for review by your mentor the fourth chapter of your capstone paper, Chapter 4: Results of the Study. In this chapter, you will report data to answer sub questions, which will, in turn, answer the study's major question.
Tips for Controlling Data
For Research and Applied Projects:
When setting up this chapter, arrange all data under their relevant sub question, similar to your explanations in Chapter 3. Your findings must be reported in real terms, without discussion or opinion. Save that for Chapter 5.
Note: If you have used any survey instruments such as questionnaires, be sure to mention the total number of each, and report on those that you received back.
For Creative Projects:
If you are developing a creative project, you may not have data. This is where your creative product will appear. You must explain how the project answers your sub question, prior to your presentation of the actual project.
Chapter 4 Organization and Structure
Organize your chapter according to the outline below and complete the following steps:
Introduction
• For Research and Applied Projects
Write an Introduction to the chapter. Your Introduction should include the actual major and sub questions identified in your research design proposal and to be answered through data from your study. You will be repeating the major and sub questions that appeared in your drafts of Chapter 1 and Chapter 3.
Body of the Chapter
• For the Research and Applied Projects o Set up information based on the study's sub questions.
o Organize data by repeating each sub question.
o Present all the data related to that sub question in the respective paragraph.
o If you use any instruments such as questionnaires or surveys in your research present them in the text of this chapter as follows: The questionnaire (see Appendix A) has provided the following data...
o If your capstone project includes images, graphics, tables, charts, videos, or other types of visuals, introduce each of them with a short paragraph related to its content.
- Have a title on each image, graphic, table, chart, video, etc.
- If your visuals, etc. are from other sources, be sure to cite them properly.
Summary
• For Research and Applied Projects
Present a summary paragraph of the results of data as the conclusion to the chapter. Do not include interpretation or discussion of data.
For this assignment you are to develop and submit to your mentor for review the fifth chapter of your capstone paper, Chapter 5: Summary and Discussion.
The overall purpose of this chapter is to state the contribution of your capstone project to a particular discipline or field of study. This is the SO WHAT? chapter that gives the reasons for your work.
Keep in mind that readers may skip your entire first four chapters and read ONLY Chapter 5. Thus, all the necessary information MUST be included here.
Your Chapter 5 should be structured according to the outline given below, which lists the different subheadings you need to include. Consult the explanations given for guidance regarding what information to include under each of these subheadings:
• Introduction:
This is based on the introductions in Chapters 1, 3, and 4. Present the focus of the capstone project. Use referenced information from Chapter 2, with appropriate in-text citations to provide reader with background material.
• Statement of Problem:
Copy this from Chapter 1. Include the major question and sub questions you have researched.
• Explanation of Project:
If you have an artistic, creative product, include that explanation here.
• Review of Methodology:
Explain what you did to research your project, but avoid going into any detail. Give a general explanation of how you carried out your research.
Summary of Results:
• For Research and Applied Projects:
Return to Chapter 4. Review each sub question and what you learned from the research. Separate each sub question as a subheading. Interpret the results of each sub question to enable the reader to understand how these results answered the major question.
Relationship of Research to the Field:
• Explain how your research supported or did not support the research described in your draft of Chapter 2. Use referenced material and in-text citations to validate your research.
Discussion of Results:
• For Research and Applied Projects:
What was the significance of your findings? Explain how your work adds to the body of knowledge in your field.
• Conclusions:
Provide a concluding section that explains how your project answered the major question that served as the impetus for your study and research.
For some techniques about how to write sentences with impact, read the article Working with Words.
Project
Capstone Project: Finalizing and Submitting For this assignment, you will finalize all chapters, assemble all components of your capstone project, and submit it to your mentor. (Please note: you are not required to turn in your entire capstone project to turnitin.com--only to your mentor as directed.)
Be certain to revise all chapters based on feedback you have received from your mentor and classmates.
Your project should have the components listed below and they should be arranged in the same order. Consult the explanations given for guidance regarding what information to include under each of these components.
• Title page
Be sure to list the title of your capstone project, your name, your mentor's name, the course code and name, your section number, and the date.
• Abstract
The abstract is a brief summary of your project. It should be no more than 350 words. It should briefly state the problem you have investigated, indicate the methodology you used to research the problem, and discuss your results. See Developing an Abstract.
• Contents page
• List of tables and figures (applicable only if you have tables and/or figures)
• Chapters (1-5)
You will need to finalize chapters 1-3, then arrange all five of your chapters in the following order:
o Introduction
o Literature Review
o Methodology
o Results of the Study or Creative Project
o Summary and Discussion
• References or Works Cited
Use APA format for social science studies and MLA format for literary studies. Be sure you are consistent in your use of format.
• Appendices
(only if applicable) NOTE: Appendices do not count towards the number of pages in your paper. See Creating and Working with Appendices.
Remember, your paper is to be a scholarly report written in Standard Academic English and with appropriate documentation. Papers for Research and Applied Projects should be a minimum of 25 pages in length; those for creative projects should be a minimum of 15 pages in length, plus the product. Before submitting your work, thoroughly proofread and revise.