Instructor:	Jim Nugent
Email:	nugent@oakland.edu

 

Links

• Moodle
• Zoom classroom

Course Description

WRT 4998: Capstone provides tested experience for writing and rhetoric majors developed in consultation with the instructor based on student interests and professional goals. Experiences can include internal or external internship experiences, research assistantships, or thesis projects. May be repeated once in a different setting. Satisfies the university general education requirement for a writing intensive course in general education or the major, not both. Prerequisite for writing intensive: completion of the university writing foundation requirement. Prerequisites: declared writing major, junior or senior standing, and permission of instructor.

This course satisfies the Writing Intensive in General Education (WIGE) requirement or the Writing Intensive in the Major (Writing and Rhetoric) requirement, but not both. This course also meets the General Education Capstone requirement.

Course Description

Most students elect to pursue either an internship or academic research (thesis) project:

• Internships provide students with the opportunity to make connections between their academic work and the professional world. WRT 4998 internships require at least 12 weeks and 150 hours of work over the course of the semester. For most organizations, this is the minimum commitment required of an inter; some positions may require a longer commitment, especially if it is paid. Internships are cannot be retroactively approved and should be a new experience for the student.
• Thesis projects provide students with the opportunity to expand their academic knowledge of the field and to further develop their research capabilities. Students may draw from one or more projects completed for other WRT courses to compose an original researched work. This option is designed to provide expanded research experience and to equip students with multiple writing samples for graduate school applications.

General Education Outcomes

• Appropriate uses of a variety of methods of inquiry and a recognition of ethical considerations that arise. All approved internships and thesis projects require that students work with professional or scholarly texts in a variety of ways: writing, editing, researching, designing, etc., as is appropriate to the field they are working in. They must also take into account ethical concerns related to publishing texts such as copyright and trademark considerations, confidentiality of sources, bibliographic citation, and the like.
• The ability to integrate the knowledge learned in general education and its relevance to your life and career. All students in WRT 4998 will find themselves writing for and within communities that have specific cultures, focuses, goals, etc., so their background in the social sciences, arts, history, and the like prepare them to understand and write for those various audiences.

University Learning Outcomes

• Effective communication. All approved internships and thesis projects, to be successful, will require that students develop texts to effectively communicate with “real” audiences.
• Information Literacy. All approved internships as well as all thesis projects engage students in the retrieval, analysis, and appropriate use of various sorts of information including print, digital, audio, video, etc.

Course Objectives

This course will provide students an opportunity to:

1. Identify, apply for, and obtain an approved internship relevant to the students professional interests and track within the writing and rhetoric major or develop and bring to fruition a scholarly/intellectual project geared toward publication or public presentation in an academic setting;
2. Draw connections between academic work and the professional world;
3. Develop a professional persona, while gaining important experience in professional and/or scholarly environments; and
4. Develop a professional portfolio geared toward the next step in their academic or professional lives.

Expectations

1. Students will fulfill all of the obligations of the internship thoughtfully and professionally. For thesis projects, students will propose, complete the research for, and deliver a final paper or project fulfilling goals developed with the internship coordinator and project mentor.
2. Students will complete all assignments and requirements for the course thoughtfully and punctually.
3. Students will meet with the adviser periodically throughout the semester to provide updates on the progress of the internship.
4. Students will meet on campus with other capstone students one or more times during the semester.

Assignments

All projects are due by the conclusion of the final exam period.

Internship

1. Supervisor’s Evaluation. While this is not an assignment for the intern, it is an important part of the final grade. During the internship, the department’s internship director will be in contact with the on-site supervisor to monitor the progress of the intern. At the end of the internship, the on-site supervisor will write an evaluation letter as well as fill out an evaluation form.
2. Internship Hours Verification. You will need to submit, with your final assignments, a signed document from your on-site adviser logging the total hours that you worked for the organization. This can be included with the supervisor’s evaluation letter.
3. Reflective Journal. Over the course of your internship, you will keep a journal to record and reflect upon your experiences (minimum of 1,500 words).
4. Professional Portfolio and Final Reflection. You will develop a professional portfolio (with a resumé) tailored to your particular professional or academic goals. In addition, you will write a reflective paper that analyzes your internship and its relationship to your academic work (2,000 words minimum).

Thesis

1. Project Proposal. Due during the fourth week of classes, the proposal will provide an outline of your thesis project plan and specify a project timeline and a working bibliography (minimum of 500 words, exclusive of the bibliography).
2. Annotated Bibliography. You will identify at least five new scholarly works related to your thesis project and complete an annotated bibliography (minimum of 1,500 words total).
3. Thesis Project. Your final project will be at least 4,000 words in length. This project may be entirely original or may synthesize and expand projects completed in prior writing and rhetoric courses.
4. Professional Portfolio and Final Reflection. You will develop a professional portfolio (with a resumé) tailored to your particular professional or academic goals. In addition, you will write a reflective paper that analyzes your internship and its relationship to your academic work (1,250 words minimum).

Grading

I will give letter grades (A–F) for all graded assignments in this class. Expectations for each assignment will be tailored to the unique nature of each student's capstone experience.

The final course grade will be calculated as follows:

Internship

A professional goals assessment and valid documentation of the intern's working hours must be submitted to receive a passing grade.

30%	Supervisor's Evaluation
20%	Reflective Journal
30%	Professional Portfolio and Final Reflection
10%	Multimedia presentation
10%	Small assignments and activities

Thesis

A professional goals assessment and an approved thesis proposal is required to receive a passing grade.

10%	Annotated Bibliography
40%	Thesis Project
30%	Professional Portfolio and Final Reflection
10%	Multimedia presentation
10%	Small assignments and activities

Course Policies

• Absences. For absences not covered by the university excused absences policy, you may be absent from up to one week's worth of class without penalty. For each absence beyond one week, your final grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade (i.e., A becomes A–, B+ becomse B, etc.). Four or more absences is grounds for automatic failure.
• The writing center. The Oakland University writing center is open to OU students, faculty, and staff in all disciplines. The center offers consultants to help you develop your drafts during any stage of the writing process. Appointments may be scheduled online.
• Technology. Technology excuses are generally not viable in this class. You are responsible for practicing sound data management, thoroughly testing your work before and after submission, and taking all other reasonable precautions for putting up with technology.
• Communication. You are responsible for keeping up with your oakland.edu email account and the Moodle announcements forum for this course.
• Plagiarism. All work in this class must meet the standards of Oakland University's Academic Conduct Regulations. Falsifying data or records or using the work of others without appropriate citation are serious offenses that must be reported to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action.
• This syllabus. I reserve the right to revise this syllabus throughout the semester.

ADA Notice

Students with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations should contact Oakland University’s Disability Support Services office for assistance:

• Phone: (248) 370-3266
• TTY: (248) 370-3268
• Fax: (248) 370-4989
• Email: doss@oakland.edu.