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TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - Printable Version

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TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - hornj - 10-30-2013

I just finished the Liberal Arts Capstone at TESC. I took it with Dr. Andrew Tomko in the August, 2013 term, and got a 100. I like research and writing so I found this course enjoyable and ended up with a paper over twice as long as required. One thing I found useful at the beginning was looking at other people's papers to get an idea of what the professor was looking for, I got Westerner's, and links to mine are at the bottom. Hopefully you will find them useful. The only thing I would change in the final version would be to eliminate some of the repetition from the introductions to the chapters.

Dr. Tomko was helpful, but this class is supposed to be your own project. If you do a good job and follow the format correctly, you will get a 100. The one thing I would do differently would be to send in drafts of the assignments before actually submitting them for grading. One reason to do this was that Dr. Tomko at least, wanted some things done differently than a strict reading of the manual and APA style would require. This ended up with me getting a 90 on the final paper, but when I changed some things and resubmitted he adjusted the grade.

Here are the two things that he wanted different than the official style:
  • For print works, he wanted a page number on every in-test citation, rather than just for directly quotes like I think the APA requires.
  • For the final paper, the manual sounds like you just combine all five chapters. He had me drop the methodology chapter, as it didn't really apply to a history paper, move the references to the end and remove the annotations.

Hopefully this review will be helpful to someone, please feel free to ask any questions you might have.

PDF Downloads
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Final Paper

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - corpsole2 - 10-30-2013

It also depends on the mentor's preferences. I am on Module Three with Dr. Haydel as my mentor. She is the creator of the capstone course for TESC, and she does require you to strictly follow APA guidelines. Beyond that, she is great to have as a mentor! When I made the mistake of submitting my last assignment without the Annotated Bibliography, she allowed me to go back and cook one up so she could adjust the grade, which she did once I submitted it. I got an 89 on the assignment for a few grammar errors. I guess I have a habit of still personalizing my writing, whereas I need to be abstract.

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - cypster - 03-04-2015

Bump!! Just discovered this thread! Thanks a million for sharing these amazing secrets hornj and corpsole2! I have been searching for some practical tips on the Capstone course for a long time as have several others it seems. Hopefully this bump will bring these relevant tips and information to where it can help others. Wish stuff like this could be a sticky. Smile

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - corpsole2 - 03-05-2015

Wow, it seems like an eternity has gone by since I wrote this, or was "struggling" through that course! I look back fondly at those times, albeit a bit wistfully.

I am glad this is helping you out. The capstone challenges you in new ways, but you will find it fulfilling.

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - cypster - 03-06-2015

Did you get all of the books mentioned in the syllabus Corpsole2? Or would any thesis writing book that is for the correct writing style work fine? Did you get someone to help with editing to be sure you didn't miss anything or did you just follow the guidelines super closely?

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - mog538 - 03-06-2015

I am nearing the end of my capstone and I got both books and have used both of them (and if I had used the books more I wouldn't have slipped up on my chapter 2 formatting!), I would imagine that any book that covers the correct style for your paper would have the same information. I have read that some professors don't stick exactly to the style but then that it is independent of whichever book you have.

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - cypster - 03-06-2015

Thanks for the feedback mog538! I'm really hoping I'll be able see a few more sample projects before I take the plunge to start this class. The one by Corpsole2 has been very helpful so far!

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - corpsole2 - 03-11-2015

I only got one book for the entire course. It wasn't as helpful to me as the completed thesis of another student. Once I saw how it was laid out, then it became crystal clear what was expected of me.

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - Westerner - 03-13-2015

cypster Wrote:Did you get all of the books mentioned in the syllabus Corpsole2? Or would any thesis writing book that is for the correct writing style work fine? Did you get someone to help with editing to be sure you didn't miss anything or did you just follow the guidelines super closely?
I was able to borrow both books from a student who'd taken the course before. The "Writing the Winning Thesis" was good and helpful. You only use a couple chapters of the other one, though, so I wouldn't buy it. You might even be able to make do with the Purdue Owl website and similar sites that explain how to cite correctly.

TESC Liberal Arts Capstone Review - eileen - 05-05-2015

Thank you!!