[SOLVED] BNS498 M5A1: Capstone Paper Outline and Thesis Statement

You have decided on a final project topic, researched this topic, and submitted an annotated bibliography.  Now, the next step is to organize your research, themes, and ideas into an outline that will allow you to construct the final paper more readily.  The paper outline will assist you in organizing your evidence and claims around your thesis statement.

When you have completed this activity, you will be able to:

• Develop an outline and thesis statement for the final research paper (CO#1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).

Your outline with thesis statement is due at the end of Module 5, on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Please follow the guidelines provided for creating a good outline and refer to the information for resources on how to organize and write a paper of this length.  The better your outline, the easier it will be to write the paper.  As you create your outline, remember that your Capstone Paper should tie together the ideas and observations you made throughout the course.  For your Capstone Paper, you will write a paper that examines the topic that you chose in Module 2, applying concepts and theories explored in this course.

Here are the guidelines:

1. Include an introduction statement.
   1. This is a preview of the paper, along with the thesis statement.
   2. State your thesis clearly
   3. Example of Thesis: Hybrid cars contribute to reducing global warming (as part of larger investigation into climate change altering security in the wrong direction)
2. Make claims that emerge from this thesis statement.
   1. Example: Claim 1. Hybrid cars use less gas.
   2. Claim 2. Using less gas creates fewer carbon emissions.
   3. Claim 3. Fewer carbon emissions helps reduce the rate of global warming.
3. Add your evidence collected to the claims you have identified.
   1. Example: A study from MotorTrend claims that Hybrid cars emit 25% less carbon emissions than gasoline or diesel vehicles.
   2. Evidence: Hybrid cars use x amount of gas as compared to non-Hybrid cars, according to the consumer index, AAA research etc. (this evidence is speculative, for the sake of an example).
   3. Counter-evidence: consider and address counter evidence, arguments (e.g., more efficient energy use leads to more energy use overall, more glutinous consumption – Jevons’ Paradox (Links to an external site.)).
4. Include a conclusion statement.
   1. This is a summary, along with a call to action or larger statement of your work’s import to national security audience.
5. This outline should be 2-3 pages.
6. You can use phrases and complete sentences in the outline.
7. Provide sources for the evidence presented in step 3
8. Use 12 point font in a Word document (can also use Open Office).
9. Reference the grading rubric to ensure all areas are fulfilled.

Also, it is important to cite your sources properly when you are writing a research paper and using someone else’s ideas. By citing sources, you will avoid plagiarism and give credit to the originator of an idea.

Ensure your response paper is free of grammatical errors. Use APA style for all writing assignments. Please visit the Excelsior College Online Writing Lab website for more information on this.

In your outline and thesis statement, be sure to consider:

• Identify your thesis claim
• Provide current evidence from research; not general indicators that would be good to know. Evidence: Hybrid cars improved fuel efficiency in studies over the last three years.  Generalized indicator: Hybrid cars can use electricity to save gas.
• Your outline is in a logical flow with relevant entries to your thesis

Construct your argument using appropriate interdisciplinary topics in national security relating to your topic (e.g. history, political science, psychology, economics, military leadership, cybersecurity, intelligence, international relations, etc.)

For assistance with your writing projects, visit Excelsior College Library (Links to an external site.). It is important to cite your sources properly when you are writing a research paper and using someone else’s ideas. By citing sources, you will avoid plagiarism and give credit to the originator of an idea.

Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer.  For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor.

Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Submit Assignment” in the upper right corner. Click on “Browse,” browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to the Browse button. Enter your comments, if any, in the Comments area. Click on “Submit Assignment.”

Evaluation

This assignment will be graded using the rubric displayed below. Please review this rubric prior to beginning your work. You can also access the rubric on the Course Rubrics page within the Start Here module. This assignment is worth 5% of your final course grade.