PWR Senior Capstone Projects

The Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) Capstone Project represents a culmination of seniors’ time in the PWR concentration of the English major. By synthesizing knowledge and practice of rhetorical, professional, and design strategies, seniors create and conduct their own research-based projects as part of their Senior Seminar in the spring of their graduating year. The Capstone is an integrated portion of the senior assessment process, and as such should demonstrate to PWR faculty and other audiences a knowledge of skills and strategies developed over the student’s PWR academic career. Students present their completed projects on SURF Day or in an open-house-style Senior Showcase, during which they explain their process and deliverables to visiting students and faculty.

In addition to showcasing a culmination of PWR skills as a part of PWR senior assessment, the capstone projects also give students a platform to create additional items for their portfolios and resumes. Past award-winning capstone projects are displayed below.

Capstone Requirements

Your completed Capstone Project (including a deliverable, a poster, and a handout) is due to your Senior Seminar professor on the date that they set. This traditionally falls the week before SURF. General components of the project include:

  • Proposal for a specific inquiry project with defined phases, planned research components, and possible deliverables
  • Grading Rubric co-created with Senior Sem instructor
  • Project deliverables, typically in multiple genres ranging from proposals, web pages and content, visual data displays, written or video instructions, etc.
  • Poster that serves as a visual summary and argument for capstone project shared at SURF or in a public Senior Showcase
  • Handout that summarizes the project, describes its relation to PWR, and includes an in-depth personal statement declaring the student’s definition and understanding of Professional Writing and Rhetoric

Sample Senior Capstone Projects and Posters