Booker T. Washington High School
Senior Capstone
Student’s Name: ________________________
Steps
Choose a topic
Gather research
Outline paper
Write the paper
Edit the paper
Bibliography page
Script for artifact (movie)
Movie
Approval Date
Signature
Choose a topic
Be sure to select a topic that’s interesting because you will have to read and write more on this
topic than you have read or written ever before! This topic should not be too general…I have
listed sample topics below:
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Should juvenile offenders be punished and
tried as adults?
Is American invasion in Iraq justified?
Should parents be allowed to choose the
gender of the baby?
Is there a need for special schools for
differently able children?
Does gender bias still exist in America?
Is death penalty enough for rapists or sex
offenders?
How does pornography differ from
prostitution?
Is the news hungry media unbiased?
Is Affirmative Action for State University
enrollment necessary?
Impact of racial discrimination and ways to
eliminate it.
Should women be allowed in military
combat?
Should English be made an official language
of America?
Are adult advertisements needed to be aired
on television at prime times?
Do advertisements need to be censored
strictly?
Should tobacco and alcohol advertisements
be aired on television at prime time?
Should recycling plastic be mandatory?
Does monopoly exist in media?
Does the media sensationalize news?
Impact of teen pregnancy?
Has education become a business these
days?
21. Is capital punishment an effective deterrent
for crimes?
22. Ill effects of breaking traffic rules.
23. Should euthanasia be legalized?
24. Is abortion justified?
25. Is animal testing ethical?
26. Should cloning be legalized and practiced on
a large scale?
27. Future of different sports in America.
28. Nuclear weapons, their use, impact, and
future.
29. Terrorism and ways to combat it.
30. Side effects of body piercing at young age.
31. Is stereotypical attitude towards women
responsible for eating disorders?
32. Different types of pollution and ways to
control them.
33. Ways to eliminate child sexual abuse?
34. Is sex education necessary for school
students?
35. Internet addiction faced by young kids.
36. Effects of global warming.
37. Homelessness in the United States.
38. Human rights violation in America?
39. Does Domestic violence exist in America?
40. The reason for increasing obesity in United
States.
41. Different types of sexually transmitted
disorders.
42. Political parties of United States and their
role in the development of the country.
43. Ways to protect animal rights in America.
Booker T. Washington High School
Senior Capstone
44. How is terrorism intensifying conflict of
thought amongst nations today?
45. How can parental violence be controlled?
46. Should prayer in public schools be
encouraged and made compulsory?
47. What are the ways to reduce the cost of
prescription drugs, so that health care is
easily accessible?
48. Has racial profiling helped? What are its
repercussions and what has it really yielded?
49. Are single sex schools beneficial?
50. Should athletes be allowed to take drugs of
any kind?
51. Does television violence cause societal
violence?
52. Does violence in mass media increase
negative behavior in children?
Gather research
You will have to have at least 5 different sources. These sources should come in a variety of
forms.
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Internet articles
Books
Interviews
Magazine articles
Newspaper articles
Journal articles
Encyclopedia
Pamphlet
Dictionary
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Multivolume work
Film or video
Television or radio program
Sound recording
Musical composition
A work of art
Cartoon or comic strip
Lecture or speech
Outline paper
Regular outlining rules apply. Ask yourself the following:
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What is the goal for this paper?
a. Response to literature
b. Cause-and-Effect writing
c. Expository writing
d. Compare-and-contrast writing
e. Problem-and-solution writing
f. Persuasive writing
What are the three major ideas about the topic that will be discussed in the paper?
Write a list of questions about the topic. Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How?
What should the reader know after reading this paper? What do you hope to accomplish?
Write the paper
Follow these guidelines when writing:
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Paper must be 5 typed pages
Use Times New Roman font that is 12 inches and black
Double space the paper
Must include all sources in the paper – and cited properly
Include the page number in the bottom right hand corner of each page
Must have a title page (do not number the title page)
No more than 3 forms of the verb “to be” on each page.
Use vivid, precise words.
Indent each paragraph.
Create a header with the initial of your first name and your last name in the upper right hand corner.
Other.
Booker T. Washington High School
Senior Capstone
Edit the paper
1. Once the paper is typed, allow Microsoft Word to check the paper the first time.
2. Allow three other people to read and make suggestions on the paper. Two adults and one
student.
3. Ideas should flow logically from beginning to end. Strengthen the structure by
rearranging paragraphs or adding information to fill in the gaps, if necessary.
4. Make sure you have included all of the required elements in the paper.
Bibliography page
See attached.
Script and movie
Xtranormal.com – more information forthcoming