ESTP SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY CAPSTONE REPORT ASSESSMENT
Student Name:
Capstone Advisor:
Second Reader (Honors Only):
Capstone Type: ____ Standard ____ Honors
Cover Letter Requirements
 Address your cover letter, "To the SEP Faculty:"
 Briefly describe the environmental problem your capstone project addresses.
 Provide a general description of your capstone project that names what type of capstone
project you did (policy, scientific education, or scientific inquiry), your specific capstone
question or goal, and a general description of what you did for your capstone project.
 Explain how what you did for your capstone project addresses the environmental problem
your capstone project addresses. If applicable, identify and explain the extent to which
you collaborated with non-SEP individuals and organizations
 Identify the specific audience you wrote your capstone report for and explain how your
audience will (or might) use your work and for what purpose.
 If applicable, identify any important preconceptions you entered your capstone work with
(e.g. anticipated results; validity of relevant theories; assumptions about attitudes, values,
or abilities of individuals and groups you worked with; etc.), steps you took to ensure that
your preconceptions did not bias the implementation, interpretation, or analysis of your
capstone, and whether your capstone work confirmed your preconceptions.
 Explain the ethical reasons why you chose to do this particular project: what do you
value, why do you value it, and why do you believe your capstone work reflects and
promotes these values?
Note: Cover letters should NOT contain citations.
Assessment Comments:
Abstract Requirements
 Identify the problem your capstone addresses.
 Identify the key question(s) and/or goal(s) of your project.
 Summarize your methods.
 Summarize your results.
 Summarize your conclusion.
Note: Abstracts should consist of a single paragraph.
Assessment Comments:
Scientific Inquiry Area of Depth Main Report Requirements
Introduction and Background
 Define and describe the general (i.e. national and/or global) problem your capstone
project focuses on (this is your problem description).
 Describe and cite empirical evidence obtained from multiple, scholarly resources that
support the claim that this problem exists and is significant.
 Explain why it is important to address this problem.
 Define and describe the specific (i.e. local) problem your capstone focuses on. In doing
so, you should do the following (this should correspond directly to your systems
diagram):
 Describe the local ecological context.
 Describe the local social, behavioral, and/or economic context.
 Describe the local regulatory and/or institutional context.
 Describe the most important linkages among these three components.
 Identify the specific empirical question your capstone project will try to answer and
explain how answering that question will help others respond effectively to the local
problem you described and how this in turn will help still others respond effectively to
the general problem you described.
 Identify the alternative hypotheses associated with this empirical question.
 Describe the general approach you will use to test these hypotheses. Note: "General
approach" differs from methods in that methods include detailed, step-by-step
descriptions of exactly how you will gather data to test your hypotheses while your
"general approach" simply provides an overview of what you will do (e.g. use multibeam
sonar bathymetry to determine sediment levels before and after major storm events;
measure plant species composition at sites that vary with respect to the last major burn in
the area).
Assessment Comments:
Methods
 Provide a detailed description of your methods for data acquisition and analysis.
Important: this should be in sufficient detail so that 1) your readers can evaluate whether
or not the approach you took is sufficient and adequate for testing your hypotheses, and
2) another researcher could repeat your work without having to contact you.
 Relate your experimental design and/or methods of data acquisition to your question and
hypotheses.
Assessment Comments:
Results
 Present a written summary of your key results.
 Present figures and tables where appropriate, each with a complete legend (i.e. your
readers should not have to read the text to understand the figure -- the figure or table
should make sense on its own).
 Cite ALL figures and tables in the text, with figures and table placed AFTER the citation.
Discussion
 Relate the data you collected to your research question and hypotheses.
 Evaluate the extent to which your data support your stated hypotheses.
 Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your data.
 Compare your results and conclusions to the results and conclusions of similar work done
by others.
 Relate your results and conclusions to the environmental issue.
 Discuss new questions and/or ideas that developed as a result of doing the project and
provide directions for future work.
Literature Cited
 All sources must be properly cited and referenced. Please follow the Council of Science
Editor’s Guidelines. Capstone reports should have a minimum of 15 relevant peerreviewed sources from reputable professional journals. Use of information from web
pages should be minimized.
Assessment Comments:
ESTP CAPSTONE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
ABSTRACT
COVER LETTER
SATISFACTORY
Standard: 1 point
Honors: Needs work
COMMENDABLE
Standard: 3 points
Honors: 1 point
 Complete (see report
 Complete (see report


 Accurate
 Appropriately relevant content
 Appropriate depth
requirements)
Accurate
Minimally relevant
content
Minimal depth

 Complete (see report



requirements)
Accurate
Minimally relevant
content
Minimal depth
AREA OF DEPTH  Complete (see report
(Scientific Inquiry,
requirements)
Science Education, or

Accurate
Policy Analysis)
 Minimally relevant
content
 Minimal depth
 Minimal integration
within and between
report sections
 Minimal analysis and
evaluation
APPLICATION OF  Accurate
SCIENTIFIC
 Minimally complete
KNOWLEDGE
 Minimally relevant
 Minimal depth
 Minimal integration
 Minimal analysis and
evaluation
requirements)
 Complete (see report








Minimal linkages
Accurate
Minimally relevant
Minimal depth
Minimal analysis and
evaluation
 Complete (see report






















WRITING
for genre

logistically
 Minimally complex
analysis of data or
information
Minimal initiative, selfmotivation, and selfdirection
 Minimal contribution
 Complete (see report


Accurate
Moderately complete
Moderately relevant
Moderate depth
Moderate integration
Moderate analysis and
evaluation
Minimal original thinking







Accurate

Strongly complete

Strongly relevant

Strong depth

Strong integration

Strong analysis and evaluation 
Moderate original thinking
Accurate
Exceptionally complete
Exceptionally relevant
Exceptional depth
Exceptional integration
Exceptional analysis and
evaluation
Strong original thinking
Near professional quality
Moderate linkages
Accurate
Moderately relevant
Moderate depth
Moderate analysis and
evaluation
Minimal original thinking





 Moderate original thinking
genre
(ability to engage reader,
grammar, syntax, spelling)
Appropriate citations and
references
logistically
ASSESSMENT
(# Points)
Three (3) points is highest
possible score for cover letter.
requirements)
Accurate
Exceptionally relevant content
Exceptional depth
Exceptional integration
Exceptional analysis and
evaluation
Strong original thinking
Near professional quality
 Moderately effective style
style (ability to engage
reader, grammar, syntax,
spelling)

Appropriate citations
and references
EXCEPTIONAL
Standard: 5 points
Honors: 5 points
Three (3) points is highest
possible score for abstract.
requirements)
Accurate

Strongly relevant content

Strong depth

Strong integration within and 
between report sections

Strong analysis and evaluation
Moderate original thinking

 Minimally challenging  Moderately challenging

REAL WORLD
APPLICATION
requirements)
Accurate
Moderately relevant content
Moderate depth
Moderate integration within
and between report sections
Moderate analysis and
evaluation
Minimal original thinking
 Minimal clarity
 Moderate clarity
 Minimal organization  Moderate organization
 Minimally appropriate  Moderately appropriate for
 Minimally effective
PROJECT
COMPLEXITY &
STUDENT
INITIATIVE
Three (3) points is highest
possible score for cover letter.
requirements)
Accurate
Appropriately relevant content
Appropriate depth
 Complete (see report

INTEGRATION
OF SCIENCE AND
POLICY
EXEMPLARY
Standard: 5 points
Honors: 3 points
Three (3) points is highest
possible score for abstract.



Strong linkages

Accurate

Strongly relevant

Strong depth

Strong analysis and evaluation 
Exceptional linkage
Accurate
Exceptionally relevant
Exceptional depth
Exceptional analysis and
evaluation
Strong original thinking
Near professional quality


 Strong clarity
 Exceptional clarity
 Strong organization
 Exceptional organization
 Strongly appropriate for genre  Exceptionally appropriate for
genre
 Strongly effective style
(ability to engage reader,
 Exceptionally effective style
grammar, syntax, spelling)
 Appropriate citations and
references
 Strongly challenging
logistically

(ability to engage reader,
grammar, syntax, spelling)
Appropriate citations and
references
Near professional quality

 Exceptionally challenging
logistically
 Moderately complex analysis  Strongly complex analysis of  Exceptionally complex
of data or information
data or information
 Moderate initiative, self-
 Strong initiative, self-
 Exceptional initiative, self-
 Moderate contribution
 Strong Contribution
 Exceptional contribution
motivation, and self-direction
motivation, and self-direction
analysis of data or information
motivation, and self-direction
TOTAL
/36
Grade Scale: 0-7 (or less than satisfactory in any category) = Not Passing; 8-14= C; 15-16=C+; 17-20=B-; 21-24=B;
25-26=B+; 27-30=A-; 31-34=A; 35-36=A+