The Pros and Cons of a Final Project

I’m not sure if I will be able to offer any new insights on this debate, however, I can briefly outline the pros and cons of the argument. While a final project might be advantageous to allow students to show what they have learned throughout the semester, it is often the case than many professors have this same frame of thought. Especially given that this is a humanities course and most of the students in Digital Writing are humanities majors, it is highly likely that the students in this course will have a final project in most, if not all, of their classes. One more final project to add to the heap at the end of the semester might not be the best way to prove literacy in the subject matter.

As an alternative, however, a final project could be started towards the middle of the semester that we work on throughout the rest of the semester to submit at the end. Another option instead of a final project could be to simply revise and rework the projects that we’ve already completed throughout the semester.

While final projects serve as one way to prove literacy, and do better at showing application of material in comparison to a testing scenario, it is important to consider how and when the project is implemented; and to be mindful of the type and amount of projects other students may have assigned. If a final project is to be assigned, it might behoove the class and the professor to start the project earlier in the semester (to be submitted at the end) rather than later.