{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "content": "---\ntitle: \"Independent Study Contract writing tips\"\ndescription: \"Practical advice for ANU computing students on writing a capstone project\n  description and learning outcomes that actually guide your research.\"\ntags:\n  - teaching\n---\n\nMany students here at the ANU School of Computing take a capstone project at the\nend of their undergraduate degree. There are a few different variations (e.g.\nhalf-year vs full-year, \"research\" vs \"implementation\", etc.), but overall these\nprojects are a chance for students to put together all the skills they've\nlearned in their degree program in a supervised project where _they're_ the\nboss.\n\nTo take on one of these project, students need to find a supervisor, decide on a\nproject and sign an **independent study contract** (ISC). While these ISCs\n_could_ be seen as a tick-and-flick waste of time, when done well they're an\nimportant part of the project.\n\nIf you're a student writing an ISC (at the ANU School of Computing at least)\nthere two \"meaty\" parts to your ISC: the _project description_, and the\n_learning outcomes_. Putting some hard work into those parts at the beginning of\nyour project is totally worth it. Your supervisor can (and should!) help you\nout, but it's your project, and you should make sure it reflects the project you\nwant to do.\n\n## Tips for writing a good ISC\n\nAll projects are different, and therefore so are all ISCs. The best tip I can\ngive is to _write an ISC that you'll **want** to keep looking at throughout the\nproject_. It's tempting to see the sole purpose of the ISC getting a permission\ncode to enrol in the project course. But it's something that should guide your\nresearch, and something which you should be able to point to at the end and say\n\"yep, I achieved my goals\".\n\n### Project Description\n\n- this is kindof a marketing exercise: you're trying to \"sell\" your project to\n  an interested observer, so make it seem interesting---give it a \"hook\"\n\n- length: one or two paragraphs (it should fit in the space on the form), and\n  should be understandable by one of your classmates\n\n- don't write it out by hand straight on to the form; this is the sort of thing\n  you want to have a few drafts at (including getting feedback from your\n  supervisor)\n\n- don't _just_ say vague stuff like \"explore various techniques for...\" or\n  \"investigate different approaches to...\"; if you're gonna do that you need to\n  also have something about what you're trying to find with your\n  explorations/investigations, and how you'll measure whether you',re successful\n\n- if you're going to create something (e.g. a piece of software, a user study)\n  then mention it in the project description\n\n### Learning Outcomes\n\n- how many? you probably want 3 (±1)\n\n- the \"standard\" way to frame learning outcomes is to write them as\n  continuations of the sentence: \"at the end of this project, the student will\n  be able to...\"\n\n- think about what you'd like to be able to do once you've completed the project\n  and work backwards from there\n\n- the Learning & Teaching centre at Adelaide Uni has some\n  [good tips on writing](https://www.adelaide.edu.au/learning/resources-for-educators/curriculum-resources/learning-outcomes/writing-learning-outcomes#application-of-learning-outcomes)\n",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-13T23:14:52.616Z",
  "description": "Practical advice for ANU computing students on writing a capstone project description and learning outcomes that actually guide your research.",
  "path": "/blog/2021/01/25/independent-study-contract-writing-tips",
  "publishedAt": "2021-01-25T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:tevykrhi4kibtsipzci76d76/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "teaching"
  ],
  "textContent": "Practical advice for ANU computing students on writing a capstone project description and learning outcomes that actually guide your research.",
  "title": "Independent Study Contract writing tips"
}