Capstone Rough draft
You may feel at this point a bit like the mythological Sisyphus- trying to push a gigantic boulder up a steep hill!
Yes, you’ve started writing. Many late nights of writing await you when you come home from your busy days at work. Yet, the writing continues, because you know that in three weeks, this project paper called the Capstone will be personal history and an achievement that you perhaps never thought you’d arrive at!
The tendency at this point for many students is to slack off. Kind of like midwinter blues in the Midwest, if you know what I mean. If you need to, take a walk. Or try writing elsewhere. The important thing is to continue on task, because once the task is completed, you can celebrate.
You should have a good portion of your first draft done at this point. If you need some hints or help, please ask.
Please upload your current/first draft of your paper, including at least 15 pages of content. This draft should focus chiefly on your secondary research, and is also to include the 2 page [or so] Introduction. At this stage don’t worry about reference-citing everything in final form. Track and finish those details later.
Also check the syllabus .
attached a set of guidelines that you’ll find helpful [or necessary] in developing your Capstone paper – particularly the ‘full’ rough draft due in a few weeks.
By this time you’ve studied the short doc “Writing the Introduction” – the first link shown in the Capstone Project Resource Folder [CPRF]. And, you’ve also finalized your project objectives [from Week 1], correct? You need to talk about these, of course, as part of your 2 page Introduction section.
Have you taken a look at the sample student Capstone papers that I’ve referenced in the CPRF? If not . . . this will give you a pretty good idea of what to shoot for as you develop your own draft(s).
Bear in mind that you’re developing a formal, professional and graduate-level research paper. This means, among other things, that the ‘language’ you use throughout your paper must convey a professional tone. So . . avoid using common/spoken vernacular, avoid using unnecessary superlatives [something we often find in newspaper editorials, for instance], and avoid inserting your personal viewpoints and/or value judgments – other than when you get to the recommendation/conclusion sections. There, as researcher, you are free to tell the world what you’ve found, determined and concluded on the basis of all “the evidence” you’ve presented to that point.
Be sure to not submit your Abstract with your 1st [initial] rough draft. [Why? You haven’t yet reached the stage of summarizing the key findings of your project or writing your Recommendation and Conclusion sections.]Finally, your “initial” and “full” rough drafts are just that . . so don’t spend lots of time pouring over grammar and etcetera. You’ll have a chance to polish your phrasing, grammar and semantics later