Milestone Description – all dates to be announced Submission of topic and thesis statement   Submission of Literature Review Submission of Prospectus First Draft of Paper Submission of first draft of paper or project Second Draft of Paper Submission of second draft of paper or project Final draft of Paper  Final Presentation: Oral presentation before students and teachers – date of presentation will be announced. Please note that you will graded on not only the final paper and class presentation, but also the intermediate steps. Your failure to submit the required intermediate work can result in a reduction of your grade on the paper or the presentation or both. Class Presentation Requirements. All students will be required to make a presentation to their peers on a date to be announced. Do not simply read your paper accompanied by PowerPoint slides. Sound and other creative enhancements may be used. The student will also prepare an appropriate number of handouts to accompany the presentation and to be distributed to the class. Process of Drafting Capstone Paper: 1. Pick a Thesis or Topic 2. Develop Thesis Statement 3. Commence Research I Literature Review 4. Submit Literature Review 5. Develop Outline 6. Draft Prospectus 7. Commence Research II Body Research a. IRB (Institutional Review Board) permission 8. Draft Abstract 9. First Draft of Paper 10. Final Paper  1. Submission of Thesis Statement – a brief statement of the argument or analysis that is to follow; roadmap to help or alert the reader as to the nature of the paper. Some good websites to help you understand exactly what a thesis statement is and how to draft one can be found at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/ http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml#unassigned http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/thesis.html http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html 2. Literature Review – Review of all relevant literature to place the research in the environment of the field; find other similar research; and direct future research. See: https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-a-literature-review https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/ http://guides.library.vcu.edu/lit-review 3. Outline ‐ document used to aid in the process of writing the paper; an outline can help the student organize ideas. See: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/02/ 4. Prospectus – The prospectus should make up the first section of your final project. It will contain the introduction to the research project, the literature review, and the roadmap of what will be covered in the final project. See: https://ctl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/prospectus_guidelines.pdf http://resess.unavco.org/lib/downloads/RESESS-Week-2-2013.pdf https://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/s/smcmahon/courses/hist249/files/249prospectus.pdf 5. Abstract ‐ in order to both attract and inform a reader, an abstract should be a complete but .

1. Milestone Description – all dates to be announced
Submission of topic and thesis statement
Submission of Literature Review
Submission of Prospectus
First Draft of Paper Submission of first draft of paper or project
Second Draft of Paper Submission of second draft of paper or
project
Final draft of Paper
Final Presentation: Oral presentation before students and
teachers – date of presentation will be announced. Please note
that you will graded on not only the final paper and class
presentation, but also the intermediate steps. Your failure to
submit the required intermediate work can result in a reduction
of your grade on the paper or the presentation or both.
Class Presentation Requirements. All students will be required
to make a presentation to their peers on a date to be announced.
Do not simply read your paper accompanied by PowerPoint
slides. Sound and other creative enhancements may be used.
The student will also prepare an appropriate number of handouts
to accompany the presentation and to be distributed to the class.
Process of Drafting Capstone Paper:
1. Pick a Thesis or Topic
2. Develop Thesis Statement

2. 3. Commence Research I
Literature Review
4. Submit Literature Review
5. Develop Outline
6. Draft Prospectus
7. Commence Research II
Body Research
a. IRB (Institutional Review Board) permission
8. Draft Abstract
9. First Draft of Paper
10. Final Paper
1. Submission of Thesis Statement – a brief statement of the
argument or analysis that is to follow; roadmap to help or alert
the reader as to the nature of the paper. Some good websites to
help you understand exactly what a thesis statement is and how
to draft one can be found at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml#
unassigned

3. http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/thesis.html
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html
2. Literature Review – Review of all relevant literature to place
the research in the environment of the field; find other similar
research; and direct future research. See:
https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-a-literature-review
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/
http://guides.library.vcu.edu/lit-review
3. Outline ‐ document used to aid in the process of writing the
paper; an outline can help the student organize ideas. See:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/02/
4. Prospectus – The prospectus should make up the first section
of your final project. It will contain the introduction to the
research project, the literature review, and the roadmap of what
will be covered in the final project. See:
https://ctl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/prospectus_guideline
s.pdf
http://resess.unavco.org/lib/downloads/RESESS-Week-2-
2013.pdf
https://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/s/smcmahon/courses/hist249/f
iles/249prospectus.pdf
5. Abstract ‐ in order to both attract and inform a reader, an

4. abstract should be a complete but concise description of the
paper; a concise summary of the key points of the paper
incorporating the thesis statement:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/656/01/
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/outlines.shtml
6. Draft ‐ the draft transforms the outline into essay form. It
will have mistakes, but should be the best quality submission
you can offer. Comments by the instructor concerning the draft
will be submitted to you. See:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/
1draft.html
7. Final Draft ‐ final proof reading, editing, and submission.
The final paper must be at least 15 to20 pages excluding cover
page, title page, abstract, table of contents, bibliography,
appendixes, endnotes, etc. See:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/
proofread.html
Technical Requirements and Suggestions:
The order of the final paper:
a. Cover page – title, your name, class

5. b. Title page – title of paper
c. Acknowledgement (optional)
d. Dedication (optional)
e. Table of Contents
f. Body of work
g. Bibliography
h. Appendixes