HOW TO WRITE A CAPSTONE PROJECT
Generally, a capstone project will be written in steps. In our experience, your supervisor or capstone project class will assign you different assignments over time that you will then build into your capstone. These sub-projects involved in writing a capstone project often include thesis statement assignments, annotated bibliographies and literature reviews. Don’t think of these elements of the capstone project as waste work. Assuming that your professor provides you with positive feedback regarding these assignments, you will likely be able to copy-paste them into your capstone project as you work on completing it. If you are not able to copy-paste them into your capstone project, you will still likely to be able to use these elements without having to make significant modifications to them when writing your capstone project.
Writing a capstone project must begin, like writing a research paper, with the choice of a thesis. Once you have picked the topic that you want to write on based on your major, choose a thesis that you think you will be able to support through your study of the existing literature. From there, either follow the steps that are put forth in the assignments culminating with your capstone project or begin to write a literature review. As your write this literature review, you will find arguments supporting the thesis of your capstone project and these will be critical for structuring your capstone project and writing the arguments that support the thesis it is arguing.
You should then break your capstone paper up into sections by using headings Given that writing a capstone project is like writing a long research paper, you will use these headings to allow the reader to better understand your argument. Using headings to separate the different elements of support for your capstone project’s thesis is a critical part of writing a great capstone project. Using headings when writing a capstone paper allows the reader to better understand the structure of your capstone project. Do not forget that, when you are writing the conclusion of your capstone paper, you should not be introducing new information. Rather, and unless your institution’s guidance says otherwise, the conclusion is the part of the capstone project where it is acceptable to use the first person perspective to reflect on what you have learned in writing your capstone project.
Finally, is important to be adaptive when you are writing a capstone project. As you are conducting your literature review, there is a very significant chance that you will find evidence that might make you modify your capstone project’s thesis as you proceed with your research. Do not get discouraged if this occurs when you are writing your capstone project. This is a normal part of the research process. If this occurs while you are writing your capstone project, you should talk to your advisor or supervisor and ask them for advice on how they believe that you should proceed. Given that writing a capstone project means working closely with your supervisor, it is important that you keep your capstone project supervisor updated regarding changes to your thesis resulting from your research.
