Golden Rules for Writing a Capstone Project

This post was contributed by Izabelle Foster, a professional freelance writer. She specializes in education, research paper, and essay writing. Ann has ten years of experience in journalistics under her belt and concurrently serves as a senior writer at PapersOwl.

Students are asked to complete a capstone project when they reach the final year of the degree course. Its main goal is to bring together the knowledge they learned during their degree course. The complexity of this task depends on your project’s topic, but if handled properly, you can easily tackle that challenge. In this post, we’ll share some pieces of advice or golden rules for creating a top-notch capstone project. This information might help you get the highest possible grade!

How to Choose the Right Theme?

Unfortunately, not all students have a chance to choose a topic. Tutors mostly assign a particular theme, and you need to cover it in your capstone project. But if you are free to choose a theme, pick the one you feel most passionate about. While writing, you need to demonstrate your research and methodology skills. But it is hard to do this when you don’t like and don’t understand the topic.

Remember that your research should be useful for the chosen scientific area. Moreover, the results should contribute to the knowledge of this subject.

However, you should avoid topics that you don’t understand or don’t like. If you want to enjoy the process of writing, make sure you love the theme. If you aren’t up to it, you can hire experts from PapersOwl, a trusted online education platform. Their writers will surely help you complete the task.

Main Tips to Consider While Writing a Capstone Project

Here are the main points that you should definitely consider before you immerse yourself in writing.

• Remember that the main goal of any capstone project is to bring a course of study to the end. You have to demonstrate what knowledge you’ve got during this course.
• The average length of a capstone project is 40-50 pages (or 12,000 words). You also need to add a comprehensive list of sources (at least 12-15).
• Don’t forget to add a table of contents and a detailed list of references that should be formatted following your higher educational establishment requirements.
• Choose the appropriate reference style (MLA, APA, or Chicago style).

Write Your Proposal

Before you immerse yourself in writing, you need to create a proposal and submit it to your teacher. A typical capstone project proposal includes 200 words. Here are the main aspects that you need to cover while writing your proposal:

• You need to tell about the topic that you want to cover briefly;
• Tell the audience about your background and experience in this niche;
• Demonstrate a list of sources that you’ve used;
• Highlight the importance of your research;
• Set the goals that you need to achieve while writing your research.

Sometimes, students are asked to complete a broader proposal. For finding the answer to this question, you need to consult your tutor.

Structure Your Paper

It goes without saying that a general structure of your project can vary depending on the topic. However, you should be very attentive to this question and logically divide your paper. In doing so, it will be easier for you to focus on each section. Typically, an average capstone project includes the following areas:

• A title page;
• A brief but catchy introduction;
• A comprehensive literature review;
• Methods of your research;
• The results that you managed to achieve;
• A brief conclusion;
• A list of references.

Indeed, it is easier to cover the theme when you have a comprehensive structure just like you can clean the garden with lawn mower and other essential tools. When you have a plan to follow, you know what sections have already been covered and what paragraphs require your attention most of all.

Make a timetable

Remember that you are dealing with a research paper that requires time, effort, and expertise. It will be easier for you to tackle that challenge when you apply your time-planning skills. When you plan everything, you’ll easily get through this task. Create a time-table and write about your achievements. Set the deadlines, use organizers, or any other tools that help you be more effective!

Always Proofread Your Paper Before You Submit It

It is of utmost importance for any student to do this. Never submit your paper once you complete it. Always spend some time on proofreading. In doing so, you’ll analyze your work, make corrections, and be sure that all your paragraphs are logically right. Cut sections without meaning and add more essential sentences. Check the tone of your paper; it should be academic.

For proofreading, you can use Grammarly, a trusted resource that will check your paper for mistakes. If you can’t do it yourself, or you feel like your skills and experience aren’t enough for proofreading, you can hire a qualified proofreader who will polish your paper to perfection.

All in all, a capstone project is not as challenging as it seems to be at a glance. You need to be ready for this task and have enough time to complete it. If you realize that you don’t have enough time to immerse yourself in writing, and you see that you can’t meet the requirements of your tutor, you can hire qualified and experienced writers to help you. Don’t be ashamed of asking for help; let professionals help you!