On Tuesday, September 23, 2021, the Walden University Form and Style Editors hosted a Capstone Writing Clinic. The purpose of this clinic was to guide attendees through the steps involved in the capstone document phase of their degree. 

During this one-day event, attendees were guided through how the capstone is different from previous coursework, a demonstration of working with the university’s document templates, and guidance on the literature review process. 

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Transitioning from Coursework to the Capstone

Writing a doctoral capstone document can be quite different from the shorter writing and research assignments in courses. The capstone is a book-length document of original scholarly contribution, and this session addresses the ways writing the doctoral capstone differs from writing for graduate courses. The presenter will outline some helpful strategies for how to approach the writing process as students move into the capstone phase.

After the Approved Prospectus: Next Steps for Your Document

After a capstone student has an approved prospectus, they begin to develop their official proposal documents. In this instructional session, the presenter will walk students through the steps of downloading and using the capstone template, which is the document students use from the proposal to the final study. Students will also be introduced to the various parts of the template along with available resources including the Form & Style Editors’ Proposal Kit.

Researching Planning and Writing Literature Review Recording

All capstone documents include a literature review, which is where students establish their authority on a topic and demonstrate the need for additional research. Students will hear from a presenter with ideas for accessing the literature, tips for how to organize the literature, and strategies for crafting and writing the literature review.

Working With the Template: Tips, Common Questions, and Resources

The Walden University document templates provide capstone students with a way to ensure formatting of their final study is consistent with the requirements of the university, APA Style, and ProQuest. In this session, presenters will review best practices for using the MS Word template, tips and suggestions for addressing issues that might arise with the template, and available resources.

Closing Remarks and Capstone Resources

This brief closing session includes a review of writing resources available to capstone students a, resources for methodology and alignment, and a list of links to various university sources useful during this phase of degree completion.