Undergraduate Writing:

Undergraduate Capstone Courses

Students at the capstone stage should understand how to use appropriate and relevant content to develop and explore ideas in writing. In the final project, students must be able to (a) display sentence-, paragraph-, and essay-level skills; (b) use evidence to support a claim in an academic argument and give credit to a source; and (c) provide the reader with documentation of research with a reference page. Capstone projects must contain the appropriate academic sources for the discipline. The writing should demonstrate an awareness of the importance of presentation, style, and audience. Walden capstone criteria align with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) assessment rubrics for final projects. Final projects should be free of errors, cohesive, and comprehensive in scope. For more information, review the AACU website regarding capstone standards.

Writing a capstone is not the same as writing a course paper. Drafting a longer essay can be difficult to approach, so you may want to consider an initial outline where you decide the structure and scale of the project. In a capstone, you will draft and revise the document over the term. You will need to carefully proofread your capstone before you submit it to your instructor. The capstone template will help you with formatting the document. Walden student capstones are important display cases of student knowledge.

A. Display sentence, paragraph, and essay level skills.

Sentence-level skills include awareness of grammar and punctuation rules. Paragraph-level skills involve use of evidence for idea (thesis) development. Students should practice essay-level writing skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Students should display awareness of discipline specific conventions particular to a writing assignment, including academic expression, presentation, and stylistic choices appropriate to an academic audience.

B. Use evidence from research to support a claim and give credit to the source. 
 
C. Provide the reader with documentation of research with a reference page.