GEN 411 - Baccalaureate Capstone II
Advice From Former Capstone Students
Below are the responses of former GEN 411 students asked for the most important piece of advice that they could give to other students just beginning their Capstone projects. (NB: These comments were collected during assessment of Dr. Erion's GEN 411[41-M] course on June 9, 2003.)
- As you start your adventure in the world of Baccalaureate Capstone, you may want to do some research on what the course entails. Be prepared to do your share of reading; attending class is crucial.
- Pick a topic you find interesting and worthwhile because you will be spending a lot of time researching it. (It will become your best friend!) Outlines are the key to writing a cohesive, logical, well-written paper. The sooner you develop an outline, the better.
- Make sure you can put yourself into your topic; don't [just] pick a topic that is easy to complete. It's OK to change your mind.
- (A) Pick a topic that you are familiar with and have some previous knowledge [of]/ experience [with]; (B) Get started immediately with your research and rough draft; (C) Take advantage [of] and use [your instructor] as a resource.
- Please, please don't wait until the last minute until you start the paper. You must seriously consider outlining your plan in GEN 410 (Capstone I). Also, take full advantage of time offered to review the project. It will allow [you] to better target your paper.
- The most important thing is to make a good OUTLINE. The outline is the most important part. If you have a good outline the paper will fall into place. Even if it is a basic outline to start you can always add to it as you go.
- The most helpful thing[s] that I used to complete this report [were] the outline and the research proposal. The best advice I could give another student completing this course would be to get all your sources early, look them over to make sure they will be useful, and write some of your paper every day or every other day. [And remember that] just because a source has a helpful title doesn't mean its content could help you create your paper.
- Start early! Pace yourself - set a goal of so many pages per week. Don't feel like you have to do all your reading before you start writing. Do the research as you go along. Get your library books early. The sooner you start, the less stress you'll have.
- The most important piece to this puzzle was the research needed to complete the paper. I felt [my instructor] prepared us for that, and I am grateful. [My instructor] helped me keep my topic in perspective, and I felt that our meetings were very helpful.
- When you first come to an idea, go to the library and [begin collecting] your references, [but] don't check the books out yet; make sure that you are going to have reliable sources to use. Also, see people who have knowledge of your topic; they will be most helpful.
- It [may be] helpful to approach some of the instructors you previously had in order to obtain good research material.
- I chose to gather as many books as possible because I felt they were more helpful than online [resources; however,] I wish that I had more time to dedicate to reading [all of my] sources.
- The most important piece of advice I could give would be that when you actually sit down to write, allow yourself a large chunk of time, perhaps 3-5 hours, and keep the interruptions to a minimum.
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