Student Capstone Responsibilities
It is your role to be open to advice and criticism, personally conduct the research, set reasonable goals and meet them, keep your committee members informed of your progress (we can’t stress this enough!), and write your paper.
Your final paper must conform to the NRES and Graduate College Guidelines (http://www.grad.illinois.edu/thesis/format). Therefore, be aware of the rules for formatting your paper before you begin your project draft. It is much easier to do it correctly from the start than to have to go back and change things because they weren’t done in accordance with the guidelines. Here is some additional sage advice.
- Be open to suggestions and constructive criticism
- Personally conduct the research
- Set reasonable goals and meet them
- Keep your Academic Advisor (via the Compass 2g – Open Learning – Capstone Progress) informed of your progress
- Keep your Research Director and Committee Members informed of your progress
- Communicate the results of your research through your Final Paper and in accordance with the NRES and Graduate College Guidelines
Research Tips
Writing Tips
- READ and REVISE until the writing is comparable to the writing of a publishable paper. Don’t be lulled into complacency. Polish your writing before you send it to your Research Director.
- Use Grammarly to check for common grammar and spelling errors.
- Use a citation management program (Zotero, Mendeley, End Note, etc.) to organize and structure your citations.
- Hire an editor if you feel you need extra writing support or guidance.