Capstone Format and Appearance
Statement of Responsibility
Each student is responsible for adhering to the requirements set forth in this document. It is expected that a capstone project free of stylistic, mechanical, grammatical, and formatting errors will be submitted to the committee. Any deviation from the requirements set forth in this document must be reviewed and approved by the MAPW Committee.
Style Manual
The capstone project should be prepared according to the requirements in the latest edition of the style manual appropriate to the fields of professional writing in which the student is writing (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago). If the project is made up of separate pieces of writing from a variety of genres, a variety of styles may be followed. However, if points of difference arise, the statements in this document take precedence.
Arrangement of the Manuscript
The capstone project should include:
- A title page (exhibit D)
- A certificate of approval page (exhibit B)
The Certificate of Approval containing the original signatures of the student's committee should be submitted with the first Library copy of the capstone project for final deposit. A copy of the signed Certificate must be included with each additional copy. The Certificate is counted as page ii of the capstone project, but the number is not typed on the page.
- An optional acknowledgment page - Here the student has the option of making a brief statement of gratitude for special assistance.
- A table of contents page
- Preface - The prefatory essay provides background information on the contents of the capstone project that will contribute to an informed reading of it. The student may react to theories, processes, and or practical skills which he or she has learned and the affect on the creation of the works; the student may formulate an artistic statement; the student may write a narrative of his or her development as a writer up to this point; or the student may discuss a combination of these or related subjects.
- The text of the capstone project
- A curriculum vitae, biography, or resume - The student should include a vita, biography, or resume (not to exceed three pages) that highlights his or her achievements in a field or fields of professional writing. This may include previous education in professional writing, attendance of workshops or professional conventions, prizes and awards, a list of publications, and paid or volunteer employment in the field of professional writing.
Preparation of Manuscript
- Printing
Printing should include computer technology using laser printer, not dot-matrix.
Certain symbols, characters, or special markings and other fonts not available to certain printers must be drawn neatly and uniformly by hand with black, permanent, drawing ink.
The final copy should be a clean, correctly printed copy with no detectable corrections. No erasures, crossouts, strikeovers, insertions, correction fluid, or tape permitted.
- Margins
Each page must have a margin of 1.5" on the left and at least 1" on the other three sides. On the first page of every major division (e.g., chapter, table of contents, references, etc.), a 2" margin is required at the top. All tables and figures must conform to the margin requirements (photographic reproduction--with enlargement or reduction--may be necessary).
A subhead at the bottom of the page must have at least two full lines of type below it, or it should begin on the next page.
- Page Numbering
Beginning with the title page, every page is assigned a number. The preliminaries are numbered in lower-case Roman numerals placed without punctuation in the center of the page at least 3/4" (5 lines) from the bottom of the page. The title page and the certificate of approval are considered to be pages i and ii, but numbers are not typed on these pages.
Text and reference pages are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals beginning with 1 on the first page of the text. The numbers are placed without punctuation in the upper right corner 1 inch form the right and at least 3/4" (5 lines) from the top of the page. All pages of the text and reference material, including appendices, references, and cover sheets (if used) are counted and numbered.
- Spacing
The general text of the capstone project is double-spaced. Single spacing is used for long tables, itemized or tabular material, footnotes, multi-line captions. Long quotations and reference entries should be spaced following the style used throughout the project (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA).
Photographs can be printed from the negatives on 8.5" x 11" photographic paper to eliminate the problems involved in attaching photographs to thesis paper. Charts, maps, drawings, etc., may be photographed on 8.5" x 11" photographic paper. If illustrations are mounted, dry mounting or permanent paper cement (dried under weight) may be used. Do not mount with rubber cement, glue, photo-mounting corners, tape, or staples.
Use of oversized material should be avoided. If a folded page must be used, the folded edge should be at least 1/4" from the right edge of the manuscript to avoid cutting at the bindery. The page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of the folded page in alignment with the pagination in the text. Large materials may be folded and inserted in a pocket in the appendices.
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