Capstone Formatting Guidelines
Required Sections
The structure of your capstone paper will vary based on your capstone project type, the subfield or disciplines you are writing within, and what you need to effectively communicate through your paper. The suggested sections below often comprise the structure of a traditional social science research paper, but the way you implement this structure may vary (in consultation with your advisor). A Senior Capstone paper must include the following sections:
show all / hide all
Additional Sections
The following additional sections are typical of papers in the social and natural sciences, but your sections, section titles, and the order of your sections may differ according to what is most appropriate for your paper topic and goals:
show all / hide all
Other Guidelines
Document Length:
If you are writing a traditional thesis paper for your capstone project, this should be 35 – 50 pages (double-spaced) in length not including the title page and other front matter, references cited list, and appendices. If you are writing a shorter academic paper to accompany a different capstone project type, work with your advisor to determine the appropriate number of pages for your paper.
Margins, Line Spacing, Fonts, and Page Numbering:
Your Senior Capstone document should be double-spaced and written in 12-point font. Indent first line of paragraphs 1 tab stop (½ inch). Footnotes or endnotes should be single spaced. Longer quoted text of five or more lines should be placed in a single-spaced block quote, indented one tab stop (½ inch), with no quotation marks around quote.
Page margins should be one inch on all sides. Left alignment preferred for body paragraphs. All pages except title page should be numbered. Pages should be numbered using Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) at top center or right.
Graphics, Figures, Illustrations, and Tables
Any figures, photos, illustrations, and maps you may include in your paper should be labeled as “Figure (number)” with consecutive numbering. Tables should similarly be numbered consecutively but should be labeled as “Table (number)” with their numbers progressing separately from the figure numbers. Each figure or table must be referenced at least once within the text of the capstone. The figure or table should be placed immediately following the paragraph in which it is first referenced or in an appendix. A caption must be provided in the same font type and size as the main text for each figure and table. If a figure or table has been taken from someone else’s work, it must be cited in the caption, with a full citation in the References cited list.
Title Page
All title page text should be centered except the lines for “Approved” and “Date,” which should be aligned left. Please follow the format provided below.