There is no denying that, since my beautiful capstone paper has been officially turned in, a few of the knots in my shoulders began to smooth themselves out, and my acne has attempted a cease fire on my chin. Now that this torturous four week group project is over, I would like to let out a sigh of relief, sip on some age-appropriate juice, and give future “Capstoners” a word of advice.
Time is the enemy
First of all, as long as four weeks may seem, it is not all that long. During your first meeting with your professors, you will hear about how you are expected to use your time wisely, and while some students are paying attention to this and taking notes, others are already planning vacations to visit friends and family in the area. Set meeting dates with your group immediately, making sure that everyone will be available for the majority of those times.
But keep your enemies close
On the same note, always plan due dates for your group. You may have picked up a couple of slackers combined with a couple of go-getters, and the only way you will all be on the same page is if you have a list of things to do and when to do them by.
The only thing that is certain is that everything is uncertain
Next, you may have an idea of what type of student you are, but you have no idea what types of students you have in your group. Sure, you may have had a few classes with them and maybe you are even “BU besties,” bonded by late night kitchen ventures or weekend Allston crawls with that age-appropriate juice. But don’t fool yourself: you have no idea what types of students your friends really are until you are placed into CGS-made time pressure cooker and you just can’t take all of the heat. Set up position titles within your group such as “editor,” “fact-checker,” and “scheduler.” This will make it clear who stands where within the group and what is expected from one another.
Break it down into chewable pieces
So now you have dates of meetings, due dates, and positions, but what about the actual researching? As long as you break down the research into workable pieces and you all keep up with that work, you should be able to relieve some stress. It is essential that you first create an online space, most likely a google document, in which you can share all of your information with one another. Then, outline your whole capstone paper with parts and subparts. When you are certain of these (although remember to be flexible since nothing is ever certain), distribute the parts based on what people are willing to do.
This is everyone’s project, and if group members are researching what they are most interested in, those due dates are more likely to be followed. Furthermore, this distribution prevents the capstone nightmare in which every group members ends up researching the same topic, six times over.
You can do this, and even if you can’t, you will do this
Because, at the end of the day, it will be the end of the day, and you will eventually run out of time. You will be handing in this paper, as far or near in the future as that day may seem, and all you can do is prepare, work your part as hard as you can, and thank Groupon for providing $25 one-hour back massages in May.