The capstone requirement is satisfied by a rigorous academic writing experience, completed either 1) as part of a course that satisfies the Upper Level Writing requirement for J.D. students; 2) as part of an independent study; or 3) as an appellate brief completed in RWA II.
To satisfy the capstone requirement, the written product must demonstrate the student’s ability to research, analyze, and organize material so as to produce a cohesive, clear, and accurate piece of legal writing.
Faculty members overseeing the writing should hold conferences with students, should review and critique at least one draft before the final writing is submitted, and should provide meaningful feedback throughout the process. The faculty member may use the Upper Level Writing Requirement Rubric to communicate the feedback if it is helpful.
To certify a paper meets the capstone requirement, the faculty member must submit to the Registrar’s Office the Capstone Requirement Certification and the grade report for the course for which the paper was submitted. Faculty members shall certify that a paper satisfies the capstone requirement only if it meets the following standards, as well as any other standards that the faculty member finds appropriate for the paper:
- The topic of the paper is appropriate for an extended piece of legal writing which requires application of research, analytical, organizational and other writing skills.
- Factual, legal, and other material in the paper are cited appropriately, according to the Blue Book, the ALWD Manual, or other recognized legal citation system prescribed by the faculty member.
- The student uses numbers and types of sources which the faculty member believes are appropriate to the nature and scope of the paper topic.
- The paper demonstrates legal analytical skill and the application of that skill is appropriate to the nature and scope of the paper topic.
- The paper is well organized and demonstrates a grasp of grammar and other writing skills.
- The paper is at least 20 standard pages in length, unless the faculty member determines that a shorter paper appropriately addresses the topic. A “standard” page will generally have (i) one inch margins, (ii) 12 point, Times New Roman font in the body, (iii) 10 point, Times New Roman font in footnotes, (iv) double-spacing in the body, and (v) single-spacing in the footnotes, or other formatting that the faculty member believes appropriate to the assignment and that is communicated to the student(s) at the beginning of the course.
- The student completes at least one rewrite of the paper after critique by the faculty member.
