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Spring, Senior Year

The sixth component of the Scholars IRP is the "Final Draft".  This page specifies:

1. what is expected of students in the Final Draft;
2. how mentors evaluate Final Drafts;
3. how and to whom students submit Final Drafts; and
4. how and to whom mentors submit their evaluations of Final Drafts

Follow these links to learn:

• the deadline for student submissions of the Final Draft;
• the date when mentors are requested to submit their evaluations of these Drafts; and
• why these evaluations matter; what consequences they have for students.

1. Expectations

The Final Draft is the definitive formulation of the results of a student’s inquiry. It presents the answers he defends to his study’s leading questions. The Final Draft must be a well written, continuous text, with footnotes and a bibliography.

The same expectations apply to the Final Draft as to the Second Draft.  That is to say, the Final Draft must be 20-30 pages in length (typed, double-spaced).  It must make use of evidence, arguments, and authorities from two distinct academic disciplines.  It must be built upon a bibliography of at least 10 "distinguished bibliographical sources," with at least 5 sources from each discipline.  It must use an established system of documentation (e.g., Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, etc.; the choice of system is at the discretion of the Primary Mentor).  In brief, the Final Draft must be a polished piece of academic writing.  Needless to say, academic dishonesty in the preparation of the Final Draft or failure to submit it as required are grounds for dismissal from the Scholars Program.

In preparing the Final Draft, students should make use of feedback from each of your mentors on your Second Draft. They should also be sure to employ sources, authorities, and information from each of your two disciplines (e.g., Political Science and Biology, Literature and Sociology, etc.).

2. Evaluation

Each mentor assigns a grade on a 100-point scale.  A student’s grade for the Final Draft is the average of both grades.

The grades for the Second Draft, Final Draft, and Oral Presentation are averaged to determine the student’s “Scholars Grade”. Her Scholars Grade influences whether a student earns the honorary designation "Benedictine Scholar" or "Benedictine Scholar with Distinction" at graduation. The former designation requires a minimum Scholars Grade of 75, the latter of 90.

In grading the Final Draft, each mentor is asked to consider the following:

Content

• Does the paper have a thesis (i.e., does it defend an answer to a clear and important leading question)?
• How well does it define its thesis?
• Does the paper support its thesis?
• How persuasive is its evidence?
• Is the paper interdisciplinary?
• Does it make effective use of my discipline (i.e., the field that I mentor)?
• Is it an improvement over previous Drafts?
  

Form

• Is the paper carefully written?
• Is the paper well structured?
• Is the paper properly documented?
• Does the bibliography contain "distinguished works" in my discipline published by "major academic presses"?
• Is the paper the requisite length (i.e., 20-30 pages, typed, double-spaced)?

3. Student Submission Procedure

Students are required to submit the Final Draft both via e-mail and in print.

Click here for the date that the Final Draft is due. Failure to submit the Final Draft by the deadline is grounds for dismissal from the Program; click here for further information.

The Final Draft should be emailed to four people:

• your Primary Mentor
• your Secondary Mentor
• the Scholars Assistant
• the Scholars Director

Be sure to state your full name in the e-mail accompanying your submission as well as the names of both mentors (“Attached is the Final Draft of my IRP. My mentors are Prof. Kubek and Prof. Doyle. —John Smith”).

Paper copies should be placed in the office mailboxes of two people:

• your Primary Mentor
• your Secondary Mentor

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Scholars Assistant.

4. Grade Submission Procedure for Mentors

Mentors are asked to submit a grade on a 100-point scale for their student’s work on the Final Draft.  A student’s grade for the Final Draft is the average of the grades from both mentors.

The criteria governing evaluation are specified above (see § 2 above).

We request that grades be submitted via e-mail to the Scholars Assistant and copied to the Scholars Director. Once grades from both mentors have been received, the Scholars Assistant will forward them to individual students and their mentors.

Grades for Final Drafts are due from Mentors within two weeks of their submission by students,

Click here for the date that grades for the Final Draft are due.

If a student’s grade on the Final Draft is below 75, she is required to rework it and submit for a second evaluation, according to a defined procedure. Failure to resubmit a Final Draft with such a grade is grounds for dismissal from the Scholars Program. Click here for information for the procedures governing Unsatisfactory first submissions.

If a student earns a grade below 75 from either mentor for resubmitted work on Final Draft, or fails to submit work as required, she may be dismissed from the Scholars Program.