THE CORNERSTONE PAPER

This work represents the biggest and most involved assignment of the course, and, given that
writing is a process, you will be working on it from now until the end of our semester. You will
have help along the way by getting feedback from your classmates and your professor. The final
product will be a reflection paper consisting of 5-7 pages (1200-1800 words) that can also
include photos, links, music, and artwork (although these do not factor into word count). As its
name indicates, this paper represents the foundation or beginning of your experience in the BILS
Program. The subject is your leadership journeyideas, attitudes, experiences, values, goals
in the past, present, and future. The Cornerstone Paper will serve as a nice complement and even
comparison to the Capstone Paper you will write toward the end of the BILS Program. Although
this is more of a personal narrative and reflection paper and not a research paper, you are
encouraged to use outside sources (in addition to aforementioned photos, music, art), especially
some of the texts you read for class. These must be cited according to APA format.

REQUIREMENTS: On pg. 245 of Heroic Leadership, Chris Lowney writes, By figuring

out what he or she is good at, stands for, and wants in life, the leader positions him- or herself to
choose a career and a lifestyle that draw on those strengths, values and goals. This Cornerstone
Paper is the culmination of ILS 200 as well as an early step in the BILS Program and the rest of
your leadership and life journey. Although this assignment should take the form of a paper, a
coherent and unified whole, in order to demonstrate self-awareness and form your personal and
professional goals, you are encouraged to address the following questions:
--Who am I? Where do I come from? Consider providing some biographical and background
information: family, community, education, work, and leadership experience. What forces
shaped you, especially where identity, values, and leadership are concerned? What led you to
Creighton and BILS?
--What do I know about myself today? What am I good at? What do I stand for? Include
consideration of how ILS 200 has helped you answer these questions, what you have learned
about yourself and leadership in this course. What kind of leader are you? How do heroic
leadership and/or other leadership styles and practices fit into your life? You can also include
whether and where Ignatian values are part of your life (either intentionally or unintentionally).
--Where do I want to go? What do I want to achieve? What is your vocation? What are your
goals and dreams? Think family, community, and career. Think short-term and long-term. Can
you use anything that youve learned so far to make immediate changes in your lifestyle and
leadership? Are you starting to discern more about long-term goals and changes in your personal
and professional life and how to implement them?
You should be as specific as possible in this reflection. The questions or prompts should compel
you to provide examples from your own life as well as from course readings and even other
sources (which you must cite according to APA format). You can draw on discussions and
reflections you have already done for this class and incorporate some of these in this final paper.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
As noted, the Cornerstone Paper is a personal reflection/narrative, and you can make it creative
and individualized with some photos, artwork, music, etc. Even though you should incorporate
answers to the above questions in your paper, the text itself must meet the minimum word
requirement and should be in the form of a unified whole and not question-and-answer format
(although you can use white space and even headings for some transitions). Below are other
things to keep in mind while writing the paper:

--Make sure you understand this assignment and fulfill it according to stated requirements and
description. Address most points and questions within the paper, making sure information is
relevant and sufficient.
--Make sure your information is specific. As noted, you are to draw from your own
observations, thinking, and experiences. Give concrete, actual examples. Avoid abstractions
and generalizations. You can also use information from our course readings as well as other
texts that have been significant for you.
--Organize your reflection or story so that it is unified and focused. Use clear transitions to guide
readers between ideas. Make sure it flows and sounds good.
--Write in a professional yet natural voice, one that readers want to hear and follow.
--Be aware of your audience (in this case, our ILS 200 classour beliefs, values, background,
assumptions), and write according to their context, needs, and interests.
--Cite any borrowed information, using proper APA documentation for citations within text and
on References page (References page doesn't count toward required length).
--Avoid distracting spelling and grammar errors to improve credibility.

SCHEDULE OF TASKS:

Write first draft of paper. DUE WEEK 5

Complete peer reviews. DUE WEEK 6
Complete optional peer reviews to polish paper. WEEK 8
Submit final version of paper. DUE WEEK 8

WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE CORNERSTONE PAPER: THINGS

TO CONSIDER
You are free to make mistakes on the first draft. This is your chance to see whats working and
not working with your writing, to see if youre on track. Writers rarely get it right on the first
try, and most writers, especially professionals, get help with their writing. Since writers write for
an audience, it is essential to get feedback from readers. You will not be graded on the actual
content of the draft. As long as you make a credible and substantial effort to address the major
aspects of your paper, you will receive full credit for this assignment. YOU WILL NOT BE
THAT FAR ALONG IN CLASS WHEN YOU BEGIN THE DRAFT AND WILL STILL
HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO REVISE. You may want to add and/or eliminate information
based on what happens during the last few weeks of class.

ON PEER REVIEWS
One of the most important ways in which we in ILS 200 enact our commitment to being a
learning community is by encouraging and supporting one another in very real and practical
ways, including offering thoughtful and thorough feedback to one another on our work. Peer
response groups are one of the best ways to improve your own writing. This is not only because
you will get useful feedback to incorporate into your drafts but also because writing issues can be
easier to notice in someone elses work other than your own. In addition, you can get inspired
when you see how members of your group are approaching and solving writing questions in
ways that you hadnt thought of.
While it can be anxiety-inducing to share what youve written with a group of people whom you
dont know well, recognize that everyone is as nervous as you are. Everyone is apprehensive
about his or her writing being judged. (And it is always good to keep in mind that people are
evaluating the writing and not the person!) Realize that everyone needs help, and maintain a
positive attitude; show others the respect and care you would like shown to you.
Because your contributions are essential, you will receive a grade for giving your peers feedback.
If you follow the instructions and make a good faith effort in responding to peers writing, you
will get full credit for this assignment. Please take this task seriouslyfor your own sake as well
as for the sake of your classmates.
INSTRUCTIONS: You will be randomly assigned to a group of probably 3 writers. You will
review the drafts of the two others in your group by making comments through Crocodoc and in
the Add a Comment box.
Read your peers draft through once before making any comments. Consider jotting down initial
impressions in the Add a Comment box. On the second reading, make comments and
suggestions through Crocodoc, and conclude with a paragraph or so in Add a Comment box in
which you note 2-3 things you thought were successful about the draft and 2-3 things you think
could be improved. You can also elaborate on items youve already noted, or you can make new
comments.

Here are some things you should consider while you read the draft:
--Is title interesting? appropriate?
--Does draft fulfill assignment or does writer get off track somehow?
--Where would you like to see more information or more specific information?
--Where is there unnecessary information?
--Does the organization of the paper make sense? Were transitions smooth? Is there a flow to
paper? If not, how might paper be reorganized?
--Does writer use sources well?
--Is writers voice natural and consistent throughout?

Note: Because everything within this draft is subject to change (and writer should be willing to
put everything on the table, especially in the early drafting process), this is not the place to point
out every spelling and grammatical error. However, if you, the reviewer, feel that there are so
many violations of conventions that they could distract reader, or if you see a repeated error, then
point that out to writer.

WRITING THE FINAL VERSION OF YOUR CORNERSTONE PAPER

Once you have received peers and instructors responses to your first draft, you can contact
them if you have questions or need clarification of their comments. It is unlikely that all
reviewers will feel the same way about every aspect of your paper, and you need not take action
on all of their input. If, however, all 3 readers indicate that a passage is problematic, you should
examine and reconsider it. On the other hand, if all readers were impressed with a section or an
example, you should feel affirmed and confident. Keep an open mind about revision, but also
know that you, the writer, make the final decisions about any changes.
After you have absorbed the comments, you can begin writing your second draft. This may also
serve as your final draft, although, if you want to contact some of your classmates on your own
and have them look over your revised paper for suggestions and polishing, then do so and then
revise for a third and final version. Before you hand in your argument paper for a grade, take
time for your own editing or polishing. This last step is also known as proofreadingchecking
sentences and words for conciseness and correctness, ensuring proper sentence structure,
spelling, and punctuation. Finally, go over the Cornerstone Paper rubric as a check as well. This
rubric is available on the Rubrics page in the Welcome Module.