Measurement of the Inclusive W and Z Cross Sections in pp Collisions with the CMS Detector

We describe methods developed with simulated events for an early measurement of the inclusive W and Z cross sections with the CMS detector, assuming 10~pb$^{-1}$ of proton proton collisions. A simple and robust selection is used. The selection is intended to be tolerant of the anticipated imperfections in calibration and alignment of the CMS detector in the early data-taking period. Data-driven methods have been devised to measure selection efficiencies, to tune the selection cuts, and to estimate the backgrounds for the W channel. The main sources of systematic uncertainty in the W and Z yield measurement are described.