Dissertation Proposal – A Newbie’s Guide

Proposal writing is the first primary step that needs to be accomplished before moving on to the actual paper, i.e., dissertation. Basically, a dissertation proposal is a small yet significant part of the actual paper that informs the committee about the subject-matter that the writer intends to research. It is presented before the committee for approval purpose so that the writer can proceed to the actual paper.

Producing this paper can be daunting sometimes, especially when you are new to this type of academic project. Therefore, it is necessary to first learn more about this paper before setting off to the destined-journey – dissertation writing.

Check out some useful tips that are aimed to newbie proposal writers:

• Choose Topic Wisely

Go for a broad topic in your area of studies and narrow it down to a specific theme. Ensure that the selection subject-matter is engaging and thought-provoking. Also, make sure that you don’t narrow it too down than you already have.

• Keep The Proposal Utterly Clear

Remember that you are writing this proposal for the readers or for approval, to be exact. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that the proposal should present a clear topic, methodologies, reviews and conclusion. It should be clear and easy enough to be understood even by a layman.

• Follow The Guidelines

When a proposal writing task is assigned to students, a brief guideline is also presented with it. In the event you don’t get this guideline, you can always go to the advisor or committee and ask for it. Review it clearly and ensure that you follow it as it is.

• Start Writing ASAP

Starting the proposal early helps you develop it efficiently. If you start this lengthy academic paper at the 11th hour, you won’t be able to complete it efficiently due to lack of time. Keep in mind that you also need a schedule so that you can stick to it for timely completion of the work.

Now that we have understood some important guidelines on proposal writing, let’s learn a little about its layout so that we can have a complete grasp on dissertation proposal writing process.

• Introduction – It is a brief chapter that states the subject-matter of the proposal and its thesis statement. In addition to that it also reflects the extent of the research.

• Literature review – In this chapter, the author presents a critical review of some literatures, written previously on the same subject-matter.

• Methods – Here the author presents the methodologies used in order to acquire research data.

• Findings – It presents a portion of the thesis statement as well as the findings that the author expects to find through this work.

• Conclusion – It presents a brief summary or an analysis of the entire study.

---