How to Draft a Thesis Proposal A thesis proposal is the gateway to your actual research work. Your proposal will show your committee that you have a concrete plan for pursuing significant research that will contribute something interesting to your field. Once your proposal is approved, you will have a blueprint for your work. Define your topic, outline your proposal, and proofread to help make the process manageable.
Part 1. Defining Your Topic • Choose your topic. You might begin with a vague idea of what you want to research. You will need to define a topic that has interest in your field, can fill a gap in knowledge, and has a manageable scope. The topic should interest you and be something you are capable of researching and writing about.
• Discuss your initial ideas with your thesis supervisor. Before you begin writing your proposal, discuss your ideas with your supervisor. They can help you understand the complexities of your topic and suggest how you can best approach it. Having guided input will help you to write a better proposal. • Create a working title. A working title is a short statement about your thesis. It can very briefly state what your research topic is and how you will conduct your research. This can help you narrow your topic and be better prepared to discuss it with your professor and committee. • Review the current literature. A literature review will provide you with information about what has already been published on your
topic and help you identify gaps in earlier research. This can help you figure out where more research is needed. It can also show you how your thesis will fit into work already conducted in your field
Part 2. Outlining Your Proposal • Choose what the main sections of your proposal will address. Knowing how a proposal is structured and what it should contain will help you outline yours. Find out if there are obligatory sections required for a proposal in your field. Your supervisor or committee might also ask you to include specific sections in your proposal.
• Create subtopics for each main section. Break down each main section into more specific subtopics. Include as many details as you can. This level of detail will make it easier to plug in information while you are writing the proposal • Add other information you will need in your final proposal. Your final proposal will require a bibliography, so put endnotes in your outline. You will also need to submit a timeline. Prepare for this by including notes on the outline about how and when you will accomplish each section.
Part 3. Pulling It Together • Provide an introduction. Start with an introduction to your work. Discuss the significance of the problem you will address in your thesis and what it will contribute to the field. In your introduction, also state your research objectives and the questions you plan to address.
• Present your literature review. Write out the information you learned during your initial review. First, summarize the important information you found in your sources. Next, present an analysis of that information and how it impacts the work you intend to do in your thesis. Discuss any works you will use in your research • Describe your theoretical approach and methodology. Discuss your theoretical approach and the methodologies you will use to conduct your research. This can be one or two sections of the proposal. Talk about any initial data you have collected and your early ideas about the implications of your findings. • Include your timeline. Your proposal should clearly spell out the timeline you outlined. Indicate how much time you will need for each stage of the proposal. A good timeline can help demonstrate the feasibility of your research to your committee. • Write an abstract. The abstract for your proposal will be a coherent summary of the entire proposal. A good abstract can be read as a stand-alone document. Structure the abstract based on your research questions, and address information about each question in that section of the abstract Contact DhimanInfotech Publications for best proofreading and editing for academic students in Delhi, Chandigarh, India