Things To Consider About The Format Of A Dissertation Proposal

A dissertation proposal is written for a few main purposes:

1. Identifying your chosen subject
2. Explaining how your project can contribute to what has already been written on the subject
3. As a demonstration of your capability to your academic advisor

While there many important things to keep in mind while crafting a dissertation proposal, here we will discuss the basic format – what your proposal should include being a well-rounded paper that offers pertinent explanations and reasoning, to support your chosen subject.

Things to consider regarding the format of the proposal

The basic structure of a dissertation proposal should generally be:

1. Title – make sure you choose one that is interesting and compelling. You can change it slightly later if you need to but start with a strong title.
2. Introduction – your introduction should include an outline of the critical issue, an explanation of why you consider it worthy of investigation, a description of your research purpose and nature and finally an indication of what you are hoping to achieve through it.
3. Aims & Objectives – These should be stated in a concise manner. Your aims are what you are hoping to achieve and your objectives will indicate how you plan actually to achieve those aims.
4. Methodology – use descriptive writing to explain what methods you are going to use to research and develop your report.
5. Literature review – this part will detail the theories and research that have already been established in your chosen subject. It will also describe where you perceive there may be in a gap that you intend to fill with your thesis and where you may not agree with what has been previously published on the topic
6. Scope and constraints- Describe any constraints you have encountered, or think you may encounter regarding your research for your thesis. Examples could be constraints of time, materials or costing.
7. Resources – this is where you list the various resources you will need to complete your assignment.
8. Timetable – you should include a proposed timetable that outlines your work schedule, making allowances for breaks or holidays.
9. Outline – give an outline for the structure of your thesis to follow. You can include suggested headings for chapters as well as a few paragraphs on the content proposed.
10. References – this is the final part of your proposal, and it lists your sources of information as well as demonstrates your research depth and capabilities. On the legal side, it protects you from plagiarism accusations as all the work has been cited.

Keeping these considerations in mind, you are almost all set to write a brilliant dissertation proposal that is sure to make an impact and good impression on your academic advisor.