How to Write a Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal is a vital component of your dissertation, and helps flesh-out the ideas you have for the dissertation itself.
No dissertation writing advice would be complete with the explanation of what makes a good dissertation proposal. It is a vital component of your dissertation, and helps flesh-out the ideas you have for the dissertation itself, as well as inform your tutor or course director as to the direction you want to take with your subject. It is also important to remember when giving dissertation writing advice that in many disciplines the dissertation proposal itself counts for five percent of the total mark. They are easy points to make, and there is therefore no excuse for not getting it right.
Essential components of a Dissertation Proposal
The Title
Write our dissertation title in bold under your name, course title and year at the top of the first page. It will be the first piece of information your tutor or course director will see regarding your project.
A dissertation proposal should be concise and to the point, only outlining the main ideas behind your dissertation title, which you should already have. If your dissertation title in not precise or specific enough, you may find it hard to complete your dissertation proposal and you will find you have to include too many texts or subjects. If you find this to be the case, return to the drawing board with your dissertation title before proceeding with your dissertation proposal.
Key Texts
These should be the texts you are basing your dissertation title on, or the ones you will be using most frequently. To not reference them completely, simply list the title and names, followed if you wish by a brief description or explanation as to why you chose them. If possible look close to home for your sources. Get as many as you can from your campus or local library.
Key Words
A key words section should be included to help your tutor or course director see which are the words and topics closest to your subject. They will note any that are particularly complex or difficult to write about and give you dissertation writing advice in consequence.
Outline
An outline of the dissertation should be included in your dissertation proposal to show your course director or tutor that you have some idea of how you will go about developing your title. This should include brief, but not exhaustive, descriptions or summaries of the introduction, conclusion and of each chapter. Include chapter titles as well if possible, even if unsure if you will keep them or not. Your dissertation to not have to exactly mirror your dissertation proposal; you merely have to show your tutors that you have thought about it and are therefore ready for their dissertation advice.
Bibliography
Following your conclusion is the Bibliography, which is also a vitally important part of your dissertation proposal. You can separate your bibliography into sections if needed. The first section which could for example be entitled ‘Key Texts’ needs to give the detailed references for the texts you mentioned in the Key Text section above. Make sure you reference your bibliography accurately, which is not as simple or straightforward as it sounds. For a comprehensive referencing guide to quotes and footnotes you can refer to the Recommendations for citing and referencing published material by the British Standards Institution, or for an online guide to the major referencing formats used in academia. Always, however, check your university or college guidelines on the subject. Many institutions have their own particular preferences when it comes to referencing, and it is important you follow them. It is important to get the referencing of your dissertation proposal bibliography right, as you tutor or course director will see this as an indication of how you will do for your dissertation itself.
Presentation of your Dissertation Proposal
Even though a dissertation proposal is not the dissertation itself, you should pay attention to its presentation. Include on the first page, just under the header ‘Dissertation Proposal’ and over your dissertation title, your name, year and the class you are completing it for. You do not need to number all the pages, as your completed dissertation proposal will normally be no longer than two. Bullet points can be used and are indeed encouraged, as in underlining, italics and bold type, to make the proposal clearer and easier to read. Include at least two inch margins on all sides of your pages. Use 12 font and Times New Roman style. Print your dissertation proposal on one side only of plain white A4 paper. You do not have to get your dissertation proposal bound. Simply stapling in the upper left hand corner will be enough. Do however encase it in a plastic folder when submitting it to your tutor or course
Closing remarks on Dissertation Proposals
When your corrected and marked dissertation proposal is returned to you, read your tutor or course director’s remarks closely. They are not trying to put you down but giving you valuable dissertation writing advice that you must take into account for the writing of your dissertation. For example, of they have heavily corrected your bibliography, this may mean that you need to pay more attention to your referencing.
Finally, remember that no dissertation proposal is final. Even after you have submitted it and it have been approved, after you have received further dissertation writing advice from your course director or tutor, you are allowed to change and amend it. Simply remember that if you considerably amend your dissertation, as in make significant changes to the content or title, you will need to re-submit a dissertation proposal.
These websites and books are a good source of extra help should you need it:
- www.howtowriteadissertation.co.uk/
- Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals by Lawrence F. Locke, Waneen Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman
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