Before writing a thesis, however, he or she must also submit a thesis
proposal, or detailed summary of the dissertation. Presented as both a written
report and seminar, this proposal is carefully reviewed by a committee, who
determine if the subject is appropriate and whether the topic is relevant to
the field of study. If the committee does not see any value in the chosen
topic, the thesis will not be approved. As a result, the proposal is one of the
most important parts of a dissertation, as it determines whether the student
can write it.
A successful thesis proposal outlines the thesis topic, defines all of the
issues the paper will address, and explains why the topic warrants further
research. To properly fulfill these criteria, it should identify a specific
problem and provide a detailed solution for that problem. Although the proposal
requires a very basic structure, the information included in the document is
quite detailed. In fact, a large amount of the material presented in the thesis
proposal will likely be used in the final thesis.
What Should You Write in a Thesis Proposal?
A thesis proposal should include a
title page and brief summary, or abstract, of the proposal. The abstract
introduces the audience to the thesis topic and offers a brief summary of how
the student plans to address the subject. Although the abstract should usually
be no more than 200 words, it is a very important element in the proposal, as
it defines the key statement of the thesis.
Following the abstract, the student
should next include a table of contents, introduction, and thesis statement.
The introduction will explain the background of the thesis topic, review what
the student knows about the subject, and detail any research that is relevant
to the thesis. The primary objective of the introduction is to capture the
interest of the audience, so it should be written in a clear and
easy-to-understand style. As the name implies, the thesis statement should
state the thesis; this can be done in the form of a research question, project
statement, or hypothesis.
The next element in a thesis
proposal should be the approach, or methods, section. In this area, the student
should provide a brief description of the research methods and materials he or
she will use to complete the thesis. This should be followed by a section
presenting any preliminary research he or she has done, and explaining how that
research applies to the topic.
After discussing the preliminary
research, the proposal should then address the implications of the research. In
this section, the student should describe what type of new information the
thesis will provide and why this information is important. The student should
next list all references that he or she plans to use in the thesis. This list
should also include citations for any ideas or concepts that are not his or her
own.
A student should plan to spend approximately one to three months working on
a thesis proposal. Once he or she has completed all of the required elements,
the student should carefully review all of the information prior to the
presentation. The thesis proposal determines whether the thesis topic will be
approved, and more importantly, helps the student write a better dissertation.
