Thesis proposal: creating the right structure

A thesis proposal is a written work that outlines how the actual thesis research will be conducted. It has to be approved by the student’s thesis committee and their adviser before the student embarks in the actual thesis research and writes up the final thesis paper.

While drafting the thesis proposal is just the first step toward finishing a thesis, it is frequently the one that takes students the longest and is often considered the most challenging. Make sure you structure your thesis proposal in the proper way before submitting a draft to your readers-- this will make the process go much more smoothly and keep you from having to do as many rewrites.

The Literature Review

You should begin your thesis proposal with a detailed and well-written review of the literature on your topic. First, conduct an extensive search of the literature on your subject of interest, using both physical and online sources. Your research librarian should be an excellent resource here.

The literature review should orient the reader to the topic, define the terms they may be unfamiliar with, and slowly hone in on the aspects of the topic that are most important to you. Begin with a general, broad introduction, and grow more specific as you get further into the proposal.

The Question or Thesis

The literature review should set up the central thesis or question of your paper smoothly. Bring the reader’s attention to gaps in the literature, or information that is currently unknown or missing. The reader should be able to anticipate your thesis statement before they arrive at it, based on how the literature review is organized and which information is included.

Once you get to this section, state your central hypothesis or thesis in a direct manner that is falsifiable. That is, do not make a vague statement that cannot be disproven or proven by the evidence you will collect in your research. Explain why this topic is important, using either social or theoretical implications.

The Methods

After you have explained to the reader what your central thesis or question is, you should propose the methods you will use to actually answer that question in the thesis paper itself. This may include describing an experimental design, or simply outlining which literature and archival materials you will be reading and how you will be evaluating them. If you can, provide an explicit reading list in the appendix of your paper, which should include all the documents you will be using. If you will be sorting or analyzing your research in any particular way, state it clearly so the reader knows exactly what you are doing.

After you have written these components in this exact structure, you are ready to submit your thesis proposal to your committee.

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