Introduction

Writing a good dissertation proposal is much like a marriage proposal. It is a writing task that calls you on to win the heart of someone. That someone, in this case, can be the admission committee of your intended university or the funding agency you wish to take a grant for your PhD dissertation. Your proposal must be persuasive, attractive, and well planned. Without these things, in your proposal, you can neither win the heart of someone nor get funding for your PhD research project.

Writing a dissertation proposal is very challenging because you have to summarise all your research plans into two to three-page documents. It is facile to say by a tongue that writing a proposal is easy. Hundreds of PhD candidates ask me in the comments about writing a good proposal. Therefore, today’s article is all about discussing 7 easy ways to craft a good research proposal. Before getting to those ways, let’s define a proposal.

What does it mean by dissertation proposal exactly?

In its literal meaning, a dissertation or research proposal is; a written document in which you communicate your research interests in a concise form. It is where you pen down everything spinning around your head and do this logically and persuasively. Simply put, a dissertation proposal describes what you want to do, how you want to do it, and why it is worth doing it. Normally, a proposal is submitted before starting your PhD degree.

7 easy ways to write a good proposal

After reading the information above, you now have a complete idea of the meaning of a proposal. So, let’s turn to the main idea of today’s article, i.e., 7 ways to write a good proposal. Although writing a proposal requires guidelines of more than 7 points, I will still try to explain everything in this limited word count article. Nevertheless, a brief description of the top 7 ways is as follows as shared by top writers of a dissertation proposal writing service:

1.     Start with crafting a compelling title or topic

The title of the dissertation or research proposal is what inspires the readers at first. Also, the first impression is the last. Try to impress the admission committee or funding committee members with a compelling and descriptive topic that compresses the whole research topic in a one-liner title header. For example:

“Compliance with equality legislation in the charity sector of the UK: a study of the adjustments made in three care homes in London.”

By looking at this topic, the reader gets a clear idea of what to expect from the dissertation result and what the dissertation is about. Hence, your proposal topic must also paint a high-level picture of the fundamental research for first-time readers.

2.     Write an adequate introduction to the dissertation

The introduction chapter is the second and most important element of a dissertation proposal. In this proposal section, you expand on what you have communicated in the title header. How do you do this? The answer is simple, and that is by providing a few paragraphs offering more details on the topic. To write an effective introduction, do not forget to add the background information to the research problem. Mentioning clear and concise research aims and objectives is also the part of introduction chapter.

3.     Exploring the literature related to the topic

Now that your topic is clear, and you know the background information related to the topic, what’s next? The next step is to explore the available literature on your research area. This exploration lets you identify the research gaps and allows you to structure your research on those gaps. To make your case strong, you must thoroughly evaluate and analyse all the research articles and papers. Hence, explore the literature and discuss the importance of your dissertation idea.

4.     Describe the proposed research design and methodology

It is the most important section of a dissertation proposal, and this section is what admission and funding agencies committees deeply look into. Get practical and explain how you will carry out the proposed research. In this section, you typically need to talk about the following two things:

• How are you going to conduct the research? It means briefly explaining all the research methods you intend to apply. Briefly, you have chosen the particular research methods? It means to explain why the approaches discussed to suit your proposed research.

5.     Outline the potential implications of the research

 Expectations from the research come at the end of your dissertation proposal. You cannot truly predict the research implications at this point because there is a lack of results and conclusions. However, based on the initial thinking, you should describe the projected implications of your dissertation. For example:

“It is hoped that this research will contribute much to the growing body of knowledge concerning the link between social media usage and anxiety disorder.”

6.     An overview of the budgetary requirements

Most of the time, a PhD degree is all about funds and budget. The reason is that you cannot afford to design and develop the new instruments to conduct the original research. In this context, it is important to add the budget section to your dissertation proposal to win funding or secure admission on a scholarship. Along with this, also include the projected timeline of the research work using a Gantt Chart.

7.     Do not forget to add the references list

Do not forget to add the references list in a dissertation or research proposal like any other academic writing. This list tells the committee about all the sources you have used while crafting the proposal. Bibliography also certifies that you have not copied the data from any sources but have taken the necessary help.

Conclusion

Conclusively, a dissertation proposal must be crafted carefully, logically, and persuasively. Introducing the topic and discovering the literature gap are the two important elements of the proposed research methodology. Hence, read the information above and effectively craft the proposal.