Students have to deal with various academic assignments. Some of them are real challenges. One of the most complicated assignments is a dissertation. It’s a lengthy project, which demands a lot of mental and physical strength. One ought to be knowledgeable and possess advanced writing skills. A dissertation helps to gain a doctoral degree or professional qualification. Before a researcher starts to write his/her big project, it’s necessary to write a dissertation proposal. This guide focuses on this particular piece.
A dissertation proposal can be called a preview of the main work. Its main purpose is to reveal your readers what your research is about and why it’s important. It’s a narrow explanation. In a broader meaning, a dissertation proposal:
- Explains what the main goal of your project is;
- Clarifies possible areas of your research and questions to examine;
- Makes references to theories;
- Offers research methods that will be used in your project;
- Describes results you expect to receive after your research is finished;
Afterward, you should begin preparations for the writing of your dissertation. To fulfill this assignment properly, you should know the structure. It’s pretty standard:
- The title. Make it brief and straight to the point.
- General objectives. Your project shouldn’t contain more than three objectives. Otherwise, it will be too broad. It should be quite narrow and focus on a concrete topic.
- The use of informative sources. This section can be named by such words as context, literature or background. Mention the main areas or/and schools that helped you to solve the main issue of your work. Mind that some institutions require mentioning informative sources at this point. The other ones make students writing it at the end.
- Major details. Expand the most valuable points of your research argument. It’s an outline.
- Methodology. This section is devoted to a methodology you have used in your research. It may be in the form of surveys and questionnaires (empirical approach). Another way is to use published works of other authors (non-empirical approach). The first form should be brief. The second one is much longer.
- Possible results. This section makes a brief summarization of your thoughts. These are some ideas of the potential outcomes that you’ll receive at the end of your research. Generate all the concepts you have.
- Timeline. You’re supposed to provide a detailed plan of how your study is going to be carried out. Take into account every stage and try to determine how long it will take. Remember that your timeline must be realistic.
- Bibliography. Write about an approximate number of references that should be mentioned in your project.
Important Recommendations about Writing
We also want to add some recommendations borrowed from a professional dissertation proposal writing service that will help to compose your dissertation accurately. Consider the following points:
- Watch your time. Every researcher should watch the time limits of his/her project. You should never violate them and write the project during the required timeline. It’s necessary to review every section of writing separately. The preliminary stages, such as the selection of a topic or searching for information should be also included. Evaluate how much time each stage will take. Set a strict schedule and never violate even a single stage. Otherwise, your work will turn into a real mess.
- Follow the length. You should never violate the length of your project. Every educational institution sets its own demands and restrictions. Accordingly, we cannot tell the exact length of your writing. However, the length varies between 10 and 15 pages. At times, you may be allowed writing 20 pages or even more. In addition, you should find out how your institution counts the length – words or pages. Learn the guidelines for your college or university.
- Structure your project properly. Take care of your structure. It has been already given in the previous section. Mind that some institutions may add some other sections or simply rename them. Moreover, they can change the sequence of writing stages in a dissertation structure. Consequently, you must define these points with your academic advisor.
- Follow the requirements. You should always follow the official academic requirements and rules. Find out all of them and format your dissertation in strict accordance. Pay attention to the slightest details such as the enumeration of the pages, their fonts, sizes of margins, citing, literature sources and so on.
- Choose members of your committee. Every undergraduate student should select his or her committee, which will study and evaluate your work. Commonly, it consists of the academic advisor and about 2-3 members from the department where a student learns. Additionally, it’s required to select a member out of another department. Sometimes, students do not choose their committee. Its members are appointed by the faculty of a student who writes the dissertation.
- Follow the approval process. Every educational institution sets its own demands concerning the way research should be carried out. Consult with your academic advisor and other people in authority. Every college and university sets a certain form of approval. You may need to receive the improvement of your topic, get official permission of every member of the committee, set a precise date when your project should be finished and afterward, defended, etc. Find out all the necessary details.
These moments are of great importance. They are suitable for any topic and academic discipline. Fulfill them properly, and you’ll sufficiently increase your chances to receive the highest praise.