Title of Your Candidacy Paper Your name Use any template that you wish, but do not use graphics that are just decorative, distracting or off topic. At this early stage, you need only to provide a working title. You can decide on the exact wording for your title when you are nearer to completing your thesis. Nevertheless, even at the start, aim to create a title that conveys the idea of your investigation. Normally, a title beginning “A study in . . .” is too vague; decide whether you want to compare, collate, assess, etc.

Statement of the Problem Clearly identify the problem or knowledge gap that your project is responding to. Please be concise. This section should: Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that needs to be solved?” State the problem clearly. Limit the variables you address in stating your problem or question. You may want to consider framing your problem “statement” as a question, since you are really seeking to answer a question (or a set of questions) in your study.

Purpose of the Study Specify for your readers—and for yourself—the precise focus of your research and identify key concepts you will be studying. A clear statement of purpose will: Explain the goals and research objectives of the study (what do you hope to find?). Show the original contributions of your study by explaining how your research questions or approach are different from previous research (what will you add to the field of knowledge?). Provide a rationale for the particular subjects of the research. Be clear about what your study will not address.

Research Questions State your research question(s).

Significance of the Problem You should explain the significance of and justification for conducting the study that would convince others that the study is needed.

Educational Value of the Study How will your study contribute to what we know about the topic? How does your study fit into the research that has already been conducted? What contributions will your study make to the existing literature?

Literature Review List the topics in your literature review Topic 1 Topic 3 … etc. The literature review has four major goals that you should keep in mind as you write: It situates the current study within a wider disciplinary conversation. It illustrates the uniqueness, importance of and need for your particular project by explaining how your research questions and approach are different from those of other scholars. It justifies methodological choices. It demonstrates your familiarity with the topic and appropriate approaches to studying it.

Topic 1 Categorize the literature into recognizable topic clusters and begin each with a sub-heading. Look for trends and themes and then synthesize related information. You want to 1) stake out the various positions that are relevant to your project, 2) build on conclusions that lead to your project, or 3) demonstrate the places where the literature is lacking, whether due to a methodology you think is incomplete or to assumptions you think are flawed.

Topic 2 Subheading of this topic

Topic 3 Subheading of this topic

Your Next Steps Describe what you believe are your next steps in the process.