1. Thesis and Dissertation Proposals
Anna Kinney (University Writing Program)
Chris Nelson (Graduate School)
Michael Dodge (Space Studies)

2. Writing Resources on Campus
The Writing Center:
One-on-one, collaborative appointments
On-campus and distance students
Writing at any stage
Brainstorming
Structure/organization
Revising/working with feedback
Polishing and sentence level clarity

3. What do you know about proposals?
What are you hoping to get out of this workshop?
What questions do you have right now?

4. Proposals: Writing Advice
Write every day.
Make a schedule.
Stick to it.
(*Sorry, there’s no way around it.)

5. Proposers should address what they want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful.
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
“Proposals & Awards Procedures & Procedures Guide”

6. Proposal requirements vary broadly

7. The Rhetorical Situation

8. Be prepared to draft, revise, work with feedback, and resubmit
Think of the proposal as a “negotiated document”
It is not a “contract”— you will likely refine or revise your scope, methods, or argument as you go
It is not meant to limit your ideas, but rather focus them in practical terms and clearly communicate the significance

9. Seek feedback throughout the process:
work with your advisor
talk to your colleagues
ask to see successful proposals from the past
Good writing = good listening

10. Capturing Your Work Clear Concise Focused
Characteristics of successful proposal writing:
Demonstrates critical awareness of scholarly conversation
Does a lot of “work” for readers
Summary and synthesis

11. With a partner from outside your discipline:
Partner 1 explains your topic in three minutes
Both write down your understanding of the topic (do this for your own topic as well)
Repeat the process for your partner
Compare and discuss

12. Basic Elements Introduction/Problem Statement/Purpose
Review of the Literature
Methodology
Significance/Implications

13. Introduction/Problem Statement/Purpose
Provides necessary background for readers
Indicates scope
“What is the problem that needs to be solved?”
Establishes context and foundations of your work
“So what?”
Why is this important
Engages readers

14. Review of the Literature

15. Review of the Literature
Why should we study (further) this research topic/problem?
What contributions will my study make to the existing literature?

16. Methodology Needs to describe what, how, and why
Introduce overall methodological approach
Why are these the appropriate methods for your study? (how do they address and help you answer the question)
Outline approach for data collection and analysis
Limitations?

17. Significance/Implications
“So What”
Anticipate what methodological, practical, and/or theoretical contributions your work makes to the existing knowledge.
“Who Cares”
Explain the benefits or usefulness of your work
Within field (the research community)
More broadly (the outside world)

18. Writing Considerations
Tense
Jargon/technical terms and concepts
Clear sentence structure
Active vs passive language
Tone
Consider the shortcomings or weaknesses in your work (consider the naysayer)