Writing a dissertation can be a daunting task. But writing an extremely successful dissertation proposal is an art to be mastered.

We often hear people saying they have no clue how to write a successful dissertation proposal. What should be included? How many pages should it be? And what exactly is the point of proposal writing in general? All valid questions. Fortunately, the answers to all these questions are fairly straightforward to grasp if you know where to look.

For successful dissertation writing, you have to have the ability to meet deadlines, work independently, and work effectively with your supervisory committee and reviewers. To do this, you'll need exceptional writing and communication skills, along with concrete evidence that you can carry out your research plan. If you still aren't confident about your proposal, it's always best to get help from an online tutor.

If you want to learn more tips on how to write a successful dissertation proposal, keep reading:

1.      Have a plan

Before you start researching, it's important to develop a clear plan of what you will do. You need to have an idea of how the research will be structured to ensure the dissertation flows correctly.

For example, you could choose to structure your work based on certain themes or ideas. This will give you a clear direction and make it easier to plan how your work will progress.

2.      Do your research before you begin writing

Researching different dissertation proposals written by other students or professors who have completed dissertations in similar fields can help guide your writing process and ensure that you do not overlook anything along the way. Many renowned online tutoring platforms suggest that you look at sample proposals online and read dissertations written by students in other colleges or universities to help form a format and topic distribution layout in mind. This will give you a fair idea of word and page distribution. 

3.      Set tone of your research topic and dissertation title

If you plan to show your paper to other people—your supervisor or a committee—they must find the topic interesting and relevant. If a person has never heard about it before, it might be considered a bit dull for academic purposes. So, try to find something unusual but still relevant to your study domain.

It is also important to consider the feasibility of your topic. Always know whether or not the topic will cause any unnecessary strain on your research capability.

4.      Analysis is key

If you're carrying out qualitative research, which involves observing people or researching in-depth, you'll need to analyze your data to draw conclusions from it. Ensure you know how many sections your analysis should contain to explore the different themes within your research findings adequately.

It may also be helpful to draft out each section with the help of an online tutor before beginning work on your actual dissertation proposal so that you can get a good idea of what will be required when you start working on the whole thing later on.

1.      Treat Your Dissertation Proposal Writing as a Creative Process

Many students have difficulty with this task because they treat the dissertation proposal as something that should be done according to a formula. However, dissertation proposal writing is more like a creative process than a formulaic one. You will find yourself writing certain sections in different ways, depending on the information you gather during research. Your writing style may shift during this stage of your work as well.

For example, if you are currently working on a journal article or book chapter, you may find that your writing style becomes less formal when expanding upon your dissertation proposal. In essence, you can expect to treat the process of writing a dissertation proposal as an extension of your dissertation research and not necessarily as a discrete assignment.

1.      Make sure your research is relevant

The results of your study will impact the field you're writing for. That is why you need to specify how your research will improve the existing knowledge in this area. You may be asked why anyone should care about what you are going to do, so make sure that everything you write reflects this concept.

Besides, it's always a good idea to think about what your future readers may need from your research and offer them something more than just the facts. In this case, it would be those useful tips that'll help them in their future studies or even their professional career.

2.      Don't forget the key elements

Research suggests that your dissertation proposal should describe the purpose of your research, identify its theoretical framework (if any) and demonstrate your analytical skills. It should also set out the aims of your study, present a plan for how you intend to achieve these aims, identify potential sources of data, and explain why you have chosen those particular sources.

In addition, it should contain:

• An abstract: This summarizes the main points in the proposal, which allows readers to quickly grasp the content before reading further. The abstract should be about 150 words long and no more than 250.
• A table of contents: This should cover all the chapters in the proposal and list their headings. It should be supplied at the beginning of the document, after all figures, tables, and illustrations.
• A list of references: The references are a list of all published material that has influenced or may influence your study (journal articles, books, patents, conference proceedings, etc.).

3.      Avoid plagiarism

If you use somebody else's words or ideas without referencing them, you are committing plagiarism. A plagiarism checker can easily detect plagiarized work. Dissertations are supposed to be 100% unique and without plagiarism.

4.      Check for dual publications

Students often submit their dissertations as conference or journal submissions before they have formally submitted their dissertation proposal. If this happens, your work becomes a dual publication and can get rejected by the publisher. To avoid this situation, make sure to wait until your dissertation proposal gets accepted before submitting it elsewhere.

5.      Get online tutoring help

Online tutoring programs are one of the best options available for students who want to learn and improve their grades. This is particularly true when it comes to writing a dissertation proposal.

Online tutoring platforms have made education accessible to everyone around the world. With the help of professional experts, the educational system has become a lot easier to grasp for students who are struggling to cope with their subjects.

Online tutoring is becoming increasingly popular to receive additional help from an expert in a particular field of study.

If you have been looking for help with your dissertation, we recommend joining an online tutoring program. At Bayise Tutor, our online tutoring platform has highly-qualified and experienced teachers that can guide you throughout the dissertation writing process in every field.

Reach out to us, register in the best online tuition class, and get help with your dissertation proposal today!