The first step in writing your thesis proposal is to create a title page. Your title page should have a clear, complete title for your thesis proposal that describes your entire thesis within one phrase. You also need to include your name, the name of your institution, your department, your professor’s name and the date. Your research professor may ask for other information to be put on the title page, so be sure to follow those instructions closely.
The next element in your thesis proposal should be your abstract. An abstract is a brief summary of your overall thesis idea. Try to keep your abstract under 200 words. Include the purpose of your study and what may be the outcome of your study in the future, if possible. Next, add a table of contents for your work, if needed. This should include section titles, subheadings and page numbers.
Your introduction to your thesis and a thesis statement should come next. The introduction goes a bit more in depth with your thesis idea than the abstract, maintaining a page or two for the length. Your introduction should include any sources you may have found in your research and be written in such a way that it engages the reader. It should also inform the reader of your topic in an easy-to-follow manner. Include your problem hypothesis, which may serve as your thesis statement. A problem hypothesis is a conjecture of the results of your study.
Once you have those taken care of, you should focus on writing the rest of your thesis proposal. The body of your thesis proposal should include the ways in which you intend to research your thesis. Add any ways in which you plan on conducting your research, the materials you plan to use, citations of other studies, and any calculations you’ll need. After explaining your thesis idea in depth, conclude your proposal with a proposed result for your hypothesis. Explain any results you may have already obtained and how they fit in with your conclusion. Wrap everything up with a bibliography of all sources you’ve referenced in your proposal.
When setting out to write the proposal, you may not write the sections in the order they should be assembled. Try starting with an outline of the proposal, complete with charts and calculations. After assembling your outline, try fleshing it out a bit more to form the main body of your proposal. Once you get that written, it will be easier to write the introduction and the abstract. Once you’ve done these, finish off by doing the smaller elements, such as table of contents, bibliography and title page. Make sure that once you have everything written, you assemble them in the proper order.