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CHAPTER 2
PROPOSAL WRITING
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CONTENT

Writing
• The Importance of Writing
• Writing to Communicate

The Research Proposal

• What are possible parts / topics (in order) in a
proposal?
 THE
3 IMPORTANCE OF WRITING

All researchers must be able to use language with a degree of

skill and accuracy to produce Research Report – clear
and coherent
• Clear thinking precedes clear writing – writing can be a
productive form of thinking itself – when writing ideas
down on paper.
1. Must identify the specific ideas you do and do not know
about your topic.
2. MUST clarify and organize thoughts sufficiently to
communicate them to your readers.
3. May detect space and logical flaws in your thinking.
THE
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IMPORTANCE OF WRITING…

• Writing about a topic actually enhances the writers understanding of

that topic.
• If wait until all thoughts are clear before start writing, you may NEVER
begin.
• Begin with a TITLE and PURPOSE statement
• Commit title to paper, keep it in plain sight as you focus your ideas.
• Title can provide focus and direction
• Clear and concise statement, “The purpose of this study is….” you
are on your way.
 WRITING
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TO COMMUNICATE

1. Say what you mean to say – Precision is of utmost

importance – choose words and phrases carefully so that
you communicate the exact meaning, not vague
approximation – clear, concise, effective sentences and
combine these sentences into unified and coherent
paragraph.

2. Keep your primary objective in writing your paper in mind at all

times, and focus discussion accordingly – Novice researchers
try to include everything they have learned – everything you
say MUST relate directly or indirectly to your research
problem.
 WRITING
6 TO COMMUNICATE…

3. Provide an overview of what you will be talking about – Your readers

can more effectively read your work when they know what to
expect as they read – overview and order, topics relationship.
4. Organize your ideas into general and more specific categories. Use
headings and subheadings a simple way to make scheme crystal
clear.
5. Provide transitional phrases, sentences, or paragraphs that help your
readers follow train of thought – give signal when change course
of discussion.
.
WRITING
7
TO COMMUNICATE…

6. Use concrete examples to make abstract ideas more understandable

7. Use appropriate punctuation – help communicate meanings.
8. Use figures and tables when such mechanisms can more effectively present
or organize your ideas and findings.
9. At the conclusion of a chapter or major section, summarize what have been
said – things that are the most important.
10. Anticipate that you will almost certainly have to write multiple drafts –
revise several times – novice or expert.
 8 A comma, kills a person
There was a prisoner of war captured by some soldiers who were in a troop
far from high officials.
• This is a true event but I cant find the original contents to post so i am writing
in my own way, to make you feel the IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUATION.

Yes, so the soldier by some means, like telegraph or i dont know how wrote to
the commander that the man (enemy) they were looking for was captured and
they were waiting for orders as to what to do with him!
• The commander who was 500 kilometres away from the troop sent written
message to another troop who in turn wrote that message to the concerned
troop.
• The commander wrote this: " kill him not, wait for me.“ and when this message
reached to the chief of the troop who had captured that soldier the message
was written like this: " kill him, not wait for me."
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THE PROPOSAL
 10 THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• Research is never a solo flight, an individual excursion

• It is not a “do-it-in-a-corner” activity
• It involves many people and requires access to and use of resources far
beyond one’s own
• For that reason, it must be carefully planned, laid out, inspected, and, in nearly
every instance, approved by others
• The graduate student conducting research for a thesis or dissertation must
get the approval of an academic committee
• A researcher seeking grant funding must get approval from the university or
the organisation for which he or she works, and the project must be deemed
worthy of funding by the grant-awarding agency.
 RESEARCHER AND ARCHITECT: PLANNERS
IN 11COMMON

• A proposal is as essential to successful research as an architect’s plans

are to the construction of a building
• Planning is the essence of their art - same orientation
• An architect plans the structural concepts of buildings, whereas a
researcher plans the structural concepts of the solutions to problems
• Proposal ~ architect’s drawing
• No one would start building a structure by rushing out to dig a hole
for the foundation without knowing in detail how the building will
look when it is finished
 12 PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT

• Show the viability and the plan in the research proposal

• The problem and its subproblems are clearly stated
• Hypotheses or questions are articulated
• All necessary terms are defined
• Delimitations are carefully spelled out
• The reason for conducting the study - why it’s important - is
explained
• Every anticipated detail of acquiring, organising, analysing, and
interpreting the data is specified
 13 THE PROPOSAL

• Nothing is overlooked
• All questions that may arise in the minds of those who review the
proposal are anticipated and answered
• Any unresolved matter is a weakness in the proposal and may
seriously affect its approval
• Sometimes young researchers think the proposal is merely a necessary
formality and thus do not give it the serious consideration it deserves
• No matter whether you are seeking funding for a project from a grant
foundation or seeking approval for a thesis or dissertation from a
university faculty committee, a clear, well-written proposal is essential
• Nothing is a substitute for an explicit setting forth of both problem
and procedure
 A PROPOSAL
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IS A STRAIGHTFORWARD
DOCUMENT

• A proposal should not be cluttered with extraneous and irrelevant

material
• It opens with a straightforward statement of the problem to be
researched
• It needs no explanatory props – no introduction, prologue
(introduction to a play, poem,etc.)
• Such information may be interesting, but none of it is necessary or appropriate

• You capture or lose your reader with the first sentence

 15 A PROPOSAL IS A STRAIGHTFORWARD
DOCUMENT…

• Keep in mind the meaning of proposal

• The word suggests looking forward, to what the researcher plans to do
in the future – not history
• If a writer intends to make an analytical comparison of the past and
present social and economic conditions of minority groups, he or she
might begin, “This study will analyse the social and economic status of
certain minority groups today in comparison with their similar status
five decades ago for the purpose of …”
• This is a no-nonsense beginning, and it indicates that the writer knows
what a proposal should be
• Employ future tense, for example, “The study will analyse …”
 16 A PROPOSAL IS CLEARLY ORGANISED

• Proposals are written in conventional prose style, and

thoughts are expressed in simple paragraph form
• The organisation of the thoughts is outlined by the proper
use of headings and subheadings
• Organisation and outline are essential
• They hint at an orderly and disciplined mind – one of the
highest tributes to a researcher’s qualifications
• No indented outline – it is not conventional - hint a brevity
(shortness)  hint a superficiality (on the surface only, not
thorough or deep)  suggest undesirable quality of
researchers
 17 A PROPOSAL IS CLEARLY
ORGANISED…

• In professional writing, headings and subheadings are the single most

commonly used strategy to express the writer’s overall organisational
scheme
• You should communicate the outline of your thoughts to your own
readers in the same fashion
 18 FORMATTING HEADINGS AND
SUBHEADINGS

You must use different formats to indicate the different

levels of headings you use
• The most important headings are in ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS and centred on the page. These are headings of
the largest units of writing; for instance, they may be the
titles of the various chapters in a proposal or research
report
• The next important headings are in ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS and left justified on the page
• The next headings are in Capital and Lowercase
Letters
 19 EXAMPLE OF STRUCTURAL OUTLINE

4. The Review Of The Related Literature

4.1 Understanding The Role Of Review
4.1.1 The Purpose of the Review
4.1.2 How to Begin
4.1.2.1 Go to the indexes and abstracts
4.1.2.2 Database access
4.1.2.3 Go to the library
4.1.3 How to Write the Section
4.1.3.1 Get the proper
4.1.3.2 Have a plan

4.2 POINTS OF DEPARTURE

4.2.1Abstract
4.2.2Indexes
4.3 FOR FURTHER READING
SUCCESS
20 BEGINS WITH INITIAL PROPOSAL

• Frustrating experience if proposal rejected by graduate

committee

• Success begins long before activity begins – the planning

• How data will be interpreted – will determine success or

failure
 Proposal Writing
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• A Research proposal is
– a short document designed to express your
intentions and future plans
– a reasoned, critical research plan that includes
the pitfalls of your approach and how you will
handle them.
– similar in a number of ways to a project
proposal;
• however, a research proposal addresses a
particular project: academic or scientific
research.
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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Elements of a proposal
I. Title
II. Introduction
III. Statement of the Problem
IV. Purpose/Objective of the study
V. Literature review
VI. Approach /Methods and procedures
VII. Significance of the Study / expected benefits
VIII. Duration and plan of action
IX. Cost
X. References
XI. Appendixes
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Proposal writing …. cont’d

Title
– An obviously important part of the process.

– You need to engage the reader with a short,

relevant title that clearly demonstrates what
the problem is and why this is important.
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
24 F
Introduction
– Provides readers with the background information for
the research reported in the paper.
– Establishes a framework for the research, so that
readers can understand how it is related to other
research
– In an introduction, you should
• create reader interest in the topic,
• lay the broad foundation for the problem that
leads to the study,
• place the study within the larger context of the
scholarly literature, and
• reach out to a specific audience.
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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• Statement of the Problem
– A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in
the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need
for the study”

– It is important in a proposal that the problem stand

out—that the reader can easily recognize it.
– Sometimes, obscure and poorly formulated problems
are masked in an extended discussion.
– In such cases, reviewers and/or committee members
will have difficulty recognizing the problem.
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Proposal writing …. cont’d
• Effective problem statements answer the question

– “Why does this research need to be conducted.”

• If a researcher is unable to answer this question clearly

and succinctly, then the statement of the problem will
come off as ambiguous.

• Make sure to state the problem in terms intelligible to

someone who is generally sophisticated but who is
relatively uninformed in the area of your investigation.
 Proposal writing …. Cont’d
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Purpose/Objective of the study
• “The purpose statement should provide a specific and
accurate synopsis of the overall purpose of the study”

• Briefly define and delimit the specific area of the

research.

• Describe the hypotheses to be tested or the questions to

be raised (if any)

• Try to incorporate a sentence that begins with

– “The purpose of this study is . . .”

• Clearly identify and define the central concepts or ideas

of the study.
 Proposal writing …. Cont’d
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Literature review
– The review of the literature provides the background
and context for the research problem.
– Establishes the need for the research and indicate
that the writer is knowledgeable about the area
– Demonstrate to the reader that you have a
comprehensive grasp of the field and are aware of
important recent substantive and methodological
developments.
– the literature review should be generally brief and to
the point.
 Proposal writing …. Cont’d
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• Methods and Procedures
– This is the heart of the research proposal.
– The activities should be described with as much detail
as possible
– Indicate the methodological steps you will take to
answer every question or to test every hypothesis
illustrated in the Purpose of the study
• Clearly describe
– The sampling techniques
– Data collection instruments
– Data collection plan
– Specify the procedures you will use to analyze the
data
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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• Significance of the study
– Indicate how your research will refine, revise, or
extend existing knowledge in the area under
investigation
– Thinking about the significance of your study, ask
yourself the following questions.
• What will be improved or changed as a result of the
proposed research?
• Will results influence programs, methods, and/or
interventions?
• Will results contribute to the solution of a problem
facing the society?
• Will results influence the decision making process?
• How will results of the study be implemented, and
what innovations will come about?
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
• Duration
31 and plan of action
– Indicate the length of time required to complete the
research
– The proposal must produce a reasonable plan of action
for the duration of the proposed research and an
estimated completion date
– The Plan of action
• gives a brief outline of the estimated time needed to
complete each section of the research.
• makes you be more certain that you are not
proposing to do too much work.
• Financial cost
– Prepare a budget for your project that shows what you
anticipate the cost of conducting the research to be.
– Be honest and reasonable in preparing the budget
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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• References
– references cited in the research proposal
should be included in the reference list
– Follow a specific and consistent guideline
regarding use of references in text and in the
reference list.
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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References - Five rules
1. Any work not your own should be clearly
marked
2. Any quotations within quotation marks
3. Every reference in the text should be listed
4. Every item in the list must have a reference
in the text
5. Every table , figure or photograph must have
a reference in the text
 Proposal writing …. cont’d
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• Appendixes (Optional)

– The need for complete documentation generally

dictates the inclusion of appropriate appendixes in
proposals

• The following materials are appropriate for an

appendix.
• Questionnaires
• Interview protocols.
• Sample of informed consent forms.
• Cover letters sent to appropriate stakeholders.
• Official letters of permission to conduct research.
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Question? Welcome !