Crafting the Proposal
0. Preliminary Research and Research Questions
This proves to you that research is possible. It also gives you the knowledge you need to start creating research questions.
What interests me? How can I narrow that down and make it more specific to the topic?
1. Title or Title Page
The title should be clear and specific. The title should usually be shorter.
If in a science field, the title may be longer if it comes after more rigorous research and the request for the proposal demands that it be very specific.
2. Brief Summary and Literature Review
This is where you convince the reader that the problem is significant and worthy of further research. Bring in your research questions and the topic's context.
What is the history? What are the main debates and problems within the topic? What makes this important to a modern audience?
Do not summarize everything in depth. Create brief summaries and evaluations of your preliminary research and tie it into the context and questions.
3. Identification of Gap and Methods
A gap is a portion of the topic with little to no research. Are you challenging something? Bringing in new ideas? Proposing a solution?
How are you going to do this? What methods of research and what kind of research will help you to create this argument?