WRITING PROPOSAL FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION

Are you applying for scholarships that require you to submit a research proposal or in your final year writing project soon? This thread gives a comprehensive overview of proposal writing. Also, u see some samples at the end

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Generally, "writing sample/proposal" is used to assess your level of fit for graduate school, provide justification for your research. Needless to say, In your pursuit of graduate studies, you write a lot of articles, thesis, etc. So, it’s very important you start early.

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N.B:
1.This is not final, it may (& often) change. So, you’re not expected to be a Master. Rather, it should be well-thought-out & makes you competitive
2. This is based on my personal opinion & doesn't reflect the opinion of my school, lab & not making a general clarifier

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Given the level of competition, you want to be sure to include only relevant information. Below, I will be discussing how to structure your proposal;

1. Title

This should be a very clear description of your proposed research and eye-catchy (E.g:- example attached)

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2. Abstract

Your abstract should be a summary of everything you put together in this proposal (in about 250-300words). Ideally, an abstract should be written when you’re done with the proposal. You can’t summarize what you don't know or have not written

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3. Background to the study (Introduction)
This should introduce your reader to some background information on the topic you’ve chosen. Explain why you want to research it, is it because of a pressing problem? You can start by describing the issue.

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Identify gaps & let that lead to your "statement of problem". This can be a short paragraph (esp if you’re under word limit) to few pages. Are U coming up with a new method different from what’s in vogue? You can start your introduction by telling them new (relevant) things.
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4. Statement of Problem

From your introduction, can you find a gap(s) in this research? What do you need to contribute? What is the problem that you'd like to address? identify them & channel your research to a specific problem.

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5. Your research Question
Now you have identified the problem, can you tweak it to a formal question/hypothesis? Can you explain the goals and objectives of the study? Please include a justification/rationale for this study & let it make sense. Use "?" if possible

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6. Literature Review
Here you should give a very good background of this topic, point out gaps (about it) in the existing literature, make a synthesis of available research, critique their methods, propose a new one (if applicable) & let this do justice to the topic

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7. Methodology
Very important part of your proposal! The reviewer wants to have a convincing idea of how you plan to execute it & they will pay good attention to this section.
A. What method are you using? is it quantitative? Please decide here & be explicit about it.

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B. Why are you using the method? Why not other methods? Can you justify that?
C. How will you collect your data? Questionnaire or culture some microbes in the lab? Talk about them.
D. Now you have your data, how do you plan to analyze the data & interpret the result?

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Do you have any framework to support this? Are you using statistical analysis or package? Please discuss the reasoning for using this analysis. Why not correlation instead of regression? How do you limit bias?
E. Do you expect to have some limitations? Talk about it here.
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Some points to consider in Methodology
The structure of methodology depends on your field

1. If you’re in Ag. Extension for example (or social sciences), where you’re using interviews, talk about selecting participants, the interview process, frameworks, etc.

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2. Or you want to discuss the apparatus, design of experiment, model formulation & selection you will use as a Life science student.
3. Someone in arts might want to talk about their theory & scholarly research to support their arguments, etc

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4. It’s advisable to make references in your methods. Who used the method in the past? Any success? Or identify problem with it & you’re developing new idea?

5. Identify possible problems/limitations & discuss them. How do you hope to deal with implicit and explicit bias?

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8. Suggested Outcome

What do you hope to get at the end of this research? What will be the importance? Give possible results.

9. References

Include the list of all cited authors in your proposal. It’s very important to cite whatever it's not in your own words.

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Now that you’re done, can you read your proposal & ask the below questions?
1. What is the contribution of this work? What new knowledge can it contribute?
2. Why is it important?
3. Are my suggested outcomes measurable & realistic?
4. Is this convincing enough?

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GOODLUCK!!!.

References

https://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/progress-tracking/proposals
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/doc/page/awards_sample_research_proposals_natural_sciences_health_sciences.pdf
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/doc/page/awards_sample_research_proposals_social_sciences_humanities.pdf
https://gradschool.cornell.edu/financial-support/fellowships/external-fellowships/writing-your-research-statement/

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