HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT PROPOSAL?

1. Introduction
This article provides necessary guidelines on how to write a project proposal. Formulation of
different sections in a proposal may slightly vary one from another. It greatly depends up on
type and nature of project that you are going to do. However, the proposal that you are writing
to perform a project should clearly identify the problem (problem statement), its solution
approach (your method to solve the problem you identified), feasibility to get targeted result
and its implications to the society and nation. This article will help you to write at least a good
proposal for your project work.

In the following sections, the structure of a project proposal, the order of the sections in which
to write the proposal and some tips will be discussed.

2. Structure of A Project Proposal

The name of the sections (elements) that form a proposal may vary from university to university
and/or college to college. However, your project proposal should have the following sections
(elements) in this order.

• Title page
• Approval page
• Abstract
• Table of contents
• List of Figure
• List of Table
• List of Abbreviation
• Introduction
 Background
 Problem Statement
 Objective
 Significance/Implication
 Features
 Applications
• Literature Review
 Related Work
• Methodology
 Software Development Step (Example: Waterfall, Agile…)
 Tools and IDE
 Dataset and Data collection
 Algorithm/Flowchart
 System Diagram (Block Diagram)
1
Pokhara University, School of Engineering
  Test Plan
• Planning
 Feasibility Analysis
a. Technical Feasibility
b. Operational Feasibility
c. Economic Feasibility
d. Time Feasibility
 Requirement
a. Hardware Requirements
b. Software Requirement
 Work Schedule (Gantt Chart)
 Expected Outcome
• List of references
• Appendix (If necessary)

Each section is described below:

Title page <Will be Provided by College>

• Contains short, descriptive title of the proposed project (should be fairly self-
explanatory), author, institution, department, project supervisor, supervisor's
institution, and date of submission

Approval Page <Will be provided by college>

• Contains the approval certificate to start the proposed project.

Abstract

• The abstract is a brief summary of your project proposal.

• Its length should not exceed ~200 words.
• Present a brief introduction to the issue.
• Make the key statement of your project.
• Give a summary of how you want to address the issue.
• Include a possible significance of your work, if successfully completed.

Table of contents /List of Figure/List of Table

• List all headings and subheadings with page numbers.

• Indent subheadings.
• Should be autogenerated
`Introduction

• This section sets the context for your proposed project and must capture the reader's
interest.
• Explain the background of your study starting from a broad picture narrowing in on
your project objective.
• Review what is known about your project topic as far as it is relevant to your project.
• Cite relevant references using APA format. Citation should be autogenerated.
• The introduction should be at a level that makes it easy to understand for readers with
a general science background, for example your classmates.

Literature Review

In your proposal, you should discuss and review the previous works that are related to and
similar to your project since you might not be the first one to do the project. This will help to
narrow down your proposed problem which you are going to solve.

Problem statement

State the problem that made you to think about project you are proposing in couple of sentences.

 This statement can take the form of project statement, or goal statement.
 The problem statement should capture the essence (core) of your intended project and also
help to put boundaries around it.

Project Objectives

There are often additional reasons for conducting the projects. This section is the place to
identify additional project objectives.
State main objectives/goals of your project in 2 to 3 sentence only. Start each with “To”
1. To …..
2. To …….

Significance/Implications of Project

This should be a statement (not more than one page) of why it is important to undertake this
project, in terms of the field of study involved and anticipated benefits to the wider community.
What is the potential of the project to produce knowledge for some useful application? This
section is linked to the background.

• What new knowledge will the proposed project produce that we do not already know?

• Why is it worth knowing, what are the major implications?

Methodology

This section contains an overall description of your approach, materials (For example,
Software tools and any other resources used to resolve the proposed problem fall in materials),
and procedures. In this section, answer the questions such as

• What methods will be used?

• How will data be collected and analyzed?
• What will be the assumptions made?
• What materials will be used?

In detail, this section will include a brief consideration of some of the following questions:

1. What types of data will you collect and why?

2. What do you need to collect this data?
3. Software Project Management Plan
4. Software Requirement Specification
5. Software Design Documents
6. Test Plan

Work schedule including time table

Provide a Gantt chart showing the time intervals over which specific tasks will occur, and when
milestones will be reached. Simple Gantt charts are easily created using Excel.

• Describe in detail what you plan to do until completion of your project

• List the stages of your project in a table format
• Indicate deadlines you have set for completing each stage of the project, including any
work you have already completed
• Discuss any particular challenges that need to be overcome

Budget Plan

Clearly mention how much cost will be needed for the successful completion of your project.

List of references

• Cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own.
• All references cited in the text must be listed.
• Use the author-date format to cite a reference.

Author Date Format:

1. Cite single-author references by the surname of the author (followed by date of the
publication in parenthesis)
a. ... According to Sharma (1994)
b. ... Population growth is one of the greatest environmental concerns facing future
generations (Sharma, 1994).
2. Cite double-author references by the surnames of both authors (followed by date of the
publication in parenthesis/project )
a. … Sharma and Tiwari (1994)
b. Cite more than double-author references by the surname of the first author
followed by et al. and then the date of the publication. For example, Sharma,
Sanjay and Tiwari would be: Sharma et al. (1994)
3. Cite newspaper articles using the newspaper name and date.
a. ... this problem was also recently discussed in the press (Himalayan Times,
1/15/00)
4. List all references cited in the text in alphabetical order using the following format for
different types of material:
Hunt, S. (1966) Carbohydrate and amino acid composition of the egg capsules of
the whelk. Nature, 210, 436-437.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1997) Commonly asked

questions about ozone. http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/grounders/ozo1.html,
9/27/97.

Pfirman, S.L., M. Stute, H.J. Simpson, and J. Hays (1996) Undergraduate research
at Barnard and Columbia, Journal of Research, 11, 213-214.

Pechenik, J.A. (1987) A short guide to writing about biology. Harper Collins
Publishers, New York, 194pp.

Sambrotto, R. (1997) lecture notes, Environmental Data Analysis, Barnard College,

Oct 2, 1997.

Stute, M., J.F. Clark, P. Schlosser, W.S. Broecker, and G. Bonani (1995) A high
altitude continental paleotemperature record derived from noble gases dissolved in
groundwater from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Quat. Res., 43, 209-220.
Some Useful Tips

a) Use correct grammar and spelling; otherwise it distracts from the content of the
proposal.
b) If your sentences seem too long, make two or three sentences instead of one. Try to
write the same way that you speak when you are explaining a concept. Most people
speak more clearly than they write.
c) You should have read your proposal over at least 5 times before submitting it to the
concerned department.
d) Simple wording is generally better. Never use a complex word if a simpler word will do
the same.
e) Your sentence should be written in indirect speech, passive voice and past tense.
3. Specifications for Font, Margins, Headings
and Paragraphs
Use the following specifications to write your proposal.
1. Paper Size: A- 4 size paper

2. Margins:
Top: 1.5”
Bottom: 1”
Left: 1.5”
Right: 1”

3. Paragraph
Line Spacing: 1.5 lines
Before: Auto
After: Auto

4. Title of Chapter
Font: Times New Roman (Bold face)
Size: 18 points
Alignment: Right Alignment

5. Headings (Alignment: Left)

First Order Heading: (For example, 1. INTRODUCTION)
Font: Times New Roman (Bold Face)
Size: 16 points
Before: Auto
After: Auto

Second Order Heading: (For example – 1.1. Evolution)

Font: Times New Roman (Bold Face)
Size: 15 points
Before: Auto
After: Auto

Third Order Heading: (For example – 1.1.1. Image Processing)

Font: Times New Roman (Bold Face)
Size: 14 points
 Before: Auto
After: Auto

6. Text
Font: Times New Roman
Size: 12 points
Alignment: Justified (Full Text)
Before: Auto
After: Auto

7. Abstract (Not exceeds 200 words)

Heading (i.e. ABSTRACT)
Font: Times New Roman (Bold Face)
Size: 16 points

Remaining Text
Font: Times New Roman
Size: 12 points
Alignment: Justified (Full Text)

8. Figures and Tables: Center Placed

Caption Font: Time New Roman
Size: 12 points (Bold)
Alignment: Centered
Note that Figure Caption must be below the figure, centered and numbered and Table
caption must be above the table, centered and numbered.

9. Page Numbering (Centered, Bottom of the page)

Before the first chapter: Roman (I, II, …)
From the first chapter: 1, 2, …… N

10. References / Bibliography

Reference Format: Author-Date Format /APA format
Line Spacing: 1.5 Lines
Font: Times New Roman
Size: 14 points
Note that Publication details and/or URL must be in Italics.