Technical Writing and Presentation Skills

Topic: How to write a proposal for Research/ Term Paper

What is a proposal?
In academia, a research proposal is a document proposing a research project. This
proposal generally constitutes a request for sponsorship of their research. An
example research proposal is an outline of your proposed project that is designed
to explain all the important factors of your proposed research.
Key factors of Research Proposal
A good research proposal should contain the following key factors,
 The proposal should highlight its originality and significance of the research.
 It should define a clear research question and approach to answer the
same.
 Give a clear explanation of the existing literature in the field and challenges
to face in the research process.
 Justify, Why you are the right person to undertake the research?
9 important steps in writing a research proposal
First of all, the research proposals are not the same in size. It may vary based on
the funding agency you going to apply for.However, A typical proposal may
contain 2500-3000 words.
1. Abstract
As always, the abstract is the key area where all the evaluator check first.
 It should be short and crispy in 5-7 lines.
 It should include the problem statement of your research and a solution to
solve the problem or idea to fix the problem.
2. Introduction
The second most important part of the proposal is the introduction. An
impressive introduction must include the following points.
  The introduction must have 5-7 lines which highlight the important aspects
of the domain.
 This an eye-opening content of your research so it generally holds the 20%
to 30% of acceptance ratio of the proposal.
Problem statement in research proposal
A problem statement is build based on valuable research questions such as what
is the problem that you have identified in your research area? Or What is the
current problem faced and what are its persisting effects? Also, it should follow
some important attributes which are mentioned below.
 Good research questions are comprised of 1-3 lines along with the reason
that they are asked for.
 The problem statement includes the main research modes such as
conceptual, theoretical, empirical.
 Highlight the significance of the research proposal whether it is applicable
in academic or in other areas of the research.
4. Purpose of the study
This section briefly describes the purpose of your study and why you are going to
do this study in a crisp and clear manner.
5. Objective and Significance of the research
The impact of the study need to be clearly stated in the proposal also it should
answer the following 4 questions:
 What are your goal and achievement?
 Through your research what are you contributing?
 What is the need and importance of your research?
 What is the use and what is going to change or happen in the end through
your research?
6. Methodology
A sixth most important point to write a fine proposal is to write a research
methodology with the questions how you are going to start your research right
from literature review till the end conclusion in 4 to 5 points.
7. Expected results of the project
This section includes the expected result of your research. 2 to 3 lines of
approximate result with its achievement on the target application.
8. Research Proposal – Estimated Budget
Budgeting is one of the important parts to be estimated. It is divided into two
parts “Non-Recurring Budget” & “Recurring Budget”.
A recurrent budget tracks ongoing revenues and expenses that occur on a regular
basis, be they monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. Also known as an
operational budget, a recurrent budget includes line items such as wages, utilities,
rent or lease payments, and taxes.
Non-Recurrent Budget states what are all the machines, software’s, equipment
you want. This is a one-time purchase. So have a clear idea of what all you need
to start your research experiment.
9. References
Finally, include 1-4 high impact research works related to your research as a
reference in your research proposal.