Guidelines for Writing a Term Paper Proposal
This short guide explains what a proposal is, why proposal writing is a valuable skill, and
it identifies the main components in a comprehensive proposal.
Introduction
A proposal for a term paper is a writing plan that lays out the goal, scope and organization of the
paper and identifies some of the sources and methods that will be used. It may also be called a
research design, letter of intent or a prospectus. It should include the following components:
statement of the goal of the paper and the research question to be answered, a paragraph or two
that puts the goal into context and explains why it is important, a brief review of the most salient
literature, the data and methods to be used, and a bibliography of 10-20 sources largely based on
refereed journal articles. In addition, a proposal often includes a detailed outline of the main
topics to be covered in the final paper using headings and subheadings to show the logical
structure of the final paper (this is sometimes called a provisional table of contents). A typical
term paper proposal should be no more than four or five pages in length though a book
prospectus might stretch to 30 pages.
Proposal Writing is a Valuable Skill
Proposal writing is not busy work! It is one of the most important styles of written
communication that you will develop in your university career. If you can write a term paper
proposal then you have the basic skills required to write a grant proposal to the Canada Council,
the National Science Foundation, or even the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group.
Persuasive grant proposals are rewarded with financial support to accomplish the worthy goals
you have set. If you can write a term paper proposal, you can write a book prospectus and sign a
contract with a major publisher who will pay you royalties to reproduce and distribute the words
you write. If you can write a term paper proposal, you can write the prospectus for an initial
public offering to raise millions of dollars to finance the start-up of your own company. If you
can write a term paper proposal, you can write a thesis proposal, one of the most daunting
hurdles for most graduate students.
Proposal writing is not easy because you have not done all of the work yet. It is a
balancing act because you have to do a certain amount of work to figure out what it is that you
are going to work on. Once you think you know enough, you write a proposal seeking approval
for what you propose to do. In this proposal you must persuade your reader that you have the
basic understanding, research competence, background knowledge, and technical skills to
complete the proposed project successfully.
Anatomy of a Term Paper Proposal
1. A brief statement of the goal of the paper which may have several subsidiary objectives.
Depending on the topic, this could also be expressed in terms of a research question with
one or more hypotheses.
2. Place the goal into context, showing how it fits with existing theory and other
contributions in the literature and justifying all the work that you plan to do. For a thesis
or book you will need to convince the reader that this work is highly original and has
never been done before. For a term paper it will be sufficient to explain why the topic is
3.
4.
5.
6.
important, relevant, interesting and worthy of detailed study.
Explain how your work is related to other published research on this topic. Typically
described as “the literature review,” this should show you reader that you have done the
hours of library research and reading to have a reasonable grasp of other academic work
on the subject. In social science this discussion will typically include different theoretical
viewpoints and identify the perspective that you plan to take in your work.
Evidence and analytical methods play are critical in achieving the goal of the paper. The
collection and presentation of evidence form the body of the paper which should lead to a
logical and convincing conclusion. For primary research1 done as part of a graduate
research thesis, evidence typically takes the form of qualitative or quantitative data and
the use of sophisticated analytical methods plays an important role in the findings. In the
case of a library-based term paper, the goal is typically achieved through a structured
body of evidence gathered from secondary literature.2 Analysis is largely a matter of
presentation and comparison of the evidence and its success is determined by the internal
consistency of series of propositions that provide the logical justification for a
conclusion.
The outline shows how you anticipate organizing the material that you want to
communicate. For a book prospectus, this would be a list of chapters. For a term paper
this will be a list of major sections and subsections. For an example see Appendix 1.
Bibliography or References Cited. A bibliography purports to be a list of all the books on
a particular subject. “References cited” is limited to the works you actually consulted,
used, and referred to in the writing of the proposal. For a typical term paper I would
expect a student to use and refer to 10-20 sources.
Optional Elements in a Proposal
While the above “anatomy” should be sufficient for most term paper proposals, several other
major components might be appropriate in proposals for lengthier documents or grant
applications.
1. Definition of study area, some other delimitation of what will or will not be included in
the final paper, or particular limitations of the study may be important in some cases.
2. A lengthy discussion of data collection may be necessary to support research which
requires primary data collection. A copy of a survey instrument might be included as an
appendix.
3. A timetable presented as a timeline or “critical path” may be useful when the project has
a complex series of interconnected steps performed by different individuals or groups.
4. A detailed budget including justification for all expenses and identifying different
funding sources is essential for any grant application.
Conclusion
Experience in proposal writing will serve you well in all kinds of creative endeavours. Having a
good comprehensive proposal at hand greatly simplifies the writing of the final paper and gives
1
Primary research is based on primary data, information collected directly from the natural
world (including experiments, observation, interviews, surveys, or original documents such as
correspondence or diaries).
2
A secondary source is a publication. Thus secondary research is based on published data rather
than primary data.
the writer a good basis to make changes as they come to understand the topic better. A proposal
provides the best possible start to a rewarding writing and research process.
References Cited
Northey, Margot and David B. Knight 2007 Making Sense: Geography and Environmental
Sciences (Don Mills: Oxford University Press).
Appendix 1
Outline for Guidelines for Writing a Term Paper Proposal
Introduction
one paragraph
Proposal Writing is a Valuable Skill
two paragraphs
Anatomy of a Term Paper Proposal
Six items to be specified, one paragraph each
Goal
Context
Literature review
Data and methods
Outline
References cited
Optional Elements in a Proposal
four optional items
References Cited
Appendix 1