How to Write a Dissertation Proposal in a Week

You procrastinated again, didn’t you? So now you’ve got a week to finish your entire dissertation proposal, and you’re panicking. Can it even be done? Of course it can; you just need to follow these simple tips:

Know your guidelines. Being in a hurry is not an excuse for blindly rushing into the writing process. Take the time to review the criterion for your proposal and plan how you’ll write my dissertation within the framework your professor has provided. Skipping this step will only mean more wasted time later, when you realize halfway through that you’ve set up your proposal all wrong and have to start over.

Find a sample. Go online and track down a sample dissertation proposal. Try to find one that’s well-written, authored by an advanced degree holder, and written in the same style as yours. Using that sample as a guide for your own dissertation proposal will save you a lot of time. Do not plagiarize from the sample under any circumstances; just take note of how it’s structured and model your own proposal after it.

Limit Internet access. There is no bigger distracter these days than the world wide web. You just log on quickly to check Facebook, and before you know it, you’re watching salsa dancing videos on Youtube and reading about the War of 1812 on Wikipedia. It’s just not productive. You probably need to go online to do research for your proposal, but try to restrict yourself to school-only sites this week. There are browser add-ons available that will block distracting sites for you, or you could switch your WiFi off entirely when you aren’t doing research.

Don’t pull an all-nighter. The all-nighter is both a bane and a badge of honor to a university student. Pulling one off is practically a rite of passage in post-secondary, and they definitely have their time and place. Now is not that time. You are writing a dissertation proposal, not an undergraduate essay. Your work is going to be closely scrutinized, not skimmed by an exhausted TA. You’ll need to get adequate rest this week if you’re going to produce a passable proposal and not a pile of sleep-deprived gibberish.

Take regular breaks. No matter how important it is that your dissertation proposal get finished on time, burnout is still a very real problem. Staring blankly at the screen for two hours while you type and delete a half-dozen words is not useful to anybody. Work for half an hour, an hour or even two hours if you’re really on a roll, and then give yourself a short break. Stretch your legs, get a drink, eat a snack, or dance to your favorite tunes. Give yourself a few minutes to clear your mind so you can get back to work feeling refreshed and ready to write.