The Proposal for Your Thesis
This page furnishes you with a template for writing the prospectus for your thesis. We should go through this and look at examples before you begin. Read this page in conjunction with the page on How to Write a Thesis in History. The Heading
No title page, plastic cover, or any such window dressing is necessary. Just begin at the top of your first page with a heading that gives a straightforward working title, something like this: "Strip Mining on the Northern
Plains" (Working Title) Proposal for a Thesis, by The Narrative
Next, provide a narrative of four paragraphs, totaling not more than two single-spaced pages, telling us what you are going to do. The subjects of discrete paragraphs are to be: 1. The general subject you are investigating. Include the spatial and chronological scope of the study. Indicate any tentative hypotheses you have in mind. Show what contribution to knowledge your thesis will make. 2. The primary sources you will use. Indicate what sort of documents you think will be available and useful, and tell where you expect to find them. 3. The secondary literature that will frame your work. Is your thesis inspired by (or opposed to) some existing line of work? How will you connect up with the current body of knowledge in the field? 4. A timetable. Say when you expect to begin giving me chapters to read and when you expect to present to the committee. Name the prospective members of the committee. Appendices
After the narrative, provide these items (no more than a page each): 1. An outline of chapters 2. A bibliography of secondary works in the field 3. A bibliography of primary sources 4. A vita What Do I Do with It?
First, give the prospectus to me. I'll read it and critique it, and we'll go over it together. Then you'll make revisions. After that you will distribute it to all committee members. |