Proposals — A Road Map for Learning

Several undergraduate students have come through the Writing Realized labs this week asking the big question, "How do I write a research proposal?"  Professors in the social and applied sciences will be well-versed in the basic components of a research proposal because they spent several years in graduate school learning how and practicing that skill.  Undergraduates, on the other hand, are just getting their feet wet, even at the senior level.  These students are just learning how to dissect journal articles for things like independent and dependent variables, methodologies, and statistical significance.

Now you give them a topic, or allow them to choose one, and tell them, "Write a proposal."  That's it.  that's all the direction they have.  Holy cow!  What do they do now?  If they look up information on writing a proposal or use the examples they have explored for your class, they see the list of basic components and choke.  "Do I need a section on methodologies?  Am I supposed to do an experiment?  Do I need to have null hypothesis or an operational alternative? (psst...what are those?)" 

It is easy to forget how overwhelming such a task can be for beginners, especially if they don't know if they are writing a "concept" proposal or an applied research proposal. 

It all comes back to the instructor writing the assignment well.  If you do not give your students specific information, they cannot give you what you want.  They all have the basic idea of a literature review by now.  But what separates a proposal from a literature review?  Many of your students cannot answer that.  When you tell them to "write a proposal," what exactly are you expecting of them?

The Writing Specialists don't have those kinds of answers. And the professor cannot assume that the "ideal structure of a proposal" has been taught to undergraduates even if they are in your senior seminar.  When it comes to a concept proposal, some of the specifics are particular to the professor or to the department.

A proposal is an amazing opportunity for students to learn not only about the content, but about how they think.  Give them the tools to guide that thinking to a productive end.  This is where the students learn about research, about ideas, about the impact of exploration and writing to learn as well as finally formulating an interesting perspective on an issue.  That is the goal, right?

So I will offer a few suggestions:

• If your department expects students to write specific types of proposals, put together some guidelines and examples and post them on a department website or wiki.  This would give students a location for important information as well as lend some consistency to departmental expectations.
• Give your students a hand-out that explains what is expected for the assignment.  You might list necessary headings, length, required components, etc.
• Forward your assignment to the Writing Specialists in the Writing Realized labs so they can better assist your students.

Remember that your students are here to learn.  They have a destination in mind, but it is up to the professionals to help them chart their course and collect what they need to arrive there safely. Give them a road map.  They still have to fill the tank with gas, follow directions, and take in all the sights on the way there.  Sure, they may have to fix a flat tire somewhere along the way, but at least they will know where they are supposed to go.