Doctoral Proposal Writing

Doctoral Proposal Writing is an essential guide for current and prospective international doctoral students wishing to apply and study for a PhD in the UK, and other countries where courses are conducted in English. The book supports students in choosing a suitable research topic and writing an effective proposal for investigating this topic across a range of forms of doctoral research, across several disciplines, with an emphasis on international students and students with English as an additional language. The author offers guidance for prospective doctoral students in their applications to study for a doctorate, in writing their initial proposals once they have been enrolled and, if necessary, in writing subsequent extended proposals. The book also includes content on developing academic writing, including paragraph writing, argumentation, doing literature reviews, constructing methodologies and using evidence and referencing. The book ends by covering giving a proposal presentation, how to get the most out of supervisory relationships and thinking about the next steps in your research. By giving insights into the doctoral journey, and using real-life examples of good-quality doctoral proposals by international students, this is an essential resource for anyone looking to study for a PhD in the UK or anglophone countries.

Peter Samuels is a Senior Lecturer in Research Practice in the Graduate School of Management at Birmingham City University, UK. He has a background in education research, academic writing training and applied statistics support. He lectures in proposal writing and research methods and coordinates the supervision of about 1,500 masters research projects per year.

Part I: Introducing the Doctoral Proposal Introduction 1. The Doctoral Journey; Part II: Selecting and Presenting Your Topic 2. Selecting Your Topic 3. Writing Your Front Matter; Part III: Academic Writing 4. Structuring Your Proposal 5. Academic Writing Style 6. Using Evidence 7. Paragraph Writing 8. Argumentation; Part IV: Writing the Rest of Your Proposal 9. Writing the Rest of Your Introduction 10. Literature Reviews 11. Conceptual Frameworks 12. Writing Your Methodology/Method Section 13. Producing a Schedule and a Budget 14. Referencing; Part V: After Submitting Your Proposal 15. Presenting and Defending Your Proposal 16. Writing Another Proposal 17. Planning and Managing Your Research 18. Managing Your Supervisory Relationships 19. Next Steps in Your Research