research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

Research Proposal Example/Sample

Private Coaching

In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals , one for a Master’s-level project, and one for a PhD-level dissertation. We also start off by unpacking our free research proposal template and discussing the four core sections of a research proposal, so that you have a clear understanding of the basics before diving into the actual proposals.

  • Research proposal example/sample – Master’s-level (PDF/Word)
  • Research proposal example/sample – PhD-level (PDF/Word)
  • Proposal template (Fully editable) 

If you’re working on a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis, you may also find the following useful:

  • Research Proposal Bootcamp : Learn how to write a research proposal as efficiently and effectively as possible
  • 1:1 Proposal Coaching : Get hands-on help with your research proposal

Free Webinar: How To Write A Research Proposal

FAQ: Research Proposal Example

Research proposal example: frequently asked questions, are the sample proposals real.

Yes. The proposals are real and were approved by the respective universities.

Can I copy one of these proposals for my own research?

As we discuss in the video, every research proposal will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your research proposal to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a research proposal here .

How do I get the research proposal template?

You can access our free proposal template here .

Is the proposal template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the proposal template and you are free to use it as a foundation for your research proposal.

Where can I learn more about proposal writing?

For self-directed learners, our Research Proposal Bootcamp is a great starting point.

For students that want hands-on guidance, our private coaching service is recommended.

Research Proposal Bootcamp

Ace Your Research Proposal

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Learn about 5 critically important things that you need to do (or avoid doing) when writing a research proposal for a dissertation or thesis.

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📄 FREE TEMPLATES

Research Topic Ideation

Proposal Writing

Literature Review

Methodology & Analysis

Academic Writing

Referencing & Citing

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14 Comments

Lam Oryem Cosmas

I am at the stage of writing my thesis proposal for a PhD in Management at Altantic International University. I checked on the coaching services, but it indicates that it’s not available in my area. I am in South Sudan. My proposed topic is: “Leadership Behavior in Local Government Governance Ecosystem and Service Delivery Effectiveness in Post Conflict Districts of Northern Uganda”. I will appreciate your guidance and support

MUHAMMAD SHAH

GRADCOCH is very grateful motivated and helpful for all students etc. it is very accorporated and provide easy access way strongly agree from GRADCOCH.

Tamasgen desta

Proposal research departemet management

Salim

I am at the stage of writing my thesis proposal for a masters in Analysis of w heat commercialisation by small holders householdrs at Hawassa International University. I will appreciate your guidance and support

Abrar Shouket

please provide a attractive proposal about foreign universities .It would be your highness.

habitamu abayneh

comparative constitutional law

Kabir Abubakar

Kindly guide me through writing a good proposal on the thesis topic; Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Financial Inclusion in Nigeria. Thank you

Tatenda Mpofu

Kindly help me write a research proposal on the topic of impacts of artisanal gold panning on the environment

Bunrosy Lan

I am in the process of research proposal for my Master of Art with a topic : “factors influence on first-year students’s academic adjustment”. I am absorbing in GRADCOACH and interested in such proposal sample. However, it is great for me to learn and seeking for more new updated proposal framework from GRADCAOCH.

charity njovo

Kindly help me write a research proposal on the effectiveness of junior call on prevention of theft

Watson Zitha

kindly assist me in writing the proposal in psychology education

Akpan Desola Dorcas

Please,Kindly assist my in my phd thesis writing on personal and socio cultural factors as determinate of family planning adoption

Bill Victor

I’m interested to apply for a mhil program in crop production. Please need assistance in proposal format.

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research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

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Examples of research proposals

How to write your research proposal, with examples of good proposals.

Research proposals

Your research proposal is a key part of your application. It tells us about the question you want to answer through your research. It is a chance for you to show your knowledge of the subject area and tell us about the methods you want to use.

We use your research proposal to match you with a supervisor or team of supervisors.

In your proposal, please tell us if you have an interest in the work of a specific academic at York St John. You can get in touch with this academic to discuss your proposal. You can also speak to one of our Research Leads. There is a list of our Research Leads on the Apply page.

When you write your proposal you need to:

  • Highlight how it is original or significant
  • Explain how it will develop or challenge current knowledge of your subject
  • Identify the importance of your research
  • Show why you are the right person to do this research
  • Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB)
  • Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB)
  • Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB)
  • Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB)

Subject specific guidance

  • Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
  • Writing a Creative Writing PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
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Research Proposals

  • the research topic briefly outline the area and topic of your research.
  • the research context relate your proposed research to other work in its field or related fields, and indicate in what ways your research will differ; you might mention monographs on the subject, as well as important theoretical models or methodological exemplars. This is a chance to show your understanding of the background against which your research will be defined.
  • the contribution you will make this is your chance to show how you have arrived at your position and recognised the need for your research, and what it is that makes it both new and important; you should indicate what areas and debates it will have an impact on, what methodological example it sets (if appropriate) – in short how it contributes to knowledge and to the practice of our subject. Give examples of the sort of evidence you might consider, and of the questions it might help you to raise. Show that you are already thinking about the area in detail and not only in outline.
  • your methods in some cases there will be little to say here, but if there is something striking about your methodology, you should explain it.
  • the sources and resources you will use you should delimit your field of enquiry, showing where the project begins and ends; in certain cases, Cambridge will have unique collections and resources of central relevance to your project, and you should mention these.
  • how the project will develop you might indicate some of the possible ways in which the project could develop, perhaps by giving a broader or narrower version depending on what materials and issues you uncover

You should ask yourself how your work might change the present state of scholarship in your field, and whether the topic is well suited to the resources provided at Cambridge. Even for MPhil courses we generally aim to admit not just those who propose a sensible topic, but those who have the potential to modify the present paradigms of research in their field. Most students, though, refine their research topics after they arrive in the light of what they discover or of advice from their supervisor, so you need not feel that you are inscribing your future in tablets of stone as you compose your proposal.

You may find it helpful to look at the following examples of successful research proposals.

It is vital that you show that your research is necessary. It is not enough that it happens to interest you. You should make clear that it will be of use and interest to others working in your field, or on a particular author, or indeed in neighbouring fields. You should show how your work will make a contribution to knowledge and to the practice of our subject.

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My First Research Proposal

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Related Papers

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research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

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Bojana Petric

Writing & Pedagogy

Tanya Rodrigue

Bojana Petric , Diane Pecorari

Timothy Jackson

Smruti Mohanty

kurata warewa

Computers & Education

The prevalence of information and communication technology (ICT) has considerably converted the means of/for publication and circulation, as well as transforming academia and English pedagogy. However, with the availability and convenience of online resources, one of the critical issues emerged is that non-native English speakers are constantly accused of committing textual plagiarism: either intentionally or unintentionally. While many writing tools and plagiarism detectors are available to help solve the problem, none of them were customized for the great population of Chinese learners of English. Accordingly, DWright—a Chinese-interfaced online writing tutorial for paraphrasing and citing English—was developed in the hope of ensuring academic integrity through the avoidance of textual plagiarism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the design and efficacy of DWright regarding plagiarism prevention and improvement of English writing. A questionnaire and semi-structured interview were administrated to participants to test DWright and its technology acceptance model (TAM) to identify the effect of perceived usefulness, usability and user attitudes of DWright. Results show that users of DWright were in high agreement regarding the content effectiveness of all DWright-based tasks, indicating the reading activities, multiple-choice exercises and paraphrasing practices were effective to help users enhance writing knowledge and skills to avoid plagiarism. Furthermore, perceived usefulness and system usability affected DWright user attitudes significantly and positively, which mirrors their attitudes toward continued use of DWright. In this study, DWright met its users' needs by extending their knowledge to avoid plagiarism while simultaneously enhancing their paraphrasing and writing skills. The conclusion suggests that tutorial designers, content experts and subject teachers should support effective communication to improve content usefulness, so as to help users achieve their writing goals with a research proven learning and plagiarism avoidance tutorial system.

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IMAGES

  1. (PDF) How to Write a PhD Proposal

    research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

  2. Well-Written PhD Research Proposal Sample

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  3. (PDF) Sample Initial PhD Research Proposal

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  4. See PhD Research Proposal Examples Here

    research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

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  6. 2024 Research Proposal Template

    research proposal for phd in english literature pdf

VIDEO

  1. How to make a research proposal for Ph.D. / Research Grant by Prof. Mahima Kaushik II Important tips

  2. Research Topics for PhD in English Literature

  3. RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR PhD Registration/Submission(Best Format) UGC-NET/JRF/PhD by Dr. Shoaib Ahmed

  4. How to write research proposal for phd

  5. Why do research proposals get rejected?

  6. Research Proposal

COMMENTS

  1. PDF Research Proposal for a PhD thesis in English Literature

    Research Proposal for a PhD thesis in English Literature. perception that spans from Ezra Pound to John Ashbery. More recent criticism has similarly. undervalued women poets' contribution to the scope of the visual in contemporary poetry. Ian. between 'eye' and 'I', and the gendered implications of observing and being observed.

  2. Writing a research proposal for the PhD in English Literature

    Take your time in composing your research proposal, carefully considering the requirements outlined below. Your proposal should not be more than 2,000 words. PhD degrees are awarded on the basis of a thesis of up to 100,000 words. The 'Summary of roles and responsibilities' in the University's Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research ...

  3. PDF English Department Advice on Preparing a Proposal for a PhD Thesis

    A PhD research proposal should be a document of not more than about 2,000 or 3,000 words in length. The key thing about a PhD proposal - and in which it differs from a proposal for an MA dissertation - is that it needs to indicate how the research findings or argument will add significantly to what is already known about the subject.

  4. PDF Applications for PhD/MPhil in English Literature Your research proposal

    the requirements outlined below. Your research proposal should not be more than 2,000 words long. Research degrees are awarded on the basis of a thesis of up to 100,000 words (PhD) or up to 60,000 words (MPhil). The 'Summary of roles and responsibilities' in the University's Code of Practice for Supervisors and Research Students

  5. PDF A Guide to Writing your PhD Proposal

    Therefore, in a good research proposal you will need to demonstrate two main things: 1. that you are capable of independent critical thinking and analysis. 2. that you are capable of communicating your ideas clearly. Applying for a PhD is like applying for a job, you are not applying for a taught programme.

  6. (PDF) How to Write a PhD Proposal

    How to Write a PhD Proposal. 1. Introduction. A PhD proposal is a focused document that int roduces your PhD study idea and seeks to. convince the reader that your idea is interesting, original ...

  7. PDF How To Write a Good PhD Research Proposal

    A PhD proposal is an outline of your proposed project. It needs to: Define a clear question and approach to answering it. Highlight its originality and/or significance. Explain how it adds to, develops (or challenges) existing literature in the field. Persuade potential supervisors of the importance of the work, and why you are the right person ...

  8. PDF Writing a research proposal

    Guidance for PhD applicants Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. The 1,500 word research proposal is an important element of your application to doctoral study, whether full-time or part-time. It offers you the opportunity to outline the research you intend to conduct, including how you plan to go about it, and how your research might ...

  9. PDF Guidelines on Writing a Research Proposal: Cardiff School of English

    The quality of your research proposal will largely determine your success or failure when applying to complete postgraduate research (PhD or MPhil) in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff. Hence it is important that you devote due time to formulating your research questions in a lucid and persuasive manner.

  10. PDF Writing a PhD Research Proposal

    In general, however, your research proposal should aim to cover the following points: • The overall theme of your research topic, and why it is of interest to you. Why you believe that your research is worth doing, in terms of its contribution to knowledge and/or impact. • The hypothesis(ses) that you intend to test, or the research ...

  11. PDF Writing the Research Proposal: Guidelines, 2018

    3. Writing the Research Proposal: Guidelines 3.1 Introduction This document provides guidelines for writing the research proposal at MA as well as at PhD level. Please take note of the following before you work carefully through it: The detailed, 3 000-word proposal should not be confused with the short three-

  12. PDF GUIDE FOR THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

    The research proposal is one of the mandatory parts of your research master's. Within this proposal, you describe a study that has the duration of a PhD-project. First you select a research paper as the basis for your proposal. You first need to completely understand this paper in order to come up with new questions and hypotheses.

  13. Research Proposal Example (PDF + Template)

    Detailed Walkthrough + Free Proposal Template. If you're getting started crafting your research proposal and are looking for a few examples of research proposals, you've come to the right place. In this video, we walk you through two successful (approved) research proposals, one for a Master's-level project, and one for a PhD-level ...

  14. PDF Guidance on Writing a Research Proposal What is a PhD Proposal?

    A PhD proposal is an outline of your proposed research that is designed to: Formulate and define a clear, interesting research question; this may take the form of a hypothesis to be tested, or an open-ended enquiry. Establish the relevance and value of the proposed research question in the context of current academic thinking, highlighting its ...

  15. Examples of Research proposals

    Show why you are the right person to do this research; Examples of research proposals. Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB) Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB) Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB) Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB) Subject specific guidance. Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)

  16. PhD research proposal guidelines

    .text-formatted h2 { font-size: 1.5rem; margin-top: 1rem; } .text-formatted h3 { font-size: 1.125rem; } Writing a thesis is a personal journey, and in English there is significant leeway in how you approach your work. We have put together a set of guidelines for putting together a proposal. It may be that, in consultation with your supervisor, you decide that aspects of this outline do not ...

  17. Faculty of English

    An MPhil research proposal should be 500 words long, while a PhD proposal should be 800 words long. It needs to give those assessing your application an impression of the strength and originality of your proposed research, and its potential to make a contribution to knowledge. It should be written in clear, jargon-free prose.

  18. (PDF) Writing a Good PhD Research Proposal

    A PhD proposal is a an outline of your proposed project that is designed to: Define a clear question and approach to answering it. Highlight its originality and/or significance. Explain how it ...

  19. (PDF) My PHD Proposal

    Proposal of a Research Project for a PhD in English. 1. Background. Academic research requires specific writing skills that are diffe rent from the. regular academic classroom writing (Atkinson ...

  20. PDF Guidelines for submission of DOCTORAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL

    of summary and proposal document) have to be submitted. However, for final submission, one hard copy (of summary and proposal document) and one softcopy in a CD (summary and proposal document as separate doc files) along. with relevant appendices have to be submitted to AGSRD. Simply submitting the research proposal do.

  21. PDF How to Write a Good Postgraduate RESEARCH PROPOSAL

    Style: If space allows, provide a clear project title. Structure your text - if allowed use section headings. Present the information in short paragraphs rather than a solid block of text. Write short sentences. If allowed, provide images/charts/diagrams to help break up the text.

  22. (PDF) My PhD in English Literature at Portsmouth

    Abstract. Since I completed my PhD at Portsmouth, I have undertaken a number of meaningful research projects and published many works with presses in the east and west. Had Bronwen and Alex been ...

  23. (PDF) My First Research Proposal

    1 Analysis on Students' Understanding Regarding Paraphrasing in Literature Review (A Study on English Department Students' Research Proposal, State University of Gorontalo) Muhammad Taufiq Akbar (321 411 030) English Department, Letters and Culture Faculty State University of Gorontalo 2 Chapter 1 Introduction The basic information of the current study is provided within this chapter.