Undergraduate Research Proposal Writing: A Practical Guide

Abstract

Writing a thesis as the final project frequently has become undergraduate students’ barriers in finishing their study, although a number of supporting courses have been taken before the process of thesis writing. “One of the challenges of writing a thesis is that you need to combine a lot of tasks: selecting a topic, reading the best books and articles, conducting sustained research, arriving at your own viewpoint, planning your paper, writing a first draft, and then revising and polishing it, all while managing your own time. This is not a 100-meter dash. It is a hike through the woods, requiring a variety of skills and some persistence” (Lipson, 2005). Based on the data of April 2015, the average study length of the English education graduates is 5.1 years, meaning that most of students finished their study in semester eleven. As an individual project, the success of writing a thesis largely depends on students themselves. Their motivation, commitment, time management, discipline, persistence, and communication ability may become internal factors that contribute significantly to the success of completing their theses. Externally, an effective system for monitoring and supervising students’ final project is also a determining factor for the success of completing students’ final project. To facilitate student teachers of the English education department to write their thesis, this short guide is expected to clarify procedures that they have to follow in completing their thesis as the final research project. The writer expresses his personal thanks to the Head of the English Education Department and the task force who have given me opportunities to write this teaching materials. Hopefully that this very early draft can be a great value for student teachers in completing their final project.