The format requirements for your proposal are ultimately up to your advisor and committee. Here is a typical format that can serve as a "default" option.

Proposal Format:

Length: Up to about 8 pages, double-spaced, not including figures, abstract and reference list, with a 12 point font. Some advisors and committees prefer shorter proposals.

Title: The title should state the topic of your research, perhaps the main question asked or hypothesis(es) being tested. It is a good idea to give the name of your research organism/taxon.

Abstract: In 150 words or less, summarize your proposal?introduction, experimental design, significance.

Introduction (2-3 pages): This section should begin with a review of the competing hypotheses you plan to test and their predictions, followed by a review of other tests of these hypotheses and a brief introduction to your study organism(s). In introducing your study organism, be sure to make clear why it is suitable for your proposed investigation. Show that you have a handle on the relevant literature. Your Introduction should be broken into subsections, with subheadings, wherever appropriate. Throughout, you should emphasize why your study will be of general interest; for example, are you likely to obtain findings that will change the way we think about some major issue, such as why some organisms change sex and others don't?

Methods/Experimental Design (3-4 pages): Here you present, in as much detail as possible, the study you propose to conduct. If you have had a course in statistics, you can give proposed statistical analyses in detail, but this information is optional. Consider your experiment carefully: does it really test the hypotheses outlined in your Introduction? Organize your presentation with subheadings wherever they are appropriate.

Anticipated significance of results (1-2 pages): Under this heading, consider the likely outcomes of your study, how you would interpret them and how they would allow you to discriminate among the hypotheses presented in your Introduction. Will you be able to meet the goals you set earlier? Be sure to explain how your anticipated findings would change the way we think about the topic you have chosen and why that topic is of general interest. Be positive, but also realistic and honest.

Literature Cited: alphabetical, with name-year style citation, not numbered.