dissertation proposal defense tips

• Awards Season
• Big Stories
• Pop Culture
• Video Games
• Celebrities

How to Create an Effective Thesis Statement in 5 Easy Steps

Creating a thesis statement can be a daunting task. It’s one of the most important sentences in your paper, and it needs to be done right. But don’t worry — with these five easy steps, you’ll be able to create an effective thesis statement in no time.

Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas

The first step is to brainstorm ideas for your paper. Think about what you want to say and write down any ideas that come to mind. This will help you narrow down your focus and make it easier to create your thesis statement.

Step 2: Research Your Topic

Once you have some ideas, it’s time to do some research on your topic. Look for sources that support your ideas and provide evidence for the points you want to make. This will help you refine your argument and make it more convincing.

Step 3: Formulate Your Argument

Now that you have done some research, it’s time to formulate your argument. Take the points you want to make and put them into one or two sentences that clearly state what your paper is about. This will be the basis of your thesis statement.

Step 4: Refine Your Thesis Statement

Once you have formulated your argument, it’s time to refine your thesis statement. Make sure that it is clear, concise, and specific. It should also be arguable so that readers can disagree with it if they choose.

Step 5: Test Your Thesis Statement

The last step is to test your thesis statement. Does it accurately reflect the points you want to make? Is it clear and concise? Does it make an arguable point? If not, go back and refine it until it meets all of these criteria.

Creating an effective thesis statement doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With these five easy steps, you can create a strong thesis statement in no time at all.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

MORE FROM ASK.COM

Dissertation Proposal Defense: 12 Tips for Effective Preparation

Published by steve tippins on may 11, 2020 may 11, 2020.

Last Updated on: 30th August 2022, 04:25 am

The dissertation proposal defense is a nerve-wracking time for even the most hardened of doctoral students.

Even a pirate (writing his dissertation on effective cutlass techniques), will quake a bit in his boots before delivering his dissertation proposal defense.

However, it doesn’t need to be a stressful time. 

As a longtime Dissertation Committee Chair and committee member, I’ve overseen more dissertation proposal defenses than I can count. I’ve also helped students through the process as a coach . 

If you follow these tips for preparing and delivering your presentation, you shouldn’t have any problem passing your proposal defense.

Dissertation Proposal Defense Tips

Preparing for your Dissertation Proposal Defense

1. anticipate questions.  .

In your presentation, try to answer all of the questions you expect your committee to ask. That way, you control the material. Your committee will be more satisfied with your preparation and understanding and it will be less likely that you have to answer questions that you aren’t prepared for.

2. Look for Weaknesses.  

If there are potential weaknesses (in your study, proposal, or presentation), address them ahead of time. Ask peers or mentors to review your proposal or presentation for weaknesses. Look at it yourself with a critical eye. Even if you’re not able to eliminate a weakness, take steps to address it as best you can so that your committee can be confident that you’re aware of it and able to handle it.

3. Practice.  

Ideally, you would practice with someone who has been a committee member before. They’ll point out the types of questions they would see your committee asking, so you can prepare for those. I can’t understate the value of having this kind of feedback beforehand so that you can properly prepare. I offer this service as part of my dissertation coaching package .

4. Avoid Wordiness on PowerPoint Slides . 

Most dissertation proposal defenses have PowerPoints. Don’t put too many words on the slides! People will start reading the slides instead of paying attention to you. Then they’re off somewhere else which will produce questions that you’ve already answered when they weren’t paying attention.

5. Be Able to Pronounce the Words Correctly. 

This might sound obvious, but as a dissertation committee member , I’ve heard far too many students struggle through pronunciations of important terminology. This is probably because, up until this point, they’ve only read them and not spoken them out loud. 

However, it gives the committee the impression that they don’t know what they’re talking about. Make sure you can properly pronounce all the words you plan on using (like “phenomenological” and “anthropomorphism,”). 

6. Watch Recordings of Previous Defenses.  

Some schools have recordings of previous defenses. Listen to one or two. See how the procedure goes. Even if it’s not anything in your discipline, it will still help you get familiar with the procedure itself, which will help you be more comfortable when the time comes.

During your Dissertation Proposal Defense:

7. breathe . .

I’ve seen way too many people try to do their dissertation proposal defense seemingly in one breath. Give your committee time to hear and understand what you’re saying. Remember to leave some moments of silence to allow your audience to digest what you say. Also remember that one second of actual time feels like about thirty minutes to someone who’s giving an important presentation. Breathe. 

8. Remember: They Want to Pass You.  

If you’ve gotten to the point where your committee has scheduled a dissertation proposal defense for you, that means they believe that you can pass it. They want to pass you. Remember that. 

They’re not out to screw you, they’re not out for “gotchas.” They’re saying, “we believe you’re ready, show us that’s true.” While they will be rigorous in their evaluation because they have a responsibility to make sure that they don’t allow you to move forward until you are ready to, it’s helpful to remember that they believe you can pass. 

9. Answer the Question, No More.  

When committee members ask questions, answer only the question–don’t give them anything more than that. Imagine that you’re a witness in a courtroom (or don’t if that makes you more nervous). Committee members value direct, relevant answers and often find tangents irrelevant and frustrating.

Hack Your Dissertation

5-Day Mini Course: How to Finish Faster With Less Stress

Interested in more helpful tips about improving your dissertation experience? Join our 5-day mini course by email!

10. Dialogue With Your Committee.  

If the committee disagrees with something you said, it can be a discussion. You don’t need to just roll over and say “Yes, you’re right. I made a mistake and I’m very bad.” That’s not what your committee wants to hear, either. 

A much better response would be, “I hear what you’re saying, however, this is the reason I’m going in this other direction. What do you think about that?” So you’re beginning to engage in discussions as a scholar. Your committee will be impressed by your ability to think critically and your willingness to engage in dialogue.

However, do not make it adversarial. It’s incredibly important to be respectful in these conversations. After all, your committee members have significant control over your life for as long as you’re writing your dissertation.

11. Make Life Easy for Your Committee.  

It’s always good to send your committee members a copy of your PowerPoint presentation and the most recent copy of your proposal the day before the defense. They likely already have a copy, but when in doubt, make their lives easier. It doesn’t cost you anything. Someone might accidentally have an old copy, or might take them some time to find the copy they have. You want their life to be as easy as possible so they can focus on moving you forward.

12. Pay Attention to Time. 

Ask your Chair (in the preparation stage) how long you have to make your presentation. It’s extraordinarily important to stay within this timeframe. If you’re told 25 minutes but you take 50 minutes, committee members are predisposed to say “why isn’t this person better prepared, and why are they wasting my time?”

Likewise, if you run through a 30-minute presentation in ten minutes (nervousness can sometimes lead to very fast talking–that’s why it’s important to practice beforehand), your committee will be wondering why you didn’t use the whole time that was allotted to you. And you’ll likely have to field a lot of questions you weren’t prepared for.

Dissertation Proposal Defense Summary

As long as you prepare properly, your dissertation proposal defense should be nothing to worry about. Your committee thinks you’re ready: all you have to do is show them you’re right.

If you’d like help preparing for your defense, or if you’d like to reduce the amount of time it takes to finish your dissertation, take a look at my Dissertation Coaching Services .

Book a Free Consultation

Book a Free Consultation with one of our expert coaches today.

Steve Tippins

Steve Tippins, PhD, has thrived in academia for over thirty years. He continues to love teaching in addition to coaching recent PhD graduates as well as students writing their dissertations. Learn more about his dissertation coaching and career coaching services. Book a Free Consultation with Steve Tippins

Related Posts

Dissertation

What makes a good research question.

Creating a good research question is vital to successfully completing your dissertation. Here are some tips that will help you formulate a good research question.  What Makes a Good Research Question? These are the three Read more…

Dissertation Structure

When it comes to writing a dissertation, one of the most fraught questions asked by graduate students is about dissertation structure. A dissertation is the lengthiest writing project that many graduate students ever undertake, and Read more…

Choosing a Dissertation Chair

Choosing your dissertation chair is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make in graduate school. Your dissertation chair will in many ways shape your experience as you undergo the most rigorous intellectual challenge Read more…

Make This Your Last Round of Dissertation Revision.

Learn How to Get Your Dissertation Accepted .

Discover the 5-Step Process in this Free Webinar .

Almost there!

Please verify your email address by clicking the link in the email message we just sent to your address.

If you don't see the message within the next five minutes, be sure to check your spam folder :).

13 Tips to Prepare for Your PhD Dissertation Defense

How well do you know your project? Years of experiments, analysis of results, and tons of literature study, leads you to how well you know your research study. And, PhD dissertation defense is a finale to your PhD years. Often, researchers question how to excel at their thesis defense and spend countless hours on it. Days, weeks, months, and probably years of practice to complete your doctorate, needs to surpass the dissertation defense hurdle.

In this article, we will discuss details of how to excel at PhD dissertation defense and list down some interesting tips to prepare for your thesis defense.

Table of Contents

What Is Dissertation Defense?

Dissertation defense or Thesis defense is an opportunity to defend your research study amidst the academic professionals who will evaluate of your academic work. While a thesis defense can sometimes be like a cross-examination session, but in reality you need not fear the thesis defense process and be well prepared.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesHaytonPhDacademy

What are the expectations of committee members.

Choosing the dissertation committee is one of the most important decision for a research student. However, putting your dissertation committee becomes easier once you understand the expectations of committee members.

The basic function of your dissertation committee is to guide you through the process of proposing, writing, and revising your dissertation. Moreover, the committee members serve as mentors, giving constructive feedback on your writing and research, also guiding your revision efforts.

The dissertation committee is usually formed once the academic coursework is completed. Furthermore, by the time you begin your dissertation research, you get acquainted to the faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee. Ultimately, who serves on your dissertation committee depends upon you.

Some universities allow an outside expert (a former professor or academic mentor) to serve on your committee. It is advisable to choose a faculty member who knows you and your research work.

How to Choose a Dissertation Committee Member?

• Avoid popular and eminent faculty member
• Choose the one you know very well and can approach whenever you need them
• A faculty member whom you can learn from is apt.
• Members of the committee can be your future mentors, co-authors, and research collaborators. Choose them keeping your future in mind.

How to Prepare for Dissertation Defense?

1. Start Your Preparations Early

Thesis defense is not a 3 or 6 months’ exercise. Don’t wait until you have completed all your research objectives. Start your preparation well in advance, and make sure you know all the intricacies of your thesis and reasons to all the research experiments you conducted.

2. Attend Presentations by Other Candidates

Look out for open dissertation presentations at your university. In fact, you can attend open dissertation presentations at other universities too. Firstly, this will help you realize how thesis defense is not a scary process. Secondly, you will get the tricks and hacks on how other researchers are defending their thesis. Finally, you will understand why dissertation defense is necessary for the university, as well as the scientific community.

3. Take Enough Time to Prepare the Slides

Dissertation defense process harder than submitting your thesis well before the deadline. Ideally, you could start preparing the slides after finalizing your thesis. Spend more time in preparing the slides. Make sure you got the right data on the slides and rephrase your inferences, to create a logical flow to your presentation.

4. Structure the Presentation

Do not be haphazard in designing your presentation. Take time to create a good structured presentation. Furthermore, create high-quality slides which impresses the committee members. Make slides that hold your audience’s attention. Keep the presentation thorough and accurate, and use smart art to create better slides.

5. Practice Breathing Techniques

Watch a few TED talk videos and you will notice that speakers and orators are very fluent at their speech. In fact, you will not notice them taking a breath or falling short of breath. The only reason behind such effortless oratory skill is practice — practice in breathing technique.

Moreover, every speaker knows how to control their breath. Long and steady breaths are crucial. Pay attention to your breathing and slow it down. All you need I some practice prior to this moment.

6. Create an Impactful Introduction

The audience expects a lot from you. So your opening statement should enthrall the audience. Furthermore, your thesis should create an impact on the members; they should be thrilled by your thesis and the way you expose it.

The introduction answers most important questions, and most important of all “Is this presentation worth the time?” Therefore, it is important to make a good first impression , because the first few minutes sets the tone for your entire presentation.

7. Maintain Your Own List of Questions

While preparing for the presentation, make a note of all the questions that you ask yourself. Try to approach all the questions from a reader’s point of view. You could pretend like you do not know the topic and think of questions that could help you know the topic much better.

The list of questions will prepare you for the questions the members may pose while trying to understand your research. Attending other candidates’ open discussion will also help you assume the dissertation defense questions.

8. Practice Speech and Body Language

After successfully preparing your slides and practicing, you could start focusing on how you look while presenting your thesis. This exercise is not for your appearance but to know your body language and relax if need be.

Pay attention to your body language. Stand with your back straight, but relax your shoulders. The correct posture will give you the feel of self-confidence. So, observe yourself in the mirror and pay attention to movements you make.

9. Give Mock Presentation

Giving a trial defense in advance is a good practice. The most important factor for the mock defense is its similarity to your real defense, so that you get the experience that prepares for the actual defense.

10. Learn How to Handle Mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. However, it is important to carry on. Do not let the mistakes affect your thesis defense. Take a deep breath and move on to the next point.

11. Do Not Run Through the Presentation

If you are nervous, you would want to end the presentation as soon as possible. However, this situation will give rise to anxiety and you will speak too fast, skipping the essential details. Eventually, creating a fiasco of your dissertation defense .

12. Get Plenty of Rest

Out of the dissertation defense preparation points, this one is extremely important. Obviously, sleeping a day before your big event is hard, but you have to focus and go to bed early, with the clear intentions of getting the rest you deserve.

13. Visualize Yourself Defending Your Thesis

This simple exercise creates an immense impact on your self-confidence. All you have to do is visualize yourself giving a successful presentation each evening before going to sleep. Everyday till the day of your thesis defense, see yourself standing in front of the audience and going from one point to another.

This exercise takes a lot of commitment and persistence, but the results in the end are worth it. Visualization makes you see yourself doing the scary thing of defending your thesis.

If you have taken all these points into consideration, you are ready for your big day. You have worked relentlessly for your PhD degree , and you will definitely give your best in this final step.

Have you completed your thesis defense? How did you prepare for it and how was your experience throughout your dissertation defense ? Do write to us or comment below.

The tips are very useful.I will recomend it to our students.

Excellent. As a therapist trying to help a parent of a candidate, I am very impressed and thankful your concise, clear, action-oriented article. Thank you.

Rate this article Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Enago Academy's Most Popular

• Reporting Research

8 Effective Strategies to Write Argumentative Essays

In a bustling university town, there lived a student named Alex. Popular for creativity and…

• AI in Academia

Disclosing the Use of Generative AI: Best practices for authors in manuscript preparation

The rapid proliferation of generative and other AI-based tools in research writing has ignited an…

• Publishing Research

Setting Rationale in Research: Cracking the code for excelling at research

Knowledge and curiosity lays the foundation of scientific progress. The quest for knowledge has always…

How to Design Effective Research Questionnaires for Robust Findings

As a staple in data collection, questionnaires help uncover robust and reliable findings that can…

• Career Corner
• PhDs & Postdocs
• Trending Now

Intersectionality in Academia: Dealing with diverse perspectives

What Is Intersectionality in Academia? Intersectionality in academia refers to the recognition and study of…

Mitigating Survivorship Bias in Scholarly Research: 10 tips to enhance data integrity

The Power of Proofreading: Taking your academic work to the next level

Facing Difficulty Writing an Academic Essay? — Here is your one-stop solution!

Sign-up to read more

Subscribe for free to get unrestricted access to all our resources on research writing and academic publishing including:

• 2000+ blog articles
• 50+ Webinars
• 10+ Expert podcasts
• 50+ Infographics
• 10+ Checklists
• Research Guides

We hate spam too. We promise to protect your privacy and never spam you.

I am looking for Editing/ Proofreading services for my manuscript Tentative date of next journal submission:

According to you, which is/are the major drawbacks in making open access initiatives sustainable?

• Thesis format
• Using thesis time-table
• Writing a simple graduation essay outline
• Cohesive dissertation paper

• Thesis Writing Tips
• Dissertation Drafts
• Picking an educational leadership topic
• Picking a PhD dissertation topic
• Psychology problems to explore
• Uncommon history phd topics
• Convincing topics for phd
• Leadership dissertation topics
• Management thesis ideas
• Computer science dissertation topics
• Choose the best dissertation topic
• Composing great education thesis topics
• Marketing thesis topics
• Topics for criminal justice thesis
• Picking a Health thesis topic
• Inventing MBA dissertation topics
• Marketing dissertation topics on brands
• Undergraduate Psychology thesis ideas
• Corporate finance dissertation topics
• Architecture thesis topic ideas
• Prompts for an Advertising thesis
• Banking system dissertation topics
• Computer science PhD thesis prompts
• Choosing topics about The Middle East
• Feminism: choosing dissertation titles
• Obesity thesis paper topics
• Where to get help with a thesis
• Thesis editing and proofreading
• Fighting procrastination
• Presenting your thesis
• Thesis writing step-by-step guide
• English thesis prompts
• Writing walk-through
• Online theses databases
• Dissertation literature section hints
• Thesis proposal defense
• How to order a dissertation
• Thesis editing assistance
• Raising your productivity
• Eliminating plagiarism
• How to write an abstract
• Dissertation acknowledgments
• A search for a sample introduction
• Sample APA thesis search
• Getting a sample methodology for a thesis
• Finding sample theses on Nursing
• MBA thesis writing: title insights
• A sample thesis methodology: museums
• Psychology dissertation proposal
• Crafting an excellent thesis
• Composing a nursing dissertation
• Dissertation proposal rough draft
• Creating a historical thesis paper
• Formatting an APA thesis cover page
• Looking for a good thesis sample
• MBA summary composing tricks
• Title page of a dissertation
• Astronomy thesis proposal
• Geography dissertation introduction
• Web design thesis proposal
• Recent articles:
• Catching reader's attention
• Providing background information

5 Simple Tips That Will Help You with Your Dissertation Proposal Defense

• Introduction

Dissertations begin with a proposal, and from there expect many questions to make sure that your idea holds water. The first major step of writing a dissertation is the dissertation proposal defense, and preparing for this endeavor can seem overwhelming. However, here are five tips that are going to help you through this time.

Determine expectations

Your board of reviews is likely going to have some specific expectations on what you present and how you present yourself. Realize that there are likely to be particulars in what your board is looking for, so you should ask them what they expect of you. Make sure that you can fulfill these and be successful.

Prepare for their questions and determine answers

Realize that you are going to be asked questions, and a big part of this process is getting the answers right when asked. Some questions will be for clarification, and some of them will be trying to find holes in your proposal, so you will need to anticipate what you are going to be asked and make sure that you have adequate answers.

Know relevant literature

To be able to defend your paper, you are going to need to know the relevant literature that has been published in your field. What studies have been done that is similar to yours, and how might they affect your results? Are you too close to someone else's work? What can you do to apply what you have learned from those to your current proposal? This should all be considered carefully.

Look at those you are presenting too

You should have foresight and look into the motivations and opinions of those reviewing your work. So look up their research, and see if you can find anyone else who has been reviewed by them. This will let you know if there is anything that you should know, and also by this method, you will be able to be introduce your material.

Recognize that it is a statement of intent

All you are doing right now is expressing a statement of intent. This means that you are not expected to present research results in the proposal, just the statement of what you want to do. You want to outline what exactly your research is going to accomplish, how you are going to go about it, and a timetable as to how you are going to complete this research. The committee will likely add or remove proposed objectives.

Thesis writing guide

Our writers

Our writers are graduates and professors of top US, UK and Canadian schools

You have an exclusive opportunity to have your project reviewed by a team of professional writers and editors.

Our editorial team

Popular articles & manuals

• Finding a cheap thesis writing service
• Law dissertation infusive ideas
• Finding a business management thesis sample
• Doctoral paper composing advice
• PhD writing advice
• Thesis on history & philosophy of science

Featured dissertation editor

We host the best PhD and Doctoral writers on the net. You have a great opportunity to have your project reviewed and marked by an expert.

• ©1998-2023 WDassociation.org
• Thesis proposal
• Structuring

All rights reserved. Do not copy.

• Office of the Dean
• Vision, Mission & Values
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Our Facilities
• Trailblazers
• Accreditation
• Campus Crime Statistics
• Privacy & Security
• Why William & Mary
• Our Students
• Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs
• Graduate Programs
• International
• Financial Aid, Scholarships, Assistantships
• Non-degree Seeking
• Curriculum & Instruction
• Educational Policy, Planning & Leadership
• School Psychology & Counselor Education
• Online Programs
• Academic Calendar
• Academic Policies
• Course Listing
• Forms & Publications
• Office of Teacher Education
• Registration
• Faculty Listing
• Staff Listing
• Office of Research
• Applying for Grants
• Funding Opportunities
• Faculty Development Resources
• Centers and Projects
• Student Resources
• Research Brown Bags
• Centers, Institutes & Projects
• Request Info
• School of Education
• Catalogs & Handbooks
• Doctoral Student Handbook
• Dissertation
• Proposal Defense

Dissertation Proposal Defense

The purpose of the  dissertation  proposal  defense  meeting is to assess the merits of the proposed research and the ability of the doctoral candidate to conduct this research in a scholarly manner. The proposal must be defended in a formal meeting to be attended by all members of the committee, in-place or virtually. People other than the committee members and the student proposing the study typically do not attend the proposal defense meeting.

Once the chair deems the proposal ready for the full committee’s review, the candidate will be given permission to schedule a proposal defense.  The candidate will contact the committee members to find a date and time acceptable to all members, and will secure a conference room for the defense.  The candidate will provide a copy of the proposal to the chair and committee members at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense of the proposal, either electronically or in hard copy, depending upon the preferences of individual committee members.

At the defense, the candidate will be expected to defend the proposal and answer questions regarding the proposed study. A unanimous vote of the committee members at the time of the proposal defense is required for approval of the proposal. If unanimous approval is not given at this defense, the chair will make recommendations to remedy any deficiencies, and a second proposal defense meeting will be scheduled.

When all committee members are satisfied that a proposal is viable, they will sign a  Dissertation Proposal Approval Form .  The candidate will submit the signed form to the Office of Academic Programs. In the event that a faculty member resigns from the dissertation committee after the proposal has been formally accepted, the new member appointed to the committee must agree to accept the dissertation proposal as previously approved.

Human Subjects Approval After the dissertation proposal has been approved, the candidate must receive human subjects approval by the School of Education’s Institutional Review Committee (EDIRC) before any data may be generated or analyses begun.  The candidate and the dissertation committee chair must submit verification of  university required training  in research ethics when submitting the online EDIRC proposal form.  The candidate is required to designate the dissertation committee chair as a co-principal investigator for this study.  More information about this process is available on the  Protection of Human Subjects Certification  web page.

Williamsburg, VA