FYP Proposal

Use your summer wisely

The FYP/FYT starts in June, and the proposal is due in September. Thus, the summer is the best time to do a lot of brainstorming, researching, reading, thinking and planning. A lot of groups procrastinate and wait until September to get started, but smart groups usually do a lot of their foundational work during the summer, write a draft proposal for their CT to check in September and then make changes before submitting their proposal.

Proposal format

Since your CT will probably want to write on a hard copy of your report, please use double line spacing for the Introduction and Methodology. You can use single spacing for other sections. For individual advisor preferences, see FYP Advisor Preferences. For more information, you can also check out the Table of Contents for the FYP Proposal.

A possible plan

1. Meet initially in June to brainstorm and assign reading. One person should be responsible to record the minutes and send a Word document ASAP to the other members by e-mail. These minutes are not only required for your FYP report, but they can also be very helpful when you finally sit down to type up your proposal.
2. Individually read all you can about your topic and browse the Internet to look for similar research projects, including projects or theses by previous FYP or FYT students. Take notes and bring your findings to your second group meeting.
3. At the second meeting compare notes, brainstorm further, and decide which information you've gathered may be useful and which information is not. Begin to keep a file of useful information, and begin compiling your references. At the end of the meeting assign more reading and research topics. Again, one member should also prepare minutes for the meeting ASAP afterwards.
4. Individually read and research again, taking more notes for your third meeting.
5. Read the questions you may be asked at the end of the project during your presentation to see if you are forgetting anything important.
6. Study the FYP Report Quick Overview, which is annotated with useful comments and instructions.
7. Download an FYP Proposal template (in MS Word format), modify it as appropriate for your project (including content, names and dates) and then save it with a new file name.
8. At your third meeting compare notes again and decide on the best models and/or algorithms for your project. Assign one person to write your literature survey to summarize these methods and/or algorithms. (For more information, see Writing Your Literature Survey.) Assign another person to write your introduction's overview and objectives. Assign another person to compile your division of Work chart and GANTT chart. Assign another person to begin the other sections of the proposal.