One of the most difficult things about writing your prospectus is that there isn’t a clear template for what you’re expected to produce. Some of this is for good reason: different fields/sub-fields handle proposed work differently, expect different levels of engagement with prior scholarship and theory, and demand varying levels of justification of your questions and methods at an early stage. Some of it can seem plain unfair, though, and is (IMO) mostly due to the way that the administrative expectations for what is in a proposal are left to individual faculty members to agree on. To that end, here is a list of questions to talk with your committee about if you’re feeling stuck.
