英国留学的同学们在动笔写正式的毕业论文之前，有一项重要工作比较要完成。那就是需要提交一份proposal，中文意思即开题报告。Proposal是写毕业论文的前提，英国的学校会对同学们的proposal进行审核，如果没问题了才会让你开始写毕业论文。
Proposal开题报告字数不会要求太长，但你要在这篇报告里呈现清楚自己毕业论文的总体架构、突出主体思想论点的所指，非常锻炼大家的宏观思考和结构性的设计能力。其要写的内容主要会有：拟定这个毕业论文主题的目的、有什么社会学术上的意义、目前外界都有哪些现存的相关研究、所用的研究方法及如何研究、开展研究的具体的结构设计、用了哪些reference、自己导师的最终审查结果。写proposal的时候其实也就意味你的毕业论文准备工作做的差不多了，这就包括你的主题论点、信息资料的归纳整理等。
那么英国毕业论文的proposal到底要怎么写呢？下面我们就来分享一下相关写作方法：
1、说明选题方向和论文名称。名称要准确规范、简洁，一定要和内容相一致，准确地把研究的对象和问题概括出来。
2、论文研究的目的、意义。为什么要研究、研究它有什么价值，一般先从现实需要方面去论述，指出现实当中存在这个问题，需要去研究，去解决，本论文的研究有什么实际作用，再写论文的理论和学术价值。
3、本论文国内外研究的历史和现状（文献综述）。一般包括：掌握其研究的广度、深度、已取得的成果；寻找有待进一步研究的问题，从而确定本课题研究的平台(起点)、研究的特色或突破点。
4、论文写作的目标。本论文写作的目标定位，确定目标时要紧扣课题,用词要准确、精练、明了。 常见存在问题是：不写研究目标；目标扣题不紧；目标用词不准确； 目标定得过高, 对预定的目标没有进行研究或无法进行研究。
5、论文的基本内容。基本内容一般包括：⑴对论文名称的解说。应尽可能明确三点：研究的对象、研究的问题、研究的方法。⑵本论文写作有关的理论、名词、术语、概念的解说。
6、论文写作的方法。具体的写作方法可从下面选定： 观察法、调查法、实验法、经验总结法、 个案法、比较研究法、文献资料法等。
7、论文写作的步骤。步骤主要是论文写作时间和顺序上的安排，要充分考虑研究内容的相互关系和难易程度。
结合上面写作方法，我们来看一篇英国毕业论文的proposal范文：
Working Title: Construction Project Delay: Causes and Effects
Table of Contents
1 Problem Statement
2 Outline Literature Review
2.1 Extent of Delays in the Construction Industry
2.2 Impacts of Delay
2.3 Causes of Delay
3 Aim and Objectives
4 Methodology
4.1 Research Approach and Strategy
4.2 Data Collection and Analysis
4.3 Limitations and Ethics
5 References
1 Problem Statement
The construction industry holds a significant position in society, providing the built environment for community life, contributing to the local and national economy in the United Kingdom (UK) and providing employment to approximately 10% of the working population (Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) 2013). HM Government (2013) also recognises the fact that this industry contributes to the level of inward investment in this country with significant additional potential to enhance income from exports.
However the industry has also been criticised for underperforming, with low levels of productivity and a variable service offered to industry clients (HM Government 2013; Latham 1994; Egan 1998). This is an important issue for organisations within the industry, in terms of their profitability and workloads. However it is argued that poor performance in the construction industry also has wider implications due to the impact of the sector in the economy, the provision of essentials such as housing and infrastructure and the fact that the industry supports other commercial sectors (Rhodes 2015; BIS 2013; Myers 2016).
This research explores the causes and effects of delays in the construction industry, focusing on the industry in the UK.
2 Outline Literature Review
An outline review of pertinent literature was carried out to understand the extent of research carried out to date on this issue. The review focuses on the extent of delays in the industry and provides an overview of the impacts of these delays.
2.1 Extent of Delays in the Construction Industry
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) suggest that as a whole, construction projects are delivered “on time or better 41% of the time”, although this figure varies each year as shown in Figure 2.1 (Glenigan 2016, p.8).
Figure 2.1. Time Predictability in Construction 2008-2016 (Glenigan 2016, p.8).
It is clear from the above figure that over the past decade, delays during the construction stage of a project’s life cycle have had a detrimental impact on overall project performance (Glenigan 2016). Ramanathan et al. (2012) argue that low levels of productivity are indicative of inefficiencies in the industry, adding that these inefficiencies are manifested as delays in construction. HM Government (2013) agree, suggesting that the industry needs to improve its performance in terms of the time (and cost) of project delivery.
2.2 Impacts of Delay
It is argued that the impacts of delay include poor levels of client satisfaction and reduced profitability (Fulford and Standing 2014). Poor time management on a project can have a knock-on impact on costs and quality, as del
