What is the Prospectus?
By now you should have distilled your thoughts and questions about your topic into a thesis statement. Your three-page prospectus should open with a short description of the topic and present your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the argument you hope to make based on your source materials. It is, in effect, the “message” you want to leave with your readers, the conclusion that will indicate the significance of what you have written. At this point in your work your thesis may be tentative, and it may change as you continue your research. That is fine. But providing at least a provisional thesis statement is an important part of the process of moving forward on your essay. The three-page prospectus should offer a brief background on the topic and explain how your research will make a unique contribution to it. This part will quite likely become the introduction to your senior essay. Then discuss the major secondary literature that exists on the topic and describe the primary sources you will use to contribute an original addition to that literature. Later, this can become the core of your bibliographical essay.
ON THE TOP OF THE 3-PAGE PROSPECTUS, WRITE A ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF YOUR TOPIC.
Keep in Mind that your prospectus revolves around your thesis-statement. This is the central argument you are making.
For more information see Tips for Creating a Thesis Statement from the Purdue University’s Writing Center.