PROPOSAL WRITING

PROPOSAL WRITING PROPOSAL WRITING IS ITS OWN GENRE The writing required for a research proposal is not like other, more familiar, forms of writing. Readers of your proposal want to know: • The questions you hope to answer • Your plans for answering these questions • Particulars that will let them make funding decisions • How you plan to spend the money. Find information about budgets. (Note: A budget is not submitted for Summer Undergraduate Research Grants, which are lump-sum living stipends.) THE KEYS TO SUCCESS • Start early • Read examples of successful proposals • Get lots of feedback • Be prepared to write multiple drafts WHAT TO INCLUDE While every grant application will have its own quirks and expectations, there is a foundation on which most will be based. If you learn to write in this structure, then you will be able to easily adjust for the specifications of individual programs. Answer these questions in your proposal: 1. Is this project needed? In the first section of your proposal, you need to justify that the topic warrants the work you want to do. What needs to be known in order to understand the value of what you want to do? Show what is already known, how your project fits in, and how it will move the research further down the field. • Read up on what has already been done in this field. • Show how your project fits in. • Show why your project will produce new knowledge. • Make an argument (don’t just make a list of sources). • Leave the reader thinking, “Yes, this project needs to happen.” 2. What’s the plan? • Talk about the questions you hope to answer. Make your questions SMART: o S = Specific o M = Measurable o A = Achievable o R = Results-focused o T = Time-bound • Talk about your action steps, from data gathering through analysis. o How long will each step take? o What’s the reasoning for your approach? o What will you do with your data? • If your plan includes interviews, explain: o Why these people? o How will you recruit them? o What will you ask them? Why? • Do you have approval from individuals or organizations involved? • Leave the reader thinking, “This project can work. If s/he follows those steps, s/he can potentially answer those questions.” 3. Are you qualified to do it? We don’t need a list of everything you have ever accomplished in your life. Instead, we want to see that you have the specific skills needed to do what you describe. In this way, this argument needs to be based upon the methodology you laid out in the previous section. • Based on your project plan, talk about your related skills and experience. • If you don’t currently have a required skill, describe how you will get it in time to successfully complete your project. • Talk about how this project will help you meet your academic or professional goals. • Leave the reader thinking, “S/he can successfully do this project. This project has meaning for her/him.” 4. What about an introduction? A proposal introduction is part abstract for your entire project and part commercial pitching its value. The most important issue to remember is that we must learn what you are specifically proposing in your opening paragraph. Do not leave it until after your context and literature reviews, as we won’t know why they are (or aren’t) relevant. You must set the frame for the entire proposal, but naming and claiming your project at the very top • Wait to write your introduction until after you complete the three arguments above. • Pull the best bits of your three arguments to write a single opening paragraph. • Most importantly: o Tell the reader what you specifically propose to do. o Tell the reader why this matters to you and to the world. RESOURCES FOR SPECIFIC OUR PROGRAMS Use the resources below to demystify the process and put together the strongest possible application. • Crafting a Research Proposal (128.55 KB) -- for Undergraduate Research Grants • Developing a URG Package (46.18 KB) • Guide to Undergraduate Language Grant Proposal Writing (114.72 KB) • Guide to Circumnavigators Travel-Study Grant Proposal Writing (42.18 KB) • Writing Style Advice for Proposals (21.97 KB) COMMON CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PROPOSALS • Is the idea relevant and timely? • Does the topic break new ground? • Is the focus narrow enough? • Has the student provided sufficient sources to justify the project? • Is the plan doable in the proposed time frame? • Does the student have specific background or experience with the topic? • Will the project help the student achieve her/his goals? NEED HELP? • Regular meetings with your faculty sponsor/advisor are your greatest resource for valuable feedback and advice as you refine your project and proposal. • Advising at the Office of Undergraduate Research – for general questions or specific advising for Office of Undergraduate Research programs. (The Office cannot provide advising for applicants to other programs.) • The Office of Fellowships offers guidance on applications for programs external to Northwestern.