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Planning and Writing Successful Fellowship Proposals

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Bottom line: proposal writing is something you are probably ... Proofread for grammar, spelling and typographical errors. Budget. Itemize & account for costs ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Planning and Writing Successful Fellowship Proposals


1
Planning and WritingSuccessful Fellowship
Proposals
  • Susan Gramling, MSLS
  • GrantSource Library
  • Office of Information Communications
  • gs_at_unc.edu or 962-3463

2
Source Dr. Glenn H. Crumb, Presentation Grants
Puzzled About Finding Them?, Western Kentucky
University
3
Reasons for Seeking Funding
  • Financial need
  • Prestige
  • Education and professional experience
  • Glutton for punishment!
  • Bottom line proposal writing is something you
    are probably going to have to do throughout your
    careerget practice and experience now while in
    grad school

4
Fundamentals of Proposal Preparation
  • Proposal writing is not the same as scholarly or
    scientific writingsell yourself
  • Write, revise, revise, revise
  • Get feedback from advisors, mentors and/or fellow
    students
  • Find and review examples of successful
    applications
  • Expect to apply multiple times
  • Yes, fellowships are competitive, but Carolina
    students compete well

5
Getting Organized
  • Verify
  • the due date (online vs mail)
  • When application materials are available and how
  • Specific eligibility or exclusionary criteria
  • Application components
  • Develop a timeline with dates (start and expected
    completion) of the various tasks that will
    comprise your research or project

6
Plan Before You Write
  • Identify and define your research question or
    project
  • Assess project fit with overall personal goals
  • Think the plan through to the end
  • Assess your expertise, resources and strengths to
    approach the project

7
Constructing the Research Question
  • What is your contribution argument?
  • Three possible paradigms
  • researching topic that has never been studied
    before
  • looking at well-known material, but in a new way
  • uncovering new material, which in turn calls for
    reassessment
  • Establish significance in broader terms

8
Application Components
  • Letters of reference
  • Research statement
  • Personal statement
  • If required
  • CV
  • Detailed timeline of experimental work and exams
  • Membership in particular professional
    organization
  • Budget

9
Letters of Reference
  • Give your letter writers enough lead time
  • Provide them with copies of your CV, sponsor
    application materials, and draft proposal
  • Dont be surprised if they ask you to draft a
    letter on your own behalf

10
Personal Statement
  • Concentrate on opening paragraph
  • Answer any questions that are asked
  • Tell a story
  • Be specific
  • Find an angle
  • Dont include some subjects
  • Write well and correctly
  • Avoid cliches

More http//www.wpi.edu/Academics/FS/essays.html

11
Components of the Research Statement
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
  • Project goals and objectives
  • Research design/methodology
  • Qualifications

12
Introduction
  • Helps place your contribution argument in context
  • Describe overall purpose of your project
  • Concise statement of major goals
  • Brief description of methodology and any
    applicable specific time period, geographic
    location, or population

13
Literature Review/Related Research
  • Acknowledge work of others
  • Be thorough, relevant and current
  • Use complete citation and consistent format
  • Demonstrate how up to date you are
  • Limit to selected works central to proposal

14
Project Goals and Objectives
  • Helps establish feasibility importance
  • Desired outcomes
  • Brief, focused, to-the-point
  • Specific objectives should grow logically from
    major goal
  • No more than two to five objectives

15
Research Design/Methodology
  • Describe activities to be undertaken why
  • Flow naturally from goals objectives
  • Describe design why it was adopted
  • Type of data how it will be collected
    analyzed
  • Describe sequence of activities
  • Reasonable scope
  • Anticipate concerns and address briefly

16
Qualifications
  • Demonstrate that you are capable of doing what
    you propose
  • Describe qualifications
  • Address special skills or preparation
  • How does project fit with long-term goals?
  • Convey enthusiasm

17
Writing Style
  • Be clear, concise and direct
  • Write in a positive manner
  • Use the active voice, rather than passive
  • Avoid jargon - someone outside your field should
    be able to understand
  • Use headings, bullets, formatting and white space
    to increase readability
  • Proofread for grammar, spelling and typographical
    errors

18
Budget
  • Itemize account for costs
  • Budget should flow from your project plan
  • Justify budget items
  • Dont overestimate resource needs
  • Dont underestimate resource needs either

Handouts Sample Budget Format
19
Abstract or Summary
  • Summarize all important information from proposal
  • Crucial first impression
  • Write it last
  • Write in laymans terms

20
This means you
  • Read carefully and follow scrupulously the
    guidelines provided by the sponsor
  • This includes points to be addressed
  • Also includes spacing, margins, font size,
    number of copies, page limitations
  • If no guidelines, double-space, use generous
    margins and 12-point type

21
Key Points to Remember
  • Place your project in context of the other work
    in the field
  • Discuss your expected results

22
The Review Process
  • Process varies by sponsor
  • Remember - reviewers may not have expertise in
    your field, may not share your interest and
    enthusiasm for the project, may be overworked and
    underpaid
  • Be wary of using too much jargon
  • Key point Make your proposal easy for the
    reviewer to read
  • Address sponsors review criteria

23
Reviewers look for
  • A doable project (resources, approach)
  • A project worth doing
  • Systematic, logical development of ideas
  • An easily-read, accessible proposal

24
Common Reasons for Rejection
  • Mechanical
  • guidelines not followed exactly
  • Incomplete or unclear descriptions of one or
    more elements
  • Methodological
  • unoriginal or unsuitable methodology
  • Personnel
  • unqualified to do work
  • Cost-Benefit
  • not agency priority for this year
  • unrealistic budget

25
Preparing for the next time
  • If not funded, dont give up!
  • Ask sponsor for reviewers written comments, if
    available
  • Ask if it would be worth submitting another
    proposal in the future
  • When revising, be responsive to reviewer comments
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