What happens to your application after you press “submit?” Does it disappear into a black box that processes your materials according to some complex algorithm and spits out a list of winners automatically after a predetermined waiting period? Does it even matter, since the application is beyond your control by then anyway? In fact, the […]
Proposal Writing Advice
Proposal Writing Advice
Writing an Annotated Bibliography for Funding Proposals
An annotated bibliography can be a powerful component of your application package. If a funder requires one, it is further opportunity to situate your research within your field, or it may take the place of the literature review. Your goal is to highlight significant bodies of work, advancements in the literature that you are contributing […]
In-Residence Fellowships for Research and Writing
In the dissertation research and writing stages, perhaps among the most under-utilized external funding mechanisms are fellowships that offer support to young scholars spend a semester or academic year in residence at a library, research center, or other university. While the residency requirement attached to this type of award can be challenging due to personal […]
Archival Research Grants and Fellowships
Will your thesis or dissertation research lead you into the pages of historical manuscripts or rare books found only in a few libraries in the world? Will you need to examine collections of photographs, paintings, or fine prints? Will historical or archaeological artifacts held by world museums or research centers be a primary source of […]
Proposal Writing 101
At a basic level, nearly all merit-based graduate student award applications (from early graduate study to completion fellowships) include a set of common elements. If you have never written a proposal before, or are beginning a new draft, the suggestions below will help you get started in crafting these elements. Introduction– The introduction will take […]
Keys to the Castle? Strategic Use of Sample Proposals
On more than one occasion during my time as a GradFund Fellowship Advisor, I have met with students who seem to hold winning sample proposals from previous competitions to an almost mythical regard. By cracking the code, analyzing the formula, figuring out the secret of these documents, these believers expect that they can surely unlock […]
The Art of the Abstract
Applications for competitive fellowships and grants often require a research abstract, but condensing big research ideas into a short blurb can be a challenging task. How does one go about writing an effective abstract? Think of the abstract as a highly compressed version of your research proposal. It should follow a similar structure and formula […]
Gaining a Fresh Perspective on an Old Document
Are you so tired of your proposal that you’d rather do anything than read it again? Here are a few strategies for getting fresh perspective on an old document. Explain the proposal to someone – Ask a friend or colleague if you can talk them through your proposal. Often times saying the ideas out loud […]
Presenting Your Work to Multidisciplinary Audiences
Figuring out how to communicate your research to different audiences can be tough, as anyone who is managing multiple applications can tell you. It can be even tougher, though, to figure out how to do so in the same application. As you research your funder and their mission, it’s important to understand how the review […]
Feedback from Multiple Sources
Revision is the hardest part of the proposal writing process for some people. The prospect of learning how to manage feedback from multiple sources and combine them into a coherent next draft can be daunting. Figuring out how to weigh different types of feedback, and make sure your ego doesn’t get stung during the revision […]