Proposal Writing

GradWRITE! Initiative Writing Support Centre Student Development Services

1 Writing proposals is another integral part of your graduate degree.

Outline
Proposals in General Format Content Language Grant/Scholarship Proposals Thesis/Dissertation Proposals

2 In this presentation, we will look at the make-up of proposals in general, and then investigate different aspects of grant and scholarship proposals followed by thesis and dissertation proposals.

Proposals in General
Thesis/Dissertation and Grant/Scholarship proposal formats, lengths and content may be different, but the general purpose remains the same Some disciplines use standard Grant proposal formats for Thesis/Dissertation proposals

3 To start, there is no general proposal format. Different disciplines, faculties, departments and committees will have a different idea of a proposals general structure.

Formatting

Shapes the content and delivery of your proposal Different for every agency / council / department Follow the guidelines

4 The formatting of a proposal shapes the content and delivery of the proposal. Almost every proposal you write will have a different format, which is why there are no easy how-to guides for proposals. The most important principle to follow when writing a proposal is to follow the guidelines exactly. Many excellent ideas have been ignored because they did not conform to the guidelines set out.

Content
Research Plan Biographical Sketch Reference Letters Budget

5 The content of a research proposal varies as well. Because the proposal you are writing is a research proposal, it must have a research plan. We will investigate this section in more detail soon. The other components are not always required, but they can be essential aspects. The biographical sketch gives the reviewers an impression of what you are like as a person. They want to see if you are capable of pulling off the lofty plans you propose. You should think long and hard about the content you include. Some potential areas to discuss the following: your motivation for pursuing post-graduate work, your discipline or your topic, any anecdotes that put you in a good light, your academic experiences and your professional experiences. Writing reference letters may not be your responsibility, but ensuring that they are of the best quality possible is. When asking for reference letters, it is important to select the best candidates. You should provide your referees with whatever materials they will need to complete the task. This may include transcripts, a list of your academic achievements, summaries of the tasks and projects you performed with them and lists of topics and personal characteristics you think they could discuss in your letter. Many proposals require a budget. Aside from simply communicating how much money you require, this gives the reviewers an indication of how much you know about your research area and how practical your project is.

Research Plan
Abstracts Purpose, Rationale, Specic Questions Background Procedures and Methods Time Frame

6 Looking more closely at the research plan, there are several elements that should be covered in almost all proposals.

Abstracts
Aside from title, read by the most people Summary of your application Include all aspects of your application Use plain language

7 The abstract (or summary) is the single most important part of your proposal. While it is depressing to think about, in many cases, your entire proposal may only be read by a handful of people. It is essential that your abstract be able to communicate the most important aspects of your proposal. The rest of the text should just ll in the details. You should use plain language in order to reach as many people as possible. For more advice on abstracts, look for the presentation on the GradWRITE page.

Purpose and Rationale

Need a clear idea Purpose: General statement introducing topic Understanding or improving something Rationale: So what?

8 The purpose and rationale for your project should be clear. Your purpose is a general statement that introduces the topic of your research and describes what you are going to be doing. Usually, this falls into one of two headings: understanding or improving something. After describing what you are doing, you need to justify why you are doing it. Why is your work important?

Questions and Hypotheses

Specic questions to be answered, hypotheses to be tested, objectives to be met

9 After discussing the general purpose of your work, you need to get specic about how you are going to accomplish these over-arching goals. Do you have specc hypotheses? How about clear objectives? What specically are you going to do?

Background

What is known about the subject? What lines of thought led to your study? Keep it brief

10 The background section may precede the purpose and rationale but it can also follow your purpose to detail what is currently known. This section is a short literature review that orients the reader to what youll be talking about. Read the instructions to the authors to get a sense of the level of expertise of the committee reviewing your application. If they are experts in your eld, you may use technical terms, but if they are not, you will need to start with the basics and talk in more general terms, all the while keeping your submission as brief as possible.

Procedures and Methods

How are you going to answer your questions? Be as detailed as space allows Start with a general description then give details

11 In this section, you will discuss how you are going to answer the questions you have asked. You should start with a clear overview of your methods and then ll in the rest of the allotted space with as much detail as you can. The committee would like to see that you have thought out every aspect of your study, so the more details you can give, the better.

Include in Methods
Overall research design (e.g. controlled study, observation, library research etc.) Tests, Measurements, and Procedures Types of data and analysis How will results be reported

12 In your methods section, it is vital to start at the very beginning: what kind of research design are you using? Are you doing a qualitative or quantitative study? If there is the possibility for any ambiguity in your discipline, you need to be explicit about what your specic study will be examining. The other more specic methods you will be using give an indication of how prepared you are.

Timeframe

When and where will you accomplish these goals? May use charts and tables

13 Committees like to see timeframes. If they have expertise in your discipline, this will allow them to see if your plans are realistic. They would also like to know when they can expect to see results. Granting agencies like to see productivity from their money. Charts and tables can be used to summarize your proposed timeline.

The Language of Proposals

Know your audience Conciseness is extra important Forceful, authoritative Signpost Language Tense is important

14 The content of a proposal is the most important aspect, but many great ideas have been rejected because they were not communicated effectively. As with all forms of writing, you must know who your audience is. Are they experts? Are they in your eld at all? Are they completely nave readers? Each of these audiences will require vastly differently structured and worded proposals.

Authoritative Language
Weak: It is hoped that this research may be used to help ... Strong: This research will ...

15 Aside from using too many words, the weak example shown here does not inspire condence. Using authoritative language is more persuasive. Committee members like to see condence in researchers.

Signpost Language
Examples: The objectives of this research are to... This project has three phases. (1) We will... First,.... Second,.... Last,.... Helps with clarity Bullets and numbering are helpful and important

16 You will have a clear understanding of how all of the elements of your text interrelate, but your audience is being exposed to the material for the rst time. It is important that you use signpost language, like in the examples above, to indicate how a particular point ts into the large project. Also, proposals need not be a solid block of text. You may use bullets and numbering to draw attention to key components of your proposal.

The Tenses of Proposals

Literature Review: Present
For example, direct observation of foraging behaviour can be difcult and may yield biased data (Kelly 2000).

Past (when integrating specic studies)

DeNiro and Epstein (1981) showed that animal tissues are consistently enriched in 15N by 3 to 5 permille relative to diet.

17 Using the proper tense in each section is important. In your literature review, you should use the present tense when discussing known phenomena. However, when you mention specic studies, you should use the past tense.

The Tenses of Proposals

Statement of Purpose: Mix of Present and Future
If lactation has an additive effect on 15N values, then dependent offspring will have higher 15N values than neonates. Present when describing phenomena Future when describing predictions or future results

18 In your statement of purpose, you will probably be discussing different times and this will necessitate a mixture in tense.

The Tenses of Proposals

Methods: Future
Ten lactating females will be live trapped, and milk, blood and hair samples will be collected.

19 Dont confuse the methods section of a proposal with the methods section of a paper or report. You are talking about things you havent done yet, so you will need to use the future tense.

Grant/Scholarship Proposals

Two Purposes: Sell Your Project Sell Yourself

20 Looking more specically at grant and scholarship proposals, there are two main goals you should be trying to accomplish with your proposal. You need to convince the committee that your project is worthy of receiving the funding you are requesting. While your project may be a great idea, you also need to convince the committee that you are the person to do the job. They need to be condent that you are capable of pulling off everything that youve proposed. Everything you write in proposal should help promote one or both of these purposes.

The Written Proposal

Good writing Guaranteed Grant Bad writing = No Grant

21 In the end, the quality of a grant is largely based on the quality of the proposed research. That said, many grants have been unsuccessful largely because of the quality of the writing. Give yourself plenty of time when preparing a proposal and make sure you submit your best work.

Thesis/Dissertation Proposals
Plan Communication Contract

22 A thesis/dissertation proposal serves three purposes.

Plan

A roadmap for you to follow throughout your degree

23 First off, developing a proposal introduces you to your thesis topic and prepares you for the challenges to come. The proposal will be a lot of hard work, and while much of it may not end up being usable for your thesis in the end, you will likely be much more prepared to write your thesis after writing a proposal than if you just sat down to write the thesis at the end of your degree. Some disciplines do not require a proposal as part of their programs. If this is your situation, you should consider writing one on your own to set the stage for the rest of your degree.

Communication

Informs your supervisor, committee, department, funding agencies etc. about your proposed research

24 You may have a clear idea of what your thesis will become, but it is important that you communicate these ideas with other people to ensure that you are on the write track. Academia can be a very isolated eld, and the proposal writing and review process forces you to share ideas with other people. The feedback they give is not meant to be critical, it is only meant to improve the nished product.

Contract

Communicating your plan makes a contract stating that fullling your proposal will result in a degree

25 Finally, a proposal is like a contract in that it dictates that if you accomplish all or most of what you set out to do, this will fulll the requirements of your degree. It also sets out your responsibilities.

Format
There is no generally accepted format for proposals Advice from supervisors, committees and departments ranges from a few suggestions to rigid guidelines In some ways, it denes the format of your thesis/ dissertation

26 Deciding on the format for your thesis proposal is one of the rst things you need to decide. There is no generally accepted model to follow, so it is important to get advice from as many different people as possible.

Content
Similar content to grant proposals Generally, longer and more detailed than grant proposals Still, clear and concise sections are essential

27 The format of most thesis proposals allows you to include more content than a typical grant proposal, but the same principles should be followed. You do not want to waste the committees time with extraneous information. Try to focus on the big issues and not get bogged down in the details.

Resource

28 Locke, Spirduso and Silvermans Proposals That Work is the most complete resource for writing academic proposals. Most of the other books on the subject are written for NGOs and volunteer groups, and you would do well to pick up and read through this book.