Academic Tasks - Proposal Writing - Presentation

7/29/2019 Academic Tasks - Proposal Writing - Presentation

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Proposal Writing

GradWRITE! Initiative

Writing Support Centre

Student Development Services

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Writing proposals is another integral part of your graduate

degree.


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Outline

Proposals in General

FormatContent

Language

Grant/Scholarship Proposals

Thesis/Dissertation Proposals

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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.


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Proposals in General

Thesis/Dissertation and Grant/Scholarship proposalformats, lengths and content may be different, but the

general purpose remains the same

Some disciplines use standard Grant proposal formats

for Thesis/Dissertation proposals

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


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Formatting

Shapes the content and delivery of your proposal

Different for every agency / council / department

Follow the guidelines

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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.


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Content

Research PlanBiographical Sketch

Reference Letters

Budget

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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.


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Research Plan

Abstracts

Purpose, Rationale, Specific Questions

Background

Procedures and Methods

Time Frame

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


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Abstracts

Aside from title, read by the most peopleSummary of your application

Include all aspects of your application

Use plain language

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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 fill 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.


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Purpose and Rationale

Need a clear idea

Purpose:General statement introducing topic

Understanding or improving something

Rationale:

So what?

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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?


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Questions and Hypotheses

Specific questions to be answered, hypotheses to be

tested, objectives to be met

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After discussing the general purpose of your work, you need to get specific about how you are going to accomplish these over-arching goals. Do you have specfic hypotheses? How about

clear objectives? What specifically are you going to do?


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Background

What is known about the subject?

What lines of thought led to your study?

Keep it brief

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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 field,

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.


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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

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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 fill 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.


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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

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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 specific study will be examining.

The other more specific methods you will be using give an indication of how prepared you are.


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Timeframe

When and where will you accomplish these goals?

May use charts and tables

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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.


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The Language of Proposals

Know your audience

Conciseness is extra important

Forceful, authoritative

Signpost Language

Tense is important

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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 field at all? Are they completely nave readers? Each of these audiences will require vastly differently structured and worded proposals.


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Authoritative Language

Weak:

It is hoped that this research may be used to help ...

Strong:

This research will ...

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

researchers.


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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

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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 first time. It is important that you use signpost

language, like in the examples above, to indicate how a particular point fits 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.


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The Tenses of Proposals

Literature Review:

PresentFor example, direct observation of foraging behaviour can be difficult and

may yield biased data (Kelly 2000).

Past (when integrating specific studies)

DeNiro and Epstein (1981) showed that animal tissues are consistently

enriched in 15N by 3 to 5 permille relative to diet.

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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 specific

studies, you should use the past tense.


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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

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


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Methods:

Future

Ten lactating females will be live trapped, and milk, blood and hair samples

will be collected.

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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.


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Grant/Scholarship Proposals

Two Purposes:

Sell Your Project

Sell Yourself

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Looking more specifically 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 confident 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.


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The Written Proposal

Good writing Guaranteed Grant

Bad writing = No Grant

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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.

Th i /Di t ti


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Thesis/Dissertation

Proposals

Plan

Communication

Contract

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A thesis/dissertation proposal serves three

purposes.


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Plan

A roadmap for you to follow throughout your degree

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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.


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Communication

Informs your supervisor, committee, department,

funding agencies etc. about your proposed research

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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 field, 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

finished product.


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Contract

Communicating your plan makes a contract stating that

fulfilling your proposal will result in a degree

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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 fulfill the requirements of your degree. It also sets out your

responsibilities.


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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 defines the format of your thesis/

dissertation

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Deciding on the format for your thesis proposal is one of the first 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.


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Content

Similar content to grant proposalsGenerally, longer and more detailed than grant

proposals

Still, clear and concise sections are essential

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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.


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Resource

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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.

Academic Tasks - Proposal Writing - Presentation

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