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Proposal Writing

Proposal Writing. GradWRITE! Initiative Writing Support Centre Student Development Services. Outline. Proposals in General Format Content Language Grant/Scholarship Proposals Thesis/Dissertation Proposals. Proposals in General.

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Proposal Writing

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  1. Proposal Writing • GradWRITE! Initiative • Writing Support Centre • Student Development Services

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

  3. 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

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

  5. Content • Research Plan • Biographical Sketch • Reference Letters • Budget

  6. Research Plan • Abstracts • Purpose, Rationale, Specific Questions • Background • Procedures and Methods • Time Frame

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

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

  9. Questions and Hypotheses • Specific questions to be answered, hypotheses to be tested, objectives to be met

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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. Time Frame • When and where will you accomplish these goals? • May use charts and tables

  14. The Language of Proposals • Know your audience • Conciseness is extra important • Forceful, authoritative • Signpost Language • Tense is important

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

  16. 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

  17. The Tenses of Proposals • Literature Review: • Present • For 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.

  18. The Tenses of Proposals • Statement of Purpose: • Mix of Present and Future • If lactation has an additive effect on δ15N values, then dependent offspring will have higher δ15N values than neonates. • Present when describing phenomena • Past when describing predictions or future results

  19. The Tenses of Proposals • Methods: • Future • Ten lactating females will be live trapped, and milk, blood and hair samples will be collected.

  20. Grant/Scholarship Proposals • Two Purposes: • Sell Your Project • Sell Yourself

  21. The Written Proposal • Good writing ≠ Guaranteed Grant • Bad writing = No Grant

  22. Thesis/Dissertation Proposals • Communication • Plan • Contract

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

  24. Plan • A roadmap for you to follow throughout your degree

  25. Contract • Communicating your plan makes a contract stating that fulfilling your proposal will result in a degree

  26. 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

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

  28. Resource

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