What makes a good proposal?

(Suggestions for all programs to which you might apply)

1. Suitability of the project and eligibility of the candidate Read the instructions and see if you fulfill all the requirements and if what you propose to do reflects the stated goals of the program.  Make certain you follow ALL the instructions and the requested format. There must have been reasons why you are asked to present the information in the order requested. Show consideration to the reviewers by providing a complete and neat application.

2. Know exactly what you want to do before you begin writing. Discuss your project with other critics to be able to present it in a way that a generalist can see its significance and a specialist your knowledge of the subject.
3. Describe what you propose to do clearly and concisely.
   • State the subject matter you will study or the program you wish to pursue
   • Place the topic within a broader context; let the reader know that you understand how your work fits into that of others.
   • Limit your subject intelligently, tell the reader that you understand the constraints of time and explain on what parts of the project you will focus during the duration of the possible grant.

4. Write clearly and to the point.  Begin with the most important issues, and work your way down. If you need to impress the reader with your erudition, make certain you do not do so at the cost of your own project. If you digress into many side streets, the reader might conclude that you do not know where you are going.  Demonstrate that you know more than you can write, but do so intelligently and briefly.  Before you submit the description, have critics look at it.  Can they understand your point?  Try both specialists and generalists for their REACTION.  (It is no use having someone else write the project because that will destroy your reputation and whatever chances you had for grants.  Reviewers are usually very quick to spot fakes. )

5. Remember that English is an active language and sounds better in short sentences. Ukrainian also has an active voice. Use it.

6. Provide ALL the necessary information requested, in the form requested. Your reviewers asked for information in a specific format — honor the request.

7. Be realistic about your achievements. Remember, your reviewers will not only see through hyperbole, but will resent that you made them do extra work.

8. TRIPLE check the whole application to make certain you provided everything that is asked.

9. Remember the reviewers and the committees do not see you; they see the application. Make certain that the application reflects your suitability for the program.

10. Finally, if you do not succeed in receiving the grant, do not despair. Double check if the program is really the best one for you, see where you can make the proposal better or clearer, and apply again. YOU were not found wanting, your proposal was. The proposal can be made better. Look at the application as a step in developing a clearer understanding of your own work, and of your ability to describe  it better. A proposal is a diamond in the rough; it is your work that will make it shine.

Your goal in the essay that follows is to limit yourself, as much as possible, to talking about what you would like to do when you are in the United States. Focus your study plan on the program of study and on the nature of the course work you want to take. Your prospectus below should be as detailed as possible, because your preparation in this regard, understanding what your project entails, is the most convincing evidence that you will be able to complete the project.

Those issues of your personal accomplishments that you feel might also clearly demonstrate this will be addressed in other parts of the application, and do not need to be repeated here.

It is best to write this essay on either a three or four paragraph form. Below is my sense of the best way to write it in four paragraphs.

This essay will likely be the most important part of your application; it is worth taking a long time to write, and to try many different drafts before you are satisfied with it. Like your narrative vita, if it is possible, ask for help from older scholars, as they may see links and facets of your project that otherwise you might have missed.

Paragraph One: Here, in a short but detailed paragraph, spell out what scholarly work you would like to accomplish in the United States. The first sentence should read something like “I wish to study in the United States so that I might (complete whatever your project is).” It is not enough to say that you would like to receive a master's degree; a master's degree will require that you write a thesis, and this paragraph should tell, as clearly as you can imagine, what such a thesis would be about. Spell out your project, and locate it in the realm of your field; talk, if you can, briefly, about in what way your thesis will benefit your field, and the way in which you intend to undertake it. But keep these comments brief, as you will have a chance to return to them later. This first paragraph is all about you, and your project, and will demonstrate how well you understand it.

Paragraph Two: Here, talk in as detailed a fashion as you can, about why this project needs to be undertaken in the States, and cannot be just as easily completed at home. Though your inclination might be to talk about how and why you cannot complete your project at home, it is better to make this claim through contrast, telling what resources and opportunities you feel might be available to you in the States. Again, if you can, talk not only about infrastructure issues (research libraries, for example), but what, if any, impact being in a foreign culture might have, and how it will positively impact your work.

Paragraph Three: Here, bring together the two above, and show the way general trends in the United States have very particular products in the States that might help your work. If you know of theorists, scholars, or scientists who are doing work there which is not being pursued here in Ukraine, then this is the place where you should mention them. Also, here is a place to talk about how being part of an American University might help you complete your work more readily than if you were to stay in Ukraine.

It is important to note in paragraphs two and three that you are asked to not request that you be placed at a particular University. This, though, does not prevent you from making your preference known, in terms of people whose work you admire, and who you might like to work with; though this is unlikely to guarantee you will work with these people, it does go a long way to showing that you know your project, and are aware of the ways in which study in the United States might help to advance it.

Paragraph Four: Here, in your conclusion, talk about the project you introduced in the first paragraph. But where in that introductory paragraph, you spoke of it on a theoretical level, here talk about it on a practical level. What will your project look like when it is finished (a book, a study, something else altogether), and why is it reasonable to think that you will finish it in the time allotted to you. Here, more than anywhere else, express why you think you are the person to complete this task, and tell us briefly why your project will benefit both the larger field of your study, and Ukraine, when it is completed.