Project essay
In your own voice, describe your project so that someone outside your discipline can follow your train of thought, and someone within it recognizes the methods and approach you're using. Include in your essay:
- your motivation and interest in the work;
- what your work will contribute to your area of study;
- your plan and methods for completing it during your award quarter(s);
- the mentorship you'll receive — if you and your mentor are collaborating, describe how you work together and how the project and mentorship will help you grow as a researcher; if your project is more independent, describe how your mentor and other resources will support that growth.
Essays should be a maximum of three pages (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins), with in-text citations counting toward that limit. You may add one optional page for references, images, or figures, which is not counted in the limit. Upload your essay as a PDF.
Writing a compelling essay
Voice, balance, and a clear sense of your commitment.
Reviewers should come away with a sense of your passion and understanding, so write in your own voice and don't paste from papers or other proposals — it shows, and it won't convey your own grasp of the work. Balance the essay between the project itself and why the research matters; it can help to tell the story of your motivations in a draft, then keep only what's relevant in the final version. And because awards cover one or two quarters, give reviewers evidence that you'll stay with the project for that long and that it has enough depth to keep you engaged.
Being clear about your role
Make your specific contribution, your mentor's guidance, and the bigger picture legible.
Reviewers need to understand how you're contributing, especially if you have a part in a larger, ongoing project — so even where you have collaborators, be clear about your own responsibilities and goals. Describe how your faculty mentor guides and supports your role: whether you collaborate closely or work more independently, show how their guidance and the project's resources help you grow as a researcher. And situate your work in its bigger picture: reviewers come from many fields, so write for an intelligent non-expert, define field-specific terms, and still include enough detail that someone in your discipline trusts you understand it well enough to contribute meaningfully.