How to Write Grant & Scholarship Proposals

A proposal contains several sections.

Writing a clear, well-planned scholarship or grant proposal can help you obtain the necessary funding for your education. Project or research proposals should show how your work will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in your field of expertise.

Things You'll Need

• Scholarship/grant application materials
• Pen
• Paper

Instructions

Define Your Proposal

1. 

   What are you proposing, exactly?

   Clearly define what it is that you are proposing. If you are going to do research, state what you think will happen after your experiment is complete. Your hypothesis should be testable (See Reference 1).

   If you are writing a grant proposal, state what problem you are addressing and how your work will address it in a way that has not been done before (See Reference 2).

   Engage your readers in your introduction. Interest them in the problem you want to work on by explaining why the problem is important in a broad sense.

2. 

   What has been already written on the subject?

   Write the literature review. The literature review will summarize the findings of work similar to the work you propose to do. Your job in the literature review is to tell how your work is different from what has been done before. Your work could contribute to the existing body of knowledge, or open new research opportunities (See Reference 1).

3. 

   Your report tells how you plan to accomplish your work.

   Create the body of the proposal. It will likely include the following main sections: goals and objectives, proposed activities/methodology, an explanation of resources and the project's management, evaluation, dissemination of findings, and a statement on sustainability if you are proposing a project that could be continued in the future.

4. 

   Include a bibliography in your proposal.

   Include a bibliography, letters of recommendation from professional sources, and your resume (See Reference 2).

Tips & Warnings

• Know your audience, and keep your tone consistent with your reader's knowledge of your proposal's topic.

• Closely adhere to the application and proposal's guidelines.

• Proofread your proposal carefully.

References

• How to Write a Research Proposal
• Writing a Successful Proposal