Survival guide to academic research proposals

Your research idea is worth funding. You know it is. You want others to see it too.

Gaining access to a position or grant starts with that excellent research idea. However, getting your proposal accepted does not just involve having the best idea. It involves writing the best proposal – a proposal that shows that yours is the best project and the best match to the funder’s requirements. This book therefore focusses on the writing skills you need to deliver the best possible proposal.

The Survival Guide to Academic Research Proposals – Sgt. Arp to close friends – practises what it preaches by taking into account different reading styles: speed-readers can get to the parts they like in leaps and bounds, while those interested in the details are guided every step of the way.

Drawing a parallel between writing a proposal and climbing a mountain, this step-by-step guidebook helps build your proposal from the ground up.

Speed-read support

• An explicitly well-structured approach

• Quick-read summaries

Focus on language use

• Strong focus on well-structured, effective writing

• A reader-oriented approach to writing

• Information on communication and persuasion

Step-by-step guidance and inspiration

• Five main project stages with distinct subparts for easy navigation

• Practical small, executable steps to perfection

• Numerous example sentences

• Useful guiding models and explanatory tables and figures

• Insightful quotes, expert tips and inside scoops

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King