Previous Research proposal should not offer an annotated resume or repeat the information provided elsewhere in the application.
Rather, it is an opportunity to discuss growth and maturation through research.
The proposal should be clearly formatted, with graphics that elucidate. Please remember that these are being read by well-educated scientists, engineers, and STEM educators. They can be scientific/technical, but not opaque.
Readers should be able to easily identify the following elements:
• Background/problem statement
• Hypothesis
• Research design/methodology
• Expected results
• Broader impacts
The first four elements are informed by NSF’s definitions of “intellectual merit” and the first and last elements should be written with an awareness of NSF’s “broader impacts” (immediate and secondary).
See also this document: Goldwater advice from NAFA
And we have several successful sample essays here:
