What is "Statement of your Planned Project?" (Please help!)

[viggosloof28]

Hey all!

 

Anxious for input on this one.  I just got an email from a POI telling me that my chances could be "further improved" by sending them "a draft one page statement of your planned project with a title that I can communicate with my colleagues."

 

How specific should this be?  Do I need to list archives I'd like to visit, or just the basic questions I'll be addressing and the sources I'd like to see?  Is it one page single- or double-spaced?  How formal should it be (i.e. will other faculty/the adcomm get to see it)?

 

Thanks in advance for your help, folks!  I've never written a "statement of [my] planned project," so I'm a little unsure of what that entails.

 

Happy New Year, all!  Thanks again!

 

 

[PhDreams]

That's amazing! I think that this sounds very promising.

 

Although I have no idea what this is, If it was me I would put together the one pager that is focused completely on the project that you are trying to pitch and the questions that you want answered, why this research is important, etc.

 

One page is very short but I would work with what  ever format fits your needs to convery the amount of information that you need to.. 1, 1.5, or 2 spacing. 

 

Good luck! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to hear back about this. I'm just so excited that people are starting to get responses. It means that we're all so much closer!

[languages-etc]

To me, it sounds like the POI is going to bat for you, so your job is to make it easier for him/her to convince the adcom that you are a good choice for the program. If you've done some research on the department and know the areas in which the professors work, your proposal should sound like it will fit in well with your POI and/or department strengths. 

 

If the title of the project was specifically mentioned, make sure it's a title that will get the adcom's attention and convey the gist of the research (not a vague or generic title).

 

It's safer to assume that everyone is going to read it, so make it professional and well-written in an academic style. 

 

I agree that it sounds like good news. Best of luck to you! 

[fuzzylogician]

I agree with the others, this is good news. Assume that this is an academic essay that will be shared with others in the prospective department, and treat it as such. At the very least you should have a title and 1-2 research question(s) for your project. Use 1-2 paragraphs to motivate the question, and if you have specific resources you know you'd like to use I think it's good to list them too. It shows you're serious and know your field. Use normal formatting standards for your field. In mine, 12pt Times New Roman single-spaced works (11pt font, 1.15 or 1.5 spacing are also often used). You probably don't need to list full references for anything familiar, but make sure people understand what resources you're citing. 

[viggosloof28]

Very helpful, fuzzylogician - thanks so much!  And thank you, PhDream and languages-etc, for your encouragement!   It sounds like I have a real chance at this school, so I'll make sure this proposal is the best it can be - don't wanna mess up now!

[viggosloof28]

I've got it boiled down to a page, single-spaced.  Could anyone here do me a serious solid and look it over?  Just PM me, and I'll send it right over.

 

Please and thank you!