How Should I Structure My Fellowship Application Essays?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around structuring fellowship application essays, specifically focusing on describing previous research and proposing future research. Participants explore different formats and styles suitable for these essays, considering the expectations of the review board.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about how to format the essays, contrasting their experience with argumentative essays from college coursework with the descriptive nature required for the fellowship essays.
  • Another participant suggests that the committee likely wants to know about previous research, technical skills acquired, other skills learned, motivation for research, and the ability to define a research project independently.
  • A different participant questions whether the essay structure should resemble a personal statement or an argumentative exposition, indicating confusion about the appropriateness of styles for describing past research experiences.
  • One participant clarifies that the essays are for a fellowship funding application.
  • Another participant emphasizes that the review board seeks evidence of the applicant's ability to perform the proposed work, suggesting that the essays should demonstrate a track record of previous work and how it relates to future research.
  • It is mentioned that thinking in terms of an argument (claim and evidence) may be beneficial for structuring the essays.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the appropriate structure and style for the essays, indicating that there is no consensus on the best approach. Some suggest an argumentative format while others lean towards a descriptive style.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the challenge of translating undergraduate research experiences into a compelling narrative, with some expressing concerns about the effectiveness of their past research outcomes.

splitringtail
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I need to write an two essays on:

Describe all my previous research.

The research I purpose to do during the fellowship.

They need to be no more than two pages and single spaced.

Yet, I am not sure on the format. I am very use to essays where you make an argument (a thesis) and then you support it with key details. This is the type of essay you see in college coursework. I am not sure I can formulate my experience into a 1-2 statements. Descriptive essays from what I did in high school are a totally different beast. For the other second essay, I was thinking of a pseudo-proposal format, since fellowship or not I still have to do this work to get my PhD.
 
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If it helps, likely what the committee reading these essays wants to know is:
- what research have you done to this point in your career
- what technical skills have you taken from the process
- what other skills have you learned (for example, establishing realistic timelines, collaboration, writing skills, etc.)
- what motivates you to engage in research
- do you have the potential to independently define a research project or direction
 
I get what your saying, but I am just not sure on the structure. Is it like personal statement kinda step up or is it like a augmentative exposition. Like I start with an introduction leading into a claim like vending machines cause childhood obesity, then support in the body of essay.

Not sure if it is appropriate style if I am trying to describe the research I have done before. Most of it was undergraduate and it didn't work out all to well.
 
Who are these essays for? An admission committee? Search committee? Job interview? Grant application?
 
Funding from a fellowship.
 
Most likely, the review board for the fellowship wants you to demonstrate that you are able to perform the work. Evidence for this is a track record of publications/presentations/documentation of previous work (essay 1), justification of the proposed work, and how your previous experience translates into successfully carrying out the proposed work (essay 2).

If it helps to think in terms of an argument (i.e. claim and evidence), then by all means do so.
 

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