One of the most important skills to develop as a scientist is to write a concise proposal to submit to agencies interested in your research.

One of the most important skills to develop as a scientist is to write a concise proposal to submit to agencies interested in your research. This exercise is to give you experience developing and preparing a proposal utilizing the topics from this class. Below are the sections of the proposal you need to develop with key deadlines when materials need to be submitted to me. Again, short, concise and straightforward writing is the goal. Assignment: To propose a research idea related to Soils and Environmental Quality that could be achieved by a graduate student at Auburn. Budget: $10,000 Length of Project: 24 months Length of Proposal: 4-5 pages excluding references # of references: 10 minimum Sections of Proposal: -Project Summary: (one paragraph) summary of the entire proposal (similar to an abstract) -Introduction and Background: (1-2 pages) This section demonstrates what is known (references) in science concerning your topic and introduces problems and needs for the field. Think of this as a small essay showing background knowledge and ending in a problem that you will solve with your proposed research. It should end with your objective(s) and/or hypotheses. -Experimental Design and Methods: (1 page) Describe in one page the type of data you will collect, how you will collect data and how you will analyze the data. -Anticipated Results: (0.5-0.75 page) Argue how your collected data will be used to answer your hypotheses/objectives. Typically, you can discuss how you will expand this research. -Intellectual Merit: (0.5-0.75 page) Discuss how this project positively impacts the community outside of the project or fills a knowledge gap in the scientific community. I typically go from large to small (US/Globe, southeast, Alabama). -References