Proposal writing is always challenging. Writers must argue for why their project is so important and so likely to succeed that it deserves a substantial investment of time and money. Writers developing their proposals will find a range of resources available at Princeton to support their writing.

Pitching your Project: A Workshop on Writing an Effective Proposal

Writing a winning proposal can be a catch-22: Even though the best way to learn how to write a proposal is to be a reviewer, in order to review proposals, you must have already written a successful one. In this workshop, we’ll circumvent this paradox by using readers’ expectations of language, science, and argument to analyze the elements of effective proposals. How do proposals compare to other scientific documents? How do the various parts fit together? How can writers ensure that every page of the proposal develops and supports their overall argument?

Please check back in August for September 2025 dates.

Sign up to receive announcements of future proposal workshops.

Writing Center Conferences for Proposal Writers

Writers working on proposals are welcome to make appointments at the Writing Center. Writing Center Fellows can help with any part of the writing process: brainstorming ideas, developing a thesis, structuring an argument, or revising a draft. The goal of each conference is to develop strategies that will encourage students to become astute readers and critics of their own work.

Writing Groups for Proposal Writers

Writing groups are a well-established strategy for writing effectively; they provide momentum, routine, colleagues, feedback, and insight into the revision process. If you’re interested in joining a writing group specifically for proposal writers, please email [email protected].

Other on-line resources for Proposal Writers

• NSF guide to Proposal writing
• NIH resources for proposal writers