U.S. Fulbright Applicant
Newsletter

Please note that an important step regarding the submission of online reference letters has been added in the first story (point C)!

Tips for Letters of Reference and Language Evaluation, by Valerie Hymas and Jody Dudderar

Letters of Reference/Recommendation

1. Applicants should ask for references from people who have some knowledge of the field and host country and who can speak intelligently about the applicant’s ability to carry out the proposed project. They should also comment specifically on the feasibility of the applicant’s project in terms of resources available abroad, linguistic preparation of the applicant to carry out the proposed project, and the candidate’s ability to adapt to a different cultural environment. They are free to comment on any other factors that they believe may have a bearing on the applicant’s successful overseas experience. They should also indicate their belief as to the merit or validity of the project itself. For arts candidates, letter writers should discuss the applicant’s potential for growth.

2. Applicants should not use reference letters from university placement services for their Fulbright applications since Fulbright recommendation writers must address the specific issues that we ask about on our Letter of Recommendation form. These issues are specific to the goals of the Fulbright program and reference letters that address them will be more beneficial to an application. Letters from a service will be general and will not be an asset to an application.

3. Applicants may request that their referees submit the letter of reference electronically. In the online application, go to Step 5: References/Report. From there, you can register up to three referees and up to two Foreign Language Evaluators. Once registered, the referee/evaluator will receive an email with login and form completion instructions. Be sure to:

a) Let your referees/evaluator(s) know in advance that you are requesting an electronic reference/report.

b) Provide them with a copy or summary of your Proposal.

c) Remind them that they need to print out the PDF version of the reference/evaluation, sign it, and give it to you in a sealed envelope. Once the referee/evaluator submits the letter electronically, they can still access it to print it out, but they can not edit it.

4. In general, as stated above, it is best to ask for references from people who have knowledge of your field of study, project and host country. However, some applicants may find it difficult to obtain all three letters of recommendation from people who can fulfill these guidelines. It may not always be possible to include references from professors or other field specialists. You will need to use your best judgment as to who can provide the best reference for your application. These letters can come from supervisors or employers. We recommend trying to obtain as many letters as possible from people who meet our guidelines, but you can submit a reference letter from anyone that you wish.

Language Evaluation

1. One of the biggest myths of the Fulbright program is that applicants must be proficient in the host country’s language to even consider applying to any particular country. Although, language proficiency may be a factor in competitiveness it does not mean that a candidate is ineligible to apply. In general, an applicant should have the necessary language skills to complete the project that they design using whatever language skills they have. Therefore, the onus is on the applicant to design their projects so that they are feasible.

2. If English is not the official language of the country to which you are applying, then you must submit the Foreign Language Evaluation form, even if English is an acceptable substitute. This is true even if:

a) You have no language skills in the host country's official language.

b) Your project does not require that you use (speak, read, or write) the host country language.

If you have absolutely no language skills in the host country language, then you may indicate this on the Language Evaluation Form and attach a statement outlining what you will do over the course of the next year to obtain a hospitality/survival level of the host country’s language. You would not, in this case, need to have your language skills evaluated. The Fulbright program is a mutual understanding program so learning some of the language before going shows a commitment to the cultural exchange aspect of the program and demonstrates your sincere interest in learning about the host culture. Those applicants who have some knowledge of the host language are advised to have their skill level evaluated, even if they do not need the language for the project.

3. Foreign language evaluations should come from an instructor in the language. For widely spoken languages (i.e., Spanish, French, German, etc.) there really is no reason why any candidate could not find a language teacher to evaluate them. However, for less commonly taught languages, it is fine for the applicant to have an evaluation done by a native speaker of this language. If possible, we would recommend obtaining an evaluation from a native speaker who is also a college professor, but if that is not feasible then any native speaker, except a family member, may complete the form. Some recommendations for finding a native speaker include: host country’s embassy, cultural center, international students/faculty.

4. Some projects require an applicant to have knowledge of more than one foreign language. In this circumstance, it is required that you submit a language evaluation for each of the languages that you will need for your project.

5. Creative and Performing Arts candidates, and those proposing projects in the hard sciences, often do not need to speak the host language for their projects at all. In general, the language expectations for these candidates are more relaxed than for academic projects. However, given the cultural understanding aspect of this program we recommend still that these candidates make an effort to learn at least a hospitality level of the host language before taking up the grant.

Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award

The Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award, sponsored by the Department of State through the Fulbright Program, is open to students who have been awarded a Fulbright U.S. student grant and intend to use one of the eligible languages for their Fulbright project. Application for a Critical Language Enhancement Award is made in conjunction with the Fulbright Program application.

The purpose of the Critical Language Enhancement Award is to cultivate language learning prior to and during the Fulbright grant period and beyond. Ultimately, critical language enhancement awardees will achieve a high level of proficiency in a targeted language and will go on to careers or further study which will incorporate the use of this and/or related languages.

In 2007-08, up to 150 Critical Language Enhancement Awards will be available for grantees to pursue in-country training for between three and six months prior to beginning their Fulbright project.

The Critical Language Enhancement Award is part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), designed to dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Farsi, and others through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce. Foreign language skills are essential to engaging foreign governments and peoples, especially in critical world regions, to encourage reform, promote understanding and convey respect for other cultures. The NSLI initiative is a coordinated federal government effort that includes the Department of State, Department of Education, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The languages available for the Critical Language Enhancement Award are: Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin only), Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Marathi, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Tajik, Turkish, Urdu, and Uzbek. For full of details of the award, please see Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award.

My Slovenian Fulbright Experience

How people in other countries choose to imagine the United States varies hugely in my experience. The fantasy (positive, or negative, or both) of the United States grows out of so many factors, that I find it difficult to generalize about the impact that a program like Fulbright can have,

Amiel Melnick, 2005-2006, Columbia University, Drama.

But stereotypes, I have learned, can’t simply be denied. Having lived in many places, I've spent a lot of time trying to question people's assumptions about what being an American is like, or argue against their blanket criticisms, while trying to accommodate their point of view. In Slovenia, I gained what you could call a three-sided view on this form of imagining the United States, partly because it was in Slovenia that for the first time I fully realized how long the long arm of American television and movies really is. And tenacious. While the notion that these media are pervasive, contribute to forms of globalization, send American culture around the world, and so on, was certainly nothing new to me, there was something about going to a movie theater in Ljubljana (a city in which the art, at least, is very international), watching 5 previews, and realizing that all the previews were for American movies (knowing how many movies are produced in Europe!), that really made it sink in just how much intimacy someone might feel that they have with a country that produces most of the movies he or she watches. I began to have more sympathy for people's sense of certainty about knowing what the United States is like, because I realized that that feeling is precisely what so many American exports are trying to create and to sell.

Slovenia's relationship with the United States has many layers. Nostalgia for socialism coexists with new patterns of consumption of goods and cultures, and people in Slovenia understandably express a combined fascination with and revulsion for America. The kind of music people listen to is an interesting representation of these layers (as it is in many places): Slovenia has very little "traditional" or "ethnic" music, and, being so small, doesn't have many popular recording artists of its own. (i.e., those musicians who are considered "Slovenian" and were once "ours," are now in fact "theirs" due to the break up of the former Yugoslavia.) I've noticed an affection towards this music -- called "ex-Yug" in the record store -- which is at once nostalgic and patronizing (I am often asked: "so what do you think of our 'southern' music?"), but have not heard, as I have elsewhere, a sense that "ours is better" -- nationalism in Slovenia takes a different form.

Many Slovenians, then, are definitely looking "outside" for their music, maybe to distance themselves from the Balkans and maybe because eclecticism has become a source of pride, especially among the class of people who go to see concerts, theater, exhibitions. And yet, despite the fact that channels to American music seem increasingly open, the imports are highly filtered. The bulk of commercial American music, which seems omnipresent in other parts of Europe, is not particularly popular in Slovenia. R&B and hip hop are not yet as widespread as elsewhere -- neither the American recording artists nor the form itself (though, among the high school crowd, hip hop is becoming more common). On the other hand, what I do find both younger and middle-aged people listening to are Hardcore and Heavy Metal, and more recently, Emo. Did British Punk, which was so popular in the 80s, lay some sort of groundwork? Looking at it now, I wonder, what role did American culture play 20 years ago? Why some things and not others? It seems to me that this process of piecing together the clues is necessary to begin to understand what American culture's current presence means for people, older and younger. (Less commercial American music is very present. Also, there's a large jazz festival every year, and the student radio station has a definite affinity for indie-rock bands from New York. In fact, university radio tastes are remarkably similar in the United States and Slovenia.)

In terms of fostering communication, which is very often begun on the basis of shared cultural reference, I find myself asking the question, how much are these references really shared? To what end? On the one hand, being an American in a place where American culture is widespread and often imitated, I have certain references in common with many people, and an exchange is often initiated on the basis of knowing a band, or having seen a movie. On the other hand, it often seems to me that what on the surface seems similar is actually so different that it's hard to say whether references mean that something is shared at all. Such connections make it at once easier to adapt and harder -- because even if the reference is the same, the history behind it and the way it is used and interpreted is so different. How deep-seated is this difference? Some examples: for many of my friends, Popeye was one of the cartoons they watched as children. In the United States, Popeye was already an icon by the time I might have watched it -- an already-nostalgic icon of a much earlier America than the one I knew, something from way back at the very beginning of television. In Slovenia, the country was still socialist when my friends were of cartoon-watching age, and Popeye was one of the only cartoons on television at a time when state-controlled media meant that watching television didn't mean choosing what to watch (unless you lived close to the Italian border!). So while the same childhood nostalgia might be present, the layers beneath it are quite different. Even now, when cable TV is completely unremarkable, the availability of choice (not just in TV) is a highly charged topic of discussion in Slovenia -- even as it becomes normalized in everyday life, it's still a subject for examination as part of academics' and artists' preoccupation with examining themselves and the country's political and societal transformations. It seems to me that the idea of choice is complicated in a different way in the U.S., where academics more often compare "our" ability to choose with "their" inability (if we were overtly using "our" and "their" -- not a common way to speak for Americans, who tend to use the third person when talking about ourselves, but one which I'm inadvertently beginning to adopt while living here).

To give a nostalgia-free example: I have a friend who loves to repeat jokes from the show Friends, expecting me to think they're funny just because I'm American. The show is very popular in Slovenia, and the fact that people are able to get the jokes never ceases to astonish me. But what many people I've talked to don't fully get (and this also astonishes me) is the level of fictionality that is assumed by Americans with regard to American television shows -- the form of the sitcom, for instance, is so familiar as a genre that the question of whether it's realistic or not is largely irrelevant. But I've found here that "Friends" is treated as some document of what life in America is really like, rather than a document that -- with great accuracy -- documents and builds on what television life in America is really like. The sense of reality attached to it is completely different. (Other genres, like the talk show, get a slightly more mixed response...)

Slovenians' frequent use of colloquial American expressions also implies a familiarity with the culture which is not entirely straightforward. Hearing certain phrases coming out of a Slovenian person's mouth startled me at first (when I said, "Can I ask you a question?" someone once responded "Shoot"), because often the phrase was said by a person whose English was not necessarily as good as the use of such a phrase would indicate. I came to realize that using these expressions was specific to particular demographics, that the use of American English was to say more than the phrase itself -- the fact that the expression was a colloquial one was most important as an indicator of American-ness, maybe.

I didn't really mean to write about television... I think I'm trying to make a twofold point. On the one hand, Slovenia doesn't feel drastically different from the United States -- it is of course very different, but I still have the impression that communication is possible without too much of a stretch, and though I've expressed this in terms of pop culture, it has to do with other kinds of cultural similarities as well. For example, the relatively equal position of women in the society, the general standard of living, a work ethic that resembles the U.S., and similar ideas about what kind of work is considered "good," similar ways of expressing "alternative" attitudes to mass culture, etc. On the other hand, the similarity itself can make things difficult, because it masks differences which can be harder to unearth, and harder to accept: the size of the country creates an entirely different sense of scale which is pervasive; trust and mistrust of social systems function differently; citizenship and nationality has a whole different meaning and set of expectations.

So adaptation was a complicated process largely because, having done it all my life, I had no initial doubt that I would be able to adapt. But assimilating wasn't really possible in Slovenia, for reasons I didn't initially understand. The culture is often described as "closed" and thought I don't really know what it means to say it's closed, or whose responsibility "openness" is, it's certainly true that I felt like an outsider. And though this was as much a result of my own personality and patterns as the personalities and patterns of the people I was meeting, there was something particularly potent and confusing in the loneliness that I experienced for the first several months of my stay.

It seems that for many of the Fulbright students I've known, the experience of feeling alone is a major part of what they learn. And, strangely, I think feeling alone is an important part of "mutual understanding" -- because assimilation or adaptation is not necessarily mutual understanding. Loneliness allowed me to take stock of what it is that was me before I came; and while I am here, which of those things of the previous me I wanted to hold on to, which were the parts of another culture I admired and wanted to adopt, which I admired and didn't want to adopt, which I didn't admire at all -- for the first time I allowed myself (sometimes) to prefer my own way just because it was mine. An American anthropologist writes that Americans in Slovenia are considered barbarians just as much as the Balkan "southern cousins," and that she learned to embrace her barbarianism while in living here. I completely sympathize, though I also think that it's not that hard to embrace it; somehow, people are attracted to this very barbarianism. Attraction and repulsion -- like and dislike -- are part of relationships of any kind, especially ones that last and grow. And negotiating simultaneous intimacy and distance is necessary when working towards some kind of understanding of a place. And this negotiation isn't only about the place you go, but also the place you come from. It's nothing new to say that you need to leave your country in order to really know it, but something I realized this time around is that you have to keep leaving your country, keep finding yourself confused and alone, to keep learning what it means to be an American in this world.

Requesting Letters of Recommendation

Frequently, students are not aware of the conventions they should adhere to when asking for a letter of recommendation, and they approach faculty members either too nervously or in too pushy a manner. To be sure you are approaching the process professionally, follow these seven principles.

1. Think Through the Application Process First

Before you approach anyone for a letter of reference, identify the number of people that you will need and the type of materials that you have to prepare. Many references will expect you to know this before they agree to write a letter.

2. Use the Application Materials to Help You Choose Letter Writers

Application materials are your best ally in choosing the best letter writers. Some applications, for instance, encourage you to choose individuals who can speak to your teaching ability or character rather than those with the highest stature. Take this advice seriously and follow it, seeking a best fit rather than a big name.

3. Seek a Mix of Letter Writers, and Identify Their Roles for Them

Collectively, your letters should reflect a balanced picture of you. A recent national scholarship winner obtained support letters from a university program coordinator, an assistant professor of political science, and a Red Cross volunteer. If appropriate, invite your recommenders to comment from a certain angle.

4. Choose People Who Know You Well and Help Them to Know You Better

Avoid abruptly asking someone for a recommendation letter after class, in the hallway, or via e-mail. Instead, make an appointment to discuss your needs. Offer the letter writer any materials that might help him or her write a more detailed letter, such as your resume or a draft of a research proposal that you prepared.

5. Respect a “No”

If someone you ask for a letter seems to be saying “no” to you, seek someone else. The person may be too busy or may not write you a positive letter.

6. Waive Your Access Rights and Invite the Letter Writer to Discuss Your Grades

On an application form, you will usually be asked if you wish to waive, ­i.e., give up ­your right to see the letter of reference. Do so. The letter writer will then be more comfortable and probably more genuine too, and the selection committee will expect and respect this. Also, invite the professor to discuss your grades, either to applaud them or to help explain any inconsistencies.

7. Provide the Letter Writer with a Deadline and a Stamped Addressed Envelope

Be sure you know to whom the letter is to be addressed, and give the writer a stamped addressed envelope to mail it in. Provide an exact deadline for the letter’s completion and gently remind the letter writer of it later if necessary.

The above is adapted from Joe Schall's Writing Recommendation Letters: A Faculty Handbook, with the author's permission. The second edition of this handbook is available from Outernet Publishing (http://www.outernetpublishing.com/writing.htm ). Questions and detailed ordering information requests can be directed to Joe Schall (schall@ems.psu.edu).

The Islamic Civilization Enrichment Seminar (April 27-29, 2006)

From April 27-29, thirty-one Islamic Civilization grantees met in Sidi Bou Said, a suburb of Tunis, for an enrichment seminar. The seminar was the second of its kind for Islamic Civilization students -- a similar event was organized for the previous year’s cohort -- and was designed to encourage knowledge-sharing among them, as well as to promote a sense of community that will hopefully endure after their grants conclude. Unlike last year’s convening, the 2006 seminar included all Islamic Civilization grantees from around the world.  Along with those in the Near East and North Africa (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates), grantees in sub-Saharan Africa (Senegal and Nigeria), Europe and Eurasia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Netherlands) and Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Singapore) were also invited to attend.

The seminar was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and was convened with support from IIE. CEMAT, the Tunis center of the American Institute of Maghreb Studies, provided invaluable organizational and logistical support. James Miller, CEMAT’s (now former) director and Riadh Saadaoui, the Assistant Director, were especially instrumental in the coordination and planning of this event.

The seminar was preceded by a day-long excursion to Kairouan -- Tunisia’s holiest city and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The seminar itself involved 10 panels during which each grantee gave a 15-minute presentation on his/her research project, as well as some background on his/her host country and culture, when needed. Two panels were devoted to Women in Islam, making it the most widely-examined theme at the seminar. Other panels focused on themes such as: Commerce, Banking and Islamic Philanthropy; Medicine and Health in Islamic Societies; and Sufism in Syria. Two students with film-related projects also shared samples of their works in progress with the group. The group was also treated to a lecture on The Letters of Ibn Wahhab, co-presented by two Tunisian scholars.

Even though the schedule during the 2 formal days of the seminar was tightly-packed, there was sufficient “down” time for the grantees to come together informally, as well as to share ideas and themes raised during their presentations. The highlight of the non-seminar proceedings was a reception hosted by William Hudson, U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, at his seaside residence. This event was well-attended, and included other staff from the Embassy as well as the non-Islamic Civilization Fulbright students in Tunisia. The group meals at the hotel were also perfect means for further bonding and discussions -- some of which lasted into the early hours of the morning.

An optional 3-day excursion to central and southern Tunisia followed the seminar itself. While some grantees were unable to participate, most of them did and were able to partake in some of the additional sights the country has to offer. These included the Roman ruins at Sbeitla and El Jem, and the island of Djerba, which houses the El Ghriba synagogue—the oldest synagogue in North Africa.

Overall, the Tunis seminar went extremely well, and it seems safe to say that everyone who attended had an informative and enjoyable experience. It is certainly hoped that we will be able to make this an annual event for all future cohorts of Islamic Civilization grantees.

Bulgaria -- 2 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships

Grant period: 10 months, September – June. The grant period starts with the beginning of the academic year at the host institution. As part of their orientation program grantees are encouraged to participate in an international two-week summer institute (the Fulbright International Summer Institute), organized annually by the Fulbright Commission in August. Bulgarian language training on an individual or group basis is supported by the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission.

Conditions of award: Applications are welcome from graduate students enrolled in a degree program, irrespective of field of study, who are interested in international education and teaching. Preference is given to applicants in the social sciences, humanities/English language and American studies. Some teaching experience is required.

Applicants should submit descriptions of their study and/or career interests. Details of assignments will be subject to direct communication between selected candidates and designated host institutions.

Affiliations: The grantees will be placed as teaching assistants at Bulgarian secondary or postsecondary schools and the Fulbright Language Training Center. Their assignments will depend on the respective schools’ needs and will not exceed 15 hours per week of teaching English combined with educational advising.

Note: The same conditions apply as for the full grant regarding special considerations, stipend, extension/renewal.

Dependents: The standard amount of the Fulbright teaching assistantships cannot be increased to support accompanying dependents.

Tips to Offer Fulbright Candidates

After carefully researching and planning a relevant, feasible and rewarding project, the next important step is producing persuasive and high quality documents for your application. The process of writing and revision is key to not only submitting a great application, but in refining and clarifying your goals and objectives along the way.

Radha Blackman at the National Theater Ivan Vasov in Bulgaria.

It is advisable to include as many diverse people in this process as possible: the most critical person you know (academics and parents are often good for this); the most creative person you know (someone who thinks outside of the box); the most competent and accomplished people you know (both in your field and outside); and the best writer that you know (an English teacher can also be helpful as long as you don’t mind having grammatical minutiae critiqued).

It is also advisable to have at least three sets of eyes look at everything you submit, but not necessarily the same eyes for all documents. All of them can use the following Checklists as a guide:

Statement of Proposed Research or Study Checklist

The Statement should demonstrate that you are able to plan and implement a successful research project or course of study, and it will be your guide to completing it and meeting your objectives. It should be as specific as possible, while also being flexible enough to make the best of the reality you will find on the ground, which will inevitably be a little different than planned.

• Overall, is the Statement persuasive, direct, concise and easy to read? Short (three or four-line) paragraphs are very effective!
• Does it emphasize the relevance and significance of the project from start to finish?
• Does the first paragraph answer who, what, when, where, why and how?
• Do the next paragraphs detail what you propose to do and how you will do it?
• Is the timeline realistic and specific, including any pre- and post-grant plans?
• Are there clearly define achievable goals, objectives (the activities/steps to reach your goals), concrete outcomes, and measurable results?
• Is the proposal in the context of your experience and skills? Save the details for your CV.
• Are the methodology and activities comprehensive, relevant, appropriate, feasible, and approved/approvable if necessary?
• Does the Statement describe with whom you will work, why, and the support that they have offered to give you in their letter of support/affiliation/invitation.
• Does it demonstrate why the project or study needs to be in the country selected, the resources the country provides, and how it will benefit from your work there?
• Does it highlight what contribution the project will make to promoting cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding, including what it will contribute to the U.S.
• Does it demonstrate a commitment to engage with the host country community through volunteer and extra-curricular activities.
• Does it clearly explain your future plans and how your work will help further your academic or professional development?
• Does the closing paragraph re-emphasize what you will achieve, and what makes your project exciting, necessary and unique?

Curriculum Vitae

Your Curriculum Vitae should narrate your personal and intellectual development. It should show how your proposal is the next logical and necessary step in your life, and how you are qualified to carry it out. It is your opportunity to illustrate what a unique and exceptional individual you are!

• Overall, is your CV interesting and easy to read? Does it show, rather than tell, who you are?
• Does your CV demonstrate your motivation and ability to work independently.
• Does it show who you are, and make the reader want to know you better?
• Do you demonstrate your experience and interest in intercultural learning and sharing?
• Do you repeat information included in other parts of your application? Omit them unless they are necessary for further explanation or emphasis?

Reference Letters

Yes, we know that you won’t write your own reference letter. But we also know that references will often request that you at least indicate what you want the letter to say, if not to draft a letter that they can edit, print on their letterhead and sign. At the very least, you should provide a summary of your proposal, qualifications, goals and your relevant experience, especially in terms of work you have done with them.

• Do the details in the letter match facts repeated elsewhere on the application? Dates, titles…
• Does the letter indicate how you are prepared and able to carry out your proposed project?
• Does the letter highlight your best qualities and accomplishments? Don’t be modest!
• Does the letter give examples of how you have taken initiative, managed your time, and worked well cooperatively and/or independently?
• Does the letter speak to your emotional and intellectual maturity and ability to adapt, live and even thrive in a foreign culture.

Swiss Government/Fulbright Grants

There has been a change in the eligibility requirements for the Fulbright Program to Switzerland. BA holders and graduating seniors are now eligible for consideration under the Swiss Government/Fulbright Grants. Candidates for these grants do not need to do anything different or additional to be considered for these awards at the time of application. All candidates to Switzerland will automatically be considered for all awards for which they are eligible. IIE will instruct recommended candidates to complete the Swiss Government's Scholarship application at a later date.

Tell It to Me, Like It Is

The other night I went out to dinner with my friend and her parents. After a few glasses of wine, my friend’s family became intensely interested in my Fulbright proposal and what is it that I “…would exactly be doing next year.” I did not hesitate and was able to say, for the millionth time, that I would be “…researching the Islamic family law courts of the United Arab Emirates.”

However, when I initially sat down to write out my Fulbright statement of proposed study, I thought it would be next to impossible to succinctly articulate my ideal project in two pages. There was so much that needed explaining and so much that I wanted to say. How is it that those Fulbright people could expect me to write everything that needed to be said about the Middle East and its legal systems in two pages?

Dominic T. Bocci, 2006-2007, United Arab Emirates.

I attempted this gargantuan challenge of melding academic theories, pertinent examples, and grandiose histories into my proposal. I could not even wait to talk to my friends and family about my amazing proposal that I had just produced. When I began to explain my project, my friends got bored and very quickly did not understand what I was talking about. One friend simply said, “Tell it to me, like it is.” It was then I realized that I was looking at my task incorrectly.

I thought about it more and approached my statement of proposed study with my friend’s quote in mind. While I was writing my proposal, I asked who-what-where-why-when-how’s about every person, place, or thing I mentioned in my proposal. I wanted to make sure that everything I included was thought out and relevant. My goal was to write the most cohesive statement possible.

My suggestions are as follows:

Show your reader not only that you know about your topic, but that you know what to expect in terms of researching in the country and what your expected outcome will be. I roughly split my proposal into 30% research topic (e.g., interests, ideas), 30% research resources (e.g., libraries, universities, sources, advisors), and 30% research outcomes (e.g., drafting articles, participation in conferences), with 10% being technicalities (e.g., time of departure and future goals).

Have everyone you know read your proposal. I asked anyone that could read to review my proposal. In fact, I had two pools of proofreaders: those that read intermittent drafts and those that read every draft of my proposal. For the record, I probably went through over fifteen drafts before a final copy was ready.

Spell everything out, avoiding long sentences that say too much. Your reader will get lost and so will your idea’s clarity. Do not let your reader piece together your proposal for you. Assume an educated reader, but a reader that may not be versed in your topic.