This article was automatically translated from Japanese using AI. The Japanese version is the authoritative version.
Introduction
One task that follows researchers everywhere is the grant application. For anyone aiming at a research career, applications are unavoidable—and yet they are often overlooked.
I suspect many people struggle with them. I certainly do. I went into the School of Science precisely because I was bad at Japanese language arts, and now, of all things, the very career I am pursuing confronts me with a language problem….
In recent years, support for doctoral students has become substantial. Beyond the JSPS Research Fellowship (DC), there are university-internal grants funded by JST programs, WISE Programs (Doctoral Program for World-leading Innovative & Smart Education), JASSO, and others—existing schemes have been strengthened and new ones keep appearing. If you can secure this kind of support, you can cover nearly all of your living expenses during the doctoral program and receive tuition assistance as well.
I myself have faced and submitted several university-internal applications.
How they differ from the JSPS application
Basically, university-internal applications tend to closely resemble the JSPS one. The reason is simple: passing the JSPS review is the ultimate goal. Also, writing in a different format would only add to the students’ burden, so most programs match the JSPS format and build in a process that lets you refine the same document.
Selection is based mainly on the research content and on the applicant’s ability and future promise. What matters is presenting these clearly so that they get through to the reader. There is absolutely no need to write elegant, literary prose.
Although the JSPS and university-internal applications have much in common, there are differences. The kind of person each is looking for is somewhat different.
The application materials state what kind of candidate the program is seeking, so you need to write in a way that matches that.
The biggest difference from the JSPS application, though, is who reads it. The JSPS application is assigned to a field, and reviewers with some degree of relevant expertise read it. With university-internal applications, however, the readers are basically people from within the university, so even within the life sciences, someone working on plants may end up reading your animal research proposal. On top of that, each reviewer often has to handle more applications than in the JSPS review.
In other words, keep the content more general so that its appeal comes across even to someone in a different field—and make sure the content and its appeal register at a glance.
As a rule, assume the reviewers have no desire to read your application, and write something that catches their interest and makes them read it. Use figures and highlighting appropriately so that the important points are obvious at a glance.
Tips for writing
The keys to a good application are logical flow and specificity.
Logical flow means giving readers the information they want, at the moment they want it, in the order they want it. In other words, you create logical flow by connecting each sentence to the next and writing what the reader has vaguely started to anticipate.
For example:
“During my undergraduate years I belonged to several student organizations and took part in running each of them. Through this, I developed leadership and the ability to work smoothly with others.”
Running an organization → leadership and the ability to work smoothly with others
When sentences connect like this, with no jarring gaps between them, we can say the writing has logical flow.
Next, specificity. Adding specificity to the example above:
“During my undergraduate years I belonged to several student organizations that planned events and social gatherings for students, and in each one I took the lead in running those events. Through this, I developed leadership and the ability to work smoothly with others.”
Adding specifics strengthens the logic of how you were involved in the organization and what exactly you did, and therefore what abilities you gained from it.
The catch, however, is the character limit. Limits are set quite tightly, and the moment you try to describe something concretely you run out of room.
That is exactly why, in the rush to cram in content, these two elements tend to get neglected.
Summarize the content concisely and clearly—yet also be logical and specific. This tension is a central problem when writing an application.
The key to striking this balance is asking what kind of person the program wants to select. Most applications specify which items they want you to address and what sort of content they expect.
The reviewer must be able to see clearly where in your text each of those items is addressed. Don’t leave it to be inferred or read between the lines—make it unmistakable.
If you keep this front and center, it becomes clear which sentences you need and which you can cut.
A writing strategy
When writing an application, start by listing the points you want to make as bullet points, then write out the text without worrying about length. Then fill in the content with logical flow and specificity in mind.
At this stage you will usually be well over the limit, so the next job is trimming. Rephrase and reword until you are only slightly over the character count.
At that point, have someone else look at your application. This step is extremely important. Getting feedback early and often keeps you from drifting far off course and helps you learn your own way of writing applications.
Showing your work to others is daunting, and pride often gets in the way, but take the plunge, set your pride aside, and show it. In my experience, the more academically accomplished someone is, the more they tend to keep working alone and delay showing it to anyone.
Once you get feedback, reread your own draft with it in mind, identify what needed improvement, and rewrite.
Having others read your draft is the single most important step. Nobody writes a perfect application on the first try, and criticism is not a rejection of you—take it as advice that you are capable of more.
Summary
An application exists to be read by someone else. Never fall into the complacency of assuming the reviewers will read it, or of thinking it outrageous that they might not.
If people won’t read it, then write something that makes them want to read.
No matter how good the content is, it means nothing unless people actually read it and the message gets across.
A common piece of advice is to take the total amount of funding a grant application could bring in, divide it by the number of lines in the proposal, and work out how much each single line is worth.
This gives you a clear yardstick for judging whether what you have written is worth that much to the reader.
If you don’t think a sentence carries that much value, it may need to be rewritten.