GSC Travel Awards
GENERAL WRITING TIPS
Accuracy and Specificity
Avoid general and vague statements. Provide identifying details that communicate significance:
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“an editor of a journal” is less specific and convincing than “the associate editor of the
Association of Teacher Educators Journal”.
“I spoke to many people” simple indicates you’re a friendly sort of soul. “I spoke to Professor
Barabasi who is a pioneer of complexity research”, communicates information about the
significance of the person you spoke to, as well as your ability to network and connect
strategically with people in your field.
Clarity
Use acronyms only after you have first given the full name and included the acronym in parentheses.
Make sure you do not allude to or make references to people, organizations, or ideas that might only be
self evident in your discipline. Remember that the panel of readers will not be from your field.
Avoid long and dense sentence constructions. Remember that the panelists are reading many applications.
The clearer and simpler your structure, the more persuasive you can be with the information you present.
Coherence
Try to build a “story” or narrative connecting your reasons for going, the event you selected, and your
experiences at the event. For example, if your reason for going was to present your work as well as try
and connect with like-minded researchers, was your selection of this particular event strategic to that
purpose? If your purpose in going was to conduct a specific kind of research, did your location match this
purpose in a strategic manner, and did your experience bear that out?
PRESENTING YOUR RESEARCH & THE CONFERENCE/RESEARCH LOCATION
It is important to persuade the panel that travelling to this event was money excellently spent.
Research Significance. Do not merely describe your research. Rather, weave in its significance. What is
the ultimate aim of this research? What is its impact on the world or your discipline? In writing this,
consider whether a reader will sense your excitement and commitment to your research, or will they just
read a bunch of facts about your research topic? Can you get a reader excited by your research?
Conference/Location Significance Why this conference or research location? How is that significant?
You do not have to have attended a large conference to make this point, or done your research at a wellknown place. You might have gone to a small event or done your research in a less prestigious location.
But, in what ways was that strategic and powerful with respect to your scholarship and future? Was it
because you knew certain professors or potential colleagues were going to be present and a small venue
would make it easier for you to connect with them? Was it because it was the best venue for a first-time
presentation? If you were travelling to conduct research, was this location going to also enable you to
make useful connections? Were you taking advantage of a unique opportunity.
The Writing Center • Student Success Center • Claremont Graduate University
MAKING AN OVERALL IMPRESSION
You are writing to advocate your work to panelists who must read many essays. Remember that they were
not at the event/research location. Your should aim, therefore, to paint as clear and as convincing a picture
as you can of yourself and your research. Your essay must do more than merely present clear and accurate
facts. It must communicate perspective and passion. Here are some points to consider:
Who are you as a scholar? This includes your research, why it matters, and your scholarly aspirations.
They need to see that you know why your work matters and that there is a significant place for your work
in the world. If you’re not convinced, they will not be.
Your sense of the CGU context. Think about your perspective on the benefits you bring to CGU by
going to this conference or doing this research. This is not just about representing CGU, but rather
whether you can see how what you do is connected to the larger life of graduate study at CGU. How did
you share your work? How are you connected at CGU? What have you done with that research or
presentation since the conference that impacts the CGU community in any way?
The experience you had at the event/research location. Remember that the panelists were not there.
Can you communicate vividly the rich and productive experience you had? How did the experience
impact you; have you grown and informed your scholarship and scholarly connections?
Why you and not someone else? In presenting the above, remember you are competing against others
who are trying to tell a similar story (just with different facts). Why, out of many deserving CGU
students, do you deserve to be given this award? Imagine there is just ONE single award. Therefore, you
need to present every fact in the light of trying to persuade the panel that you deserve the award more than
anyone else.
The Writing Center • Student Success Center • Claremont Graduate University
GSC TRAVEL AWARDS JUDGING CRITERIA (Spring 2014)
From GSC website
The judging criteria are intentionally broad to accommodate the wide variety of academic activities
undertaken by CGU students. Each essay is read independently by three GSC members and is judged on
five criteria described below. Each application’s total score will be the sum of the individual ratings. An
application can receive a maximum of 25 points. In the event of a tie, the merit and distance of the event
may also be considered.
Review this section to make sure your essay convincingly covers all of the areas described below:
1. Academic significance (5 points)
a. Describe the academic significance of the research you presented.
b. For non-presentation categories, what was the academic significance of the event?
c. What was your motivation for participation? This should be understandable to persons
outside the discipline.
2. Professional development (5 points)
a. Explain the specific relevance and benefits of the participation to your academic and
professional career.
b. Relate the importance of this particular participation to your field.
c. Consider both short and long term relevance and benefits from your participation in the event.
3. Significance to CGU (5 points)
a. How does your participation in this event benefit CGU?
4. Style (5 points)
a. Logically written. The guidelines are to help you shape your essay towards the judging
criteria.
b. Your essay must be written as one coherent piece.
5. Formatting and Grammar (5 points)
a. Professionally written and error free
b. Your essay must not exceed 600 words for Travel Awards and 200 words for Material
Awards.
c. Essays must be typed using a 12 point font in one of the following font styles: Arial, Times or
Times New Roman.
d. Do NOT write you name within the Essay portion of the application. To ensure fairness in
judging, a random ID number will be assigned to your application and reviewers will only see
the Essay portion of your application.
6. Additional tips:
a. Please keep in mind that professional jargon and acronyms might be unknown to the judges.
b. Please note that different software programs count words slightly differently. The GSC will
use Microsoft Word to do the word count.
The Writing Center • Student Success Center • Claremont Graduate University