It’s time to turn in your amazing project application and win the $1,000 Library Research Award for Undergraduates! Let’s take a moment to shine it up with some editing tips.

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who wasn’t a part of your project and look back through the materials that you’re about to submit. Is the project described well? Did it illustrate your research journey? Is the voice (whether in writing or another medium) consistent? Consider asking a friend to take a look and see if they can articulate back to you what messages you hoped to convey.

Open up your essay and put it next to the Evaluation Rubric. Considering the research process, your search strategies, and how you used your resources, is there anything more you can do to have them fit the “Accomplished” category? How about your project itself–where does it fit on a continuum from “Developing” to “Accomplished?” And don’t forget to do the same with the bibliography.

Finally, make sure that you’ve proofread all of the pieces you will submit. Use the spell-check and grammar-check features of your word processing program to review your work. Consider layering a free* app extension like Grammarly on your document editor. Better yet, ask a free UW Tacoma writing consultant to look over your materials with you.

Good luck! Reminder: Applications are due Monday.

More questions? Visit our page of Frequently Asked Questions or contact the Library Research Award for Undergraduates Committee (libaward@uw.edu) regarding the application process, eligibility, or the competition in general.

These awards have been made possible by The Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment, the Friends of the Libraries, and the Population Health Initiative.

*Offers premium upgrades for a fee.