NSF GRFP Program - Giant Angstrom, NORDP 2017

We introduce an approach to winning NSF Graduate Research Fellowships based on narrative and plot theory. Success rates for participants at one university were 4X that of nonparticipants. To serve more students, we developed a method of training writing center consultants to support applicants. The method makes use of rhetorical concepts familiar to consultants, such that people without disciplinary knowledge can still coach effectively. We conclude with thoughts about the applicability of the method to train writing consultants to support faculty research proposals.