nsfc-write

NSFC Proposal Writing Guide

⚠️ Key warning: Outline titles must not be modified

The main text of an NSFC proposal must be written strictly according to the officially prescribed outline titles.

• Absolutely must not be modified: The first-level and second-level headings in the outline (such as "(1) Project Rationale," "1. Research Significance," "2. Domestic and International Research Status," etc.) are fixed formats generated by the system,not a single character may be changed。
• Must not be omitted: All outline titles must be retained. Even if a section has relatively little content, the title must still be retained and the content written under it.
• Must not be created on one's own: Do not create first-level or second-level headings outside the prescribed outline. You may use third-level headings (such as 1.1, 1.2) under the prescribed headings to organize the content.
• Consequences: Modifying or omitting outline titles will result in failure of the formal review and directelimination at the preliminary screening stage, without even a chance to be sent for review.

Be sure to download the latest proposal template for the current year, and fill it in directly in the template file. Do not attempt to copy and paste into a new document to rebuild the structure.

Official Outline Reference (2026 Version)

The following is the standard main text outline. Please write strictly in accordance with it:

(1) Project Rationale

(Why this research should be carried out, and what the scientific and technological value of the research is)

(2) Research Content

(The outline does not impose restrictions; please write according to the inherent logic of the research work. Distinctive features and innovation points, as well as the annual research plan, should be distilled.)

(3) Research Foundation

1. Research Foundation and Feasibility Analysis(Research work accumulation related to this project and research work achievements already obtained, response measures for research risks, etc.);
2. Working Conditions(Including experimental conditions already available, experimental conditions still lacking and the proposed ways to resolve them, including plans and implementation status for utilizing research bases such as national laboratories, national key laboratories, and departmental key laboratories);
3. Scientific research projects currently undertaken that are related to this project(Information on scientific research projects currently undertaken by the applicant that are related to this project, including projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other national science and technology program projects. The funding agency, project category, approval number, project name, amount funded, start and end dates, relationship to this project, and the content for which the applicant is responsible must be indicated);
4. Completion of National Natural Science Foundation of China projects(Provide a detailed explanation of the completion status of the previous science fund project for which the applicant was responsible and whose funding period has expired (project name and approval number), subsequent research progress, and the relationship to this proposed project. In addition, attach a summary of the research work of that project (limited to 500 words) and a detailed list of related achievements).

(4) Other circumstances requiring explanation

1. Circumstances of the applicant applying for different types of National Natural Science Foundation of China projects in the same year(List the project type and project name information of other projects applied for in the same year, and explain the differences and connections between them and this project; if a decision of non-acceptance or non-funding has already been received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, there is no need to list them).
2. Whether an applicant with a senior professional and technical position (title) has any inconsistency in the institution when applying for or participating in the application for National Natural Science Foundation projects in the same year; if the above situation exists, list the names of the persons involved, the project type, project name, and institution name of the other projects applied for or participated in, whether the above persons are applicants or participants in that project, and explain the reason for the inconsistency in institution.
3. Whether an applicant with a senior professional and technical position (title) has any inconsistency with the institution of a National Natural Science Foundation project currently undertaken; if the above situation exists, list the names of the persons involved, the approval number, project type, project name, institution name, and start and end dates of the project currently undertaken, and explain the reason for the inconsistency in institution.
4. The situation of applying for or participating in the application for science foundation projects under different professional and technical positions (titles) in the same year(the reason should be explained in detail).
5. Other。

Core Concepts

The Essence of the Application

• The application is written forreview expertsto read, not for yourself
• Review experts on average have onlyabout 20 minutesto read an application
• A good application isfoundational, innovative, feasible, and completein unity

Conciseness is key

• The main text should not exceed 30 pages (20 pages or fewer is even better)
• The project rationale should clearly explain the core issue in 3-4 pages
• Use the most concise language to convey accurate information

Three-Element Framework

1. What to do — choose a unique, interesting, and important scientific question
2. Why do it — project rationale, explaining the scientific significance and the limitations of previous research
3. How to do it — propose a unique research approach, strategy, or plan
4. Why you do it — research foundation, proving that you have the ability to complete it

Storytelling

• Learn to talk about your work in a storytelling way
• A good story needs: introduction → gradual build-up → climax → conflict and contradiction
• This dramatic change can capture the reviewer's interest in reading

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Preliminary Section

Topic Selection

An excellent topic selection is the foundation of an application. The topic selection should havethree qualities：

Dimension	Key Points
Importance	Scientific significance? Application value?
Innovativeness	Problem innovation? Method innovation?
Feasibility	Technical route? Research foundation?

Avoid：

• ❌ General follow-up research and repetitive research (you can search past funded projects)
• ❌ Projects that are too cutting-edge (cannot be completed within the funding period)
• ❌ Purely applied research and technology development projects

Self-Check Questions：

• Does my topic selection meet major national needs or the international frontier?
• Is my scientific question a fundamental issue or a technical/engineering issue?
• If Zhang San or Li Si wrote this proposal, would it also work? What is special about mine?

Title

• A high-level condensation of the full text,within 25 characters
• Concise, specific, novel, and eye-catching; requires repeated refinement.
• It should not be too broad (vague), nor too narrow.
• The title of a Youth Fund project should be more focused.

Common formats：

• "…… research based on ……"
• "…… research oriented toward ……"
• "Mechanism/mechanistic research on …… in ……"

Counterexample: ❌ "Research on basic scientific issues in metal coordination hydride hydrogen storage materials" (empty, vague)

Basic information form

• First application code(e.g., F0508): determines the division for review and the panel review experts; extremely critical.
• Keywords: used to match correspondence review experts; must be carefully selected.
• Application fee: slightly higher than last year's average funding intensity (avoid losing more for a small gain).

Abstract (400 characters/words)

A high-level summary of the full text; reviewers generally read it carefully and may excerpt passages as comments.

Writing Template 1(General):

"……. To address the problem of ……, taking …… as the research object, using …… methods, study ……, analyze ……, and determine ……. The project is expected to reveal ……, achieve ……, and establish ……. The project's research results are of great significance to …… and provide a scientific basis for ……."

Writing Template 2(Medical):

"…… disease, incidence is rising ……. The pathogenesis is unclear; currently there are theories such as ……. To address the problem of ……, although progress has been made in ……, …… remains unclear. Based on preliminary ……, this project conducts research around the problem of ……. Using …… methods, combined with …… techniques, observe …… indicators, to achieve the purpose of ……. The project is of great significance for elucidating the mechanism of …… and revealing the patterns of ……."

Note：

• Efficiently use 400 characters/words; weigh every word and avoid redundancy.
• Do not introduce the background at length.
• The Chinese and English abstracts must match (the number of conclusions must be consistent).
• Do not allow text truncation or typos.

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Main text section

Note: The following headings are for general reference only. Be sure todirectly use the application template downloaded for the current year, and retain all of its first-level and second-level headings (such as "(1) Basis for Project Approval," "(2) Research Content," "1. Basis for Project Approval," etc.).Do not modify or delete them. You may freely add third-level headings (such as 1.1, 1.2) under these fixed headings to organize the content.

1. Basis for Project Approval

Function: Discuss the rationale for the project and answer "why do it" (Why); it is the foundation of the application. Similar to the Introduction of an academic paper, but with a higher-level perspective.

Structure(from macro to micro, progressing layer by layer):

研究领域 → 研究对象 → 科学问题 → 问题剖析 → 解决思路

Basic elements：

1. Research significance: research field, research object, existing problems
   • Basic research discusses scientific significance
   • Applied basic research discusses application value
2. Domestic and international research status：
   • Systematically sort out foreign, domestic, and one's own research results
   • Organically integrate one's own preliminary work
   • Avoid listing paper by paper; classify, summarize, and analyze
   • Point out unresolved problems, points of controversy, and bottlenecks
3. Research approach of this project：
   • Discuss the solution approach, clarify the scientific significance or application value

Writing suggestions：

• Subheadings may be used,Highlight key sentences
• Insert 2-3 figures or tables, with illustrations and text together
• Write from the perspective that the entire application can be fully understood by reading only the "title + abstract + basis for project approval"
• About 30 references, from authoritative journals such as CNS, mainly from the past 5 years, including literature from the current year
• International (main) + domestic (secondary) + own (can be highlighted)

Commonly used keywords：

problems, challenges, bottlenecks, limitations, difficulties, obstacles, key, major, core, common, urgently needs, pressing, breakthroughs, focus

"...... (still) is an important challenge urgently to be solved in future research" "...... is an important direction worthy of further study"

Example expressions：

"Although many preliminary research results have been published, analysis shows that many problems remain unresolved: the evidence cannot be connected......, and conflicts between observed phenomena and data often exist....... There are also some new phenomena that were not discovered in the past......, so they depend on newly established research projects for exploration."

2. Research content

Role: answers "what is to be done" (What), and is the focus of the application.

Writing suggestions：

• 3-4 itemsare appropriate, with each item supporting the others, closely linked, and with prominent focus
• Each item should be 200-300 words, elaborated in paragraphs
• Figures may be used to show each research content item and its logical relationships
• Avoid writing it as a research plan
• Avoid chaotic logic, thin content, and vague expression

Organizational models：

• Progressive layer-by-layer type: Research content 1 (foundation) → 2 (methods) → 3 (application)
• Parallel support type: Multiple content items jointly support one objective
• Closed-loop iterative type: Experiment → theory → model → validation → experiment

Writing template：

To address the ...... problem to be solved, this project plans to carry out research in the following three/four aspects:

1. XXX (Research Content 1): intends to study ......, analyze ......, achieve ......; establish ......, reveal ......, clarify .......
2. XXX (Research Content 2): ......

3. Research objectives

• Usually one paragraph, and may be placed before the research content
• Correspond with the research content,limited objectives
• Applied basic research may include key technical indicators

Writing template：

Facing the demand for ......, centering on the direction of ......, and targeting the key scientific problem of ......, establish a ...... model, adopt ...... methods, reveal the laws of ......, clarify the mechanism of ......, and achieve the effect of .......

4. Key scientific problems

The **"soul"** of the application, and the bottleneck problem that must be overcome to achieve the research objectives.

Writing suggestions：

• Think deeply and refine carefully
• About 2 items, which can be solved through the proposed research plan
• Note the distinction between scientific problems and technical problems
• Each item should be 200-300 words

Six approaches for refining scientific problems：

1. Curiosity guidance — Maintain curiosity and the desire to explore scientific problems
2. Endless iterative questioning — Repeatedly asking "why," linking one question to the next until reaching the essence
3. Dig deep amid anomalies — Value anomalous phenomena in experiments
4. Driven by paradigm shifts — Pay attention to new possibilities brought by new paradigms (such as AI)
5. Converge through peer exchange — Spark ideas through in-depth exchange and collision
6. Abstract needs through insight — Extract fundamental scientific questions from application needs

"Peeling the onion" focusing method：

1. Refine the discipline — From major disciplines to small directions
2. Precise scale — From macroscopic to microscopic/mesoscopic
3. Precise scope — Narrow the time/space/sample scope

5. Research plan

Key writing points: Centering on the key scientific questions, design the research plan with the research content as the main line.

Structure：

• A general overview paragraph + overall research plan diagram
• Specific plans for each research content (one-to-one correspondence with the research content)
• Each plan: technical roadmap + text + design/simulation results

Notes：

• ✅ Reliable research methods, clear technical roadmap, mature experimental means, unique key technologies
• ❌ Avoid being overly complex (lengthy listing of formulas and general steps)
• ❌ Avoid being overly simple (only method names without key details)

6. Feasibility analysis

Argue from four dimensions:

1. Academic idea(scientific principles) — key point, may include published papers
2. Research plan(technical roadmap) — key point, may include published papers
3. Research conditions(materials) — experimental equipment, site, environment
4. Research team(people) — team capability

7. Features and innovation

• 2-3 items, necessary, not innovating for the sake of innovation
• Related to the research content and research objectives
• Common innovations: new problems, new ideas, new methods, new materials, new technologies

Avoid：

• ❌ "first of its kind," "for the first time," "internationally leading," "fills a gap," "little research currently exists"
• ❌ Too many innovation points ("too many innovation points = no innovation points")

Writing example：

1. Reveal the mechanism by which XX boundary conditions affect YY behavior. At present, there is still a lack of understanding of ... at home and abroad. This project conducts in-depth research on ..., and establishes a theoretical prediction model for ....

8. Annual research plan

• Use a year or half a year as the work unit
• Each unit has specific progress assessment indicators
• A Gantt chart can be used to assist presentation
• Include plans for academic exchange and paper publication
• ❌ Do not write "literature review in the first half of the year, summary report in the second half"

9. Expected research results

• Theoretical results: Establish/enrich/supplement ... models, clarify ... mechanisms
• Technical methods: Establish/improve ... methods
• Papers and patents: Expected to publish xx academic papers and apply for xx patents
• Talent development: Cultivate young academic backbone members, master's and doctoral students, etc.
• Predictable, quantifiable, verifiable

10. Research Foundation

Writing Template：

• Introduction to the applicant and team (achievements, papers, awards)
• Research foundation in the xx aspect (text + figures + papers/patents)
• Preliminary experimental results related to this project (text + figures)

Note：

• Should be with the applied projectdirectly related
• Rich in both text and figures
• Do not include papers that will cost you points

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Logical relationships among the sections

立项依据（Why）
    ↓
研究目标（What goal）
    ↓
研究内容（What to do）→ 关键科学问题（Key problems）
    ↓
研究方案/技术路线（How）
    ↓
研究基础（Why you）

The sections overlap, butthe emphasis of discussion and the manner of expression differ。

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Special recommendations for Young Scientists Category C

Positioning: talent-type project

• Focus on evaluating the applicant's owninnovation potential
• Duration of 3 years, funding of about 300,000 yuan
• Begin with the end in mind; your self-positioning must be clear

The personal CV is extremely critical

• The selection of the 5 representative works is very important
• Give priority to first-author papers
• The representative works must be closely related to the applied topic (not simply choose high-impact-factor journals)
• In the attachment notes, explain the connection of each paper to the project and your personal contribution

Suggestions for research content

• 1 research focus, 2 key questions, 3 research contents(no more than that)
• Goals should be focused; do not set too many goals

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Reviewer's perspective

Key review points for General Program

Free exploration category：

1. The innovativeness of the research idea
2. The value of the scientific question and its contribution to the frontier field
3. Research foundation and feasibility (if the innovation points are prominent, the research foundation may be de-emphasized)

Goal-oriented category：

1. Whether it addresses basic scientific questions needed for economic and social development
2. The innovativeness of the scientific question and the scientific value of the expected results
3. Research foundation and feasibility

Common point-deduction issues

• Inconsistent formatting (references, order of author names, etc.)
• Typos and grammatical errors
• Unclear figures
• Mismatch between the Chinese and English abstracts
• The scientific question is too broad and vague
• Innovation points are unclear or too numerous
• The research plan is not specific
• Exaggerating the significance of the research
• Omitting important prior work

Reverse thinking

• Deduce the writing of the application from the review scoring criteria (A/B/C/D)
• Assume you are the reviewer and examine it
• Ask yourself: what kind of application would make me unappreciative? Avoid those problems

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How to respond after failure

• Carefully read the experts' comments and learn from the experience
• Correct mistakes if you have made them, and avoid them if you have not
• Do not recommend arguing your case(the judgment that you are wrong is basically well-founded)
• You may adjust the channel (change division/code) and apply again
• One project/ID can only receive funding once (bottom line)
• "A poorly written application will definitely not receive funding"

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General recommendations

Overall

• Clear thinking, standardized language, rigorous wording, seeking truth from facts
• Prepare as early as possible, polish repeatedly, and ask others for more opinions
• Practice more, write more, communicate more, reflect more
• When you write the application, you also write your own academic conduct

Details

• AI may be used for polishing (but must be declared)
• Highlight key statements, use more verb-object structures
• Pay attention to writing standards (font, font size, color, line spacing, image quality, typos, punctuation)
• Figures and tables should be clear and professional; do not take screenshots from PDFs

AI Usage Standards (2026)

• ✅ AI may be used to assist in tracking research developments and collecting and organizing references
• ✅ The authenticity and accuracy of AI-generated information must be manually verified
• ✅ The usage must be fully and truthfully declared and identified
• ❌ AI must not be used to directly generate the application
• ❌ Unverified generated content must not be used

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Writing tone and style

The tone of the application directly affects reviewers' reading experience. A good writing style makes the applicant seem rigorous, confident, and thoughtful.

Recommended tone

• Objective and rigorous: speak with facts and data, avoid subjective assumptions
• Confident but not arrogant: demonstrate strength without exaggeration, let results speak
• Concise and powerful: use more short sentences and verb-object structures, avoid lengthy subordinate clauses
• Clear logic: each paragraph has a clear argument, and there are clear transitions between paragraphs

Commonly used verb-object structures

reveal the ... mechanism, clarify the ... mechanism, establish a ... model, develop a ... method, achieve ... regulation, break through the ... bottleneck, solve the ... problem, propose a ... strategy

Tone examples

✅ Good tone：

"Existing studies have shown that ..., but the following key problems in ... remain unresolved: (1) ...; (2) .... This project intends to proceed from the perspective of ..., adopt the ... method, and systematically study ..., with the aim of revealing the internal mechanism of ...."

❌ Bad tone：

"At present, there is still very little research on this issue at home and abroad. We will fill this gap and achieve ... for the first time internationally." (Too arrogant, and "fill the gap" is a sensitive phrase)

"We think this direction is quite interesting, so we want to try it and see." (Too casual, lacking scientific rigor)

Expressions to avoid

• ❌ Colloquial expressions ("try it" "take a look" "figure it out")
• ❌ Excessive modesty ("This project tentatively explores ...")
• ❌ Excessive confidence ("will certainly achieve major breakthroughs")
• ❌ Vague expressions ("conduct related research" "carry out a series of experiments")
• ❌ Exclamation marks and rhetorical questions

Consistency of style

• Maintain a consistent person throughout the text (usually use "this project" rather than "we")
• Consistent use of terminology
• Consistent tense (use present/past tense for the basis for project initiation, and future tense for the research plan)

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Supplementary reference

Detailed writing guidelines and review criteria can be found in references/ the files under the directory:

• references/writing-guide.md — Detailed explanation of writing techniques and common problems
• references/review-criteria.md — Detailed explanation of review criteria and review perspectives