For GRFP applicants drafting the research plan
NSF GRFP Research Proposal Writer
Paste an idea or drop a paper or old draft. Get a two-page Graduate Research Plan Statement draft from your own material, with River's lines flagged.
Free to start. No card needed.
Do root fungi from dry grasslands help wild grasses survive drought?
Example plan · Life Sciences, Ecology · about 1,050 words
- HHypothesisGrasses grown with fungi from a dry site regrow faster after drought than grasses grown with fungi from a wet site.
- 1Aim 1 · Greenhouse drought testExpected: faster regrowth. If not: compare survival instead.
- 2Aim 2 · How the fungi change water uptakeNeeds: [root imaging equipment you can use]
- IMIntellectual MeritTests whether drought tolerance can travel with soil fungi
- BIBroader ImpactsGrows from your school garden club · [partner school]
What you'll get
A two-page research plan drafted from your idea or paper
- A two-page plan draft: title, gap, hypothesis, and two or three aims with fallbacks
- Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts under NSF's exact headings, tied to your project
- Your best-fit field, two subfields and deadline, a figure idea with alt text, and what is still open
Before and after
Your notes in. A two-page plan out.
Senior in ecology. In my lab I sampled root fungi at a dry grassland and a wet one, and I ran DNA extractions on 60 samples. I want to know if fungi from the dry site help plants survive drought. I also volunteer with a school garden club.
Do root fungi from dry grasslands help wild grasses survive drought? Background and gap. Longer droughts threaten many grasslands [citation]. Root fungi can change how plants take up water [citation], but whether fungi from dry sites carry drought tolerance to new plants is [unclear: check the literature]. Hypothesis. I hypothesize that grasses grown with root fungi from a dry site will regrow faster after drought than grasses grown with fungi from a wet site. Aim 1. Building on my 60 DNA extractions from both sites, I will grow [number] seedlings with each fungal community and withhold water for [length of drought].
Each sentence River wrote, like the background line, carries a comment asking you to rewrite it. Citations stay as slots until you add real ones.
Why it works
How do you write the NSF GRFP research proposal?
The GRFP research proposal, officially the Graduate Research Plan Statement, is the two-page plan for research you want to pursue in graduate school. River's research proposal writer drafts it from what you already have: an idea, your lab's project, an abstract, or a paper, poster or old draft you drop in. You get a specific title, the gap, a question with an explicit hypothesis, two or three aims with fallbacks, the resources you need, and the two sections NSF requires.
Reviewers read the plan as evidence of how you think, not as a contract. NSF tells them: "Applications are not research proposals, but fellowship applications to support an individual's graduate education and training" (NSF). The same page notes that applicants "may change research focus and discipline." So a clear question, a testable hypothesis, a feasible approach and a backup plan matter more than a guaranteed result. One choice must fit now: NSF returns an application without review when its Major Field of Study does not match the plan (NSF 26-526).
River checks your idea against NSF's rules on ineligible research, such as goals "directly human disease- or health-related," and says so at the top of the draft if it sees a problem. If you are unsure, start with the eligibility checker. River never invents data, citations, collaborators or equipment. Gaps become [bracketed slots], and every sentence it wrote carries a comment for you to rewrite. The personal statement writer drafts your other statement from your CV, so both tell one story.
What lands in your doc
What's in your research plan draft
- A specific title, the background and the gap, one research question and an explicit hypothesis
- Two or three aims, each with its approach, expected results and a fallback if it fails
- Resources needed, such as the lab, equipment, data and training, as you gave them or as slots
- Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts under NSF's exact headings, both tied to your own project
- An eligibility check against NSF's research exclusions, flagged at the top with the rule quoted
- Your best-fit Major Field of Study, two subfields, that field's deadline and a figure idea with alt text
- Only interests so far? River picks the most feasible question and offers two other directions
How it works
From an idea to a two-page plan
Paste or drop
Paste an idea, your lab's project, an abstract or your interests, or drop a paper or draft.
River checks eligibility
It reads everything, checks your topic against NSF's research exclusions, and settles on one testable question.
Get your plan
About two pages land in your doc, with bracketed slots for missing facts and a field suggestion.
Make it yours
Rewrite every marked line in your voice, fill each slot, then ask for a reviewer's read.
How to write the GRFP research plan yourself
Pick one question you could make real progress on in a few years, then turn it into a hypothesis that could turn out wrong. Write it in so many words, because reviewers look for it. A 2025 reviewer told one Honorable Mention applicant that stating the hypothesis outright would have helped, and that applicant's winning 2026 plan listed its hypotheses, numbered (GRFP Help). The NSF GRFP examples page links more real plans to learn from.
Give each aim one short block: the approach, the result you expect, and what you will do if the main approach fails. Some 2026 winners go further and name their biggest risk in a labelled Limitations paragraph. A fallback is direct evidence that you can solve problems, a factor NSF lists under Intellectual Merit. Then fill in "Resources needed," which NSF's official template asks for: the lab, equipment, data, training or collaborators the work depends on. Write methods a scientist outside your subfield can follow.
End with the two required sections, under the exact headings and with a line break between them. Under "Intellectual Merit", say what your field learns if the hypothesis holds and what it learns if it fails. Under "Broader Impacts", write one specific paragraph about who this project could benefit and how you will share it. References and figures count toward the two pages, with abbreviated journal titles and no URLs or DOIs. Before you submit, run the mock review for a panelist's read.
Questions GRFP applicants ask
Common questions
What goes in the NSF GRFP research proposal?
NSF's official template asks for the research idea and proposed approach, the resources needed, and separate sections headed "Intellectual Merit" and "Broader Impacts". Other headings are allowed. Strong plans usually add a title, the background and gap, a hypothesis, two or three aims with expected results and fallbacks, and references, all within two pages.
Do I have to do the research I propose?
Not to the letter. NSF reminds reviewers that applicants are early in their careers and may change research focus, so the plan shows how you think rather than locking in a project. The field does count: accepting the fellowship commits you to a graduate program consistent with the field of study in your application (NSF 26-526).
What if I don't have a research question yet?
Paste your interests, a class project, or the abstract of a paper from a lab you hope to join. River picks the most feasible question that fits, writes the plan around it and tells you why it chose that one. It also adds two other directions, each with a one-line hypothesis, so you can switch.
Is my research topic eligible for the GRFP?
NSF excludes research whose goals are "directly human disease- or health-related," applied studies on crop production or food safety, research meant to influence specific policies, and conservation or natural resource management. Bioengineering that mainly advances engineering knowledge can qualify under Engineering. River flags a likely problem at the top of your draft, and if no honest eligible version exists, it suggests eligible questions instead. NSF makes the final call.
Can I use AI to write my GRFP research plan?
The GRFP solicitation has no rule about using AI, but you must certify that both statements are "their own original work." NSF's notice on generative AI adds that proposers are responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of content developed with AI tools. That is why River works only from your material and marks every line it wrote for you to rewrite.
Will River make up references or preliminary data?
No. River never invents data, results, citations, collaborators, lab names, equipment or numbers. It formats the references you give with abbreviated journal titles and no URLs or DOIs, as NSF requires, and leaves a marked slot such as [source for this claim] where evidence is missing. Read every source yourself before you cite it.
Is my research idea kept private?
Yes. Your idea, files and draft stay in your private River workspace, where you can edit or delete them. River's privacy policy says nothing you write or upload is used to train AI models, and River's agreements with its AI providers bar them from training on it too. Check with your advisor before uploading a lab's unpublished results.
Your next step
More for your GRFP application
Start your plan from the idea you already have
Paste a few lines or drop a paper. River marks every sentence it writes, so the plan stays yours.