UNMC Editorial Grants Associate Jessica Mercer Ph.D., offers the following 10 tips for investigators who want to write better grants:
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Jessica Mercer, Ph.D. |
Before you begin, outline the grant proposal and the points that need to be included. This will help you stay focused and be more concise. Provide one main idea per sentence (The National Institutes of Health says sentence length should average 15‐20 words).
2. Highlight the significance of the proposal
Be direct. Don’t expect (or hope) the reviewer will derive the significance of the grant proposal simply by reading it. Instead, just say: “Our research is significant because …” Being direct saves the reviewer time and eliminates any misinterpretations of your work.
3. Sell your ideas
Don’t bury ideas in details. Present them in ways that reviewers can buy into. Use persuasive language, visuals and analogies so they stand out from others and are remembered.
4. Activate verbs
Strong, active verbs are the workhorses of effective sentences. They give your
sentences energy. Use active, not passive, voice.
5. Be concise
Eliminate wordiness. Don’t overuse qualifiers (really, very, quite, extremely). Avoid weak qualifiers (hope, should, could, believe) and use
‘expect’ instead. Avoid science cliches such as missing link, paradigm shift, etc.
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Lead the reviewer through your results. Interpret them clearly and concisely.
Present preliminary data that demonstrates the feasibility of the research in your hands.
7. Write with a reader’s perspective
See and read the proposal through the reviewer’s perspective. Read it aloud to find holes. Get feedback from colleagues. Consider whether the reader will interpret the information as you intended.
8. Reviewers are human
Remember reviewers are human and have emotions. Writing can play to those
emotions. Make logical, compelling arguments. Convey your passion for your
proposal.
9. Stand out from the pack
Make your grant proposal stand out. Understand the mission of the granting agency and their review criteria. Learn from prior critiques. Use analogies that reviewers will remember. Talk with colleagues who participate in study sections and ask them what, too often, is missing from proposals.
10. Focus on the basics
Review your sentence structure, style and transitions. Make the text readable with appropriate margins and paragraphs. Use strong headlines to ‘hook’ the reader.