Tips for Grant Writers
Tuesday January 8, 2013
Elite Research offers tips for grant writers. Elite Research is a global provider of research design and statistical consulting. Elite Research supports academic, corporate, medical/health, and nonprofit researchers in designing, collecting, analysing, and reporting efficient and accurate results.
There is no universally accepted style or format for grant proposals. Many organizations have their own requirements that you should be aware of before you begin writing your grant proposal. If organizations to which you are submitting your proposal have style and formatting requirements, then those requirements take precedence over any other grant writing tips. Even if you have existing requirements to which you must adhere, you can still use some of the following grant writing tips to help you write your grant proposal:
One of the most important grant writing tips is to use appropriate language for your audience and to write from your readers’ perspectives. Use language in your proposal that even readers who are least knowledgeable about your subject can understand. Insure your proposal can be read by someone whose primary language is not English. Choose words that mean the same to both you and your readers. Familiarize yourself with the language of your field, but avoid jargon. Choose language that is politically correct to insure that readers perceive your grant proposal as ethically and legally sound. Understand that different sections of proposals require different language (e.g., abstracts and executive summaries should be written in plain language, but other major sections can be written in economical prose to tell a story that will persuade readers to take action). Use language that is interesting and engaging to readers and that conveys your credibility in and enthusiasm for your topic, but maintain balance by being direct and simple and by sticking to your point. Ask yourself the following question if you are unsure about information you want to include in your proposal: Do readers need to know this to be persuaded to take action?
Another one of the most important grant writing tips is to make your proposal easy to read. Use consistently formatted headings and subheadings to help readers quickly locate information. Use white space effectively to separate major headings and sections. Use appropriate visual displays to support text, but place extensive data in appendices to improve readability of text. Use numbered and bulleted lists that begin with active verbs to make objectives, methods, steps, etc., simple to find and understand. Know how to structure your proposal according to the requirements of the organizations to which you are submitting.
Many grant writers struggle with what might be the most obvious of the grant writing tips: Accept that you must revise. Understand that grant writing is not a linear process that can be finalized after one draft. Accept that grant writing is an evolving process that requires multiple revisions. Engage others to help you revise your proposal and to insure that your language is easy for all readers to understand. Realize that you do not have to write your proposal in the order in which information will appear in the final copy; writing the body first, the introduction second, and the abstract or executive summary last will help you identify which information needs to be included in each section.
Contact Elite Research today to get reliable help with all of your statistical, research, and editorial needs! http://eliteresearch.com/ or (800) 806-5661.
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