Previously, I wrote about RFP Misery and introduced GrantSuccess, my system for creating three prewriting documents to guide grant application development. Here, I will introduce writing tips that should help novice grant writers improve the quality of their grant applications.

Simple and Clear

Grant writing is technical writing. Grant writing is not creative writing and it is definitely not story telling. Successful grant writing is “the art of creating clarity” for the grant evaluator through order, repetition, continuity and attention to the narrative and evaluation criteria. Grant evaluators are often assigned a stack of applications. They are given an evaluation rubric shaped from the language of the grant application narrative. They are given lunch. They get tired. They respond positively to applications that address the goals of the funding, attend to the sections of the narrative, are well written, are easy to understand and meet the evaluation criteria. As ease and clarity drop, so does the evaluation score.

Name Your Project

By naming your project, using the name to start sentences, and repeating the name, you give your application identity, i.e. Project Inspire, Project TLCNet, Project Smart, Project MAPS. A well-crafted acronym can be a great project name. Project MAP (Multimedia Action Plans) has four goals and four stages of implementation. At a recent training session, one participant funding for digital camcorders. He considered naming his grant "Project PEEK. " We changed the name.

Write Project Goals First

Well-written project goal statements have a four-part structure and a preferred sequence:

1. verb,
2. object of the action,
3. content of action, and
4. range of improvement.

For example:
Project MAPS will increase (V) K-12 teacher (OA) development of multimedia lesson plans (CA) from current levels by thirty percent (RI). Many technology integration projects have four natural goal categories: 1) technology acquisition, 2) teacher professional development, 3) technology implementation, and 4) student subject area improvement. Goals should be written first. They help organize so many other sections of the grant application.

Avoid Personal Pronouns

Storytellers use too many personal pronouns. Technical writers use project names, project stages or phases, project action teams, project leadership teams. They don’t use personal pronouns. Note the following contrast. Novice: We hope to improve the lesson design of our teachers so our students have more exposure to multimedia tools during instruction. Expert: Project MAPS has four goals. The first goal is to increase the frequency of student engagement with multimedia resources.

Block, Don't Indent

Block paragraphs, don’t indent paragraphs. Use a block style with a double space between paragraphs. If you need to save space, boldface or underline section headings within the first line of text in each paragraph.

For example:

Phase One: Technology Selection - (May, 08-June, 08)

This phase will feature the Project MAPS Leadership Team’s review and selection of appropriate technologies.

The phases stand out and catch the eye of the evaluator.

Highlight Key Data

Put the most important information at the beginning of the sentence. Shorten sentences. A compound sentence can be reconstructed into two simple sentences. Consider using colons, semicolons and listings by number or letter to make content easier to read.

For example: Project MAPS has four goals:

1. acquisition;
2. professional development;
3. implementation, and
4. subject area improvement.

Use Hard Figures

Write for technical impression: Terms like “all,” “a lot,” “many,” “some,” and “about” should be replaced with real numbers or percentages like 100%, 80%, 60% or 30%. Numbers give the application a more technical feel.

Focus on Format

Organize text with white space and graphics. The novice grant writer is often tempted to narrow margins, close the spacing down between sentences and reduce the size of the font. The expert uses white space to improve clarity and focus the evaluator. Indents of lists and single spacing within sections can highlight important content. Sometimes wrapping page text around an embedded graphic in the same page gives the “visual evaluator” a chance to “see what you are saying” as they are reading about it. Online applications have made this harder to do, but hard copy applications still give you a chance to do it.

Emphasize Leadership

Write with terms that suggest leadership. A novice has a “grant team.” An expert has Grant Leadership Team (GLT). Notice the capitalized first letters. The word “Leadership” is no accident. Any team in a grant is more impressive if it is called an “Action Team.” A novice has “teachers” involved in the grant. An expert has “professional educators” or “teaching faculty.” A novice uses the word “use.” An expert integrates the word “integrate.”

Use RFP Terms

Novice applicants write with more of their own language, as they get farther into an application. Keeping your “Key Vocabulary” sheet right above your mouse helps you continue to use the terms of the RFP deep into the application. Use your thesaurus. If the RFP uses the phrase “systemic change in the culture of technology” then replicate that phrase as you write throughout the application.

Next time, we'll address how one section of the application helps you write another section. There is a sequence! They are connected!

Dr. Douglas Brooks  is a Professor in the School of Education, Health and Society at Miami University. He teaches graduate and online courses in grant writing and consults with school districts to build grant writing capacity.

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