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Writing Best Practices

Before you write

  • Have a research question you can clearly articulate (that famous “elevator pitch”) 
  • Gather data (your own and from the literature) and develop insight and hypotheses  
  • Choose to apply only to grants that fit your career stage and research interest 
  • Be honest with yourself about the time and effort writing a proposal will require. There is no bigger waste of your time than submitting a rushed application that makes a poor impression.  

Writing the scientific portion of your application

At all steps: Gather and apply timely feedback from mentors, peers, and grant support staff.

  1. Write an outline and key take-away message(s)  
    • What literature and preliminary data led to your hypotheses? 
    • What do you expect to learn or prove? 
    • What will be the next step and longer-term impact of the work? 
    • Work from your outline and any rough figures 
  2. Define and refine your Specific Aims page 
    • Summarize the why (unmet need/possible impact), what (variables, populations, outcomes) and how (approach, technologies, methods) of your research plan 
  3. Draft the research strategy or project plan 
    • Consider working out of order, first writing experimental plans and expected results and then writing the framing background needed to understand the proposed work 
    • Put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes: Strive to provide context, consistency and continuity, presenting only relevant facts in a logical order using defined terms 
    • Ignore awkward sentences or other distractions at this stage – get a full draft done before going back to review 
  4. Draft figures and tables 
    • Keep in mind that data figures in a grant are typically much less critical than in a manuscript—allot time accordingly 
  5. Revise and polish 
    • Find fresh eyes, ideally from scientists outside your laboratory/immediate circle 
    • Finish writing ahead of the submission deadline so there is time for a final proofreading with a chance to correct any issues 
    • The wrong formatting or length could get your application rejected without a review
  6. Pat yourself on the back for getting the job done! Take a moment to reflect on what did and didn’t go well from your point of view and what practices you’ll keep or change next time.