Transcript Writing Good Grants

Writing Good Grants
Office of Research Development
December 2012
As found online.
Note it should be called:
How To Write Well
What we are going to talk about
• How grant writing is different than other kinds of writing
• Getting on a writing schedule
– What is actually “writing” on that schedule
• Why you must have time to edit
• Rules of grammar – some popular “no longer the case”
rules and what to do with them
• Writing clearly
• Writing coherently
• The Abstract/Project Summary – you have to get it right
• Pointers for the rest of your grant
Grant Proposals v. Other Forms of
Academic Writing
• What the writer and reader want is different
– In a journal article
• Readers wants to understand something new, further their
work with your information or validate their theory
• Writers want to further their work, build their reputation
and build their CV
– In a grant
• Readers want to get through the pile of grants before the
meeting
• Writers want money but also to persuade the reader of the
validity, reliability and significance of work yet to be done
Grant Writing: Meet your audience
• In a hurry
• Not being paid much (if anything) for their
services
• Have regular jobs (and lives) which require
their attention
• Do a lot of reading
Make your audience happy and
embrace the differences
• Most communications fail because the writer does not
accommodate the audience. In the case of grants, you
must:
– Follow the guidelines
– Use transitions
• Go beyond however, consequently, furthermore, thus
• Readers like old ideas at the beginning of a sentence and new ideas at
the end – you can repeat a word or phrase from the previous sentence
– Emphasize the main idea and let other ideas act as subordinates
– Some reviewers go from the abstract to the budget. Some go
from the abstract to the project description. Both must be
strong.
– Focus on the ‘so what?’
• The specifics of it
Surviving the writing process:
Get on a schedule
• Neither “awaiting the muse” nor “binge
writing” works
• Studies have shown the best way to write to
maximize productivity (number of pages) and
efficiency (number of ideas per page) is to
schedule a regular block of time and treat it
like a class or writing commitment (Krashen,
2002)
What is writing?
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Reviewing the guidelines
Outlining
Reviewing the data
Developing a timeline
Editing
Budget development
Making images
Why you must have time to edit
• Very few people get it right the first time
– There is a great tradition in the history of the English language of
writing unclearly
– Poor English writing in serious discourse began in the middle of the
16th century
– Dense academic writing was being criticized back in the 1660s
• Usual causes of unclear writing:
– Writers think complicated sentences must mean deep thinking
– Writers are so terrified of drafting something that is “wrong” that they
muddle themselves up
– Writers know what they are talking about and don’t realize the readers
aren’t following them
• You can’t follow the rules I am about to present while you are
writing
• The first draft should be bad. You need to get the thoughts out
there and then clean them up
Grammar rules: three kinds
• Real rules: such as articles must precede nouns (it
is the book and not book the)
– These rules are not optional
• Social rules: Standard English rather than
nonstandard
– He doesn’t have any money versus He don’t have no
money
– In grant writing, these rules are not optional
• Invented rules
– Folklore and Elegant Options
– These rules are optional or even discouraged
Folklore Grammar Rules - Feel Free to
Ignore Them
• Don’t begin a sentence with and, because, or but
• Use the relative pronoun that – not which – for restrictive
clauses
– A nonrestrictive clause modifies a noun naming a referent that
you can identify without the information in that clause
• ABCO Inc. ended its first bankruptcy, which it filed in 1997
• ABCO Inc sold a project that made millions (assuming ABCO made
many projects and the clause that made millions restricts which one
you are discussing
– Windows will redline this in your work
• Use fewer with nouns you can count and less with nouns
you cannot
• Use since and while to refer only to time, not to mean
because or although
Elegant Option Grammar – May Result in
Sounding Self-Consciously Formal
• Don’t split infinitives
– Splitting: They wanted to slightly conceal the fact….
– Not splitting: They wanted to conceal slightly the fact…..
• Use whom as the object of a verb or preposition
– Who am I writing for?
– To whom am I writing?
– The actual rule: use who when it is the subject of a verb in its own
clause; use whom only when it is an object in its own clause
• Beth trick: replace the word with he/him. If him sounds right, you want whom
– The committee decided {} they should choose
• Don’t end a sentence with a preposition
– Exception: please, don’t end a sentence with at if possible
• Use the singular with none and any
• NOTE: Know your audience on these – if you know folks in your
field are old school purists, then be a purist too.
Ten principles for writing clearly
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Use the real grammatical rules and not the folklore
Use subjects to name the characters in your writing
Open your sentences with familiar units of information
Get to the main verb quickly
– Avoid long introductory phrases and clauses
– Avoid long abstract subjects
– Avoid interrupting the subject-verb connection
• Push new, complex units of information to the end of the sentence
• Keep the same subject throughout
• Be concise
– Cut meaningless and repeated words and obvious implications
– Put the meaning of phrases into one or two words
• Prefer affirmative sentences to negative ones
• Control sprawl
• Write to others as you would have others write to you
Ten principles for writing coherently
• In your introduction, motivate readers to read carefully by starting a
problem they ought to care about
• State your point, the solution to the problem, at or near the end of
the introduction
• In that point, introduce concepts you will develop in what follows
• Make everything that follows relevant to your point
• Make it clear where sections begin/end
• Order parts in a way that make clear and visible sense to your
readers
• Open each section with its own short introductory sentence
• Put the point of each section at the end of that opening segment
• Begin sentences that form a unit with consistent topics/subjects
• Creative old-new ties between sentences
Common problems
• You turn your verbs into nouns
– Verbs as nouns: Once upon a time, as a walk through the woods was taking
place on the part of Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf’s jump out from behind a
tree occurred, causing her fright
– Verbs as verbs: Once upon a time, Little Red Riding Hood was walking through
the woods, when the Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and frightened her
• Your subjects/characters aren’t clear
– Studies and genes and software can all be subjects/characters.
– Take some time to determine what your subjects are
• You are heavy on the jargon
– Don’t make your reader feel stupid
• Overuse of passive voice and metadiscourse
– Passive: “The subjects were observed”
– Metadiscourse: “I will show”/“I will explain”
• Keep this in the introduction
The Abstract/Project Summary: You
have to get it right
• Keep in mind – the abstract must stand on its own and be
understood by Congressional members, members of the public and
members of the media
• It may be the only thing reviewers read
• The abstract must hold the attention of the expert reader and be
clear to the lay reader
• Opening line must be a hook of some sort – the why or who cares?
– More than 17 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes, the
seventh leading cause of death, with premenopausal obese and
diabetic women at particular risk.
– We posit that estrogens improve over-nutrition and/or angiotensin II
(Ang II)-induced INS resistance in skeletal muscle and cardiovascular
tissues via decreased S6K1-mediated Ser (P) of IRSs.
Abstract/Project Summary
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Who will do the work?
What will be done?
Where will the work be done?
When will the activities be accomplished?
How will your results be evaluated and disseminated
Keep track of your word count/page limit
• Goal of the abstract
– To generate interest and excitement in your project
Writing Your Abstract
Proposal Logic: The Research Goal
Assess Feasibility &
Timeliness
Aims/Objectives for
this Project
Reality Check
What are the methods,
activities, tasks?
What are the
outcomes?
So what?
The Rest of it
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Each solicitation is different
– Follow the directions
– Know the goals of the organization before you write
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Prove you are an expert by:
– Including details of the problems and references that show you understand the problem
– Giving a brief background of the science
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Be specific
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Specific materials, structures, devices you will use/build
Specific methods you will use
Specific metrics you will use to determine success
Specific milestones you will achieve and when
Avoid boilerplate information – each section is a chance for you to discuss the
project you are proposing. Use it to your advantage
Describe what each person on the project will contribute and how much time each
will spend on the project
How outsiders can get input/guidance and how you will get that information out
– A website is not enough
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Get a colleague to read it for the science and an editor to read it for the grammar
whenever possible
The Proposal Narrative
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Begin with a large societal issue and narrow to the aspect of the issue you are addressing
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Provide up-to-date background information and the current state of the problem
Why is your work necessary and whom will it serve?
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Review of how others have addressed aspects of this program/need and any problems with or gaps
in these efforts
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Do not just let the facts hang there – explain how your project will move beyond these efforts to solve a
specific problem
Explain why your work needs to be done now and why it is innovative
Goals
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Remember: wide audience
A goal is abstract and conceptual (think thesis statement)
If you cannot define your goal in one or two simple statements, consider refining your project
One or two goals per proposal is usually enough
Objectives
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What you are going to do to reach your goals
Can define projects or processes/benchmarks to be researched
Limit yourself to three or four realistic objectives that are concrete, narrow in focus and achievable
Think about writing your reports – these objectives will be what you are reporting on
Be specific with your timeline and activities
Flesh these out in your work plan or methods section
The Proposal Narrative
• Pilot data – if you have it, use it!
– Use it to link your past work with your future work
– Use to present proof of the value of your current work
– Another way to show you are the right PI for the project
• Work Plan
– In detail: who will do what, how, and when
– Even in you are not asked for a timeline, create one – if for no other
reason than for determining your budget
• Highlight the experience of your team in both the key personnel
section and budget narrative
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Make the case that you are the ideal leader and you have a great team
What does your team have that no one else does?
What stuff (facilities and equipment) do they have access to?
A management/leadership plan is important – you have these great
people- how will they collaborate?
The Proposal Narrative
• Sustainability
– How will the project continue after the grant is over?
– Examples of institutional support (often the best proof of sustainability)
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Offering you specialized training
Buying specific equipment
Providing lab space
Waiving tuition for your graduate students
Cultivating campus-wise programs
Adding faculty in your area
Releasing you from other duties to pursue this project
• Evaluation of Outcomes and Impact
– This is tied directly to your objectives
– Spend 5 to 10 percent of your budget on project evaluation
– Numerous methods are available
• Survey, interviews, focus groups, test, document studies
• Consider adding a statistician to your team
• Data analysis is evaluation – consider pulling it out of methods and having an “Expected
Results” section which can also mention the “Potential Problems”
The Proposal Narrative
• Dissemination Plan
– A good plan
• Identifies groups that can benefit from your work and data
• Explains how/why you will share your work with these
groups
• Identify what information you will share with each group
• What the impact of sharing this work with be (how will
these groups benefit)
• Combines both active and passive dissemination
– Active examples: conference presentations, writing articles for
newsletters of relevant groups, hosting workshops
– Passive examples: books, websites
The Proposal Narrative
• Diversity Plan
– Should demonstrate you, your department, school
and institution recognize and embrace
inclusiveness in areas such as race, gender,
religion or socioeconomic status
– Use what UT Dallas has
• Office of Diversity & Community Engagement
Budget and Budget Justification
• Often the second thing a reviewer reads
• Tells the story of your project in parallel with
your project narrative
• Always double-check your math and that the
numbers match the project and vice versa
• Budget expenses should be related to the
aims and methods of your project
• Be realistic and reasonable
– Do not pad the budget or skimp on it
The Package
• Biosketches
– Use the format the sponsor asks
• Resources, Facilities and Organization Description
– On the website
– Mention what you will use and not just a laundry list of
what is around
– However, think broadly – if there is something about your
environment that helps you with your project, mention it
• Letters of support and commitment
– Be substantive
– You can draft letters of commitment (I have samples you
can use) but give the people enough time to add their own
words – great things appear that way
Make it readable
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Try to keep your paragraphs under 10 lines
Limit sentences to about 15 words
Limit titles to 10 words
Allow extra space between paragraphs
Left-justified text
Use graphics and lists
Anticipate skimming, search reading and
critical reading needs
Books you might find useful
Grammar Focused
• Elements of Style, William Strunk and E.B. White ISBN: 978-0-205-31342-6
• Woe is I, Patricia T. O’Conner ISBN: 978-1-59448-890-0
Editing Focused
• Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, Joseph M. Williams and Gregory G. Colomb
ISBN: 978-0-205-74746-7
Writing Focused
• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott ISBN: 978-0385-48001-7
• How to Write a Lot, Paul Silvia ISBN: 978-1-59147-743-3
• If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland ISBN 978-9-650-06028-2
• On Writing, Stephen King ISBN 978-1-439-15681-0
• Write: 10 Days to Overcome Writer’s Block Period, Karen Peterson ISBN: 978-1593-37503-4
Other/Motivational
• The Craft of Research, Wayne C. Booth and Gregory G. Colomb ISBN: 978-0-22606566-3
• The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown ISBN: 978-1-592-85849-1
• The Procrastinator’s Handbook, Rita Emmett ISBN: 978-0-802-77598-6
Questions?
• Thanks for listening!
Contact
• Beth Keithly
• [email protected]
• 972-883-4568
• Information I have you may find useful:
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Project timelines
Problem statement resources
Developing concept papers
Talking to Program Officers
Setting up Pivot profiles (finding funding)