proposal writing resources
This is a list of general tips and resources for writing a grant proposal. For a list of agency-specific resources, see our Resources by Agency page.
proposal writing guides
- Guide For Writing a Funding Proposal, S. Joseph Levine: A list of general tips for proposal writing organized by common types of application sections, including an example proposal.
- The Art of Grantsmanship, Jacob Kraicer, U Toronto/HFSP: An older, but still popular, proposal writing guide, including suggested timelines. Uses vocabulary characteristic of NIH proposals, but advice is applicable to proposals to other agencies.
- The Proposal Writer’s Guide, University of Michigan: A well-written general guide; addresses common section types with greater specificity than other guides. Includes old but still-relevant data on reasons why proposals are rejected.
- The Anatomy of a Specific Aims Page, Bioscience Writers: A detailed breakdown of how to structure a Specific Aims section in an NIH application, but the advice on general argumentative structure is also useful for other types of proposals.
- Introduction to Proposal Writing, GrantSpace by Candid: A free online course on the basics of proposal writing. Estimated completion time is 1 hour.
- Scientific Editing and Writing Article Library, Bioscience Writers: A free online resource focused on scientific writing. Includes multiple articles on fine-tuning/editing scientific articles, proposals, and manuscripts; writing CVs, resumes, cover letters, and abstracts; and guidelines for formatting and including scientific jargon/vocabulary, among other helpful links.
articles
- Robert Porter (Director of Research Development, University of Tennessee) has published
a series of short scholarly articles that provide practical advice for proposal writers:
- “Can We Talk? Contacting Grant Program Officers,” Research Management Review 17.1 (Fall/Winter 2009): 10-17
- “Crafting a Sales Pitch for Your Grant Proposal,” Research Management Review 18.2 (Fall/Winter 2011): 1-7
- “What Do Grant Reviewers Really Want, Anyway?,” Journal of Research Administration XXXVI.2 (2005): 5-13
- “Debunking Some Myths About Grant Writing,” Kenneth T. Henson, the Chronicle of Higher Education
- “The Science of Scientific Writing,” George Gopen and Judith Swan, American Scientist — a highly detailed treatment of style and sentence structure in scientific writing, focused on maximizing clarity when communicating complex technical ideas.
- Science Magazine’s “Grant Writing for Tight Times” feature series from 2007 goes beyond grant-writing basics to offer guidance from grant writers, grant reviewers, and agency program officers: