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Worksheets are based on THE GRANT WRITING GUIDE: A Road Map for Scholars by Betty S. Lai. This workbook contains a 1) Pre-Submission Checklist (pp. 203 - 205 of the book) and 2) Action steps for writing your next fundable grant (pp. 6 - 7).

Copyright © 2023 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of the author.
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Pre-Submission Checklist
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Application instructions. Have you met all required proposal elements?
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Evaluation criteria. Have you included good headings and emphasis words throughout your proposal (i.e., sound bites)?
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Funder’s mission. Have you indicated at least one statement in your grant about how you address the mission of the funder?
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Funder’s strategic plan. Have you thought through and stated how your work addresses the funder’s strategic plan?
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Request for proposals. Have you stated in your grant how your work directly addresses the request for proposals?
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Guidance versus statements. Does your proposal make arguments for how the work moves the field forward (i.e., guidance), rather than focusing on descriptive statements? Are there places where you make tepid statements? Could those be strengthened?
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Build your case. Does your research plan explain why you have a solid plan, chose the right methods, you’ll be able to do the work, and why the funder can expect good outcomes?
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Anticipate reviewer questions. Have you thought about the questions reviewers will have about your research plan? Did you address those questions?
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Inverted pyramid. Does every paragraph have a clear guiding statement? Within each paragraph, does evidence fit the guidance at the start of the paragraph? Have you identified conflicting evidence? Have you removed “filler” material, focusing instead on concrete numbers, data, studies, and so on?
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Signposts. Do you have signposts throughout your grant?
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Mirroring. Have you mirrored the structure of every section in your grant?
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Repetition. Have you used the same terms throughout the grant?
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Emphasis techniques. Are your emphasis techniques consistent? Is it clear why you are using an emphasis technique? Are there any places where emphasis techniques are not needed and could be removed?
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Front-load your point. In every sentence and paragraph, is the point front-loaded? (As a refresher example, this checklist is front-loaded. The main points appear at the beginning of each bullet and are bolded.)
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Figures. Does every figure have a purpose? Can you understand the figures without having to read the text? Are the figures accessible? Is the font large enough to read? Are the figures as simplified as they can be? Are the figures consistent with regard to alignment, colors, size, and formatting?
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White space. Have you created white space on every page?
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Trim extra words. Have you gone through the entire grant and trimmed every word that could be cut?
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No jargon. Do a last check of your grant to remove any jargon that may be removed.
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Short sentences only. Are all of your sentences under three lines of text? Could any sentences be shortened further? Do you have any compound sentences that could be simplified or split?
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Avoid acronyms. Have you removed acronyms wherever possible?
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Kill the ambiguous “this.” When you search for the word “this” in your grant, is it always clear what “this” means?
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Voice. Did you write in an active voice? Or if you wrote in a passive voice, is it clear who is in charge?
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Be precise. Have you made your case with numbers and data instead of general statements?
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Showcase fit. Have you explicitly stated why you and your work are unique?
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Tell the story. Have you made connections for reviewers to help them understand how people and work are related?
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Build your dream team and reframe weaknesses. Have you considered the weaknesses reviewers will identify in you, your team, or environment? Have you bolstered those weaknesses or reframed them as strengths?
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Critical critiques. Have you asked critical readers for feedback? Have you addressed all of their concerns?
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Final fact-checking. Are all of your facts accurate? Did you check that all of your measure names are correct? Do you have the right data ranges? Have you cited the correct articles?
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Final consistency check. Are the headings and aims worded consistently? Is the information presented in the same order every time? Did you use the same terms with the same spelling throughout?
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Final proofing. Have you checked for all spelling and grammar errors? Referencing errors? Did you recheck the figure numbers one last time, including any places where the figures are referenced in the text?
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Final check of application requirements. Have you ensured that all of your final documents meet the application requirements?
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