When it comes to the use of language in grant proposals, there is no shortage of advice. Use an active voice to make the narrative direct and crisp. Avoid jargon. It’s exclusionary language that means something to those in the know, leaves others in the dark, and often means different things to different people.
Discussions about writing in the first or second person are perennial and heartfelt, but there is no absolute requirement either way. There is wide agreement that there is no place for flowery language in proposals — keep it simple and cut to the chase.
“But even if you violate best practices regarding voice, jargon, and flowers, and (gasp) write in the first person, a grant proposal can succeed as long as it provides specific information,” said Barbara Floersch, grants expert and author of You Have a Hammer: Building Grant Proposals for Social Change. “Above all, grant proposals should avoid ambiguity.”
If after reading your entire proposal a funder does not understand what you are concerned about, what you intend to do, and what benefits will result from your activities, your proposal has failed the specificity test. While balanced information is always the ideal, it is better to be annoyingly specific than annoyingly vague.
A tired reader can always skim over a detail or two if the text feels too weighty. But when left in a fog without details, the reader can only make guesses and assumptions which are likely to be incorrect. Here are a few examples of vague V.S. specific information.
- * Substance abuse by city high school students is increasing … versus … Between June 2021 and June 2022 the State Department of Health reported that substance abuse by students in city high school had increased by 25% (citation).
- * The program will train parents of River High School students … versus … The program will provide eight hours of training in the evidence-based Academic Support curricula to 50 parents of River High School students whose grade point average is below 2.0.
- * Students will improve their reading skills … versus … After six months, 75% of the 100 students who participate in tutoring at least 2 hours a week will improve their reading skills by an average of two grade levels.
When reading your draft proposal, continually assess whether the narrative provides enough specific information to ensure that the reader can understand your argument for funding support. Just as we can fail to recognize our use of jargon, we can fail to recognize when the details in our head have not made it into the proposal narrative. “Be vigilant. A specific, well-argued grant proposal can overcome a bit of poor writing, but an ambiguous proposal is doomed,” said Floersch.
