You’ve spent countless hours, days, and months working on your proposal. You’ve brainstormed with colleagues, had peers provide feedback, and sought help from your institution’s Office of Research proposal development team (PLUG: At UCD, that's us — UC Davis Proposal Development Services!). Your grant is nearly done, and it’s time for the last spit and polish prior to clicking "send." Before you do, review three of our key finishing tips! 

Check the agency guidelines 

Don't submit without triple-checking the agency guidelines. What fonts and font sizes do they accept? What size margins are required? Are there restrictions on figures, tables, or colors? Are specific headers needed? Do headers require particular formatting? Are your documents within the page limits? Review the solicitation and agency guidelines with a fine-tooth comb (again) before you submit. 

White Space 

At some point, we have all turned the page on some reading only to face a wall of text. Even if the reading is riveting, we need visual breaks to better help us follow and process information. In a grant proposal, you can add visual breathing room (white space) in several ways: 

• Break up information into smaller paragraphs and move important lists into bullet points rather than burying them in a paragraph. Doing so allows important details to be found quickly, like visual signposts that draw the eye while skimming sections of text. 
• We recommend left-aligned rather than justified text. Having left-aligned text makes it much easier for your reader to follow and creates a less cluttered appearance on the page. 
• Create breathing room around figures. Add some padding around figures so that your text doesn't run too closely into your visuals and distract from both. 

Be concise, consistent, and confident

Your grant proposal should sell your reader on the idea that you and your project are worth investing in. Review the language you use to make sure it's on-point with your goal. 

• Keep your ideas clear and concise. Focus on using shorter sentences with simple language (avoid jargon) and written in an active voice. 
• Be consistent in the terminology and headers you use to make your proposal easy to follow and navigate. 
• Let your enthusiasm shine. You want to excite reviewers about your new research, so use your own enthusiasm to clearly lay out the case for why you and your project are worth taking a chance on. 

Bottom Line

Formatting guidelines exist to improve readability and ease reviewer fatigue. Well-done formatting often goes unnoticed because it allows your reader to focus on the content—your ultimate goal. Poor formatting makes things harder for your reader by increasing their frustration and fatigue and detracting from your content. Take time to format well - it'll pay off!