TEA BREAK

ACEING ACADEMIA: Week 4 Review

Please note: The ACEing Academia series was originally published on LinkedIn. Each category is represented by a suite from playing cards to reflect the “ACEing” theme, with each week ending with a brief review

There is no such thing as a perfect grant proposal (or academic paper). But there are things that you can do to increase your competitive and the clarity of your communication.

Over this past week, ACEing Academia has highlighted the following common errors to avoid:

1️⃣3️⃣ USE APPROPRIATE EVIDENCE: You cannot just assert that your project is necessary or feasible. It must be supported by evidence, preferably something that is as up to date as possible.

1️⃣4️⃣ AVOID NEEDLESSLY COMPLEX LANGUAGE: Sesquipedalianism helps no one and can backfire.

1️⃣5️⃣ AVOID EXTREMELY LONG SENTENCES: A mixture of sentence lengths—short, medium, and slightly longer than medium—will get your point across better than sentences that never end.

1️⃣6️⃣ BE CONSISTENT: Formatting should be consistent throughout a grant proposal or paper. This includes references and citations as well as pronouns, e.g. I or he, we or the team.

Most of the tips I’ve been sharing since the start of the year are straightforward and may seem obvious. However, they are common errors that are often overlooked, so fixing them will help you improve your chances of creating a grant proposal that is clear, credible, and compelling.

See the other posts in the ACEing Academia series:

♠  Content
♦  Clarity
♣  Structure
♥  Style