Write to Be Scanned

Grant proposal submissions are rapidly going digital. Large grantors such as the Federal Government are now using "Electronic Field Readers" who will read your proposal as a pdf document on a computer screen in the comfort of their own home or office, often after the end of a day's work. Life is hectic and people simply don't have time to work too hard for your information

It is advisable to write your proposal as if it is a web page.

People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. ... read "How Users Read on the Web - They don't."

These five guidelines will vastly improve many a proposal:

• Avoid jargon
• Use the active voice.
• A sentence should not contain more than 20 words.
• A paragraph should not contain more than six sentences.
• Put the primary theme of a paragraph, and the scope of what it covers, in the first sentence

         Use highlighting and emphasis to make important words catch the user's eye 

• Bullet lists were born to be scanned.
• Keep the items on each list short and snappy.
• (3-5 items is best, never over 7)

People will scan headings in order to grasp the essential meaning of a page.

• Start every proposal section with a brief description or summary of the content.
• Structure sections with two or even three levels of headlines
• Headings should summarize or explain what's in the next paragraph or two.

..... more

Web Writing Guidelines (pdf, 10mB)

Writing for the Web