1. Proposal Formatting Guidelines and Tips
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2. INBRE Grant Writing Workshops 2017
Session’s Goals
Review NIH page and text-formatting specifications from the SF424 Application Guide.
Offer some advice on preparing an audience-friendly document.
INBRE Grant Writing Workshops 2017

3. INBRE Grant Writing Workshops 2017
Paper Size and Margins
Use standard paper size (8 ½" x 11).
½-inch margins top, bottom, left, right.
No information should appear in the margins (e.g., no PI’s name, no page numbers).
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4. Allowable Fonts, Font Sizes, and Type Density
Choose from the following fonts; point size: 11 points or larger, black font color only:
Arial
Garamond
Georgia
Helvetica
Palatino Linotype
Font size in figure legends may be smaller (size not specified, but generally should be no smaller than 9-point type)
Type density
No more than 15 characters+spaces per linear inch
No more than six lines per vertical inch
Use single line spacing
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5. Advice from OGSP Preparing an Audience-Friendly Document
Use Arial font, 11 point, single spacing, without making lines justified to the right margin (as in a book or journal).
Do not use numerals (e.g., 1. Specific Aims) or letters (e.g., A. Specific Aims), or combinations thereof (e.g., B.1, B.1.1, etc.), in headings — they are superfluous.
Allow sufficient white space on pages, that is
¼-inch paragraph indents
Space above and below headings
Space between paragraphs
Use many shorter paragraphs, rather than having long, unbroken spans of text.
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6. Advice from OGSP Preparing an Audience-Friendly Document
Use descriptive headings to guide reviewers.
Use diagrams, schemes, flow charts to illustrate hypotheses, pathways, work flow (but don’t make them impossibly small).
Highlight (boldface, underlining, etc.) critical elements in the text that reviewers need to understand (but be sparing and focused).
Ensure the absence of grammatical and typographical errors.
INBRE Grant Writing Workshops 2017