Writing Competitive Federal Grant Proposals: Advice for Novice Grant Writers

How does a novice grant writer produce a well-written proposal that stands out among the competition ? Many teacher educators do not write federal grants because they do not know how to identify funding sources or how to prepare grant proposals. The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to provide useful advice to first-time grant seekers about how to ensure that their proposal is competitive, and (2) to help grant writers avoid common pitfalls frequently seen by those who review and evaluate grant proposals. A list of federal grant resources and web sites is included.