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Ep 2:37 “My Dissertation Is About” and Other Grant-Writing Mistakes

By Karen Kelsky | May 5, 2021

The Professor Is In
The Professor Is In
Ep 2:37 "My Dissertation Is About" and Other Grant-Writing Mistakes
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Grant-writing is a craft and it can be learned. The challenge is getting your head in the right space. Just like job applications, it’s not about your hopes, dreams, wishes, and preoccupations. It’s about marketing yourself in an intensely competitive environment. In this episode Karen and Kel walk you through Karen’s Foolproof Grant Template, showing you how to grab the reviewer’s attention with a vivid topic, substantiating that with references to current literature, showing a gap in the literature and the catastrophic repercussions of that gap, and finally demonstrating that your proposed project will heroically intervene to rescue us from devastating ignorance. when you’re at the point of seeking money for research, you ARE the hero of that research and that story, and your writing can show that in a host of direct and indirect ways.  Show the funder that their money will make a difference by funding specific, concrete deliverables (sorry!) that advance their agenda.

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Tagged With: getting money, grant-writing, how to apply for money, how to write grants

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  1. NR says

    September 29, 2025 at 4:18 pm

    I love this episode! Thanks. I really needed to hear this today as I scramble to prepare my latest fellowship application. Just wanted to also let you folks know that this one doesn’t seem to be up on Apple Podcasts. Not a big issue, but helps with playback while I’m driving! Thank you for all that you do.

    Reply

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