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Scientific Writing Resources
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The following sites provide helpful information about scientific proposal and report writing. The sites, particularly those for general writing tips, may provide more guidance and ideas to present experiments for scientists writing research project plans. Most of the resources available are intended for grant-writing audiences. Though the Office of Scientific Quality Review manages the intramural peer review of ARS's research project plans for quality and improvement purposes (vs. funding purposes), we believe the skills acquired while learning to write a grant proposal are very similar to the skills needed to write a project plan. Thus, we encourage our scientists to build their grant-writing skills, as well as their general scientific writing skills. These sites are not necessarily endorsed by the Agricultural Research Service and are intended to be used in support of internal guidance and training only.  If you would like to add links to this list, please contact us at osqr@ars.usda.gov

GENERAL WRITING TIPS FOR SCIENTISTS

Grantsmanship Hints
Article written by James S. Schepers, USDA, ARS, E. John Sadler, USDA, ARS, and William R. Raun, Oklahoma State University. Published in the Agronomy Journal 92(1):1-5, 2000.
Grantsmanship Hints

Columbia University
Writing a Grant Proposal: Writing Tips and Application Forms http://cumc.columbia.edu/dept/gsas/ac_programs/writing.htm

The Foundation Center
The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing http://www.fdncenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/proposalwriting.html

TIPS FOR SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Indiana University
Guides for better science research, writing, and presentation
http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/14-05.html

University of Virginia - Charlottesville
http://cte.virginia.edu/resources/how-to-write-a-winning-proposal-and-get-those-grants/

Houston, We Have a Narrative, Why Science Needs Story by Randy Olson
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo21174162.html

SEMINARS

National Institutes of Health
Office of Extramural Grants (Offered Nationwide)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/seminars.htm