How to Write a Winning Grant Title

The title of a grant proposal is often the last thing an author writes. But it is one of the most important parts of a grant application. The title is the first thing a reviewer reads. It is your first chance to win over your reviewers with an innovative, creative idea that they will want to champion for funding.

The title offers a significant piece of information to the reviewer. Think of your title as a mini-abstract. In one short statement, you need to give your reviewer a unique, relevant, and intriguing description of your research plan. You need to tell them what you will do, how you will do it, and what results you expect to get.

How do you accomplish these elements in such a limited space? Here are 10 tips to help you write a winning grant title.

1.    Include agency-friendly keywords

Program officers often use your title to help direct your application to the appropriate study section. Use terms in your title that will make it clear which study section should review your application. For example, “cardiac hypertrophy” will help your application go to a study section that reviews applications in cardiac hypertrophy.

2.    Place the most important words first

Your title needs to clearly reflect the focus of your proposal. The most important words should come first, then the less important words. By putting the most important words first, they can have the most impact and convey the proposal's overall message or intent.

3.    Use plain language

Focus on using simple, direct language in your title. Remember that you want to make your reader’s job easy. Also, some review panels have patients, families, or donors among them who can influence the funding decision. By using simple language in your title, you will ensure that any reviewer will understand it.

4.    Keep it short

Most funding agencies have a character limit for titles. Follow their guidelines. For example, the NIH limits the title length to 200 characters, including spaces and punctuation. While this length is a big upgrade from their former limit of 81 characters, you want your title to be no longer than one sentence.

5.    Use active verbs

Use active, forward-thinking verbs. They will give your title “action” and a compelling tone. A good trick is to use verbs that end in “-ing,” such as “determining,” “identifying,” or “establishing.” These verbs also point to the results or outcome of your project, another important feature of a good grant title.

6.    Point to the outcome

The title needs to emphasize the product of your research. What do you expect to gain by finishing the project? You can often find these details in your objective statement and significance section. Pull out some of the keywords and phrases from those descriptions to get you started.

7.    Avoid generic words

Do not use generic titles that could describe any project in your field. Avoid words and phrases such as “proposal” or “a study of.” You want to use specific words that convey the key elements of your project.

8.    Leave out unnecessary words

Omit any words that are not needed. If you can delete a word and the title is still clear, then leave the word out. By removing needless words, you will more easily meet the character limit. And more importantly, you will help your reviewer clearly understand what you want to convey to them in your title.

9.    Avoid punctuation

Aim to not use any punctuation in your title. Using a colon or hyphen might seem like a clever way to create a catchy title. But the added punctuation typically suggests that your title could be more concise. When faced with a character limit, you need every character you can get to give your reviewer a clear idea of your project.

10. Define abbreviations

A general rule is to always spell out abbreviations in the title. An exception to this rule applies to standard abbreviations, such as DNA or HIV. In these cases, you only need to spell them out if you think your reviewer will not understand them. If your reviewer is not familiar with the abbreviation, they will not easily understand your title.  

How to Develop a Winning Title

With some brainstorming, you can develop an effective title for your grant application.

Step 1

Create a list of words and phrases that contain important information about your grant. You can often find these details in the areas you describe the significance, objective, innovation, or approach.

Step 2

Analyze your list of words and phrases. Are any of the words abbreviations? If so, are they standard abbreviations that you don’t need to spell out? Are any of the words jargon that your reviewer might not understand? If so, leave them out.

Step 3

Create titles by arranging the words or phrases into sentences that do not exceed the character limit. Draft as many titles as you can in an hour. Then, reduce your list to the top ten titles.

Step 4

Share your list with your collaborators, colleagues, or members of your lab. Ask them to pick the most exciting and informative title.

Step 5

Reduce your top ten list to three titles. Then work with your team to pick which title stands out clearly above the others.