Federal grant applications can come with challenging page limits. Most people tend to type away, concerning themselves (rightly) with meeting the requirements before they worry about page limits. But what happens when the requirement is for 30 pages maximum and you’ve typed 50?

• Turn off the setting that prevents paragraph orphans and widows.
• Change the typeface unless there’s a requirement for a specific font. Arial takes up less room than Times New Roman, for example. But don’t pick anything that is too difficult to read.
• Change from passive to active voice.
• Eliminate paragraph breaks.
• Adjust paragraph margins.
• There is likely a one-inch page margin requirement; if not, adjust the document to decrease the margins.
• During the editing process, eliminate unnecessary words and general redundancy.

And finally, it can’t hurt to ask for a second set of eyes — preferably from someone outside your organization — to take a look and make some cuts. They may find things you are missing.

Need more federal grant writing tips? Check out these articles:

• Tips for writing and managing a federal grant
• More tips for writing a federal grant
• Common federal grant proposal mistakes

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