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Tips to improve proposal success rate.

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This exercise is designed to provide critical 'lessons learned' in a quiz format.  The questions are designed with the hope that the best answer is obvious.  If not, there is no grade... try, try, try again.

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1. What strategies below will improve your proposal success rate?
Use assertion-evidence writing style. Wow them with detailed equations. Talk over their heads. Make sure the reviewers have a detailed understanding of the problem you're trying to solve. Bury the lead. Describe how you will solve a large problem in this single propsoal. Broader impact is a checklist. State your work is transformative with no evidence. Don't disclose metrics or progress towards tangible outcomes. That's private!
2. Which of the following are common proposal writing mistakes.
Concisely conveying the impact [a.k.a. broader impact] of your work. Emphasizing the impact of the work will be research papers. Writing to the expectations of the audience. Fixing all the negative commons from past review, and stopping there. Not talking to the program director in advance. Preparing and understanding the program and the goals of the program director. Leveraging professional service to build advocates as a 'rising star' in the field. Volunteering to be a reviewer in advance to see how the review process works. Assuming the reviewer will find the critical information in the middle of the bottom paragraph on page 6. All of the above.
3. Which of the following is NOT a good idea to better understand the needs and goals of your intended program by:
Volunteering to be a reviewer, providing keywords, and a short CV. Asking the program director about scope and goals of the program. Understanding (and asking, is possible) the relative weight of the proposal review criteria. Understanding the emphasis on basic vs. applied research for the program. Understanding the importance of preliminary data for the solicitation. Understanding the broader mission of the program, and the agency. Noting that reviewers don't understand your work and didn't find key information in your last submission.