Continuing efforts to be concise...

[rivka]

Current length of the research plan:14 pages. Maximum allowable length: 12 pages. Only two pages to go. Sadly, I only have two pages left to edit, and since they include my entire data analysis plan I don't think I'll be able to cut them out entirely. So I will still need to cut, cut, cut. But damn, 25 pages to 14 is a pretty good start.

Once I work through these two pages, I will have a complete draft![1] Yay me! I can send it off to my mentor and to my very kind NIMH Program Official. Maybe they'll know what else I can cut.


[1] Except for the project narrative, the Facilities and Resources section, the revised biosketches, and the appendices. Mercifully the human subjects section stays the same. And the budget. The budget is done.

Updated to add: 13! 13 pages! I am the awesomest person who has ever been awesome! I got it down to 13 pages 10 lines, and then realized that I would totally gain more space once I formatted my references as numbers rather than in-text Endnote tags. And it saved a TON! Go me!

Comments

[jenett]

At least with 12 pages, there will be less to scan through if they do?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

That's NIH's rationale. We'll see, huh?

I asked my Program Official to reassure me that the reviewers would be strongly reminded not to look for as much detail as they were used to seeing. He told me that he thinks I will actually come in for considerable reviewer empathy, as they try to imagine what they would do if asked to cut 25 pages to 12.

We'll see.

[jenett]

You are most mighty in your trimming. (And yay for having your mentor look at it.)