1. Answer the question in the introduction.  Provide the answers to your questions in the first paragraph.  You should write a few sentences that preview your
answers.  By frontloading your answers, you let the reader know that you have answered the question.  Remember, the key to any paper is to answer the question.

2. Knowledge Claims – Papers are statements about knowledge claims.  In this paper, many of you claimed that the state constitution influences education policy.
This is a knowledge claim.  You need to support knowledge claims with evidence and examples.  When you make a knowledge claim you need to address why
government and politics works the way you claim that it does.  You need to give examples of the power of the mayor in action or the ways in which the state
constitution determines education policy.

3. Facts and So-What – Facts only help you in so far as they allow you to answer the question. You also want to provide greater meaning to the facts.  If the
federal government provides money to the states and the cities (fact), what does this tell us about the larger role of federal government in state and local government
and politics (so-what).

4. Break-up long paragraphs.  One goal in writing papers is to make it easy for the reader to understand your points.  Therefore, you want to write three to
six-sentence paragraphs that communicate one point.  Long paragraphs tend to have many points and they tend to confuse the reader.  Short paragraphs are more
powerful because they concisely communicate one important point.  It is a good idea to keep separate ideas and points separate.

5. Fewer words are better than more words.  Try to eliminate unnecessary words.  A good plan is to simply and concisely communicate your ideas to the reader.

6. Try not to use the word this when you start a sentence.  This is unclear.  For example – This shows how power works in the state.  Instead, you need to explain
what this is.  For example, the federal government’s control over finances illustrates how power works in Louisiana.

7. Try not to use quotes to stress the importance of words.  Quotation marks around “words” mean so-called.  For example, the “LEAP” test examines … means
the so-called LEAP test.  You would be better off just dropping the use of the quotation marks.  The reader will still understand what you are trying to
communicate.

8. Since and Because – People use since and because as synonyms, but I believe that a difference exists between these words.  Since indicates time.  I have been
at Loyola since 1999.  Because provides an answer.  I have been at Loyola since 1999 because I enjoy the students.  Try not to use since when you mean
because.

9. That and which. Use which after a comma and use that when you do not use a comma.  For example, I attend Loyola University, which is a Jesuit Institution.
You should not use which without a comma.

10. Avoid proofreading mistakes at all costs!

For a powerful and energetic proposal, avoid passive verbs – was and were – that hide the agent of action.  Avoid static verbs that lack movement: am, is, are, be,
being, been, had, have, has, do,did, does, could, should, would.  Replace overused verbs (get, went, put) with more precise active verbs.(Source:
http://www.grantproposal.com/proposal.html)

Active Words: achieve, allow, analyze, announce, appeal, apply, assemble, assess, assist, balance, become, begin, believe, belong, bring, change, choose,

clarify, coach, combine, compare, compose, conclude, connect, constitute, contain, contrast, coordinate, creates, decide, define, demonstrate, depend,

design, develop, diagnose, differ, direct, discuss, distinguish, educate, elevate, engage, ensure, entail, envision, equal, establish, evaluate, excel, exemplify,

exhibit, experiment, explain, extend, find, focus, form, give, help, hinders, identify, illuminate, illustrate, implement, include, indicate, inform, inspire, instruct, intend,

introduce, invent, invest, investigate, involve, know, lack, lead, learn, maintain, make, manage, modify, motivate, move, negotiate, need, observe, occur, offer,

operate, organize, perform, plan, portray, prepare, prevent, produce, prohibit, promote, provide, pursue, realize, receive, recognize, refine, reflect, rely, remain,

remind, report, research, restore, result, return, require, reveal, review, sample, search, send, show, signal, specify, start, state, suggest, support, survey,

synthesize, taught, teach, tend, test, translate, try, understand, use, validate, verify, wish, work, write, wrote