Some researchers follow their outlines closely, composing paragraphs and sentences according to plan. Others recognize that often during the drafting stage ideas emerge that did not appear while they were planning. The researcher is open, in this instance, to the opportunity of discovering through writing new and appropriate ideas and lines of reasoning. Whatever creative thinking surfaces at this point should be given extensive consideration later to make sure it is consistent with all sections of the grant application. Preparation of a grant application is, in many ways, never done.
Researchers can always find ways to improve their writing.
That is why they find themselves constructing many drafts of the same document and revising a great deal as they go. Drafting, then, is not something that should be seen as only one step in the grant preparation process. Rather, it is part of a on-going process that involves revision as well. After a draft of the grant application has been written and, if possible, laid aside for period of time, it can then be reconsidered and then revised for content and language. Questioning whether the arrangement of the grant application is effective requires going back to the researcher's working outline and asking if the finished product follows it.