How To Format Your Proposal For Readability
My introduction to the world of government contracting and proposals was as a desktop publisher, DTP for short. If you’re not familiar, a DTP is the person that formats text and graphics and makes the layout of a document look super polished. Because of my graphic design background, being a DTP came naturally to me and for some reason formatting large proposals was quite enjoyable. I think it was a mix of the challenging spacing requirements (it was almost like a puzzle at times) and the fast pace that came with needing to meet deadlines.
All that to say, I learned quite a bit about Word, since this is what you typically have to submit a proposal in, and maximizing the limited pages you have for a response.
Setting Up A Template
When it comes to setting up your proposal template, you’ll first want to refer to section L which will tell you the font size, line spacing, header footer information, margin size, etc. Some solicitations are very specific about these things while others may just have a few guidelines to follow. Once you know all the requirements, create a template with font styles which allows you to easily change font sizes for headers, body text, captions, and more, easily.
A standard template should include cover and title pages, a cover letter, table of contents, and sample pages with placeholders for section titles, body text, callout boxes and tables, and caption text. It should also be designed in your company’s brand colors.
Having a template set up for your responses makes it easier to adjust for each RFP’s requirements, and get you writing faster. For example, you wouldn’t have to create a table every time you want to include it, you could just copy and paste it where you want it, then update the information.
Formatting for Readability
There are a few things that can help make your proposal more readable, meaning easier to follow and understand. There is writing and editing readability and there is formatting readability. They all work together but how the page looks, is what the following list will help you perfect.
CALLOUT BOXES & TABLES
Callout boxes are what I like to call fancy text boxes that highlight important information. They are best used at the beginning of a section and while they should be used sparingly, they allow evaluators to scan some of your proposal and still get the information needed to evaluate it. Tables are also helpful when you ned to consolidate information to take up less space or the information would be better understood in columns and rows to show the relationship between several topics or steps.
WHITE SPACE
I know at times it seems like you don’t have enough room to possibly write to everything the government has asked for within the required page count, but you can. I suggest not cramming text in so each page is just walls of text or graphics without any breathing room. White space simply means have breaks and a reasonable amount of blank space between paragraphs and lines.
Some large RFP’s specify how much space you must have after a paragraph to avoid cramming, but even if the RFP doesn’t specify this, a good practice is to at least leave a full space between paragraphs and a reasonable amount of space between lines. As you’re writing, just think would you want to read this page as it looks? If the answer is no and just looking at it makes your head hurt, then adjust accordingly and add white space so the text, and the evaluators eyes, can breathe a bit.
GRAPHICS
Graphics are another way to make your proposal more readable. Since the majority of people are visual learners, it just makes sense to include them. One thing to remember when writing your proposal is that the evaluator may not be an expert in the subject matter of the RFP topic. So, you should write as if you’re explaining your process or technique to a newbie in your field.
Often when I worked on proposals, at the start of the process I would barely know what the proposal team was writing about. However, by the end of the writing process, after having to read a response several times because of editing or formatting, or compliance checks, I knew for the most part what our proposed solution actually meant and how it would help the government. A large part of me understanding this was through infographics that visually explained the solution.
BOLDING & ITALICIZING
Bolded or italic section titles and key words are a good way to draw the the evaluators eye to important information. While both can be helpful with scanning your response, try to use these sparingly as too much can get confusing as to what you actually want the reader to look at. Before you go down the bolding road, develop a strategy—I know another thing to think about—as to what information actually needs to stand out. Do you want to bold only section titles, key words within paragraphs, or even features and benefits? Whichever you choose, make it consistent and not too much.
When to Format Your Proposal
How many times to format your proposal really depends on the amount of time you have to respond to the RFP and the resources you have available. For a solopreneur or small team I would try to at least format twice—once after the second draft of your response so you can get an idea of the page count and how much you still need to write… or cut. And, a final time before submission to ensure your proposal meets all the requirements for fonts and layouts.
Formatting may be the last thing you’re thinking about, but dedicating a day or two to clean up your response before the due date can make a difference between winning a contract or not. For an evaluator, it’s the easiest way to toss out your proposal. If you don’t meet a basic font requirement or use the correct margin size then you are off the list of potential winners. That’s one less proposal they have to read.
In the end, formatting is a small, big thing. Not doing it could cost you a contract and doing it can be a bit time consuming.