The effect of writing style on success in grant applications

•The study analyzes whether the writing style of grant applications has an effect on the panel scores and on the panel decisions.•Several covariates are included in the study, such as past performance of the applicant, gender, English language proficiency, and discipline.•The study finds that the writing style of the grant application does have an impact on the scores and on the decisions.•This holds the project description, but also for the CV text.