Submitting my first proposal and the call asks for a "summary" plus a longer description. How detailed should the summary be? Do reviewers read the whole thing?
Solved How long should a conference proposal summary be?
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Always follow the word limit exactly — reviewers are strict about it. Treat the summary like an abstract: problem, method, key finding, why it matters, in that order.
Reviewers often score dozens of proposals, so the summary does most of the work. Make your main finding obvious in the first two sentences.
If your data collection isn't finished, say what you expect to have by the conference and be honest about it. Reviewers are fine with work in progress if the design is solid.
This is really helpful, thank you. Rewrote my summary to lead with the finding — it reads much stronger now.