This book provides advice about how to write an NSF pre-proposal. It is written for biological scientists seeking funding from the US National Science Foundation. In 2012, NSF introduced a once-per-year competition based on a four-page preliminary proposal. This new system changes the landscape of the funding competition in many ways. Investigators must now generate enthusiasm for their ideas in four short pages. This book gives you the tools, and background, you need to compete in this brave new world.About the Author: Dave Stephens is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. In 2012 he served as a program director in animal behavior at the National Science Foundation. His research focuses on the behavioral ecology of animal learning and decision-making. He is the author (with John Krebs) of Foraging Theory, and the editor (with Joel Brown & Ronald Ydenberg) of Foraging: behavior and ecology.