Formal Proposal Assignment
The purpose of this research proposal is to ask your reader (a real person who has the power to say "yes" or "no" to your request) for employment. Your goal is to get hired to research a specific problem in the real world and present your findings in a formal report.
By the time you get to the formal proposal assignment, you should have identified the following:
- What problem do you want to research a solution to?
- Who is your decision-making audience?
- What are your criteria for a suitable solution?
- What research/investigative methods will you use to gather information about the problem?
Scenario
You have heard the various individual project suggestions, and now you have formed work groups to write up a formal proposal. Your job is to create an informative, persuasive document that will convince its readers of two things:
- the project you propose is both needed and do-able;
- the audience should hire your group to write a research report.
If you succeed, your audience will give you permission to do the research for the project you suggested and present your findings in a formal report.
Deliverables (2)
1) Proposal (Group Deliverable)
You will submit, as a group, a formal research proposal consisting of a 6-10 page (not including the cover letter, title page, references, or appendices) single-spaced document, using block paragraph format. It will include the following major sections:
- Letter of transmittal
- Title page
- Executive summary
- Table of contents
- Table of figures (if needed)
- Introduction
- Proposed program / Project description
- Qualifications
- Budget
- Detailed schedule
- Bibliography (if needed)
- Glossary (if needed)
- Appendix/-ices (if needed)
2) Reflective Memo (Individual Deliverable)
You will also submit, as an individual, a 500-700 word reflective memo in which you address all of the following issues:
- the identity and specific characteristics of your decision-maker;
- how you adapted your proposal's contents to your decision-maker;
- ethical issues that you encountered;
- which of the course goals (see the "Home" page on the course website) you encountered in completing this assignment; and
- what specific tasks you worked on in your group project and your honest opinion of your coworkers' efforts. "Everyone worked really hard and did a great job" is not acceptable.
Explain your answers.
Submission Requirements
Your group will turn in two versions of the Formal Proposal, and you will turn in, as an individual, two copies of your reflective memo: a hard copy in person and an electronic version via email. The electronic version is not a substitute for the hard copy version.
Hard Copy
Bring one hard copy of the Formal Proposal and one copy of each group member's reflective memo to class. Paper-clip the memos together and place them inside the proposal's front cover. If necessary, paper-clip the memos to the proposal.
Please do not submit your proposals in three-ring binders or plastic report binders. Three-ring binders are bulky and hard to transport. Plastic folders annoy me, so I throw them away and lower your grade. Use spiral or comb binding.
Electronic Version
On the day the assignment is due, one of your group members will send me (arnett2010@gmail.com) an email containing the Formal Proposal, saved as an MS Word-format file attachment. Each group member will send me, individually, an email containing their reflective memo.
Use this file naming convention, including the spaces around the dashes:
GroupMembers'LastNames - SectionNumber - Formal Proposal
YourLastName - SectionNumber - Formal Proposal Memo
for example...
Hammett, Hetfield, Trujillo, Ulrich - 493 - Formal Proposal
Trujillo - 493 - Formal Proposal Memo
Use this subject line, including the spaces around the dashes:
TCOM 2010-SectionNumber - Formal Proposal (for the proposal itself)
TCOM 2010-SectionNumber - Formal Proposal Memo (for your individual memo)
Suggestions
Here is a sample formal proposal. It is a bit shorter than the assignment requires; however, the proposal's content and organization should give you an idea of how to put together a proposal of your own. Also, the comment balloons and colored text I inserted into the document should give you an idea of what I will be looking for.
Read Chapter 20 in Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century carefully, and follow its advice.
In addition, keep in mind the following tips for writing a successful proposal.
- Analyze your readers' needs and offer a solution. If you wish, you may offer your services to carry out the solution. Do not offer to sell the reader a physical object.
- Your proposal should be a persuasive tool. Make the case for goods/ services/research that should be delivered. A proposal does not DO the job, the proposal only lays out a plan for how you intend to do the job if they hire you.
- Include a mixture of primary and secondary research.
- Analyze your audience and show that you understand your readers' needs. Present the problem or opportunity in terms your audience will understand and appreciate. Justify to your audience the need to implement your proposal.
- A good way to demonstrate a problem or opportunity is through cost figures. For example, don't write that a problem is increasing the rate of defective products you are producing; instead, write that the problem is increasing the rate of defective products from the normal 1.2% to 1.8%, and that this increase is costing your reader $43,000 in lost productivity per year.
- Be specific in describing all aspects of your plan. For example, it's not enough to write that you will do research. Describe your research method and explain why you picked that method rather than other available methods.
- Make your proposal look like you are a professional. Use formal language. Include the kinds of information your audience wants and needs(for example, task schedules with specific dates [hint, hint]). Use good document design.