English 175: Proposal

Report

Summary

The first step in your Report is to write a Proposal. Before reading the details about this Proposal, consult the Report specifications.

Proposal Structure

For your Proposal, follow this common five-part sequence of proposal "moves":

Introduction
Current Situation
- Background / Context
- Problem
Plan
- Purpose
- Topics
- Methods
- Resources
- Feasibility
- Schedule and Deliverables
Qualifications
Conclusion

At the front of your Proposal, attach a memo to me describing and analyzing your Audience.

Audience

This Audience section is not part of your Proposal per se, but should be written as a memo to me, printed on a separate sheet of paper, and attached to the front of your Proposal. Both your Proposal and your Research Report must be oriented to this audience: a real person or executive committee that has decision-making powers, first, to approve your proposed Research Project and commission a report and, second, to act effectively on your report's recommendations. Usually, such a person or committee would have those powers because of their leadership role within an organization. Identify this audience by name and organizational title (include contact information if possible) and describe this audience. Also identify and analyze any secondary or tertiary audiences or gatekeepers.

Would these audiences readily recognize that the Problem your Proposal identifies is indeed a problem? Or will an important part of your Proposal and Report be devoted to persuading your audiences that there is indeed a problem? What would these audiences need in a research report in order to implement confidently the proposed "solutions" to such a problem?

1. Introduction

In the Introduction, briefly incorporate whichever of the following moves are appropriate for your situation:

State the subject of your proposal.
Identify the purpose of your proposal (in only one sentence).
State the main point that will be proven in your proposal.
Stress the importance of the subject to your audience.
Provide some background information on the subject.
Forecast the organization of your proposal.

Most of these points will be developed in greater detail in the body of your Proposal.

2. Current Situation

Even though your audience of decision makers probably already knows quite a bit about the current situation, showing that you too understand the current situation helps you build your credibility and trust in their eyes. It also lets you create the context for the sections that follow, laying the ground for your plan.

Background / Context

What, if anything, do we need to know or establish so as to understand the Problem? Here, you can discuss not only what your primary audience of decision makers would need to understand about the background / context but also what your classmates and instructor would need to know in order to understand the full meaning of your Proposal.

Problem

Describe the Problem that you aim to "solve" (i.e., improve upon) through this Research Project. Show that the Problem is significant and deserves the effort and resources your Project will demand to solve it. What has been causing the problem? Protect your audience from blame for the problem, even if you think they deserve blame, by blaming change if necessary. What are the effects if the problem is left unaddressed?

3. Plan

Your Plan addresses the questions Why? What? How? Where? When? (Who? will be addressed in the Qualifications section.) It is the most crucial part of your Proposal.

Purpose

The main Purpose of your Proposal is to sell the idea of doing a Research Report, which in turn will make recommendations to "solve" or at least improve upon the Problem. State this Purpose in one sentence: "The purpose of this proposal is to. . . ." or "This proposal will. . . ."

Topics

What information and issues will your Report cover? Be specific: include a list of topics. What are the topical questions you still need to answer in your on-going research? It should be clear how these topics will "solve" the Problem and fulfill your Purpose.

Methods

How will you get the information and answer the questions laid out in the Topics section? Your Report should incorporate at least two sources that have a significant instrumental role in your argument. These sources may be based on primary research (research that you have generated through interviews, surveys, observation, etc.) and/or on secondary research (published works, Internet resources).

If you are doing primary research (e.g., interviews), who are your participants? Why have you selected them? What questions will you ask them? (Describe the questions in general and include a detailed list of questions in an appendix.)

If you are doing secondary research (e.g., library or Internet research), which documents are you using? Be specific: include a reference list specifying authors, titles, publisheers, URL's, etc. Write a brief description of each potential source and explain its usefulness.

The Methods section is the single most crutial section of your Proposal. A successful Methods section builds ethos and logos by describing your future methodological actions thoroughly and in such detail (sources, rationale for sources, questions for sources, etc.) that your audience is willing to extend their trust in you into the future.

Resources

What materials and resources will you need to carry out your Methods? Test the practicality of your proposed actions before you commit yourself to the project. Are the resources you need readily available? Where?

Feasibility

Can the Problem you have identified be realistically "solved"? Are the Methods you propose to follow do-able? Why? Justify your optimism.
Is your niche specific enough that it can be fairly addressed in one small report? Can this be done in 1500+ words? In one month? Justify your optimism. Alternately, is your niche important enough to justify a 2000+ word report, or is a much smaller document more than adequate? Justify your optimism. (Warning: In my teaching experience, a poorly conceived Project Feasibility is the #1 cause of rejected Proposals.)
Depending on the details of your situation, it is sometimes best to address feasibility issues within the Topics, Methods, Resources, and Schedule subsections rather than as a separate subsection.

Schedule and Deliverables

Your main deliverable in this project is a Research Report, but it should be constructed in stages. List the estimated duration and completion dates of all significant Project activities. The following are the key activities and deliverables of the Project, deliverables that should appear in your proposed work Schedule:

conducting research
organizing information
composing Report draft
bringing in complete Report draft for peer review
revising Report draft
submiting final Report

4. Qualifications

This section, an important one in "real-world" proposals, provides pragmatic backing for your ability to carry out your Plan and for the Proposal as a whole. What motives, values, and attitudes do you share in common with your primary audience? What is it about you, your background, and your organizational position that makes you qualified to carry out this project? What is it about your access to needed materials and resources that makes you--with your access to CU Denver libraries, professors, and community resources--qualified to carry out this project? If you wish, summarize your main qualifications and, for more details, refer your readers to your résumé in the appendix of the Proposal; however, do not include the appendix when tallying the word count of your Proposal.

5. Conclusion

In the Conclusion, incorporate whichever of the following moves are appropriate for your situation:

Transition from the body of your Proposal.
State the costs of your plan.
Highlight the benefits of your plan.
Look to the future by emphasizing long-term advantages, not a short-term fix.
Identify the next step.

Proposal format

Your Proposal, including the Audience memo that precedes it, should be at least 750 words in length. The Proposal should have a title that meaningfully characterizes your Research Project. Its pages should be numbered and each section and subsection should have a heading. As befitting a professional document, the Proposal document should be well-designed.