proposal at Arkansas state university
Read Grove’s “Writing Winning Proposals for Research Funding”; Read Hamilton’s “Broadening Employment Horizons: Transferring Proposal Writing Skills from For-Profit to
Nonprofit Organizations”
Major Assignment 4 asks you to write a formal proposal memo
seeking my approval for a project of your imagining (though the
assignment will not require you to complete the actual project,
just write the proposal memo)
The Proposal Memo asks you to identify a problem, issue, or
concern pertaining to Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, or
any institution/busmess/program therein that you would like to
explore further and propose a solution for.
Your audience for this memo is me, your instructor. Think of
me as someone who wants to be sure that you choose a project
from which you can learn a great deal and on which you can do
a good job. I need to be convinced that this project is important
to you and that you have the ability to complete it. You should
also think of me as someone who wants to see your time spent
wisely, just like your boss would. The topic you propose should
be clearly meaningful to the University, city, business/institution
and its constituents, and therefore, merit further exploration.
When reading your proposal memo, I will be looking for
answers to the following questions:
What problem/issue/concem do you want to explore“?
Have you clearly defined a conflict between a desired
situation and the current situation?
Who is affected by the situation? Who will be the
audience for your final report? What is your position
in relationship to the audience?
Why is this challenge significant for this final audience?
What is at stake?
Do you have a possible feasible solution for the
problem? Have you established what a good solution
would require? Have you thought about alternative
plausible solutions?
What makes you qualified to carry out the project?
How is the topic related to your major? Your career
plans?
What will it take to gather the necessary information
and complete your analysis? Can you complete your
report in the time lefi in this semester, using the
resources readily available to you?
Do you have a work plan for your project, a plan that
shows specifically when certain activities must be
completed this semester if you are to finish the project
on time?
Craft your proposal in the form of a formal business memo to
me. Select your information and organize it in such a way that it
is persuasive and accessible. Remember, this proposal is not
merely informative: it is an argument for why your topic should
be approved. Your proposal will most likely include the
following sections and should be approximately four pages in
length:
An introduction that tells me why you are writing.
A section on the problem. issue, concern and why it
merits attention
A section describing your research plans for this
project. Convince me that you know what kind of
information you’ll need and where to find it. Include
an analysis of your readers and what information
they’ll need in order to adopt your solution.
A discussion of your credentials and motivation.
Convince me that you have the background and
resources necessary to conduct your research. Be sure
to also indicate your motivation for and/or connection
to this particular project.
A schedule. Convince me that you know what needs to
be done to solve the problem.
A conclusion that formally lays out the proposed
solution to the problem posed.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposal Memos will be evaluated based on the following
criteria:
Persuasiveness and Organization
I will be looking to see that you are taking on an actual
project related to your professional and academic expertise
and that you can explain how to complete the project.
Make your proposal convincing; demonstrate that you have
singled out a worthwhile problem to solve and that you are
the researcher to solve it. Make sure to lay out a formal
solution to the problem you have identified.
Style, Clarity and Arrangement
Your proposal must be well written. The problem
statement is clear and logically stated, sentences correct,
concise and arranged so that the meaning is easily obtained
and the prose is streamlined and effective for a general
reader. Paragraphs are coherent, unified and relatively
short.
