WRA 453
Grant &
Proposal Writing
Fall 2005
Bill Hart-Davidson
hartdav2@msu.edu
Session 7: Lines of Argument for P1
Let’s review…
In her article, Tardy argues for a particular
perspective on proposal writing. She uses
two writers’ process to validate the
perspective first by illustrating it, and
second by showing how the success of the
more experienced of the two writers can
be attributed to acting on this perspective.
Tardy’s Questions
What genres and communities interact to form the
genre system of grant funding?
What are the roles and functions of this genre
system?
What type of knowledge does participation in the
text genres and genre system require of grant
writers and how do these writers develop such
knowledge?
Take a moment, here, to jot down what
your questions were…
Seeing action in action
I asked you to add one method of
inquiry for your project
• Interviews with writers
• Analysis of documents – samples of the
various genres used
• Observations of writers doing
“proposing”…creating, using, or coordinating
genres
What did you watch for?
Evidence of…
The specialized knowledge required to use
genres and act in genre systems.
Individual moves
• what genres are used?
• in what sequence?
• for what purposes?
• in what situations?
Community rules
• what genres are
required or optional?
• what patterns of use
lead to success?
What did you watch for?
Evidence of…
The specialized knowledge required to use
genres and act in genre systems.
Individual moves
List your data here
Community rules
List your data here
Your deliverables…
1. A written report of your genre system investigation, 4-6
pages in length not including any attachments.
2. A 10 minute presentation, for the class, based on your
report
3. Process documents:
#1 and #2
require a line
of argument…
Tardy’s line of argument, 1
“grant proposals function within a larger system
of documents with which writers interact as
they navigate through the grant-writing
process. Documents such as letters of intent
and grant-writing guidelines, as well as faceto-face interactions with program officers,
are all interconnected genres within the
grant-writing process.”
Tardy, p. 11
Note how this is related to the
research questions.
Tardy’s line of argument, 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
It is becoming increasingly evident (based on studies X, Y, Z)
that the best way to understand proposal writing is to take a
genre system approach
A genre system approach is ___________; it differs from
common sense/prevailing way of explaining proposal writing in
that__________
Close examination of proposal writers’ activity reveals the
descriptive power of a genre system approach – examples from
Case 1 & Case 2 demonstrate X, Y, Z aspects of a genre-system
view.
Those who’s proposing work is consistent with a genre system
view are more successful; examples taken from the more
experienced writer in Case 1 showing success; examples taken
from the less experienced writer in Case 2 showing
breakdowns attributable to not following a genre-system view
Broadhead & Freed’s Argument
Discourse communities exist in compositional studies
In regards to compositional studies, discourse
communities exist/are valid because:
•
•
•
They create standardization.
They maintain the focus on process (rather than product).
They allow for the study of social codes and artifacts.
Lessons learned from examining other discourse
communities (in this case Alpha and Omega) can
be applied to compositional studies
•
•
The norms in a commmunity define that commmunity how members act and react.
Policies and sacred texts govern behavior within a discourse
community, including compositional studies.
B&F’s line of argument (bhd)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A promising, but to this point underutilized subject of inquiry for
rhetoric and composition is “the discourse community”
In addition to helping to establish our field as a credible one,
studying discourse communities would permit us to extend our
inquiry of the writing process beyond the classroom (where it has
almost exclusively focused before now)
What is a discourse community and how does one go about studying
one? It’s ____definition_____ and here are some examples &
history/development of methods for studying them. But to really
understand…allow us to give you an example…
Proposal writers at X and Y firms, while nominally engaged in the
same writing task, must learn to negotiate this task in very different
ways due to the differences in the discourse communities which
characterize their workplaces (pattern here is: trend noticed, note
contrast with opposite firm, explain how/why)
Pedagogical implications: For our students to be successful writers,
they must learn the rules of the discourse communities they will
eventually enter. How can we prepare them if we don’t understand
these ourselves?
Knoblauch’s line of
argument (bhd)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
There is widespread agreement that a writer’s purpose is an important
concept for understanding both the meaning and structure of
discourse.
But there is a difference in the way some theorists use the term
“purpose” and the way others use it. Some refer to generic purposes,
usually inferred from a post-hoc analysis of the resulting text. Others
mean operational purpose, or those immediate influences on a writer
at the time of composing.
My experience working with and studying proposal writers tells me that
focusing on operational purpose is the more accurate view.
Proposal writing is especially interesting to study in this regard, as it
frequently requires writers to balance competing operating purposes.
In fact, this is a crucial skill for proposal writers (many examples here).
If we didn’t consider operational purpose, we would have missed this
skill entirely. Our current theory of purpose therefore requires revising,
as may any pedagogical practices we have developed that rely on this
outmoded view.
Now you try…
Reconstruct Knoblauch’s
1. research questions
2. line of argument
And then…
Give us yours!