Proposals
Chapter 20 – Technical
Communication in the 21st
Century
What’s a Proposal?
• Not what first comes to
mind
• Business document
that outlines your plan
for solving a problem.
• PLAN is the key word
• Proposals sell you and
your ideas
Sell Me and My Ideas? How?
• Proposals show you as
expert problem-solver
• Proposals show how, if
PAID, you’ll go about
solving the problem.
• If you’re qualified and your
idea/plan is solid, your
proposal to solve the
problem is accepted!
So…An Example?
Parking at SPSU is bad.
You write to Parking Services, outline the
problem as you see it, and offer to
research the issue and make
recommendations on how to improve
parking. You’re qualified because
you’re a student.
Parking Services accepts
your proposal.
It’s Good that My Proposal is
Accepted??
• The answer is YES!
• You can now do the
research and produce
the final report with
recommendations.
• Also, you get paid big
consulting dollars!
It’s That Simple? I’m done?
• Yes and no…mostly no.
• There’s different types of
proposals and different
situations
• Need to understand the
breakdown of
types/situations in order to
proceed effectively
So…tell me about it
• Internal vs. External
• Formal vs. Informal
• Research vs. Goods
and Services
• Solicited vs. Unsolicited
Let’s Clarify
The photocopiers at work are all old
and slow. You write your boss and
propose the company buy new
copiers. You explain why they’re
needed and how you’ll research the
best model(s).
• What kind of proposal is this?
And the Boss Says OK
• You’ve got the OK, a budget, and a
quantity (10), so you phone Xerox
and Toshiba.
• You give them your details and ask
for proposals on models, $$, etc.
• Xerox and Toshiba send you
proposals.
• What kinds of proposals are these?
Back to Parking
• The parking example
– You saw and identified a problem
– You wrote up your investigative plan to
clarify issues/solve the problem
– You stated your qualifications, the cost
of your time and how long it would take.
• What kind of proposal is this?
Structure of Proposals
• We will cover the general proposal
structure
• Know that other structures exist and
can be required in specific situations
• Proposals range in size from a 2page memo to formal documents
that are hundreds of pages long.
• It all depends on what you’re doing
And the Structure is…
• Front Matter
• Introduction
• Proposed Program
• Qualifications / Experience
• Budget
• Schedule
• Conclusion
• Back Matter
Doesn’t Sound Too Tough
• No, it doesn’t but…students have a
hard time with proposals because:
– they’ve never written one before
– they’re unfamiliar with the genre
– they have trouble with persuasion
– they don’t think of audience well
– they want to write like it’s ENGL 1101
– they want to solve the problem in the
proposal
But I Can Do This??
• Absolutely!!!
• Read Chapter 20,
especially the
examples
• Ask lots of questions
• Get lots of feedback