A Quick Guide to Writing a Proposal By Dr. Jennifer L. Bowie For Business Writing

What is a proposal? A common business document A persuasive plan: –An attempt to persuade the audience to take some form of direct action –Provides persuasive answers to basic question (Lannon, 571) Developed to sell the idea Is informative, workable, clear, and realistic

What are the major sections: Introduction: can be called a Purpose, Summary or Overview Description of the proposed project Statement of Work/Work Plan Qualifications/Personnel/Facilities Budget Conclusion

What do we need to include? Part 1 Introduction, Purpose, Summary or Overview: a concise paragraph or so summarizing the whole proposal, which includes –Statement of Problems (when applicable) –Purpose and subject of proposal –Objective and overview of plan –Any necessary background

Project Description & Work Plan: with a detailed discussion of –Problem: What leads to this project? –Project goal/ purpose/objective: What is the purpose? What is your objective? How does this solve the problem? –Scope & Methods: What specific issues, points, or areas will you investigate? What methods will you use? –Work Plan: What do you plan to do? What will the project look like? What tasks and activities will you complete? What have you already completed? Who will be doing what? –Timetable: When will the work begin? How will the work be divided into phases or stages? When will you be finished? What schedule or timeline have you set or been given? When will you have certain tasks, activities, phases, and stages done? Who is responsible for these activities? What do we need to include? Part 2

What do we need to include? Part 3 Qualifications/Personnel/Facilities: Provide information on the qualifications of your team, personnel, and facilities. Discuss the roles of your personnel. Partially Optional Budget: Optional, not needed for this proposal Conclusion: which includes –a summary of the proposal –a statement on why the audience (of the proposal, in this case me) should accept your proposed proposal idea

Good luck & have fun