Transcript Proposal Writing 101

Proposal Writing 101
Must Dos
• Have a Title Page
• Know purpose of proposal and structure
content around it
---Make sure written material supports the
main aim/goal of the proposal; Avoid going
off on a tangent about irrelevant
issues/things not central to the proposal
Example: Problem-Solution
Structure
• Identify the problem; this is the most critical
aspect of a proposal with this structure.
• Identifying the problem enables you to
generate well thought out, relevant,
practical solutions.
• Some components of prob. Identification:
(Overview of problem, critical analysis as
relevant to the company)
Problem-Solution structure
• First paragraph must have overview of
problem, and a summary of solutions
• Subsequent paragraphs deal with each of
the solutions in greater detail
• Use paragraphs to introduce new ideas/
separate one idea/ solution from the other
• Strong Introduction & Strong Conclusion
Sub Category:*ProblemSolution/Elimination Method*
Method Suggests # solutions & selects a few
• Make recommendation in 1st 2 paragraphs
• Establish Criteria for the best solution
• Use criteria to eliminate other solutions
• Reiterate why solution you recommended
was the best- based on criteria +
Proposal Formats: 101
• Be clear, & concise
• Keep sentences simple I.e avoid using big
words unless you know how to use them;
don’t make sentences too long
• Again: Use paragraphs to introduce new
ideas
• Use Bullets to highlight key points
Concision
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Concision= Leanness of words
Adds Grace to written work
Less is More.
If you can say it in few words- do so: avoid
being pompous
Compare: Original Vs Revised
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To ensure that the new system
being developed, or the existing
system being modified, will
provide users with the timely,
accurate & complete information
they require to properly perform
their functions & responsibilities, it
is necessary to assure that the new/
modified system will cover all
necessary aspects of the present
automated/manual systems being
replaced. To gain this assurance, it
is essential that documentation be
made of the entities of the present
systems which will be modified or
eliminated.
• Make sure to
document all planned
changes so any
mistakes you make
will can be corrected.
(15 words= 80%
reduction in words)
Concision- example
• The film & Video industry
category can specifically
be broken down into
subsequent industries of
motion picture &
videotape production,
motion picture &
videotape distribution,
movie houses & cable and
other pay television
services.
• The film and video
industry category
consists of production,
movie houses & cable
and other pay- TV
services.
Concision Example
• Some of AOL Time
Warner’s major media
competitors include News
Corporation Ltd, which is
a global media and
entertainment media
power located in Australia,
and Viacom Inc, which is
based in the United States
& is one of the world’s
leading media companies
• AOL Time Warner’s
major global media
competitors include
Australian-based
News Corporation Ltd
and US.- based
Viacom Inc.
CLARITY
• Good Writers see their words from the
perspective of the reader.
• Key to good writing: know your audience.
• Example:
CLARITY…
Questions Good Writers ask:
• Does my reader understand the words I’m
using, the way I’m using them?
• Have I explained clearly enough for them to
know what I’m talking about?
• Is my evidence persuasive?
• Have I thought out all possible objections?
• Are my arguments based on logic?
HOW TO ACHIEVE CLARITY
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Clarity = Honesty
Basic Pattern: who/what does what
Choose Active Voice over Passive Voice
Use Verbs over nominalizations
Choose Active Verbs over Linking verbs
Achieving Clarity.-Active Voice
• Who did What
• Stronger & more assertive. (in passive voice
the subject does nothing, it is acted upon.)
• Passive Voice to be used when you care
more about the action than the agent e.g.
Hamlet was written by Shakespeare around
1600.
Corrective use of Passive Voice
• The Particle’s rate of decay was measured.
• Hamlet was written around 1600.
• The document was found in the governor’s
personal library.
• ** correct use but also depends on the
context- ie. The context decides what is
important- agent or object.
Active Voice Continued.
Passive
• The fire was started by a
cow.
• Microsoft was founded in
1975.
• Mistakes were made.
• The Taft-Hartley act was
also used to support the
court’s decision.
• While reading Mill’s ‘On
Liberty’, the concept of
personal freedom was
discussed.
• Active
• A cow started the fire.
• Bill Gates founded
Microsoft in 1975.
• The president made
mistakes.
• The court also cited the
Taft-Hartley act.
• In ‘On Liberty’, Mill
discusses the concept of
personal freedom.
Clarity: Verbs Vs.
Nominalization
• Nominalization is an action expressed as a noun
rather than a verb
• Words that end in –ation or –ion.
• For the most part, changing actions to nouns
makes it unclear who does what. E.g.
A full complement of actions was undertaken vs. I
did all I could.
A systematic analysis of the data is underway vs. We
are carefully analyzing the data.
Nominalization Vs Verbs
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Analysis
Assessment
Argument
Examination
Explanation
Performance
Revelation
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Analyze
Assess
Argue
Examine
Explain
Perform
Reveal
Noms in sentences
Original Version
• Assessment of his test
performance showed
satisfactory achievement.
• The play is an
examination of the
conflict the conspirators
face after the assassination
of Julius Caesar.
Revised Version
• He passed the test.
• The play examines the
conflict the
conspirators face after
they assassinate Julius
Caesar.
Clarity: Active Vs. Linking Verbs
• Active Verbs convey action. E.g. he spoke
• Linking Verbs convey states of being.
E.g.He appears dull, it will be impossible,
etc.
• ** It’s perfectly okay to use linking verbs to
describe or define things.**
Linking Verb Abuse Examples:
• There was a failure on the part of the
accounting firm to engage in a thorough
examination of the transactions of the
company.
• Motion toward a light source is a behavior
of Euglena, a single-celled organism.
Formatting, cont’d…
• Make sure that of all the points to be
discussed in a proposal, the main ones are
tackled first.
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:
• Always provide a conceptual framework for
the reader
• The triad: issue---Link (skills/expertise)--solution. Always find the link to the
problem and the solution and sell it!