Planning and Writing Proposals

Prof. Stephen A. Bernhardt

Dept of EnglishUniversity of Delaware

September 2006

Science

Writing and Science

Science Writing

Writing

Thinking, planning, coordinating, proposing, tracking, running, recording, reporting, concluding

Types of Documents

Plans to govern work Memos and letters to

keep work flowing Proposals to describe

and persuade Presentations to

deliver Reports to detail,

analyze, and interpretPlan example

Planning document What are you trying to do?

Purpose, goals, deliverables Who will use the document?

Your team, your manager, your agency

What is the best approach?Detail on tasks, roles, & deadlines

How should it be designed?Graphic, organized, explicit

Planning document Project overview Team and contact info Goals and deliverables Tasks, milestones, critical path

activities Team rules Schedule, time allocation Budget

Why plan? Teams with shared visions (in

writing) work better. Teams need rules and schedules

(and wiggle room). Teamwork demands complex

resource planning.

Nutshell the Proposal What is your purpose? Who is the audience? What is your plan? What will you deliver? When? By whom? With what resources? At what cost?

Proposal Quality Responsive to RFP—shared

mission Clear need Quality of deliverables Credible expertise: ability to

perform Realistic schedule and budget

Be Deductive and Explicit

Purpose and scope up front Preview main messages and

issues Lead sentences on sections and

paragraphs—top line skim Plenty of navigation devices Emphasis on most important sell

points

Two Organizational Schemes

Deductive Inductive

Main Point

Main Point

Organization Main messages, summary statements, or

conclusions appear at the beginning of sections and paragraphs

Document sections are organized deductively, from general to specific, from most important to least important

Procedural steps are sequential Organizational devices are used to guide

the reader

Elements of Design Effective formatting, layout,

and design Headers and footers Page numbers Consistent use of styles White space for separation

and emphasis

Front Matter

Orients the Reader

Cover with title, date, sponsor, proposer

Executive summary or abstract

Table of contents for organization

Summaries Summaries provide broad, descriptive

coverage of development activities and outcomes.

Summaries attempt to show the whole and its parts.

Summaries work at a coarse level of detail, at coarse grain, but are still completely representative.

Summaries should be visual: easy to skim/scan.

Body of Proposal

Provides Main Elements Introduction and overview Statement of problem Proposed solution with objectives Methods and materials Work plan: milestones, deliverables,

checkpoints Schedule (high level graphic) Budget: costs and benefits

Introduction

Reviews the project context: Who requested the work? Why? For what outcome or benefit?

Overviews the plan of this proposal

Statement of Problem

Provides clear and compelling description of the problem

Defines the need Discusses any critical issues

associated with the problem Details any constraints on the

problem's solution

Proposed solution Identifies broad strategy or

planned approaches Lists specific, measurable

outcomes to be accomplished Ties objectives clearly to

problem

Methods and materials Describes in detail what the

team proposes to do to find a solution (action steps)

Includes specifics—amounts, numbers, locations, tools, instruments, etc.

Work Plan (in proposal) Focuses on management of the

project Shows how the team will be

coordinated, scheduled, and monitored

Commits to dates (aggressive or realistic or both)

Works at high level for client

Schedule Presented in visual format Places all activities on a timeline Highlights critical or key

activities Convinces audience that the

timeline is realistic Serves as the proposal

“at a glance”

Budget Presented in visual format Provides rationale and

commentary (budget narrative) Forecasts/determines costs for

staff, materials, support, and overhead

Back Matter/Appendices

Bibliography or references Computer documentation Instrument descriptions or sources Full resumes Raw data to back up summary

points made in the body of the proposal

Writing Resources UD Writing Center (831-1168), basement of

Memorial Hall

Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. Writing Proposals.

Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu, Handbook of Technical Writing

Diane Kukich (CEE) dkukich@UDel.Edu

Steve Bernhardt sab@udel.edu