Short Writing #2: Report Proposal

Overview:
All proposals have two purposes: to make an explicit request and to provide evidence that
the request is reasonable and should be granted. Proposals should be succinct and to the
point while providing enough detail to be convincing to the audience. The primary audience
for a proposal is the decision-maker. The secondary audience is the person(s) who will be
carrying out the proposal should it be accepted; it forms a kind of blue-print to be followed.

Proposals need to answer the following questions: what is the problem to be solved? Why
is the writer qualified to solve it? What is the writer’s state of knowledge? What resources
will be needed? Where will the resources come from? What are the practical and
theoretical roadblocks and how will they be overcome? What has already been
accomplished? What still needs to be accomplished? How will these tasks be
accomplished within the given time constraints?

Directions:
Your proposal will request permission from me to pursue a given topic for your next major
project, a formal report. You must address a specific, local problem; for instance, you
might choose to write about your sorority’s budget problems or about the issue of drunk
driving in Huntington. You could address a problem you have experienced in your
workplace or within a student organization, or you could focus on a campus-wide issue.

Your proposal should be structured as a formal memo and should be addressed to me. It
should include the following sections (which are discussed in detail in assigned readings).

 Purpose (Introduction): outlines the subject and purpose of your report as

well as the significance
 Background of the Problem: gives information about why the problem is
important; breaks the topic down into meaningful subjects/units
 Questions to Be Investigated: outlines a list of questions you intend your
formal report to answer
 Methods or Procedures: details a research plan; identifies specific sources
related to the topic and includes a brief summary of each source (see below)
 Timetable: indicates a schedule for the work/research requirements
 Request for Approval: asks for permission to proceed with the assignment as
planned

Research Guidelines:
Since you will be writing your formal report on a local problem, you will likely be using
some local sources of information. However, you should also look for other resources that
address similar problems (perhaps faced by other universities or in other towns) in order to
determine how the issue has been dealt with in the past. Your formal report will offer
recommendations for solving or addressing the problem you outline, so it is important that
your research be focused, to some extent, on solutions (though your proposal does not
need to offer a solution).

Your proposal should include bibliographic information for a minimum of 8 sources. Note:
So that I know you have actually taken the time to examine the sources you’ve
Note: Course Learning OBJs #1, #2, #3, and #4 are relevant to this assignment.
found, the Methods/Procedures section of your proposal should include a 1-2
sentence summary of each source (the summary will follow the bibliographic entry
as shown below):

Fryer, Sarah Beebe. "Beneath the Mask: The Plight of Daisy Buchanan." Critical Essays
on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: G.K. Hall,
1984. 153-166. This is a feminist essay that argues that Daisy is trapped in cultural
constructions of Rich Wife and Pretty Girl and that she chooses the unsatisfactory
stability of her marriage because of those constructions.

Grading Criteria:
 Does the proposal employ proper format?
 Does the document convey a clear, relevant, and convincing purpose? Does it state
clearly what problem will be solved and establish the background and significance
of the problem?
 Does the document indicate what sub-topics of the larger topic will be covered? Is
this section clear and detailed?
 Does the proposal thoroughly outline what resources will be needed and where
those resources will come from? Is the research plan clearly outlined? Does the
writer seem prepared to undergo an appropriate amount of research for the chosen
topic? Is the research plan thorough in its coverage of the topic?
 Does the proposal establish a clear, detailed, and reasonable timeframe for
accomplishing the work of the upcoming Formal Report project?
 Does the proposal meet general criteria (final work should demonstrate familiarity
with basic grammatical principles)?

Grading/Evaluation Descriptors:
Remember, the grading/evaluation descriptors for each formal writing assignment can be
found in the syllabus.

Submission Instructions
Your proposal should be approximately two, single-spaced pages in length. Short Writing
#2: Report Proposal is due by midnight on 7/31. Please submit your document to the Short
Writing #2 assignment in accordance with this deadline. Please submit your response by
attaching the file to the assignment and use the format Last Name_SW2 for your file
name.

Note: Course Learning OBJs #1, #2, #3, and #4 are relevant to this assignment.