Portfolio assignment

Proposal Writing in the interactive lecture on page V of Module 7

5. Practical Skills: Proposal Writing

http://tweakyourbiz.com/management/2013/05/27/important-guidelines-for-business-proposal-writing/shutterstock_132365048/

In Module 6, you were provided with guidelines for writing a business communication, which could take the form of a memorandum (memo), an email, or a short attachment to an email, depending on the protocol defined for this sort of communication in your workplace. Often a person expresses a request or suggestion for a change to current processes in a memo.  If interest is expressed, you may be asked to expand this request or suggestion into a proposal. The purpose of a business proposal is to convince your audience to see your point of view. Your main goal when writing a business proposal is to persuade your audience to make a change that will turn your idea into reality.

There are two key phases to writing a good proposal:

· Proposal planning phase

· Proposal writing phase

Proposal Planning Phase

As with all types of writing, there are several key steps to complete prior to beginning the writing process:

· Know your purpose. Be sure you are very clear about what you want to accomplish with the proposal, what problem you want to solve.  Define the goals of the proposal and the objectives required to reach those goals.

· Know your audience. What information and evidence does your audience need to have to be able to make a decision about whether or not to approve your proposal?

· Know your subject: It is important to do thorough research in the subject area so that you can provide evidence that your solution to the problem is viable.

Click here to read the section titled Strategic Planning in the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) article, Planning and Organizing Proposals and Technical Reports.

Proposal Writing Phase

Your proposal should be divided into parts, or sections, that are familiar to your organization and audience.  If you have seen other proposals from your organization, it is recommended to follow that same organizational approach for your writing. If not, you can always do an internet search to select an approach that you find effective. 

For the purpose of this course and your upcoming Portfolio Project Assignment, organize your proposal into these parts:

Introduction The purpose of the introduction is to introduce the problem to your audience. Be clear and succinct. Answer these questions in a 4-5 sentence paragraph.

· Why is the current situation not effective?

· Why does it need to be changed, in your opinion? (Brady, n.d.)

Current Situation In this section, explain the problem that currently exists, the causes of the problem, and the effects created by the problem.

Project Plan In this section of your proposal, explain what you want to do to solve the problem you defined in the introduction You may want to use a bulleted list here to list the benefits of your solution.  Include your research here. It is very important to provide evidence to justify your proposed plan.  Be sure to:

· Make reference to studies in this topic area

· Quote individuals well-known in the field

· Provide data

· Don’t forget to cite all sources (Brady, n.d.) Click  here  for a sample business proposal in APA format.  While this report is not organized into the same sections you will be using for your report, it does provide you with good examples of how to make reference to studies in the topic area, how to provide data, and how to cite your sources. 

Qualifications and Experience In this section, tell your audience why you are the person to get the job done.  Describe your experience.  If you feel you are not qualified to do the work, describe the person, or type of person, required. You may also want to describe similar projects your organization has taken on in the past to show why you believe this project will be successful.

Budget This section outlines the budget and an estimate of what the project will cost. Depending on your audience, you may want to include direct and indirect costs. Use general categories to estimate costs.  Cost details can be provided later once the project has been approved. (Brady, n.d)

The budget is a very important section of your project.  A table that presents the costs in an at-a-glance format is recommended for that audience which wants to get a general idea of the cost at this point.

Click here for a sample budget. 

Conclusion

End your proposal by restating the benefits of the proposal. Keep your conclusion short and concise. Four to five sentences will most likely be enough.