Assignment 2: Proposal

Peer Response Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012 Due: Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Simply put, a proposal is a persuasive offer intended to secure authorization to perform a task or provide products or services that will benefit the reader. --Searles Description For this assignment you are to write a 4-x page unsolicited external proposal following the format suggested in figures 11.9-11.20 beginning on page 213 of Workplace Communication. Though the proposal should include front matter information such as a letter of transmittal (see Workplace 232), a title page (figure 11.9), and table of contents (figure 11.10), these are not part of the total page count. As always the checklist offered at the end of the chapter (Workplace 229) is an exceptional guide you should use to complete the project. The proposal will be the beginning stages toward completing your final project for this class. Think carefully about the types of commitments you are making within this proposal. Specific Criteria The proposal you create should center on a real, local business that has an online presence. The proposal should be directed to a real person within that company who is in the position to accept or deny your proposal. There are some ambiguous terms here, so let me clarify them. Real: Local: Web: An actually existing company Exists within the borders of the St. Paul/Minneapolis area or surrounding communities or in your hometown. The company/business must have a web presence.

The proposal should include the following: 1. Opening. The proposal should open with a brief statement of who you are, what problem you plan to address, and what the proposal will recommend. All of this should be briefly stated 2. Current Situation. Include a problem statement that describes the problem and its consequences for the decision maker. Explain why the problem needs to be addressed. This section should make an argument that the problem you identified is unwanted, unsustainable, or may cause issues later. 3. Project Plan. Provide an overview of the steps you plan to take enact the proposal, as well as a timeline. It may be helpful to construct a table identifying dates when important objectives are fulfilled. 4. Qualifications. Explain how you are the appropriate person to conduct this study. Highlight any relevant experience or your familiarity with the problem or issue at hand. 5. Costs and Benefits. Typically this section addresses the monetary cost of the proposal. This section is your opportunity to be persuasive and inform your audience that there are more benefits than costs. 6. Conclusion. Briefly summarize your plan and ask for a response from the decision maker for approval to begin the study. Notes and Caution The proposal is a persuasive document; therefore, you should think persuasively. Build your ethos and credibility by articulating your understanding of the company. Clearly articulate and describe an area for

improvement and how the company might benefit from such improvements. Persuade the reader that your project plan is worth carrying out in full. Though the company should be real and local and be written to a real person who makes the decisions, this does not mean you have to work directly with that company or that person. You may, should you choose, contact the appropriate person in the company and discuss your plans or assess the companys needs, but that is not necessary. Suggestions Build on your strengths. If you are an excellent web designer, maybe you want to propose a new web design that strengthens the companys core values. If you are an excellent PR person, maybe you want to build new training models for the companys LGBT inclusion policy. If you have a passion for increasing client bases of companies, maybe you want to look into the companys current social media outreach programs and see if something within these programs can be improved upon. Think creatively and to your strengths. Evaluation I will evaluate your proposal for formatting, audience appropriateness, style and grammar correctness and how well the text adhere to conventions of its genre. Remember, you are required to have at least one visual. You may include more if you feel it is necessary. A table for your schedule will NOT be considered as you one visual. I would Highly Recommend utilizing the excellent checklist on page 229. Reflective Paper A Reflective paper of between 300 and 600 words will be turned within 24 hours after the assignment is due. The reflective paper will have two components, one major and one minor; Major Component: You will reflect on how the language, formatting, genre conventions and cultural importance of these documents through the lens of any of the theoretical texts we have read this semester (Slaughter, Lewis, Albini, or Anyon). Minor Component: Choose one Style or Grammar component covered in the Williams Style book and explain how you were particularly attentive to it in your work. To recap: On the date this assignment is due, you will turn in the Proposal in class: 24 hours later, you will turn in the short reflective paper on the course Moodle website.