The Project Proposal
The project proposal is the final draft of the project you have worked
on all term. Like the presentation, it should be a leadership statement
that puts information into action by proposing a research-justified
solution to a well-defined problem. Unlike the presentation, though,
it should take a specific form (which is laid out in the parts
of the proposal and illustrated in some of the sample
papers which follow). The guidelines for preparing this final paper
will probably not conform to those of your work place or those spelled
out for specific grant applications you might be considering. These
guidelines, though, should be readily adaptable to any "real-world"
submission. We encourage you to revise your final project for submission
in your work place or in your future graduate work, but for the time
being focus on fulfilling the requirements of our class.
Remember that the heart of the proposal is a problem, paradigm, and
plan which work together to create a unified concept. The paradigm should
grow organically out of the way you define the problem, and the plan
you present should be clearly rationalized by the paradigm. If you unify
and focus your argument, you will be able to present a well organized
and logical paper.
The final draft of the project proposal should be approximately 20
pages (inclusive), single space. You should also try to do the following
(along with anything else your instructor chooses to emphasize):
- Strive for a consistent and professional tone throughout.
- Number your pages clearly (according to the order explained below).
- Unify your paper as best you can using rhetorical, design and signposting
strategies.
- Use clearly distinguished headings and subheads to help guide your
reader through the parts of each section.
- Use bullets or numbers to list items for easy comprehension.
- Label and number all graphs and figures for easy reference.
- Unify the paper with a consistent typography and style.
- Polish your writing for style and emphasis.
- Proofread for errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax.
The Parts of the Proposal
The formal aspects of the final proposal help you to present your
overall argument in a way that is useful for your reader. There are
fourteen parts of the project proposal, most of which should be labeled
and presented in order (with the exception of visual graphic aids, which
should ideally be incorporated into the body of the paper with individual
titles):
1. Transmittal Letter (or Cover Letter) -- generally
one full page (not numbered or titled)
2. Title Page -- one page (not numbered or titled)
3. Abstract -- one page (Roman numeral "i")
4. Table of Contents -- one page (Roman numeral "ii")
5. Table of Figures -- one page (Roman numeral "iii")
6. Executive Summary -- two pages (Roman numerals "iv-v")
7. Introduction -- generally more than two pages (beginning
with Arabic numeral "1")
8. Research (or Literature Review)
9. Plan (or Procedures)
10. Budget
11. Discussion (or Evaluation Plan)
12. Works Cited
13. Visual Aids (or Figures)
14. Appendix (if necessary)
Unless your teacher indicates otherwise, you should adhere to these
guidelines in preparing your final paper.
1. Transmittal Letter (or Cover Letter)
Like the cover letter that accompanied your resume, the letter of transmittal
is intended to explain and interpret the attached document. It should
explain why the reader has received your proposal and it should try
to persuade the reader to examine it closely, offering details about
the content intended to interest or intrigue him or her. The letter
of transmittal should respond to the situation of reading and answer
the reader's likely questions: "Why is this on my desk?" and "Why should
I read it when I have a dozen other things to do?"
The transmittal letter can take the form of a letter (for a reader
outside of your organization) or memo (for a reader within your organization).
While an increasing number of transmittals are written in e-mail form,
where the proposal is usually an attached file, we ask that you adhere
to the traditional paper forms for the purposes of the course.
If it is a letter, it should follow the full block style, in which
all of the elements are flush with the left margin in this order: ·
- Return Address (your address)
- Date (for the purposes of the class, use the due date of the final
proposal)
- Recipient's address (including name, title, organization, and business
address)
- Salutation ("Dear" plus formal address and name)
- Body (see discussion below for guidance here)
- Closing ("Sincerely") and signature
If you are using company stationery, then you will not need to include
your address. If it is prepared as a memo, then it should be written
on company stationery (or facsimile) and prepared in memo form:
- To: Adressee's full name, title
- From: Your full name, title or position -- with hand-written initials
- Date: Today's date
- Subject: A line indicating your proposal topic (not necessarily
the same as your title)
- Body (see discussion below for guidance here)
Many of the rules for writing the cover letter to accompany your resume
apply here. Since your imagined reader probably attended your presentation
(or, at least, you created a context where he or she was imagined in
the room), you may want to begin by reminding the reader of that event,
explaining that this is the full version of that proposal. Whether or
not you have met your reader before, begin by explaining why you sent
him or her your proposal and why it should be of interest. Emphasize
what you know about the reader's interests and emphasize the chief way
the proposal matches those interests.
The central paragraph (or central two paragraphs) should offer an overview
of the project, highlighting salient details about the problem, paradigm
and plan. Again, point to those aspects of your project most likely
to interest your reader.
The final paragraph should invite further contact, offering the most
convenient way for the reader to get in touch with you (perhaps by phone
or e-mail).
2. Title Page
The page should include the following information:
- Project title
- Submitted by: Your full name and title (or position)
- Submitted to: Your addressee's full name, title, and business address
- Date
You should also indicate somewhere near the bottom of the page what
course this paper was prepared for, your instructor's name, and any
class information your teacher requests. (This way if your paper gets
lost it won't end up on the desk of the imagined audience but will have
a chance of getting returned to your instructor).
The title of your project should be carefully chosen and crafted for
maximum communication in the shortest space. It is one of the first
things the reader sees of your report, and will become the means of
referencing it to others. The more communicative power it has the more
effective it will be. Strive for to be both clear and memorable. Remember
that you can use a two part title, especially if you want to give your
project a catchy title followed by a more technically specific one.
There are many ways to design the title page, and you should do what
looks and works best for your specific project. Use white space, color
and other page elements to design an attractive image that is consistent
with the document design as a whole. You might want to use graphics
or pictorial lettering to highlight your topic.
3. Abstract
The abstract should be clearly labeled as an "Abstract" at the top of
the page and should be no more than one or two paragraphs in length.
The purpose of the abstract is to tell busy people (or their secretaries)
how to file your report. It should be written from a disinterested perspective,
providing a balanced view of the project idea as though written by an
outside party. Usually it is written in the third person or uses passive
voice to avoid naming the agent. For the purposes of this class, you
should write a relatively long, informative abstract that includes details
about your overall argument and covers elements of the problem, paradigm
and plan (in that order). Be sure to indicate your rationale and what
specific action you want to take. Strive to be maximally communicative
within minimal space -- generally between 150 to 300 words.
4. Table of Contents
Clearly label and design your table of contents for easy use. Recognize
that the table of contents has two main uses: it helps readers locate
the information that interests them most (this is especially true of
long reports) and it gives your reader an overview of the project and
its parts. You should list all parts of the project listed above (excluding
the transmittal letter and visual aids), along with any important subheads.
Number the opening parts (abstract, table of contents, table of figures,
and executive summary) with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) and then
use Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) beginning with the "introduction" section.
Use whatever design elements you can to help make the information clear
and usable -- indenting subheads, using ellipses to link section names
and page numbers, and aligning all related parts. The style and font
should be consistent with the design throughout your document.
You can work up a table by carefully laying out the items in it, but
many word processing programs will generate a table for you. In WordPerfect
for Windows, for example, look under the Tools menu. In other programs,
consult your manual or Help menus.
5. Table of Figures
If your table of contents is short, you might include your table of
figures (clearly labeled) on the same page. Otherwise, it should occupy
its own page. Ideally, each figure and illustration you use should have
a number for easy reference. List the number and title of each figure
along with the page on which it appears.
6. Executive Summary
The executive summary should be clearly labeled. This is usually the
last thing you write, but it is often the first (and sometimes only)
thing that your audience will read closely. It is a "miniature" or condensed
version of the paper itself written for busy executives (hence the name).
Basically, the executive summary presents your whole argument, in the
order of the paper itself, with key details and evidence, all in only
ten percent of the space of the whole paper (generally no more than
two pages for a twenty page proposal). A reader should be able to understand
your entire project (including problem, paradigm, and plan) after having
only read these two pages. Generally, you should cite critical evidence
and sources here, but you should not include illustrations.
Unlike the abstract, which is intended for description only, the executive
summary can contain persuasive language. In writing some parts of the
paper, you may feel that you are repeating yourself. You are, in a way.
But you should recognize that while you may present the same information
several times in different parts of the report, each part is intended,
in a sense, for a different reader. This part is written for the busy
executive. The body of the report is written for the (perhaps same)
executive who has time for a closer examination of your ideas.
7. Introduction
There are two purposes of the introduction: to present information about
the problem you will address and to forecast your overall argument.
Here is where you will want to offer all the information you have on
the problem you seek to address. You should try to quantify or define
the problem and offer images that help clarify and emphasize the key
aspects of it. Focus on those aspects of the problem that will most
interest your reader, and suggest by the way you examine or define the
problem a direction for approaching it. Close the introduction with
a forecasting statement giving your reader a sense of your argument
to follow and providing a transition to the next part.
8. Research Review (or Literature Review)
The research section should open with some reference to the problem
(especially by way of transition from the introduction), but should
focus mostly on the paradigm for your project. The research you present
should explain why you will approach the problem in a particular way;
it should also provide a unified rationale for the specific plan of
action you describe in your plan. Thus the paradigm is essential for
unifying your paper because it shows how the plan of action you will
propose is a logical approach to the problem you have defined.
While each of you will have to explore research in a way unique to
your topic, all of you should strive to show that you are not merely
asserting your approach to the problem based on opinion, politics, or
personal view, but that there is a consensus of opinion or a well-documented
trend or development that supports your idea. You might discuss examples
of similar or related projects you are using as models, focusing on
the procedures and plans that worked in those instances and emphasizing
the positive results achieved. You might discuss theories that form
the basis for your assumption that the plan you have in mind will be
effective -- offering evidence and authority to show that your plan
is responding to a body of knowledge. If you are planning experimental
work that grows out of a well-established scientific paradigm, you should
review the tradition of work in the field that you are building on in
your research. Remember that the main purpose of the research is to
justify your specific plan of action. Thus, if you plan to educate people
about a specific environmental issue, you will likely want to focus
more on an effective way (or paradigm) of educating people than you
will on that environmental issue (though you will need research on that
as well).
One of the purposes of the literature review is to establish your authority
-- which will stand or fall based on the quality of the research you
cite. By demonstrating your command over recognized or paradigmatic
research, you show that you have the knowledge and expertise to make
valid recommendations. You should strive to find the most useful and
authoritative research whenever possible, and you should discuss published
research (ideally, research that has been subject to peer review). Many
projects will, however, call for a wide range of research sources, including
articles, books, internet sources, published government statistics,
interviews, surveys, field studies, calculations, and experimental results.
You should do your best to evaluate sources and use only the most solid
in building your literature review. To use low quality materials in
constructing your paper is equivalent to using low quality materials
in building a house, and your product will be evaluated and graded (or
condemned) accordingly.
9. Plan (or Procedures)
The plan should be as specific as possible and should follow logically
from your research. How it is presented will depend upon the specific
project you have in mind. If you are proposing a workplace project,
you might focus on how your idea will be implemented (perhaps providing
a flowchart or time line). If you are proposing to do an experiment,
you should lay out the specific procedures you will use. If you are
building something, you will want to describe how it will be built and
provide diagrams. You might wish to reference research to support the
specific choices you are making, though the research section should
provide the bulk of your rationale.
10. Budget
The budget should list everything you will need for your project, from
salaries to supplies. Some items may require explanation, which you
should supply here as well. Arrange the cost of your budget items in
aligned accountant's columns to make your addition clear.
11. Discussion (or Evaluation Plan)
Generally your paper should conclude by summing up your project and
making a final pitch for its value. If you are proposing a project whose
results can be tested in some way, then you should also offer an evaluation
plan.
12. Works Cited
This section should list all sources of information cited in your paper
in alphabetical order. The bibliography should be prepared according
to MLA Style, which is covered in the supplementary text for this class.
A brief MLA Style Guide is included in the research section of the coursepack,
but for more extensive coverageyou might consult The MLA Handbook, which
is available in the Reference section of any campus library under REF
LB2369.G53 1995. Or you can consult these on-line sources:
13. Visual Aids (or Figures)
You should have at least three visual graphic aids representing statistical
information. These might include graphs, charts, drawings, flowcharts,
maps, organization charts, diagrams, or floor plans. [Photographs are
helpful and interesting, but they do not count as visual representations
of statistical information.] Each visual graphic aid should be numbered
(e.g.: Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) and should have a title. If the graphic
is based on information from a source, then you should have a citation
line at the bottom (i.e.: Source: Alvarez, 26.) If you are able to incorporate
your graphics into the body of the paper, do so. If you cannot incorporate
your graphics, then include them at the end in an appendix.
13. Appendix (optional)
If you have other information that doesn't exactly fit into your text,
you could include it as an appendix (which is literally appended to
the end of your document). Examples of information that works well in
appedices:
- A printout of a Web site similar to the one you are proposing to
build
- A section from a handbook or rule book to which you are referring
- A series of charts containing information of which you are only
using part
- The complete text of a legislative bill or judicial proceeding,
only part of which applies to your project
Sample Papers
These sample project proposals should help illustrate the parts
of the final paper.
Proposal
#1--For an Internet
based Book Exchange Program at Rutgers University
Proposal #2--For a Forensic
Science Certificate at Rutgers University
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