Assignment 4 Technical Writing

Fall 2014

Project Proposal
Graded
deliverable
Length
Due

Submission
mode

Supplements

Project Proposal (components detailed below)

1,250 to 1,600 words, plus working bibliography
Draft: Wednesday, October 29
Final: Wednesday, November 5 (optional pre-submission by
10/29)
Draft: Bring printed copy to class and upload to A4 Peer
Review assignment in Canvas classroom
Final: Submit printed copy, with peer-review components,
and submit electronically via Canvas
Draft materials

Assignment Overview
The primary purpose of this assignment is to get you thinking well in advance about
what your final project might be. Another major benefit of the project proposal is
that it will give me a researched, detailed description of your topic and provide a
blueprint of where you anticipate your work will take you in the coming weeks. Your
assignment will take the form of a proposal that details your current research and
findings; discusses your primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences; considers your
strategies for assessing the topic and the challenges you expect to face; and
previews the research you expect to conduct.

Requirements
Youll want to begin by reviewing the proposal information in our readings, focusing
especially on Markels chapter 16. Your document will consist of the following parts:

Description of the problem/opportunity in detail (250500

words). Begin with an introductory paragraph that captures your readers
attention and answers this question: What is important about this topic? Your
research should be documented with cited evidence; Im not looking for
anecdotes but for proof that this is a problem that goes beyond your personal
involvement.

Description of audiences (250+ words). Names, job titles,

responsibilities, relationship to the problem, and what makes them
appropriate primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences for your final project
(not for the proposal). Youll want to consider who will benefit from your
solutions and how. This section should be particularly detailed, as
understanding your audience is a key aspect to framing your project.

Description of project/research (500+ words). What research will you

undertake, and what questions will you seek to answer? If your goal is to

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write a manual or produce another product (such as a website), you need to
be specific about why such a product is needed and what additional research
you plan to do to prove your contention.

Project plan/schedule. You must develop a realistic schedule that shows a

viable plan for completing each stage of the final project. I strongly advise
you to use a Gantt chart as the means of conveying this information. In the
online classroom is a basic template and detailed instructions on creating a
workable Gantt chart using Excel.

Sources (one page). A properly formatted list of at least 10 sources that

will serve as your working bibliography. These are the sources you expect to
consult as you proceed with your project.

Audience
For the proposal, I am your audience. I will be looking for evidence that youve put
significant effort into considering and researching your topic and can clearly explain
the problem as well as predict your coming work in a successful, effective manner.
The audience of your semester project, by contrast, will depend entirely upon
your individual project. In your project proposal, you will describe and analyze the
primary, secondary, and perhaps tertiary/incidental audiences you expect to
address for your semester project. Demonstrate to me your understanding of
audience accommodation by describing specific elements of your approach that will
be informed by what you know of these audiences.

Citations
You are required to provide at least 10 credible sources, listed on a working
bibliography. You may use online sources, but Wikipedia and other dictionaries or
encyclopedias are not appropriate for this assignment and may not be used.
Newspaper articles, journal pieces, magazine columns, books, projects, proposals,
formal recommendations, surveys, and personal interviews are all considered
acceptable sources.
Dont stop there, though. Find primary sources. Although a newspaper report about
a study may serve as an introduction for you, you will need to consult the actual
study when it comes time to research and write your final project, so you would be
well advised to begin tracking those down now. You need not cite all of these
sources in your proposal; the working bibliography will be, in essence, a list of
credible and authoritative resources you expect to consult. As this is a working
bibliography, I expect that many of your sources may change between now and the
end of the semester, but this initial list will indicate where your research is headed.

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Grading
Your proposal will be graded on these qualities:
Content (50%)your understanding of the context, purpose, and audience of
your proposal; as well as how effectively you describe the problem or
opportunity and your proposed means of addressing it;
Approach and organization (30%)accuracy, preciseness, conciseness,
appropriateness of language, use of established formatting;
Style (20%)grammar, consistency, correctness, organization, clarity,
structure.
As indicated on the syllabus, this assignment will count as 15 percent of your total
course grade. It will become part of your final project portfolio, though it will not be
regraded at semesters end.

Additional Information and Tips for Success

Our readings and class discussion will provide guidance for this assignment. Your
textbook devotes an entire chapter to proposals, with specific tips that you can
apply to developing and improving your proposal assignment. We will also spend
significant class time discussing various aspects of proposals. A well-considered,
concrete proposal will set you in the right direction to complete a successful final
course project.
If you want to pre-submit your proposal draft to me, you must submit it by
October 30. I will return it to you with my detailed feedback on November 4. We will
be peer-reviewing proposals in class that evening, so be sure to bring a printed copy
of your draft that night to use in class as well as the electronic file(s). You will then
have two separate sets of constructive criticism to consider as you revise and
finalize your proposal.
Choices youll need to make
Of critical importance: What project will I complete for this course? What,
specifically, are the inner and outer boundaries (scope) of the project? Your
project will need to represent a substantial undertaking, but bear in mind that
you dont want to overreach and jeopardize your chances for completing the
project on time.
What sources would be best for helping me to solve the problem or exploit
the opportunity I have described in my project proposal?
Would graphics help my reader understand the proposal?
Additional key points to keep in mind
In-text citations and the working bibliography page must follow the format
used in the field in which you are working; submit a style sheet for the format
you use if it is other than MLA, APA, or IEEE. Note that if you are writing about

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the sciences, MLA and APA are not appropriate formats. You will find
information in the online classroom that will help you determine the correct
style guide for your work.
Looks still count. Create headings to clarify the parts of the assignment, and
choose an appropriate set of typefaces. Use white space and other design
elements to their best advantage. Given all the resources at your disposal
and our extensive class discussions, I expect your proposal to look like
something I would find in the professional realm.
Err on the side of specificity. Dont just tell me that you plan to research
methods of reducing waste in the manufacture of diodes; tell me how you
are going to conduct that research and what resources you expect to tap.
Have I mentioned that you need to proofread your work carefully? By this
point in the semester, carelessness in your writing will have a noticeable
effect on your grade for the assignment. Pay attention to errors identified on
previous assignments and dont make these same mistakes.