Business Proposal

John Smith

5 years ago

I have an 8 page paper that needs to be converted into a business proposal. I listed the specific requirements for the paper, and have attached many supplemental documents. All of these documents can be used in the proposal. Essentially it consists of rearranging the information in the sense of a proposal, and adding on any new information that can help formulate the business proposal. I have listed both the requirements (word count) of the assignment and the detailed explanation of the assignment

***THE PROPOSAL WOULD NEED TO BE SUBMITTED BY THURSDAY 8PM THE LATEST.

Requirements:

Cover Letter 1 pg, Addresses, salutation, signed, intro + research + plan paragraphs
Title Page Title, names: yours + patron’s +mine, course + section number, date
Abstract (150-300 words, 10-pt font) Objective tone, passive voice + keywords
Table of Contents and Table of Figures All major headings and subheadings, visual aids
Executive Summary Presents major points of your proposal in 500-700 words
Introduction (1200 words, intro/concluding ¶) Problem mapped to specific population
Literature Review (1200 words, intro/concluding ¶) 2 theories, explained and used to evaluate 5 models
Plan (750 words, intro/concluding ¶) Realistic/practical plan w/ reasonable chance of success explained in prose w/ phases, visual aids (1 Models to Plan 2 Offset table w/ bullet points of plan)
Budget Offset table with all budget items + justification paragraph
Discussion (2 paragraphs, 300 words) Strong call to action for whole project
Works Cited MLA, Double-spaced, Hanging indentation, Alphabetical order
Appendix Must contain materials mentioned in plan section
Miscellaneous Revised ideas in accordance with feedback, formatting

Details:
1. All of the Parts:

The first thing you should do is to check and see that you have every required section IN THE RIGHT ORDER.
Each major section (Introduction; Literature Review; Plan) needs an intro paragraph AND a concluding paragraph.
Each major section should start on a new page (the only exception would be if the writer wanted to combine the Table of Figures and the Table of Contents on one page). Even if your Introduction ends one line into page 5, your Literature Review starts on page 6!
Margins must be ONE-INCH (not 1.25, which is what Word automatically does for you).
Spacing must be SINGLE-SPACE (sometimes Word sets it as 1.15 automatically; to correct this, go to Format/Paragraph). Please also make sure that “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” is checked off to avoid double-double-spacing.

EXCEPT FOR THE WORKS CITED/REFERENCES LIST, which is double-spaced.

In every paragraph, you need both a topic and concluding sentence. Between every paragraph in the body of the text, you need a transition.Each paragraph should contain a clear, guiding topic sentence and a definitive concluding sentence–there should be transitional moments as one paragraph switches to another as well.

Worksheet: Topic Sentences and Transitions.

I should be able to pick up your proposal at any point and have a good idea of what you are saying–this document is designed for a busy executive who might not have the time to read from beginning to end. Your Patron might start with the Plan or the Models or the Budget–you don’t know, so you want to make sure your document is super easy to navigate.
The whole proposal should go from general to specific. Each section should go from general to specific. It is very important to do this because what you are doing is funneling the reader’s attention to make him do what you want, to convince him to fund your project. At this stage, everyone needs to “develop in detail.” What this means is that you often make a good point and then drop it. You add a great graph, and then you don’t say much about it, you don’t do much with it. Your reader will decide how much attention to pay to everything, but you want to give him as much information as possible. The caveat here is that you need organization to make this work. If you just throw a bunch of crap on the page, you won’t convince anyone of anything.

2. Format:

Check the format throughout.
Check simple things like the pagination and the appearance of the title page.
Is the funding source (Patron) listed as the organization to which the project is being submitted?
Is there a date of submission?
Is everything capitalized uniformly?
What could be done to improve the aesthetic impression of the title page?
Everything should look as clean and professional as if the actual money you are requesting relied on the impression you create by handing it in.

3. Cover Letter:

Does it include some reasoning as to why the particular funding source will be interested in the project? Does it ever so briefly outline the main themes of the project—problem, paradigm, plan? Does it follow standard business letter format?
The point of your Cover Letter is to grab the attention and interest of a possible funding source (Patron).
In all likelihood, you would be sending out the same proposal to several different funding sources, so the Cover Letter is an essential part of trying to appeal to a particular Patron. The cover letter is directly addressed to your patron, but the accompanying proposal isn’t. In the “real world,” you would probably be applying to several possible sources of funding and simply attaching different cover letters to the same proposal.
The Cover Letter should be three paragraphs.

In the first paragraph, you should introduce yourself, your interest in the topic, and outline the “thesis statement” of your proposal in a sentence of two.
In the second paragraph, you should briefly cover some research, as well as state any relevant statistics that can grab the reader’s attention–this is especially important in regards to the Problem. (Otherwise, why propose a solution?)
In the third paragraph, you should provide a few more details about your own particular solution.

Your address should be followed by the date, followed by the Patron’s address. Use “Dear So-and-so” as a form of address and sign off using “Sincerely.” You should also provide the best way to contact you at the end of the letter, in case your Patron is interested.
Your Cover Letter is also your chance to indicate any way in which you are personally connected to the topic at hand–this would go in the first paragraph under indicating “your interest in the topic.”
Your Cover Letter should be no more than one page, single-spaced, in 12-point font. This is your chance to interest a possible funding source, so take care writing the Cover Letter and make sure that it is as polished as possible. There is no need to cite sources in the Cover Letter, as you will be using these sources in the rest of the proposal.
Fill in your actual name and contact info (make it up if you worry about sharing that kind of thing). The XXXs on the models are to protect the privacy of previous students–don’t put them on yours.
MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE COVER LETTER.

4. Abstract:

Starting with the Abstract, look over the whole project to see that all section subheadings are uniform. If one is centered at the top of the page, they all should be. If one is in bold, they all should be. The same font should be used for each section heading.
Ask these questions about the abstract itself:

Is it dispassionate?
Is it just an objective summary of the contents of the project?
Does it contain some reference to the main thrust of each section of the project? Yes, you will be repeating yourself, but that’s okay.

As I have stressed in class, the Abstract often proves difficult to write.
After a semester of persuasively making your point in as strong a fashion as possible, now you must take a step back and describe your proposal itself.
The Abstract is used to categorize your proposal, not the issue in and of itself.
Stick to bland, objective sentences in passive voice like, “In this proposal, it is argued that…” (as opposed to, “This proposal suggests that…”).
You are not trying to convince anyone of anything here–pretend that you are reading someone else’s proposal and that I have asked you to outline what this proposal says in 150-300 words.
Your Abstract should provide a summary of the relevant research that you examine, as well as your conclusions. It should address the motivations for your project, the methods used, the conclusions drawn, and indicate directions for possible future research.
Your Abstract should include keywords that will help others to find–most people doing research look at abstracts before reading the actual article, as I’m sure you already know! These should be introduced by the heading “Keywords” and listed in italics on one line directly beneath the Abstract.
Your Abstract should have no indentation and be in 10-point font, as opposed to the rest of your proposal, which is in 12-point font. The Abstract should be single-spaced. There is no need to cite sources in the Abstract, as you will be using these sources in the rest of the proposal.

5. Tables:

Do you like the looks of the Tables of Contents and Figures? Why or why not? What could be done?
Are titled subheadings within the sections given along with page numbers for easy reference?

6. MLA Style (303) or APA Style (302):

Check to see if the writer is citing all information that needs to be citing, and that he or she is using the proper format.
Use the citation style section of the Research Guide.

7. Executive Summary: FOR 303, NOT 302

Write this last; it is a persuasively written two-page summary of your proposal.
The language should be lively and the tone interesting enough to grab the reader’s attention and make him want to continue on to your research itself. Cite sources but don’t let these overwhelm the reader.

8. Introduction (Problem):

You need detailed description of the Problem at the local level at the end of the Introduction. See “Spectrum of Problems” or the US-NJ-MIDDLESEX-RU diagrams: your Introduction should hit on almost every one of these levels as you read it over. Your Intro is a downwards-facing triangle, and you end with the local manifestation of the Problem. Don’t trail off here! This is where you really want to hammer your point home!
Have you thoroughly described the problem in the Introduction and provided all the research necessary to show that the problem exists?
Is the problem (or aspects of it) quantified?
Is the Problem then applied to a specific Population?
Does the Introduction follow the model of the inverted triangle (general to specific)?
PowerPoint: The Introduction.

9. Literature Review (Paradigm):

Your Literature Review needs to contain Models of Success that address your Plan too. See “Backing up the Plan” worksheet. Use key terms and concepts from your theory sources to evaluate your models. You can never have enough models–each one strengthens your argument. Even models of failure help by showing what isn’t possible.
Here, you provide the rationale for your whole project by examining and evaluating other, concrete real-world initiatives and by exploring bigger ideas about how these issues work.
This is the place for needed background information, your case studies, and failure analysis of why previous attempts to fix the problem didn’t work.
Include the research geared toward your solution as the last section in your Literature Review.
Does the Literature Review provide both an overall theoretical framework and evaluate specific, concrete Models of Success?
PowerPoint: The Literature Review.
See below for a Model Literature Review section

10. Plan:

Your Plan should be a step-by-step detailed description of what to do first—if I gave you the money TOMORROW, you should be able to get started on putting it into action. Your Plan can be very small: an information day, an awareness campaign, one small change in how a grade school/high school/university does something; what matters is that you back it up.As I’ve mentioned time and again, one of the most common problems with proposals is that they don’t examine what goes on already—this is key to shaping a realistic plan. You should use key terms and concepts from your theory sources to support your plan; your plan needs both a practical basis (paradigm-models) and a theoretical or philosophical one (paradigm-theory).
We used to say that a strong sense of paradigm-theory was what differentiated an A from a B paper, the idea that you can clearly identify the key idea that supports your own plan. I would say, though, that an A proposal seems like it could actually happen–it is backed up by many different kinds of evidence but it also seems practical and realistic and, most importantly for me, that you know what is already going on/not going on at the place in question, which is really what makes it seem realistic and practical in the first place
Is the Plan specific enough to be carried out by anyone reading it?
What is missing? If you were the funding source, what would you want to see?
Present specific phases of your plan, with the most local and narrow element occurring first.
If there is a timeline, is the first stage the most clearly defined? Are the further stages realistic or is the writer just filling up space?
Is there an offset table of bulleted major plan points (see image below)?

11. Budget:

Your Budget should come from your fieldwork and your models.
Your Budget must correspond to the points that you have laid out in your Plan.
You must have the greatest amount of budgetary information for the first phase of your plan–this is the narrowest and most detailed phase.
Your table for Budget should be accompanied by an introductory paragraph, as well as followed by a justification paragraph. The justification paragraph details where you got your number from, not just how much things will cost: Who’s going to pay and how? What kind of budget are they working with? What have they funded before or are they funding now (like this)?
See the examples below.

12. Discussion:

This is a two-paragraph conclusion that is much like the “Call to Action” at the end of your presentation. Bring everything together to make one last passionate appeal for your project. At least 500 words.