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Report Proposal
Memo
Assignment | Background
| Elements of the Proposal
Assignment:
- For this assignment
your group will write a 2-3 single-spaced page memo (memos use a block
structure- for an example of proposals, see Technical Communication
Today chapter 20) that outlines your plans for creating a successful
report. The report proposal memo is divided in sections which use separate
headers for each specific section (see below for contents and requirements).
Background:
- For the report
proposal memo, your group is asked to write a proposal in which you
propose the project for the report, which is due a week before exam
week. Consider that I put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) and that
your task is to convince me that your group has found a good topic for
the report (20-25 double-spaced page report that is due at the end of
the semester).
- Some report topics
that have been proposed in the past have been the following:
-Water conservation in the El Paso-Las Cruces Area
-Methods for removal of arsenic in drinking water
-Preservation of air quality in Las Cruces by reducing gas emission
of vehicles
-Enhancing voter registration and voting numbers in New Mexico
-Raising awareness of dangers of importing foreign prescription drugs
-Reducing food borne illnesses
- Though a lot of
these are in the environmental direction, you're free to choose a topic
of your own liking provided it is suitable for the guidelines of writing
a 20-25 double-spaced report (see TCT Chap. 22 p. 654 for examples of
specific report formats) that uses the IMRaD pattern (Introduction,
Methodology, Results and Discussion) to present its information.
- As chapter 20
mentions, proposals are important if you are proposing a certain project,
presenting ideas, or offering new strategies, and often deal with specific
issues that are required for getting permission to do a project.
A proposal generally
has three objectives:
- to persuade the
organization/company that you're working for that this is a feasible
project that can be done in the time allotted and the resources given
to you
- to protect the
organization/company and yourself by limiting the objectives to those
that can reasonably expected to be completed
- to provide you
with an outline for a project with deliverables, dates, and deadlines
in print
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Elements of the proposal:
For the elements
of the proposal, the following information should minimally be included
(see Technical Communication Today pages 582-622):
Introduction
- In the introduction
your group introduces the topic for the report. Think about who your
audience is: What is known about your topic? What is not known, and
how can you address the concerns of multiple audiences that might be
involved in the issue you are going to be working on for your report?
You'll want to use the opening moves of a memo:
1.Define the subject of your proposal (where you introduce and define
the problem your report will try to resolve)
2.State the purpose for writing (usually, to help resolve the issue/problem)
3.State the main point (what preliminary solution you are proposing)
4.Stress the importance of the subject
5.Offer background information
6.Forecast the organization of the document (defining the order of sections
of the proposal)
Description
of Current Situation
- Here you discuss
your motivation why this project is needed. You'll want to give background
information as to why this is an important issue and why it needs to
be resolved. You'll want to create a clear problem statement that clearly
outlines the current problem:
1. Define and describe the problem
2. Discuss the causes of the problem
3. Discuss the effects of the problem if nothing is done
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Description
of project plan
The project plan
describes, in detail, how to solve the problem:
- 1. Identify solution
2. States the objectives of the plan
3. Describes the plan's major and minor steps
4. Identify the deliverables or outcomes.
- This section deals
with what you will offer your reader after you've completed the project.
So here's where you want to answer the questions:
-What solution(s) do you propose after doing your initial research?
-What solution will you offer your client?
- What major milestones have you set for the group (i.e. major dates
when work for certain sections of your report will need to be done)
for deliverables?
-When will your group meet (decide on a regular meeting time and place
when everybody will meet) so that your work on the report will go smoothly?
- Obviously, you’ll
want to spend some time brainstorming on all of the different aspects
of your project and coming up with solutions.
For this section, consider using:
-creative
thinking techniques that will allow you to look at your topic from a
variety of different viewpoints: using logical mapping, freewriting,
creating flowcharts (which depict a process or procedure), creating
cluster sketches or idea trees.
-consulting
a variety of sources (by doing research in the library, visiting organizations/
governmental websites, doing interviews, surveys, ethnographic observations
etc.) in order to see the stakeholders and various components and agents
involved in your project. How can you improve things without neglecting
some of the key player’s demands? Also remember that your solution(s)
should be feasible given current social, cultural and economic situations.
- If you're wondering
about the stakeholders, consider the impact your solution(s) will have
on:
A. Your client (if you are doing a client-based project)
B. People directly affected or impacted by your solutions
C. Various governmental agencies (County, City, State)
D. The community
E. Anyone else directly or indirectly affected
For more info on
doing research see pages 95-131 of Technical Communication Today.
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Review of Qualifications
- The review of
qualifications usually consists of a description of personnel, along
with a description of an organization and previous experiences. Given
the fact that this assignment will be done for a class, the review of
qualifications will probably need to be altered to fit the purpose of
the assignment (however, it is good to know that this can be used as
a part of a proposal normally). I'll ask you to focus on the following
issues in this section:
- -How will your
group assign the work required for the project?
- Who will
do research on what?
- What resources can you employ in finding out more about your topic?
(Specifically, you’ll want to identify the key elements that will
allow you to gather information or that can serve in guiding your group
to find more information).
- Given that the
Final Report is due in a number of weeks, and should be about 20-25
pages long, you'll want to be explicit about major milestones that will
need to be accomplished before the date your report will be due. Think
about allotting yourself time to do the work in terms of your group
doing research (contacting resources, conducting interviews, observations,
finding sources to use in your Final Report etc.), drafting your report
and revising and finalizing your report. As always, it is best if you
equitably distribute the work in your team. Also consider any qualities
that people have that will allow you to distribute tasks evenly. Moreover,
in case this worked for you, also think about distributing different
team roles so that certain people have responsibilities for certain
tasks.
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Cost and Benefits
- The cost and benefits
section demonstrates the major advantages for the reader if the project
is given the thumbs up, and reminds them of the most convincing points
made about your solution in the project plan section and remind the
reader about the qualities of the group in the qualifications sections.
Though it's difficult to estimate the costs (and costs is not only money
- but can also be about environmental, ecological, social and human
factors), in this section I would like you to give an idea what costs
and what benefits are connected to your proposal.
Conclusion
- You'll want to
conclude your proposal by restating your main point, thank the reader,
describe the next step, and provide contact info.
Note: More specific subheadings can be added, depending on your project,
but the above sections are required for your report proposal memo. For
more info, see Technical Communication Today pages 582-622.
Any individual’s
misuse of the efforts of the group will be penalized - that means not
doing the work, not showing up to meetings, not cooperating, etc. and
in general, expecting others to do the work. It stands to reason that
your group’s grade should be a reflection of the efforts of all members
of the group, and that willingly jeopardizing this is severely letting
down your team.
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