PTC 620 Proposal Writing

Instructor

Professor Norbert Elliot

Course Description

In any organization, your success depends on your ability to write persuasively. Today, proposal writing is an industry: divisions of organizations are devoted to a single aim: to win competitive awards through compelling documents. This course will prepare you for your role in that challenging world.

We will begin by exploring theories of persuasion from ancient to contemporary times, and we will continue our study through modern theories of stakeholder analysis. With this overview in mind, we will then dedicate ourselves to preparing a proposal for a specific audience. While we will analyze sample documents, our major emphasis will be on the development of a proposal that will, hopefully, be used by you in your own organization.

Prerequisites

Students must have graduate standing and are usually enrolled in the PTC Certificate or the MS in PTC. If you are not in these categories, permission of the instructor is required.

Texts

Laurie Blum. The Complete Guide to Getting a Grant. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996. ISBN: 047115508X

Ron Tepper. How to Write Winning Proposals for Your Company or Client. New York: John Wiley, 1990. ISBN: 0417529486 (pbk)

Richard Johnson-Sheehan. Writing Proposals: Rhetoric for Managing Change. New York: Longman, 2002. ISBN:0-205-32689-7 (pbk)

CD ROM

Norbert Elliot. Proposal Writing: Twelve Lectures. Newark: NJIT, 2001.

The Portfolio

Copies of all assignments (drafts and final copies of papers, slides from oral presentations, and examinations) will be kept by each student in a portfolio retained by the instructor at the end of the course. Major assignments will be submitted both on hard copy and on disk. This portfolio will reflect the overall quality of your work.

Late Assignments

Late assignments are not accepted and will receive a failing grade unless prior arrangements are made. If there is an emergency, I may be reached at either my office or by e-mail.

Assignments and Grading Procedures

Writing Autobiography: 10 pts.
Funding Analysis: 10 pts.
Web Sites on Rhetoric: 5 pts
Pre-Proposal: 25 pts.
Final Proposal: 35 pts.
Proposal Slides: 15 pts.

In addition, all final copy of work will be submitted in a portfolio due on June 25.

Syllabus (This is a sample syllabus. While the basic elements of the course remain consistent across semesters, elements of the course change. For distance learning courses, the final syllabus is provided on the web site. For traditional classes, the final syllabus is provided the first day of class.)

Part 1: A Life in Writing

Objectives

To allow students to provide a statement of their writing experiences
To allow the instructor to better understand the background of the writer

Readings

Blum, Chapters 1, 2; Tepper, Chapter 1; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapter 1

Assignment

Writing Autobiography due

Part 2: Funding

Objectives

To allow students to understand the origin of American foundations
To allow students to understand the various types of funding sources
To allow students to identify and work up a funding source relevant to their proposals

Readings

Blum, Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Tepper, Chapters 2, 5, 6, 7, 10; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapter 2

Assignment

Funding Analysis Due

Part 3: Rhetoric-The Tradition

Objectives

To allow students to understand the rich history of rhetoric as it has been formulated from classical Greece to the 21st century

Readings

Review of selected web sites on rhetoric

Assignment

Review of Web Sites on Rhetoric Due

Part 4: Audience Analysis

Objectives

To allow students to understand systems of audience analysis and their implications for proposal writing

Readings

Tepper, Chapters 3 and 4; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapters 3 and 4

Assignment

Prepare audience analysis as part of the Pre-Proposal Due

Part 5: The Proposal Writing Process

Objectives

To allow students to understand the process of proposal writing and how that process impacts the document itself

Readings

Blum, Chapter 9; Tepper, Chapter 8; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapter 5

Assignment

Pre-Proposal Due

Part 6: Anatomy of a Proposal

Objectives

To introduce students to the archetypal sections of a proposal

Readings

Blum, Chapter 8; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapters 6, 7, 8

Assignment

Begin Draft 1 of Proposal

Part 7: Persuasion

Objectives

To allow students to use rhetorical systems of persuasion in order to structure compelling arguments

Readings

Tepper, Chapter 9; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapter 9

Assignment

Continue to work on Draft 1 of Proposal

Part 8: Cohesion

Objective

To allow student so design reader-centered documents through cohesive strategies

Reading

Blum, Chapter 8 (review); Tepper, Chapter 9 (review); Johnson-Sheehan, Chapter 10

Assignment

Draft 1 of Final Proposal Due

Part 9: The Visual Display of Information

Objective

To allow students to integrate graphics and words in order to explain and persuade effectively

Reading

Tepper, 148-183; Johnson-Sheehan, Chapters 11 and 12

Assignment

Begin work on Draft 2 of Proposal

Part 10: Oral Presentations and the Proposal Process

Objective

To allow students to prepare slides to accompany the Final Proposal

Assignment

Continue to work on Draft 2 of Proposal
Draft 1 of Power Point Slides Due

Part 11: After the Award

Objective

To allow students to examine key principles of grant management in the post-award phase

Reading

Blum, Chapter 10

Assignment

Draft 2 of Final Proposal due
Draft 2 of Power Point Slides Due

Part 12: Taking Stock

Objective

To allow students to think in a comprehensive fashion about the proposal project

Assignment

Final submission of all work from class in Portfolio
Final Proposal and Slides Due