Report Package: Proposal Assignment
Introductory Comments about the Proposal Assignment
For the proposal assignment, you will write a planning proposal that describes an issue or problem and asks for permission to study it further. Essentially, you are creating a formal writing and researching plan for the report which you will write in weeks 3-5 this semester. In the report, you will actually explore specific solutions and recommendations in depth.
The proposal is a decision making tool for the audience who can approve or reject your request (or ask for modifications to your plan). That means that the proposal’s purpose is persuasive: you want your readers to approve your request.
You’ll choose your topic and audience for the proposal (and report), but the topic must be approved by me in the Week 1 Discussions.
Once your proposal has been submitted and approved, you may not change your topic.
Topic Suggestions
You can use this assignment to explore a current workplace problem at your place of employment as long as you can do so without violating confidentiality and as long as you can meet the research requirements listed below. If scholarly research is not available about your topic, then the topic is not a good fit for this particular report.
You can also consider common workplace problems, e.g., security risks created by BYOD programs, the loss of visibility and organizational control when employees use cloud-based services, increases in insider threats, increased numbers of patients who have bed sores in nursing homes, increased instances of hospital-acquired pneumonia (or other HAI’s), cultural conflict in the workplace, employing effective social media marketing, and so on.
Understanding the Difference between the Proposal and the Report
Let’s explore a brief example of a topic to understand the difference between the proposal and report. Let’s say you’re interested in writing about developing a plan to avoid distributed denial-of-service attacks. A company’s IT director would be a logical choice as an audience.
A report on this topic might explore how to assess the risk of different kinds of DDoS attack scenarios, how to respond in the event one of the scenarios occurs, and why testing the processes through drills would be beneficial. Research would be used in each of those three sections to offer recommendations for action.
Your proposal won’t cover those topics in depth, however, but will refer to them. The proposal’s goal is to convince the IT director to let you do the research, so you present the main topics you think you’ll need to cover, use research to show how serious the problem is, show that research is available by listing sources, and so on. Again, the proposal is both a request for action from the reader and a formal plan for the writer who will use the plan to write the report.
Proposal Assignment Guidelines
Use the headings below for your proposal. Follow the guidelines beneath each section to help you decide what information to include under each section.
Purpose
Begin the memo with a brief paragraph that explains the purpose of the proposal and the subject and purpose of your report. Be concise but clear.
Background
This section uses research and discussion to set up the background of the problem that you have chosen to research and write a report on. Aim for three well-researched paragraphs and incorporate at least three sources.
Consider answering some of the following questions as you prepare this section:
• What is the problem?
• What is the history of the problem? How long has it been a problem?
• Why is it important to write about it now?
• Why is the topic important to your report’s audience and/or the organization?
• What will happen if the problem/situation is not solved/dealt with?
• What are the costs of the problem?
• What solutions are possible? What constraints exist for the solution?
Tip: One common way to organize the background section is to include a paragraph on the past (history and background of problem); a paragraph on the present (current situation; why the topic is important now); and a paragraph on the future (potential solutions).
Note, from the reader’s perspective, this section is important as it explains why the topic is important (worthy of weeks or months of resources and effort) and proves your credibility as a researcher.
Report Plan (Plan of Implementation)
While the previous Background section convinces the readers that there is a problem that needs to be solved, this section is the beginning of your plan of action that shows your readers you can deliver a report that has a plan for change or solutions.
In this section, you will present an annotated outline for the report. In particular, you want to provide a sense of the major topics (problems, solutions) for the body of the report. For this section, list the major topics and provide a paragraph describing each topic. Incorporate research.
At this stage in the process, your plan may not be perfect. It doesn’t have to be. Your goal in this section is to demonstrate that you know enough about the issues to suggest real solutions to the problem and to form a reasonable writing plan for the report. As you begin drafting the report and uncovering additional research, you can adjust your outline as needed.
Research Plan
In this section, you should share where and how you plan to research (databases, interviews, etc.) and provide a working or tentative bibliography (list of sources). In the bibliography, you must include any sources that you use within the proposal.
In the working bibliography, you should list at least 5 sources you have already read and plan to use in your report, at least 3 of these sources must be scholarly journal articles. All of the sources must be authoritative. Use APA documentation style for your reference entries.
You may need to conduct primary research as part of your research plan for the report. For instance, you may need to conduct interviews, brief surveys, or observations. Surveys or observations may require permission from your employer or other authorities; please seek permission early in the proposal process.
Qualifications & Experience
This section convinces your readers that you are qualified to research and write the report, so you should provide a brief paragraph that describes your expertise or qualifications. You should mention any background knowledge you have in this area, including classroom study and any previous research or writing you’ve done about the topic; experience gained through employment or volunteer experience; and personal reading or interest.
Investigation Schedule
In this section, list the major tasks (researching, writing, interviewing, revising, etc.) needed to complete this project and due dates for the major tasks. Keep in mind that the report is due in Week 5 as you plan your investigation schedule. Consider including a submission to the Effective Writing Center as part of your task schedule.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this section. This section is where convince your audience you have a solid plan for completing the project in a timely manner.
Request for Approval
In this final section, you should ask for permission to begin writing and researching in order to complete the recommendation report. You may also want to ask for suggestions and give an “act by†date.
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