Advanced Technical English

Lecture 4 Proposals

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What is a proposal?

A proposal is document which outlines a problem and proposes يقترح)) a detailed plan to solve it.

The goal of a proposal is to persuade (يقنع) readers that the job needs doing and that you are the one to do it.

Be sure to include all the benefits as well as the limitations of your solution.

Try to foresee (يتنبأ) and counter any arguments against the solution.

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Overview

A proposal is a strategy for solving a problem. Proposals range from 1 pg report to 1000 pg form. Two types:

Solicited (التوسل) Unsolicited

Proposal purposes are to persuade (يقنع) not inform. The writing involves individual as well as teams.

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TWO MAIN TYPES OF FUNDED RESEARCH

1. Research you really want to do:

Find sponsor!

2. Topics some sponsor wants to see done:

Respond to RFP (Request For Proposal)

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What should the proposal accomplish?

1. FOR SCIENTIFIC AGENCIES:Need to convince (يقنع) reviewers of scientific merit, and of your qualifications and ability to successfully make an important contribution to the state-of-the-art.

2. FOR SPECIFIC TOPIC RFP’s:Need to convince sponsoring agency that you understand the problem, that you have a realistic approach that is likely to succeed, that could be implemented, and that you will deliver results that will make them look good.

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Solicited Proposal

Company or agency advertises that it desires (يرغب) the solution to a problem.

Most cases, this company or agency sends out a request for proposals, often called an RFP, that presents a problem which needs addressing

For example, if the Department of Energy desires research on reducing nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines, then the Department announces its request, often in periodicals such as the Commerce Business Daily.

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Unsolicited Proposal

There is no request. Instead, an engineer on his or her own initiative recognizes a client's problem, writes a proposal that first makes the client aware of the problem, and then presents a plan for (معترف)solving that problem.

Often occur within a company. For example, an engineer or scientist may write a

proposal to his or her division supervisor suggesting a new computer system to handle that division's work

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Audiences of Proposals

includes both managers and engineers. These audiences view proposals in different ways.

Managers review proposals to see if the plan for solving the problem is cost effective.

Engineers and scientists, on the other hand, review proposals to see if the plan is technically feasible.

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Proposal Writing

Make sure your proposal is letter perfect and in full compliance (متماثل) with the application guidelines.

Use the active, not the passive voice wherever possible.

Write clear, concise sentences. Use tables, charts, and side-headings to

divide/organize/format your text. Find both expert readers in your field, and

professionals who will critically review your drafts.

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Format Of Proposal

Headings Body

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Heading

Subject: The subject of your proposal

To: Name of your advisor

From: Your name

Date: date of submission

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Example Of Heading

A PROPOSALResearch the Storage Facility

for Spent Nuclear Fuel at Yucca Mountain 

Prepared forWalter E. Foerster, Jr.

President of New England Etching23 Spring Street

Holyoke, MA 01040By

Holohan Consulting  72 Triangle StreetAmherst MA 01002 December 12, 1996 

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Body

Divide your body to sections:

I. Introduction

II. Statement of the problem

III. Proposed project and purpose

IV. Plan of activities with deadlines

V. Evaluation

VI. References

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I. Introduction

Summarize your project Explain why you are proposing it

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Example of Introduction

Nuclear power plants produce more than 20 percent of the electricity used in the United States [Murray, 1989]. Unfortunately, nuclear fission, the process used to create this large amount energy, creates significant amounts of high level radioactive waste. More than 30,000 metric tons of nuclear waste have arisen from U.S. commercial reactors as well as high level nuclear weapons waste, such as uranium and plutonium [Roush, 1995]. Because of the build-up of this waste, some power plants will be forced to shut down. To avoid losing an important source of energy, a safe and economical place to keep this waste is necessary. This document proposes a literature review of whether Yucca Mountain is a suitable site for a nuclear waste repository. The proposed review will discuss the economical and environmental aspects of a national storage facility. This proposal includes my methods for gathering information, a schedule for completing the review, and my qualifications.

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II. Statement of the Problem

What is The need or problem? Why do you want to address this problem? Why is it significant? What is current state of technology? Who should care and why? Provide examples and/ or supporting evidence Including

references Briefly review current work

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III. Proposed project and purpose

State your proposed project Its goals Your approach

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IV. Plan of Activities with deadlines

List your major activities Make a schedule for your work List specific items you will produce as part of

your project

device, test report, instructions, or running computer programs

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A schedule for your work

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A schedule for your work

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V. Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated in two ways: from a management perspective and from a technical perspective

Also considered in the evaluation of the proposal will be the quality of the writing

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Management Evaluation

Is the review worth doing? Does the proposal either show an

important problem that needs addressing or arouse the reader's curiosity ( فضول أثار?in the topic(القارئ

Does the proposal show what readers will be interested in the review?

Does the proposal show objectivity?

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Technical Evaluation

Are the boundaries of the review logical? Does the review take on too much or too little? Are the limitations clear? Is there something unique about the proposal's

perspective? Does the writer convince the proposal reviewers that

he or she can gather the information? Is the schedule believable? Does the writer justify ( برر أو himself or herself (سوغ

as the one to perform the review?

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VI. References

List all your references Glossary If any

Acronym/Abbreviation Definition

dpi Dots per inch

GHz Gigahertz

GB Gigabyte

HD Hard drive

ppm Pages per minute

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Recommendations

For a proposal to succeed, you need a good idea. No amount of crafted writing ( قوية .can make up for a weak idea (صياغة

If you have a strong idea, then crafting the writing of that idea to meet the constraints will improve your proposal's chances for acceptance.

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Recommendations

What is it that you have that will allow you to succeed where others may have failed, or to make a unique contribution that others could not attain within the same time frame?

Be constructive (diplomatic) in reviewing others’ work; don’t blast all previous work, don’t be dismissive and definitely don’t single out anyone with scorn (يزدري). Chances are they are reviewing your proposal.

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Be constructive (Be constructive (بناءبناء))BAD:BAD: All previous studies are worthless because they All previous studies are worthless because they

failed to recognize the effect of X on Y. Chen and Smith failed to recognize the effect of X on Y. Chen and Smith (1998) tried but their approach was simply wrong. Ours (1998) tried but their approach was simply wrong. Ours is the first study to address this question correctlyis the first study to address this question correctly ..

BETTERBETTER: : Previous studies have made important Previous studies have made important contributions to this challenging problem, however contributions to this challenging problem, however none of the published studies appear to have none of the published studies appear to have completely accounted for the effect of X on Y. A completely accounted for the effect of X on Y. A pioneering effort in this direction is described by Chen pioneering effort in this direction is described by Chen and Smith (1998), highlighting the need for additional and Smith (1998), highlighting the need for additional investigation of the system properties when the full set investigation of the system properties when the full set

of interacting factors are incorporated in the modelof interacting factors are incorporated in the model..

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Are You Ready For Your First Assignment (# 1)

Write a proposal for your formal report

Due next Mon. 15th of July at class time

Good luck