Writing Proposals
Bedford Series for Technical and Professional CommunicationFirst Edition ©2025
Employing a problem-solving approach, Writing Proposals guides writers through the challenges and best practices of proposal writing, including navigating constraints, conducting effective research, and applying an audience-driven organization and design.
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A problem-solving approach to proposal writing
Employing a problem-solving approach, Writing Proposals guides writers through the challenges and best practices of proposal writing, including navigating constraints, conducting effective research, and applying an audience-driven organization and design.
Writing Proposals is a volume in The Bedford Series for Technical and Professional Communication, a set of flexible, affordable texts that provide research-driven coverage and real-world case studies and examples to help readers hone their writing and communication skills for a variety of technical and professional contexts. Other volumes in the series include:
- Writing with Focus, Clarity, and Precision
- Writing about Data
- Team Writing, 2e
- Equity and Communication
“I am particularly impressed with the use of examples. The authors do not shy away from using real-world examples that tap into the complexity of real situations and that challenge students to think like professionals.”– Paul Cook, Indiana University Kokomo“I can say that, without a doubt, this is the most in-depth coverage I’ve seen on the topic of proposal writing in our field. The tone is engaging and easy for students to read and understand.”– Elizabeth Keller Kirycki, Purdue University - Fort Wayne
Table of Contents
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: Proposal Writing as Social Problem-Solving
Case Study: The painted dog exhibit
What is a proposal?
Idea level
Social level
Outcome level
- Exercise 1.1: Identifying proposal factors
Problem-solving power channels
Problem-solving stakeholders
Case Study: The politics of Washington’s wolves
- Exercise 1.2: Identifying factors and building coalitions
Problem-solving constraints
Case Study: Vondra’s Literacy Education Foundation grant
Summary
- Exercise 1.3: Identifying factors for your proposal
UNIT II: RESEARCHING YOUR PROPOSAL
Chapter 2: Proposals Are Flexible and Build Coalitions
What goes into a proposal?
- Exercise 2.1: Analyzing example proposals
Types of proposal situations
- Exercise 2.2: Types of proposals
The work behind the proposal: Building coalitions
- For Discussion: Coalition-building actions
Building coalitions in a community proposal
- Exercise 2.3: Identifying coalitions and considering perspectives
Summary
- For Discussion: Exploring choices
- Exercise 2.4: Introducing James’ scenario: Proposing a fitness requirement
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Unsolicited Proposals
Case Study: James’ fitness proposal
Step 1: Conducting stakeholder analysis
- Exercise 3.1: Naomi’s proposal for a paperless office
Step 2: Searching for alternatives and unintended consequences
- Exercise 3.2: Naomi’s search for alternatives and consequences
Step 3: Building coalitions with low-power, high-resistance stakeholders
- Exercise 3.3: Naomi’s engagement with low-power, high-resistance stakeholders
Step 4: Building coalitions with high power stakeholders
- Exercise 3.4: Connecting to your organization’s mission
Step 5: Building coalitions with supportive stakeholders
- For Discussion: Building coalitions with supportive stakeholders
Step 6: Researching costs and opportunity costs
- Exercise 3.5: Naomi’s search for hidden costs
Using socially driven research to change your plans
Summary
- Exercise 3.6: Researching your own proposal
Chapter 4: Getting Started with Solicited Proposals
Adopting a “service attitude” with solicited proposals
Finding an RFP
- Exercise 4.1: Finding an RFP
Step1: Scrutinizing the RFP and mission statement
- For Discussion: Vondra’s revised proposal
- Exercise 4.2: Scrutinizing the RFP
Step 2: Researching other projects that have received funding
- Exercise 4.3: Looking at previously funded projects
Step 3: Contacting the funding organization
Summary
Chapter 5: Engaging with Stakeholders
Choose the correct medium
- For Discussion: Picking the right medium
Craft your communication to maximize the likelihood of a response
- For Discussion: Vondra’s email
What if my initial request for information is not returned?
Build relationships in interviews
- Exercise 5.1: Vondra’s interview questions
Show you are open-minded and respectful during interviews
Survey stakeholders to learn answers to real questions
Summary
- Exercise 5.4: Engaging your proposal’s stakeholders
UNIT III: DESIGNING YOUR PROPOSAL
Chapter 6: Writing Effectively about Problems
Reframe the problem to address readers’ priorities and values
- Exercise 6.1: Reframing problems
Target the underlying problem
- For Discussion: Robert Weiglus’ letter and the underlying problem
- Exercise 6.2: Targeting the right problem
Turn problems into opportunities
- For Discussion: What is the right proportion of negative language?
- Exercise 6.3: Turning problems into opportunities
Connect and reinforce the links from problem to response
- Exercise 6.4: Creating solid chains of reasons
Summary
- Exercise 6.5: Analyzing problem statements
- Exercise 6.6: Writing the problem statement for your proposal
Chapter 7: Persuading Readers That Your Response Can Succeed
Define (and, if possible, quantify) success
- For Discussion: Defining success
- Quantifying success
- Consider what success looks like for underprivileged stakeholders
- Exercise 7.1: Defining success
Provide “proof of concept” evidence that the response has worked elsewhere
- Benchmarking
- Testimonials and case studies
- Research studies
- Exercise 7.2: Establishing proof of concept
Validate that there is need or demand for your response
Name sponsors or supporters
- For Discussion: Vondra’s sponsors
Provide your credentials
Bidding on New Projects
Summary
- Exercise 7.3: Analyzing responses
- Exercise 7.4: Establishing your proposal’s response
Chapter 8: Filling Out Your Response Details
Figuring out what kinds of details you need
- James’ plan: How he will make the response happen
- Vondra’s plan: What the response will look like
- What happens after the response is in place (both James and Vondra)
- For Discussion: What kinds of details?
Strategies for writing about details
- Strategy 1: Divide details into manageable “chunks”
- Strategy 2: Connect actions to goals
- For Discussion: Connecting actions to goals in Vondra’s plan
- Strategy 3: Include an evaluation plan
- Strategy 4: Use a timeline to help readers visualize the entire project
Summary
- Exercise 8.1: Writing your own proposal plan
Chapter 9: Writing Effectively about Costs
Estimating the cost of your proposal
- Estimating the cost of James’ proposal
- Estimating the cost of Vondra’s proposal
- Exercise 9.1: Identifying costs
Improving your proposal’s cost/benefit ratio
- Consider the 80/20 rule and scale down your response
- Scale up the benefits
Writing about costs in the proposal
- Address nonmonetary costs in the proposal body
- Callout: Privilege and power in opportunity costs
- Callout: Common phrases writers use to respond to opportunity costs
Address in-kind costs in the proposal body and separate budgetary section
Summary
- Exercise 9.2: Responding to your proposal’s costs
Chapter 10: Front Matter: Writing Cover Letters, Abstracts, and Executive Summaries
Cover letter, abstract, and executive summary: What’s the difference?
Front matter is independent of the proposal: It is NOT the introduction
Cover letters
Abstracts
- Exercise 10.1: Analyzing James’ abstract
- For Discussion: Writing abstracts that motivate readers
Executive summaries
- Exercise 10.2: Analyzing Vondra’s executive summary
Summary
- Exercise 10.3: Writing your proposal’s front matter
Appendix A:
James’ Proposal to Transform University X Students’ Lifelong Social and Physical Wellness by Creating a Visible Culture of Group Fitness
Appendix B:
Vondra’s Proposal for Teaching Pre-Literate Adult Learners in a Second Language
Authors
Joanna Wolfe
Joanna Wolfe (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is Director of the Global Communication Center at Carnegie Mellon University, where she develops new methods for improving communication instruction across the university. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles on teamwork, gender studies, collaborative learning technology , technical writing, and rhetoric Her research on collaborative writing in technical communication classes won the 2006 NCTE award for best article reporting qualitative or quantitative research in technical and scientific communication.
Emily Barrow DeJeu
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