Writing proposals

What Is a Project Proposal?

A project proposal is your opportunity to sell your idea and get people on board. The goal of a
project proposal is to share the pertinent details to demonstrate the merits of the project. Having
done your due diligence, you will use a project proposal to outline the project and counter any
obvious objections, presenting your case in a genuine and persuasive tone.

Key Features of a Project Proposal

An effective project proposal has several key features that will help you attain your goals.

• Introduction: The introduction is a succinct outline of the project, including history, time-
frame and goals. Ideally, this is the hook that engages your readers.

• Context : Provide some context for the project with a bit of history. This is your chance to
demonstrate how your project ties in with overall company goals and any existing projects.

• Problem: Identify the problem the project will address and resolve. Include the time-line of
the project and any other pertinent details.

• Solution: Present the scope of the project as the solution to the problem. If possible,
anticipate any objections, and address these issues in your overall solution.

MODEL - 2

How to Write a Proposal for Funding

People raising funds on GoFundMe share their personal stories in the fundraiser story (and we’ve
written a guide on how to tell your fundraiser story). But GoFundMe is also used by groups and
organizations; in those cases, the fundraiser description becomes more like a traditional fundraising
proposal. With the expertise that comes from having helped people raise over $9 billion on our
platform, we can help your group or organization craft a proposal for fundraising that appeals to
potential supporters.

Writing a grant proposal based on your fundraiser

Along with your crowd funding fundraiser, you may want to apply for a grant from a foundation
devoted to supporting causes like yours. Should you earn a grant, you can ask that the money be
disbursed directly as a donation to your crowd funding fundraiser. Here are some tips for writing a
compelling grant proposal:

• Cover the basics. Use the description from your crowd funding page as a starting place for
your grant proposal. Cover the “who,” “what,” and (most importantly) “why” of your
fundraiser or project. Include a synopsis of your work so far, an explanation of what makes
your work unique, what you expect to accomplish with the funds, who you are, and your
qualifications as well as those of your team members. Explain how your project plans to
survive if it doesn’t receive the grant or after the allocated money has been used.

• Be persuasive. Remember that your proposal must be convincing. It should provide a

compelling, coherent argument for why your fundraiser should receive the grant.
 • Include financials. When you write your proposal, also include specific financial
information, including a budget for the use of any money received. Attach all relevant
financial documents and proof of your organization’s 501(c)(3) status.

• Do your research. There are countless foundations out there with money to give. Look for
foundations that share your values, and explore the types of grants typically given to support
causes like yours. Before you take action, talk to people who work in fundraising and
educate yourself online. Pay attention to grant requirements including which groups and
projects may qualify for funding, proposal length and format, application deadlines, and
disbursal dates.

SAMPLE

A proposal for setting up a multi-purpose lecture hall submitted to the Director and Chairman,
HBS, Chennai.

Summary

This proposal is for setting up an exclusive multi-purpose lecture hall for the civil engineering
department to conduct faculty development courses, seminars, workshops, industry-interaction
courses/lectures, and other external resource programmes. The total cost for the project is Rs. 100
lakhs. It will take 3 months to complete the lecture hall. This investment can be recovered in a
period of 3 years.

Introduction

The Civil engineering department has been conducting a number of faculty development
programmes of UGC wherein teachers from all over TamilNadu and neighboring states participate. In
addition, the civil engineering department is an accredited research centre for many leading
construction companies. Some faculty members of the department are respected consultants in
theior areas of specialization and as such attract industrial consultants and training. Right now, the
civil engineering department is scheduling these course/programmes for the week end and by also
displacing regular courses in the noon for some PG students.

The proposed multi-purpose lecture hall will help uninterrupted flow of regular academic work. It
will also facilitate a revenue stream for industry consultancy, FDP courses, special lectures and other
focused training courses, workshops and seminars.

Project

Physical details: 5000 sq feet floor space 1 + 1 (graound + first floor). Ground floor to have reception
area, one big lecture hall of 1500 sq feet. The first floor to have computer facility, faculty rooms and
one small lecture room of 500 sq feet.

Equipment: the lecture hall will be equipped with state of the art audio system, seating, air
conditioning and other amenities given in annexure.

Financial outlay

• The capital expenses are as follows:

• Construction cost: Rs. 70 lakhs

• Equipment cost: Rs. 30 lakhs

 • Recurring expenses: Rs. 50 lakhs per annum (Faculty costs/other overheads)

The revenue forecast:

• FDPs: Rs. 10 lakhs

• Industry specific courses: Rs. 25 lakhs

• Seminars/Workshops: Rs. 20 lakhs

• Specialised courses: Rs. 25 lakhs

• Miscellaneous income: Rs. 10 lakhs

• So, a profit every year of Rs. 40 lakhs will pay back the capital expenses in a period of 3
years.

• Conclusion and recommendation:

• The lecture hall is a capital investment with immense benefits. The investment will enhance
the image of the college amongst industry-circles and amongst student and teachers
attending the programmes conducted by the department. Also, it is an investment with
earning potential of about Rs. 40 lakhs per annum. I recommend that the management
consider the proposal favourably.

REPORT WRITING

What is a report?

❖ A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience.

❖ Specific information and evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a particular
problem or issue.

❖ The information is presented in a clearly structured format making use of sections and
headings so that the information is easy to locate and follow.

❖ When you are asked to write a report you will usually be given a report brief which provides
you with instructions and guidelines.

❖ The report brief may outline the purpose, audience and problem or issue that your report
must address, together with any specific requirements for format or structure.

❖ This guide offers a general introduction to report writing; be sure also to take account of
specific instructions provided by your department.

What makes a good report?

Two of the reasons why reports are used as forms of written assessment are:

● to find out what you have learned from your reading, research or experience;

● to give you experience of an important skill that is widely used in the work place.

An effective report presents and analyses facts and evidence that are relevant to the specific
problem or issue of the report brief. All sources used should be acknowledged and referenced
throughout, in accordance with the preferred method of your department. The style of writing in a
report is usually less discursive than in an essay, with a more direct and economic use of language. A
well written report will demonstrate your ability to.

● understand the purpose of the report brief and adhere to its specifications;

● gather, evaluate and analyse relevant information;

● structure material in a logical and coherent order;

● present your report in a consistent manner according to the instructions of the report brief;

● make appropriate conclusions that are supported by the evidence and analysis of the report;

● make thoughtful and practical recommendations where required.

● SAMPLE REPORT WRITING

● Write a report on a fire accident due to leakage of electric current in a ladies hostel where
two electrical engineering students died. Also give a set of recommendation for preventing
such accidents in future.

● To

● The chairman

● Sir,

● Sub: report on a fire accident

● Ref: your memo dated 1st may 2018.

● With reference to the accident that took place a couple of days ago in our ladies hostel, the
following report is submitted after a thorough analysis of the facts.

● On 1st May, a fire broke out around 8.30 a.m. in the electrical circuit. It spread quickly and
engulfed a vast area, consuming a large number of gas cylinders in the process. Moreover,
the girls working in the main hall sustained burn injuries. Fortunately, as it occurred during
early morning time, and not many had wakeup, many lives were saved.

The fire service was called immediately and the fire was extinguished after half an hour. Those who
sustained burn injuries were sent to the hospital. Two electrical engineering girls students died, and
people with minor burns are recovering slowly. Investigations are going on. To avoid such incidents
in future, I suggest that:

1. The wiring in all places should be regularly checked.

2. A fire extinguisher should be installed in the main hall.

3. The ladies should be trained to deal with emergency situations.

If the above suggestions are implemented, such accidents can be prevented in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Signature of the Chief Engineer.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Imagine you are the staff secretary in your college. submit a report to the principal of your
college regarding improving the results.

2. Imagine that you are a safety engineer of a car manufacturing factory. there has been a fire
accident in the factory and one of the workers has been badly hurt and is in the hospital.
your general manager has asked you to send him a detailed report on the accident. prepare
a report accordingly.

What is Meeting Minutes?

 Written record of everything that happened during a meeting

 Tangible record of the meeting for the participants

 According to Today I Found Out, the “minutes” of “meeting minutes” do not refer to the
minute measurement of time, but to the “minute (my-newt)” notes taken during the
meetings.

Purpose of Meeting Minutes

 To inform people who were not able to attend the meeting

 To keep track of what was decided during the meeting so that it can be revisited.

 To record the happenings of the meeting

Steps involved in preparing Meeting minutes

 Pre Planning

 Record Taking

 Minutes Writing or Transcribing

Pre Planning

• Ensures effective meeting minutes

• Chair Person- Secretary and Minutes-Taker work together to ensure the agenda and
meeting are well thought out

Agenda of the Meeting

• Outline of the meeting- used as a guide or outline for taking notes and preparing the
minutes

• Provides the name of all the meeting attendees

• Supporting documents or handouts

What should be included in meeting minutes?

• Understand the type of information needed to record at the meeting

Meeting minutes usually includes:

• Date and time of the meeting

 • Names of participants & absentees

• Acceptance or connections/amendments to previous meeting minutes

• Discussion made on each agenda item

The Minutes Writing Process

• Try writing the minutes as soon as the meeting ends

• Review the outline

• Check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are clearly noted

• Ensure that you include sufficient detail

• Edit to ensure brevity and clarity

In Term of Format:

• Be objective

• Write in the same tense throughout

• Avoid using names other than to record seconds

• Avoid personal observations

• If needed, refer to other documents in minutes

In Term of Format:

• Be objective

• Write in the same tense throughout

• Avoid using names other than to record seconds

• Avoid personal observations

• If needed, refer to other documents in minutes

Example: CCM

Chair Person: Date:

Guest of Honour:

Members Present:

Members Absent:

Approval of Agenda:

Discussion on each agenda:

Any other:

Minutes prepared by:

Minutes approved by:

Fixed and Semi-Fixed Expressions

Fixed Expressions:

There is a large class of expressions (phrases) in English which are fixed and cannot be changed for
any reason. Some standard fixed expressions are given below:

Relating to places or institutions

Pattern Underlying Meaning

go to bed to sleep

be in bed / stay in bed sleeping, resting

get out of bed get up

go to school / come to school to study

go to lunch / dinner to have lunch / dinner

be at lunch having

be in class giving or having a lesson

go to church for worship

be at church worshipping in the church

be at home in one’s own house

go in(to) hospital for medical treatment

Semi-fixed expressions are phrases or idioms that retain the same basic word order throughout.
But some semi-fixed expressions can change some of their parts. Hence semi-fixed expressions are
classified into decomposable and non-decomposable semi-fixed idioms.

Below are some examples of semi-fixed expressions:

● I haven't seen you for [length of time].

● Could you pass me the [object].

● Take [something] into account.

● Hold [someone] responsible.

● For [someone's] own good.

Relating to means of transport ( travel, send goods)

Example

by hand

The exam paper has to be delivered by hand.

by letter

You have to send a confirmation by letter - a fax won't do.

 by post

I'll send the cheque to you by post.

by radio

Taxis usually communicate by radio, although many drives use

mobile phones now.

by cable

Some TV channels are are only available by cable.

by telegram

You can send an urgent message by telegram.

VERBAL ANALOGIES

Analogies: Seeing Relationships

 Analogies are based on relationships between word pairs.

 There is often more than one way to build a relationship between pairs of words.

 What are the different ways these words can be related?

fish, fin, fly, worm, swim, wing, bird

 fish/swim

 (swim is the action that a fish does)

 bird/________ (What is the action that a bird does)

 bird/fly

 These are object to action analogies.

 fin/fish

 A fin is part of a fish.

 wing/_____ (What is a wing part of?)

 wing/bird

 These are part to whole analogies.

 fin/swim (How is fin related to swim?)

 wing/______ (What word relates to wing in the same way?)

 wing/fly

 The first word is something used to do the second word.

 These are tool to use analogies.

 An analogy is a comparison between two word pairs.

The key to understanding analogies is to focus on the relationship between the word pairs.

 In each pair of the analogy, the first animal is a specific kind of the second.

 A guppy is a kind of fish.

 A hawk is a kind of bird.

 These are examples of specific example to a general category analogies.

 The relationship between to two pairs should be clear.

Clues to Reading Analogies

 Analogies can be written in words or in symbols. The colon (dots) replace the words.

 hawk is to bird AS guppy is to fish

 hawk : bird :: guppy : fish

Both of these analogies read: A hawk is related to a bird in the same way as a guppy is related to a
fish

 Look at the parts of speech used in each word pair.

 The type of words used give you a clue as to the type of relationship shown.

 In an analogy with a kind of relationship, the words are all nouns. (specific example to
general category)

 pear : fruit :: squash : vegetable

 In an object/action analogy, the first word is a noun (the object), and the second word is a
verb (the action).

 bird : chirp :: dog : bark

Types of Analogies

. Object (tool) to the Action (use)

 In each pair, the first word is a tool used for the activity (second word).

 book : read :: pencil : write

2. Word to its Opposite (antonym)

 In each pair, the first word means the opposite of the second word.

 hot : cold :: day : night

3. Part to Whole

 The first word is a part of a whole thing, second word.

 athlete : team :: spectator : audience

4. Cause to Effect

 The first word is the cause, the second word is the effect.

 teasing : quarrel :: speeding : ticket

5. Kind of (general category/specific example)

 The first word is a general category, and the second word is a specific example.

 beetle: ladybug:: butterfly: monarch

6. Object to Material

 The first word is the object, the second word is what it is made up of.

 bottle : plastic :: shirt : cotton

7. Synonyms

 In each pair, the first word means the same as the second word.

 satchel : bag :: crate : box

8. Male to Female

 In each pair, the male and female is compared.

 bull : cow :: rooster : hen

 Analogy = a way of showing that the relationship between one pair of words is similar to
the relationship between a second pair of words

 Example

 The relationship between a writer and a pen is similar to the relationship between a
painter and a brush.

Name the Analogy

 delicate : fragile :: sturdy : strong

 Word : Synonym

 balloon : rise :: ball : throw

 Object : Action

 rich : poor :: happy : sad

 Word : Antonym

 ink : pen :: lead: pencil

 Part : Whole

 boy: girl :: gander : goose

 Male : Female

 ring : silver :: tray : styrofoam

  Object : Material

 class : math :: school : Baker

 General : Specific

 effort : success :: sleep : energy

 Cause : Effect

Purpose Statement

[Link] and meaning of a purpose statement

2. A qualitative purpose statement

3. A quantitative purpose statement

Significance and meaning of a purpose statement

[Link] purpose statement

- Is the central controlling idea in a study

- Is written in a sentence or several sentences

- Sets the objectives, the intent, or the major idea of a proposal or a study

[Link] purpose statement is NOT

- The problem leading to a need for the study

- The questions to be answered by collecting data

The purpose statements use phrases like

1. Using gerunds:

..... for the purpose of + gerund.....

The Government is importing onion for the purpose of reducing the rising price.

..... with a view to + gerund.....

We bought this house with a view to renting it for a good amount.

..... is used for + gerund.....

Compact Fluorescent Lamps are used for saving electricity.

Using infinitives:

The aim of + gerund+ is to.....

The aim of conducting examinations is to assess the students’ knowledge and

understanding.

The purpose of + gerund + is to.....

The purpose of using computers is to complete the work faster.

..... is used to.....

Carpets are used to improve the appearance of the room.

..... in order to .....

I save money in order to live a peaceful life after retirement.

Make sentences expressing purpose using the hints given below :

1. A Calculator : calculates with numbers
2. A life-boat : finds direction
3. A litmus paper : identifies acids and alkalis
4. Robots : do heavy and dangerous jobs
5. A compass : finds direction

Answer

1. A Calculator is used to calculate with numbers

2. The purpose of a lif-boat is to rescue people who are in danger at sea.
3. A litmus paper is used to identify acids and alkalis.
4. Robots are used to do heavy and dangerous tasks.
5. A compass is used to find direction.