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3.1: Overview

  • Page ID
    7131
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    This section is designed for two purposes:

    1. as a step-by-step guide to a long proposal in any field that requires professional writing, and
    2. as sections that may be used individually.

    In other words, you may propose a thorough study of a problem and present your solution to the appropriate people. In that case, you will use most, if not all, of the sections in this book. On the other hand, you may need to produce an abstract, a short proposal, a memo, a bio, an executive summary, a letter, a resume, a rationale, or any number of other individual writings. In that case, simply follow the instructions from that section in this book.

    Solving problems

    Most people will tell you that the point to professional writing is to “communicate.” Of course, that is the point to any verbal or written language. However, this book assumes that your ultimate goal is to propose solutions to problems. In the course of proposing solutions, you will use individual writings like those in bold above. You will learn a sophisticated framework for an in-depth proposal while practicing the smaller elements that make up that framework.

    Rule of Thumb

    If you are writing for someone you do not know personally, or who is in a position of authority, use objective language. If you are personally acquainted or a peer of your target audience, use more personal language.

    Objective language

    Professional writing favors concise, simple language. Short, to-the-point sentences are valued over long, descriptive ones. It also favors objective language, which means that words like “I” and “you” are left out as a rule. However, the overarching structure of professional writing is persuasion. This means that you want to persuade someone to change in some way. To do this sometimes requires using language that closes the gap between the writer and his audience (“objective” language increases this gap) by using more personal words.

    Much of the argument in a business or technical environment is presented in the form of a proposal. A proposal still has the elements of argument (claim, rationale, evaluation, summary, evidence, implementation, etc.), but the elements are arranged and broken up a little differently.

    Note

    Assemble Front Matter last.

    e299d726c2b51281137724f0ec0357209.png

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) - Sections of a Business Proposal


    This page titled 3.1: Overview is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Stephen V. Poulter.

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