Proposal Assignment
Write a four-to-six page Proposal Argument in which you try to persuade the appropriate audience to accept your solution to a real-life problem.
This problem could be connected to where you work or connected to any organization for which you work either for pay, as a volunteer, or as a member (present or recent past). This could include clubs, fraternities, sororities, or sports teams.  Remember, your audience must be the decision maker or decision makers who have the power to enact your proposed solution.
Carefully follow the plan below, as adapted from your text:
Start your proposal by following the Memo Format as shown on page 304 of your text. Then use the following four headings for each section of your proposal: Proposal, Problem, Solution, Conclusion.
Proposal: (on page one, beneath the memo format)
Tell your audience clearly and concisely what you propose to do in two or three sentences.
Problem: (start on first page, one to two pages)
1. Explain and Describe the precise nature of the problem in specific detail as needed for your particular audience.
2. Persuade your audience that the problem is real.
3. Provide reasoning why your audience should care about this problem.
Solution: (one to two pages)
1. Describe your solution in a convincing, clear, and detailed way.
2. Persuade your audience that your solution will solve the major parts of the problem as you presented it above.
3. Persuade your audience that your solution is better than the possible alternative solutions.
4. Present all the likely costs to your proposal in a convincing manner.
5. Persuade your audience that the overall benefits of your solution will outweigh the costs.
Conclusion: (short paragraph of 3-5 sentences)
1. Leave your readers with a sense of real confidence and optimism about the future if your proposal is accepted.
Research: Where it makes sense in your argument, you must also use and cite at least two sources to help your argument. Put your in-text citation of a source in a signal phrase or phrase of attribution like the following: “According to …,” “The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that …,” “Good training is essential to the success of any organization, according to the Journal of Business Management,” etc.
Format and organize your proposal argument by starting with the memo format followed by the four major headings above for each section: Proposal, Problem, Solution, Conclusion.
Write your proposal using standard one-inch margins, twelve-point- type, New Times Roman or Calibri typeface, double spaced, and with all lines flush left.

In-class writing to discover the problem
Choose one of the problems you’ve indentified and start to write out your answers to the following questions.

1. Briefly describe the problem.
2. Why is the problem a problem?
3. What do you think are the causes of the problem?
4. What are the short-term effects? What are the long-term effects?
5. For whom is the problem a problem?
6. Who has the power to solve this problem? (This will most likely be your audience)
7. Why do you think the problem hasn’t already been solved in the past?

In-class writing to discover the solution
Discovering the Solution
1. How can the problem be solved? Try writing down a proposal for a solution.
2. What will be the positive consequences of your solution?
3. What could be the negative consequences of your solution (think first of non-financial costs)?
4. If your solution is adopted, what will it cost in terms of money?
5. Who will bear these negative consequences or costs?
6. What will motivate these people to bear these negative consequences and/or costs? In other words, how will the overall benefits outweigh all the costs for those affected?
7. What are some of the major alternative or competing solutions to your problem?
8. Why is your solution much better than these other solutions.

Indentifying Organizational Problems
1. Take a few minutes to reflect seriously on problems you are facing now or in the recent past in a job, an organization, or an athletic team.

2. Next, write down two or three of these problems and begin to describe them. Some of these might read like the following: “I never understand what the supervisor wants,” “I can’t trust my fellow workers,” “Nobody seemed to respect the coach (or the club president),” “Big changes in policy would come down from the top or headquarters without any explanation at all,” “Managers change worker’s schedule with very little notice,” etc.