Proposal for a Solution to a Community Problem

Research and write a proposal that recommends a solution to a problem that concerns your community (the community can be a specific as an organization on UC Davis’s campus to as broad as your hometown). The problem should be specific enough that a reasonable solution can be offered in the time you have to research and write the proposal. For example, childhood obesity is too broad for a successful proposal as childhood obesity is a complex issue that is caused by many factors. Choosing a factor that impacts childhood obesity would help limit the topic and connect it to a specific community. A focused problem may be soda vending machines in high school, cereal advertising during cartoons, poor nutrition in school lunches, etc. This focused problem could have several solutions, which can be analyzed to determine the best solution to the specific issue. The proposal must consider the appropriate audience who can take action to solve the problem; for example, school boards can remove soda machines and the federal government can change food products shipped to schools. A proposal carefully considers the rhetorical triangle, audience, and evidence to be effective.

After completing this activity, you will 

1.Improve your analytic skills in reading and writing

2.Understand the rhetorical context of academic and professional writing 

3.Consider the audience and purpose of material you have read and work that you have written

4.Compose in a variety of non-fiction writing forms

5.Identify various styles and consider how to adapt styles for purpose and audience

6.Explore research strategies and determine how different sources inform academic and professional writing

7.Develop strategies for completing the writing process and organizing arguments

8.Respond to the writing of others, including classmates

9.Improve your revising, editing, and proofreading skills

Using what you learned about rhetorical strategies and developing an effective thesis through careful research, the proposal will ask you to apply the skills you learned writing the first two papers to the genre of proposals. Real-world applications of proposals vary from profession to profession, but many jobs require some version of a proposal. From grant writing to business plans, understanding the genre of proposals means relating to the audience you want to take action; considering their investment or concern in the problem; developing the evidence, organization, and style that will compel them to take action; and presenting a cogent, clear, and professional document. Throughout this unit, you will learn these skills, which you can apply to any proposal you may be asked to write in the future.

Using readings and class discussions, please develop your own proposal that

1.Engages the audience in the proposal with a quote, fact, analogy, or story.

2.Establishes a claim with reasons (thesis statement) about the problem and the effectiveness of the solution.

3.Provides reasons why the problem impacts the audience/society and why it needs to be solved.

4.Offers reasons why the solution will solve the problem, why it is the best solution, why it is a fair solution to the parties involved, and why it is feasible.

5.Supports those reasons with evidence that considers the STAR (sufficient, typical, accurate, and relevant) criteria and a variety of scholarly (books, journals) and popular (newspapers, magazines, web sites) sources.

6.Analyzes how the evidence demonstrates the reasons (why are you including this evidence? How does the evidence relate to your reason and larger claim?).

7.Acknowledges the rhetorical situation (considers your purpose, audience, genre, and kairos).

8.Applies rhetorical strategies (logos, ethos, and pathos) and avoids fallacies.

9.Cites at least 6 sources in MLA format in the text and on the works cited page ethically.

10.Employs transitional phrases and logical links between sections, paragraphs, and sentences to develop flow and connections between ideas.

11.Chooses words, tone, and sentence structure (concision) to focus on audience’s needs and document’s purpose.

12.Limits mechanics errors through editing and proofreading.

13.Follows the conventions for the genre, formatting (see Canvas page) and assignment requirements, including word count, evidence, and participation in each step of the writing process.

14.Demonstrates use of feedback and revision during the writing process.