The introduction may be the first part of a proposal, but we write it at the end of our drafting process. Perhaps we delay writing it because it is the most important part of the proposal, and thus the most difficult, or perhaps we wait to write it because we don’t know what we want to say until we’ve already said it in mindmaps, in outlines, and in rough drafts. We want to make sure the first impression is a good one, short but sweet, and with that sentiment in mind, I want to focus on several good lines from this chapter, if only to remind myself of them as I draft these bookends of the proposal. (It can’t hurt to read it, write it, and talk about it, much like the adage to tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them).
To begin with the subject of the proposal, and as stated in Figure 7.1., what is not the subject of the proposal. Oddly enough, I often find it helpful to narrow down my ideas by describing what they are not. In that way I am able to whittle down my subject to the essentials as I do my best to remember to explicitly state what my subject is. When we only have a page for an introduction, we don’t have time to be subtle.
Similarly, the conclusion is as short with a similar goal to stress the main point, but end on a positive note. Ironically, the conclusion also is a beginning of sorts, since we want to encourage our readers to not only say yes to our plan, but also to take action on our proposal. I think the advice to use active headings and transitional phrases are good points, as is the suggestion to include only the bottom line. Though most of us writing thesis proposals do not have a budget, we can still think in terms of a bottom line. In other words, how will our proposed research advance the discipline or field in which we are working? Even if we don’t speak in monetary terms, we can discuss the contributions. For instance, in the book’s term of hard benefits a report results in understanding and insight.
In conclusion, the conclusion of our proposal is often the beginning of the next step of the writing process, while the introduction of the proposal is often the end of the proposal drafting process. Yet, both sections are essential to the proposal, even if we don’t know what we are going to say until we are in the middle of the proposal itself. Hopefully, as I revise, I learn to make the proposal more cohesive without be repetitive, though I can certainly understand how proposal writing is an art of rhetoric rather than a handbook tradition. As stressed throughout this class, there’s no set template for writing a proposal. We must evaluate each proposal based on the situation, the page requirements, and our audiences expectations.
