Proposals

Audiences, Research, Organization,
Persuasion, Proposals

ENG 3302

Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose ©
2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's

Table of Contents
Slides
Analyzing Audience 3
Research 16
Organizing Info 39
Communicating Persuasively 54
Proposals 67


Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose


Determine four important
characteristics of your audience:

• Who are your readers?
• Why is your audience reading your
document?
• What are your readers’ attitudes and
expectations?
• How will your readers use your document?

Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 4

Consider six factors about
your most important readers:

• the reader’s education
• the reader’s professional experience
• the reader’s job responsibility
• the reader’s personal characteristics
• the reader’s personal preferences
• the reader’s cultural characteristics


Classify your readers into three categories:

• a primary audience of people who will use
your document in carrying out their jobs
• a secondary audience of people who need to
stay aware of developments in the
organization but who will not directly act on or
respond to your document
• a tertiary audience of people who might take
an interest in the subject of the document

Your readers have
attitudes and expectations:

• attitudes toward you
• attitudes toward the subject
• expectations about the document


Why and how will your
readers use your document?

• Why is the reader reading your document?
• How will the reader read your document?
• What is the reader’s reading skill level?
• What is the physical environment in which the
reader will read your document?


Learn about your audience:

• Determine what you already know about your
audience.
• Interview people.
• Read about your audience online.
• Search social media for documents your
audience has written.


Understand seven cultural
variables that lie “on the surface”:

• political
• economic
• social
• religious
• educational
• technological
• linguistic

Understand six cultural variables
that lie “beneath the surface”:

• focus on individuals or groups
• distance between business life and private life
• distance between ranks
• nature of truth
• need to spell out details
• attitudes toward uncertainty


Consider four points about
cultural variables “beneath the surface”:

• Each variable represents a spectrum of
attitudes.
• The six variables do not line up in a clear
pattern.
• Different organizations within the same culture
can vary greatly.
• An organization’s cultural attitudes are fluid,
not static.

Use these eight strategies when
writing for readers from other cultures:

• Limit your vocabulary.
• Keep sentences short.
• Define abbreviations and acronyms in a
glossary.
• Avoid jargon unless you know your readers are
familiar with it.


Use these eight strategies when writing
for readers from other cultures (cont.):

• Avoid idioms and slang.
• Use the active voice whenever possible.
• Be careful with graphics.
• Be sure someone from the target culture reviews
the document.

Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's

Determine your purpose:

Ask yourself:
• What do I want this document to accomplish?
• What do I want readers to know or believe?
• What do I want readers to do?


Researching Your Subject


Understand the differences between
academic and workplace research:

• In academic research, your goal is to find
information that will help you answer a
scholarly question.
• In workplace research, your goal is to find
information that will help you answer a
practical question, usually one that involves
the organization for which you work.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 17

The research process consists of 12 steps:
• Analyze your audience.
• Analyze your purpose.
• Analyze your subject.
• Visualize the deliverable.
• Work out a schedule and a budget.
• Determine what information will need to be
part of that deliverable.


The research process
consists of 12 steps (cont.):
• Determine what information you still need to
acquire.
• Create questions you need to answer in your
deliverable.
• Conduct secondary research.
• Conduct primary research.
• Evaluate your information.
• Do more research.


Choose appropriate research methods:

• What types of research media might you use?
• What types of research tools might you use?
• What types of primary research might you
conduct?


Follow three guidelines
when researching a topic:

• Be persistent.
• Record your data carefully.
• Triangulate your research methods.


Know the four types of information media:

• print
• online databases
• Web sites
• social media


Know how to use six basic research tools:

• online catalogs
• reference works
• periodical indexes
• newspaper indexes
• abstract services
• government information


Understand these five forms of social media:

• discussion boards
• wikis
• blogs
• tagged content
• RSS feeds


Look for information that is . . .

• accurate
• unbiased
• comprehensive
• appropriately technical
• current
• clear


When evaluating print and online
sources, examine these five factors:

• authorship
• publisher
• knowledge of the literature
• accuracy and verifiability of the information
• timeliness


Understand the seven techniques
of primary research:

• observations and demonstrations
• inspections
• experiments
• field research
• interviews
• inquiries
• questionnaires


Conducting an experiment
consists of four phases:

• establishing a hypothesis
• testing the hypothesis
• analyzing the data
• reporting the data


Field research is vulnerable
to two common problems:

• the effect of the experiment on the behavior
you are studying
• bias in the recording and analysis of the data


Consider three factors
when choosing a person to interview:

• What questions do you want to answer?
• Who could provide the information you need?
• Is the person willing to be interviewed?


Prepare for the interview:

• Do your homework.
• Prepare good questions.
• Check your equipment.


Begin the interview:

• Arrive on time.
• Thank the respondent.
• State the subject and purpose of the interview.
• If you want to record the interview, ask
permission.


Conduct the interview:

• Take notes.
• Start with prepared questions.
• Be prepared to ask follow-up questions.
• Be prepared to get the interview back on
track.


Conclude the interview:

• Thank the respondent.
• Ask for a follow-up interview.
• Ask for permission to quote the respondent.


After the interview, do two tasks:

• Write down the important information while the
interview is fresh in your mind.
• Send a brief thank-you note.


Questionnaires are
vulnerable to three problems:

• Some of the questions will misfire.
• You won’t obtain as many responses as you
want.
• You cannot be sure the respondents are
representative.


Using questionnaires effectively
calls for four steps:

• Ask effective questions.
• Test the questionnaire.
• Administer the questionnaire.
• Present questionnaire data in your document.


Understand the six
common types of questions:

• multiple choice
• Likert scale
• semantic differentials
• ranking
• short answer
• short essay


Organizing Info


Understand three principles for
organizing technical information:

• Analyze your audience and purpose.
• Use conventional patterns of organization.
• Display your organizational pattern
prominently in the document.

Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 40

Ask four questions when you
study documents from other cultures:

• Does the text follow expected organizational
patterns?
• Do the introductions and conclusions present
the kind of information you would expect?
• Does the text appear to be organized linearly?
• Does the text use headings? If so, does it use
more than one level?


Display your organizational
pattern prominently:

• Create a detailed table of contents.
• Use headings liberally.
• Use topic sentences at the beginnings of your
paragraphs.


Understand eight typical
patterns of organization:

• chronological
• spatial
• general to specific
• more important to less important
• comparison and contrast
• classification and partition
• problem-methods-solution
• cause and effect

Follow these three guidelines for
organizing information chronologically:

• Provide signposts.
• Consider using graphics to complement the
text.
• Analyze events where appropriate.


Follow these three guidelines for
organizing information spatially:

text.
• Analyze events where appropriate.


An example of
information organized spatially

Source:
Metropolitan
Museum of Art,
2010
<www.metmuseum.
org/toah/world-
regions/#/09/World-
Map>.


Follow these two guidelines for organizing
information from general to specific:

text.


Follow three guidelines for organizing information
from more important to less important:

• Explain why one point is more important than
another.
text.


Follow these four guidelines for organizing
information by comparison and contrast:

• Establish criteria for the comparison and
contrast.
• Evaluate each item according to the criteria
you have established.
• Organize the discussion.
text.


Follow these six guidelines for organizing
information by classification or partition:

• Choose a basis of classification or partition that fits
your audience and purpose.
• Use only one basis of classification or partition at a
time.
• Avoid overlap.
• Be inclusive.
• Arrange the categories in a logical sequence.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.


An example of information
organized by partition

Source: Canon, 2010
<www.usa-
canon.com/cusa/cons
umer/products/camera
s/digital_cameras/pow
ershot_sx210_is#Box
Content>.


Follow these five guidelines for organizing
information by problem-methods-solution:

• In describing the problem, be clear and specific.
• In describing your methods, help your readers
understand what you did and why you did it that
way.
• In describing the solution, don’t overstate.
• Choose a logical sequence.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.


Follow these four guidelines for
organizing information by cause and effect:

• Explain your reasoning.
• Avoid overstating your argument.
• Avoid logical fallacies.
text.


Communicating Persuasively


Consider your audience’s
four broader goals:

• security
• recognition
• professional growth
• connectedness

Chapter 8. Communicating Persuasively © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 55

Work within eight constraints:

• ethical
• legal
• political
• informational
• personnel
• financial
• time
• format and tone

Follow six steps to
craft a persuasive argument:
• Identify the elements of a persuasive
argument.
• Use the right kinds of evidence.
• Consider opposing viewpoints.
• Appeal to emotions responsibly.
• Decide where to present the claim.
• Understand the role of culture in persuasion.


Understand the three elements
of a persuasive argument:

• The claim—the idea you are communicating.
• The evidence—the facts and judgments that
support your claim.
• The reasoning—the logic that you use to
derive the claim from the evidence.


Use the right kinds of evidence:

• “commonsense” arguments
• numerical data
• examples
• expert testimony


Consider three ways of meeting possible
objections to your argument:

• Show that the opposing argument is based on
illogical reasoning or on inaccurate or
incomplete facts.
• Show that the opposing argument is valid but
less powerful than your own.
• Show how the two arguments can be
reconciled.


Understand the role of culture in persuasion:

• Know what each culture regards as a
persuasive argument.
• Know how each culture structures a
persuasive argument.


Avoid ten common logical fallacies:

• ad hominem argument, or argument against
the speaker
• argument from ignorance
• appeal to pity
• argument from authority
• circular argument, or begging the question


Avoid ten common logical fallacies (cont.):

• either-or argument
• ad populum argument, or bandwagon
argument
• hasty generalization, or inadequate sampling
• post hoc reasoning
• oversimplifying


Demonstrate four characteristics
when creating a professional persona:

• cooperativeness
• moderation
• fair-mindedness
• modesty


An example of using words and images
to create a persuasive argument

Caption: “A young boy works 12-hour days packing mud bricks in Liberia.”
Source: U.S. Department of State, 2009 <www.state.gov/documents/organization/123360.pdf>.


An example of using an image
to convey technical evidence

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2008 <www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id5867>.


Writing Proposals


Writing a proposal requires seven steps:

• Analyze your audience.
• Analyze your purpose.
• Gather information about your subject.
• Choose the appropriate type of proposal.
• Draft the proposal.
• Format the proposal.
• Revise, edit, proofread, and submit the proposal.
Chapter 16. Writing Proposals © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 68

The logistics of proposals


Solicited and unsolicited
proposals respond to different needs:

• Solicited proposals are sent in response to an
information for bid (IFB) or a request for
proposal (RFP).
• Unsolicited proposals are submitted by a
supplier who believes that the prospective
customer has a need for goods or services.


Proposals lead to two kinds of deliverables:

• research
• goods and services


A successful proposal
is a persuasive argument:

• Show that you understand your readers’
needs.
• Show that you have decided what you plan to
do and that you are able to do it.
• Show that you are a professional and that you
are committed to fulfilling your promises.


Follow these six suggestions
when writing international proposals:

• Understand that what makes an argument
persuasive can differ from one culture to another.
• Budget enough time for translating.
• Use simple graphics, with captions.
• Write short sentences, using common vocabulary.
• Use local conventions regarding punctuation,
spelling, and mechanics.
• Ask if the prospective customer will do a read-
through.

Follow these four guidelines
to demonstrate your professionalism:

• Describe your credentials and work history.
• Provide your work schedule.
• Describe your quality-control measures.
• Include your budget.


Avoid these four
common dishonest practices:
• saying that certain qualified people will
participate in the project, even though they will
not
• saying that the project will be finished by a
certain date, even though it will not
• saying that the deliverable will have certain
characteristics, even though it will not
• saying that the project will be completed under
budget, even though it will not


There are three reasons
to write honest proposals:

• to avoid serious legal trouble stemming from
breach-of-contract suits
• to avoid acquiring a bad reputation, thus
ruining your business
• to do the right thing


To follow through on a proposal,
you need three categories of resources:

• personnel
• facilities
• equipment


A typical proposal includes six sections:

• summary
• introduction
• proposed program
• qualifications and experience
• budget
• appendixes


An introduction answers seven questions:

•What is the problem or opportunity?
•What is the purpose of the proposal?
•What is the background of the problem or opportunity?
•What are your sources of information?
•What is the scope of the proposal?
•What is the organization of the proposal?
•What key terms will you use in the proposal?


Task schedules are
presented in one of three formats:

• table
• bar chart or Gantt chart
• network diagram


An example of a task schedule as a table


An example of a task
schedule as a bar chart


An example of a task
schedule as a network diagram

A network diagram provides more useful information than either a
table or a bar chart.


There are several techniques
for evaluating completed work:

• quantitative evaluations
• qualitative evaluations
• formative evaluations
• summative evaluations


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