I hope that O and N level students may find this set of slides accessible when they are revising the structure and content of proposals. Proposal writing is still an integral part of the English Language paper. It is also a skill that would stand one in good stead in the working world.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N T O P R O P O S A L W R I T I N G
Situational Writing

2. What is a proposal?
 Convincing someone…
 Have you ever tried to appeal to someone to agree with an idea
that you had?
 You cannot force them to accept your view (esp. when they have
more authority than you).
 You cannot beg them…that’s too belittling.
 You have to put together your thoughts in such a way as to
convince the other party of the merits (the pluses) of your idea
and why it could be the better way forward.

3. What is a proposal?
 It is nothing more than a formal way of putting your
ideas across to someone in order to convince
him/her of the benefits of your idea.
 A proposal is written to:
 Convince someone to agree with your point of view
 Convince someone to fund (sponsor) your idea
 Convince someone to trust your judgement
 Convince someone to make a decision.

4. Reports Proposals
 Describes events or actions in
detail.
 Highlight problems for
authorities to take action.
 Come to a conclusion –
sometimes suggesting whether
one party is right or wrong –
based on facts
 Puts across ideas
 Highlights the merits and
benefits of ideas for authorities
to help them in making a
decision.
 Appeal to authorities to agree
with ideas presented in order to
fund the content of the
proposal
Differences between reports and proposals

5. Differences between reports and proposals
 Not much difference between reports and proposals.
Principal differences lie in:
 Outcomes: reports are written to present a facts or details of
an event in a chronological (according to a sequence of time)
order.
 Tone and register:
 Reports sound more authoritative – reports convince audience
mainly through the use of facts.
 Proposals need to appeal to an audience – convince them by
presenting the merits of the ideas. Basically to win them over.

6.  Tone & register:
 Formal because it needs to be convincing.
 Language Features:
 Written in the passive voice
 Written using clear concise verbs
 Written using pronouns (not personal pronouns)
 Written in paragraphs. (Simple plan: One
paragraph, One Thought)
Features of Proposals

7. Language Features
 Feature 1: Use of Passive Voice
 The focus of the sentence is on the recipient of the
action or the “object” of the sentence.
 E.g. “The tree was cut down by the lumberjack”.
 Purpose of passive voice: To place emphasis on the
issues, activities or processes that are being addressed.
 Makes the proposal sound more persuasive and
convincing.

8. Language Features
 Feature 2: Clear concise verbs
 Proposals: written in a casual manner – this means that there
are no verb phrases in the writing. E.g. of a verb phrase is:
 “…data management systems can help out users in diagnosing
problems with data storage…
 Reports are written in a formal manner – this means replacing
verb phrases with a single verb rather than a phrase:
 “…data management systems can assist users in diagnosing
problems with data storage…”

9. Language Features
 Feature 3: Use of Pronouns (other than
personal pronouns)
 The use of personal pronouns makes the writing more informal
– The writer wants to build a personal relationship with his/her
readers.
 E.g. “We have estimated that about 80% of mobile phone users
use the Short Message Service (SMS) to communicate with their
friends and relations…”
 Can you change it to a third person pronoun?

10. Language Features
 Feature 4: Write in paragraphs
 Proposals (and for that matter) any written piece of work should
be written in paragraphs. Structure of a standard paragraph:
 Topic sentence (Factor): The main idea the writer wants to convey.
 Supporting sentence 1 (Elaboration): Add a point to support the
stand or the main idea expressed in the Topic sentence.
 Supporting sentence 2 (Example): Add an illustration (provide
an example) that expresses the idea found in the Topic sentence.
 Concluding sentence (Link): Write a sentence that summarises or
concludes the main idea and that answers the question: “Why is this
idea (mentioned in the topic sentence) so important

11. Format for reports and proposals (same)
To:(the name of the person the report/proposal is sent to)
From:(the person writing the report/proposal)
Date: (the date when the report/proposal was written)
Title of Heading (Not indented but must be underlined)
Body of the report/proposal
(No need for signature line)

12. Structure of a Proposal
 Structure of proposals:
 Written in paragraphs
 First paragraph clearly states the objective of the proposal.
 Second paragraph through to the end must focus on:
 The merits of the ideas proposed, arranged in systematic order.
 Why the ideas you are supporting may be more suitable be
better than other ideas (apply counter-argument).
 Conclusion should clearly summarise what is the main outcome or
decision required from the audience (i.e. decision to buy
something, or fund a programme etc.)

13. Let’s put together a proposal
 Some of you have just returned from an outing to Pulau Ubin (Ubin
Island). You have found the experience very refreshing and meaningful.
 The school has indicated interest in organizing holiday programmes but
is unconvinced about the benefits of having an outdoor activity. Their
concerns are:
 It will cost too much
 The school will be responsible for any injuries sustained
 As the class representative you have been asked by your
classmates to write a proposal to the School’s management
board proposing that an outdoor activity be made a regular
feature of school holiday activities

14. Let’s plan a proposal together
 Proposal Title: To make an outdoor learning
journey an annual affair for SmartLab students:
 Proposal should include:
 Why there should be an outdoor learning journey.
 Why this is a good idea (benefits of outdoor learning journey)
 What is not ideal about the learning journeys in the past
 How this proposal can be funded…bearing in mind that SmartLab
is a private institution and therefore cannot “tap” on public funds.

15. Let’s practice in Class
 Using the format provided earlier and the points
generated by our discussion.
 Write out a proposal between 250-350 words on why you think
that an outdoor learning journey should be an annual event at
your private school.
 Hand in at the end of the lesson.