What is a proposal?

A proposal is a formal report to convince the reader to approve

new ideas / plans.

Purpose• To give suggestions to meet objectives

• To provide specific details

• To outline steps to be taken or a course of action

• To convince the reader that the plans are worth carrying out

Language Be polite

Be clear and specific Be formal

Be persuasive Use transition words to show development

of plan Use the present tense and future aspect Use ‘will’ to show positivity about results

and benefits Use sentence starters like ‘I feel’, ‘I hope’,

‘I think’ in giving suggestions

Format(Date)

To: (Recipient) “Proposal for…” A proposal usually has an intended recipient to accord respect &

politeness, though it can be optional at times.

(The Introductory Paragraph) A SUMMARY of your plan and ideas (state your purpose!)

Remember the 5‘Wh’ & 1‘Hw’ questions

(The Body - Paragraphs) Elaborate ideas sufficiently and relevantly with PEEL structure start

with the most important to the least important Develop each new bullet in a new paragraph

proposal

Format

(The Concluding Paragraph) SUM UP and make one last bid to convince your reader!

Thank you.

Proposed by

_(Signature)_

(full name)

(other relevant information e.g. position)

Format(Date)

To: (Recipient)

Re: Underlined title – “Proposal for…”

(The Introductory Paragraph)

(The Body - paragraphs)

(The Concluding Paragraph)

Thank you.

Proposed by

_(Signature)_

(full name)

(other relevant information e.g. position)

proposal

Remembering FLAP

Format – as above Audience:- The intended audience

(either an individual or group, e.g. members of a board)

- Remember the wider audience if the proposal may be printed in a magazine, etc.

Purpose:

- To convince the reader, not to tell or dictate!

Language features:- Predominantly present &

future aspect of tense- Use of modals to reflect

courtesy & politeness (may, might, could, should)

- Avoid wrong modals and direct auxiliary verbs like ‘must’, ‘I am selecting’, ‘this is what we will be doing’.

- Remember your tone! You are recommending, not dictating

Remembering FLAP

Language features:- Write in a factual manner,

using appropriate register. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives and adverbs that will make your proposal sound ‘cheesy’, e.g. ‘I am sure that if you, Sir, agree with my most humble proposal, the whole school will be blessed and we will excel forever more! Viva la Nan Hua’