Assignment Question
Instructors have a short turnaround time at the end of the semester to turn in our final grades to the Registrar. So we encourage students to begin working on this assignment early and to pace themselves through the end of the semester. Consult with us if we can help you identify sources, hone your proposal, or brainstorm ideas.
In this final paper of the course, you will produce your proposal to enact a solution to a problem. What is this problem? Well, you can choose one of two strategies:
a) Build on your evaluation paper by briefly identifying a problem in film/music awards and proposing a detailed solution to that problem. In other words, you might identify that a problem in awards is that seemingly ‘snubbed’ actors, directors, or musicians don’t have an option to appeal the decision or to be considered again. Your proposed solution might be to establish a new award category of the Academy Awards for “fan favorite” or “best classic” that either invites the public to vote for winners on social media OR that assesses previous nominees who did not win.
b) Build on your causal analysis paper. In that paper, you already identified a community problem. Now is your opportunity to propose a solution to that issue. Keep in mind that your proposal will need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Timely/Time-Bound. Let’s think about the problem of insufficient parking on campus. Your proposal should not be “add more parking lots.” That proposal is not SMART. Where would the parking lot be located? Who will fund it? How much might it cost? What about the environmental impact of adding a new parking lot? How long will the parking lot take to build, and will it interrupt traffic during the construction time? Who will get to use the parking lot? Effective proposals will include details about the who, what, when, where, and why. Who will fund/enact the solution, and who will benefit from it? What will the solution require in terms of money, property, upkeep, etc.? When will the solution happen, and how long will it take to enact? Where will the solution occur (on a website, on a piece of property, etc.)? Why is this solution ideal in comparison to other potential options? Are there other proposed or attempted solutions that the community has already tried but that have not been sufficient to really solve the problem?
PROPOSAL CONTENT The Proposal will contain these six components: Define the “need” or problem, including its causes and the significance of solving the problem. Identify a specific audience or stakeholders. Describe the solution or plan. Analyze the feasibility of your solution. Use at least 5 authoritative sources to support your solution or the feasibility of your solution. At least 2 of these sources need to be from peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles or university press-published books. The other 3 can be quotes or statistics from government agencies, industry experts quoted in major newspapers (NOT in opinion pieces or personal essays), or statistics from nonprofit organizations.
Incorporate multi-modal elements effectively such as headings, fonts, colors, and images. Always hyperlink and/or use a footnote/caption to reference where you obtained your image *even if the image is in the public domain.* Wikimedia Images is a helpful resource for locating open-access photographs. It is imperative that your proposal be focused and feasible because you will be evaluated on the likelihood of the proposal’s success. Your proposal should actually work and if enacted, could lead to some real change.
PROPOSAL DESIGN Since the Proposal is written for decision-makers who can enact your solution, make sure to compose it with logical organization, including at least three headings (For example: Problem, Solution, and Feasibility; Note that these are only suggestions and your headings can be different). The solution section can be further divided with headings into aspects of your plan or steps toward achieving that plan. Use font styles and colors purposefully and with your audience and purpose in mind. Use APA style citations in the text and for the bibliography. When including images, make sure to attribute their source, include a label and caption, and use the “insert images” options in your program (Word or Google Docs) to make sure the images are presented clearly and aligned smoothly with the text.
RHETORICAL CONTEXT As you make decisions about content and design, consider the rhetorical context: The audience for this proposal is primarily the decision-makers, but other stakeholders, like community members, may also be readers. Your purpose is to make a case that your solution will mitigate the problem in your community. In stating your case, you will need to also prove the problem exists and why your solution is both feasible and the best option. The genre can have some slight variations but always includes proof of the problem, plan for solving the problem, and evidence that the solution is the best option within the context. The stance you are conveying is sincere caring for the resolution to the problem, confidence in the presented solution, and authority on the matter. This is meant to be a document, and you should expect that your reader(s) will be able to read it both on their screens or in print form. The document design should be consistent throughout, appropriate for the context, and contain practically no errors.
GUIDELINES AND GRADING The minimum word count is 1600 words. Submit your paper as a Word document (.doc, .docx, or .rtf). Turnitin, a plagiarism checker, will be used to assess the originality of your work. You can view the results once it processes by viewing your submission.