English 418/518 Fall 2012 Proposal & Grant Writing Online

Instructor Information
Instructor: Valerie Thomas E-Mail: vthomas@unm.edu (Please use WebCT mail for correspondence) Office Hours: by appointment; held virtually using Skype or the WebCT conference tool.

Course Materials
Proposals for Action by Wanda Martin & Valerie Thomas Available online within the course on WebCT.

Course Description
The purpose of this course is to learn how to write effective business and grant proposals and understand how to locate and evaluate requests for proposals to ensure the proposals you write contain information necessary to persuade a client or funder that they should fund your project. You will also analyze existing proposals to understand the persuasive moves they make. Because proposal writing is not a solitary task, but rather a process of working with others to identify needs, locate opportunities, and develop a persuasive solution, it is helpful to understand how the process works in the real world. To accomplish this need for real world experience, the major project for the course will be to write a real proposal by working with a local organization in a service learning experience. You may choose an organization you would like to work with to write the proposal. If you dont have an organization you would like to work with, I will help you locate one. As you work with an organization to write a proposal, you will draw off the principles of rhetorical analysis, learning how to

Develop a clear description of the problem, Offer achievable objectives, Design a logical solution, Create specific and accurate budgets, and Present your organization powerfully.

You will also learn methods of writing persuasively that are both ethical and effective as well as study how to use document design to enhance readability.

Graduate Student Expectations

The assignments for undergraduates and graduate students are the same. However, graduate students are expected to write more detailed memos to accompany their assignments and do more vigorous research. Graduate students are also expected to take a leadership role in their discussion group, post additional responses, and build active discussions.

Course Objectives
After completing this course, you should be able to

Analyze the ability of a proposal to convince the intended readers of the need for, the logic of, and the ability of the organization to implement the proposed solution, Create a proposal that meets the funding and rhetorical needs of an organization and potential funder or client, Locate and evaluate funding opportunities, Perform primary and secondary research to establish the problem or opportunity, Develop problem solving skills to help develop a logical plan of action, Incorporate document design to enhance your proposal's readability, Communicate effectively with other students and members of your community, and Experience community involvement as a means of understanding your role as an active member of society.

Projects and Grading

The major project in this course is to write a real proposal and to submit it to the organization you work with. Along the way, you will write a variety of documents to help you understand the theory and process of writing a proposal. The grading breaks down as follows: Assignment Business Proposal Practice Proposal Project Preview Problem Definition & Solution Budget Final Proposal Online Discussions Quizzes TOTAL Percentage 15% 15% 10% 15% 5% 15% 15% 10% 100%

Online Discussions
This class is your opportunity to practice informal and formal writing. You will do formal writing in assignments. You will do informal writing by posting discussion responses. Each student will be assigned to a discussion group with other students where you will discuss readings and assignments. If you do not regularly participate in the online discussions, I will drop you from the class because it would be the same as not attending class. Missing discussions will also negatively affect your grade for the course.

FAQs about online discussions:

1. How many online discussions will there be each week? There will be one online discussion each week. You are required to post an initial response and then follow-up responses to

2. 3. 4. 5.

your group members and to additional questions/comments I pose. In this way, you will develop a conversation on course topics to enhance your understanding of key concepts. When are my discussion postings due? Your first response is due by Thursday midnight and your additional responses are due by Sunday midnight. This gives you three days to post your first response and three days to add additional responses. How much are discussion responses worth? You can earn up to 10-points for each discussion. What happens if I dont submit a response in time? If you submit a response after the deadline, I deduct 2-points for each day late. I do not accept responses that are more than two days late. Please dont be late though. Your group members are counting on you. How long should my discussion response be? I dont count words. I look to see if you have given serious thought to the discussion and responded thoroughly. If you do this and do it well, you get full credit. If your responses are hurried and short, and dont relate to the topic effectively, you wont get full credit. But it is better to post something than nothing at all and receive a zero for the week.

Online Discussions Grading Rubric

Quality of information Initial posting 0 to 5 points possible Information relates to the main topic, references information from the textbook, and includes supporting details or examples. Information relates to the main topic and either references information from the textbook or includes supporting details or examples. Information relates to the main topic. No references, details, or examples are given. Information has little or nothing to do with the topic or only restates the topic. Does not post an initial response to the prompt. Participation Other postings to group members 0 to 5 points possible Responds to two or more group members, providing specific comments. Responds to two group members, providing general comments. Responds to one group member, providing general comments. Responds to one group member but comments dont build the discussion. Does not respond to other members of the group. Point Deductions Posting is submitted late (points deducted depends on lateness of posting)* Vocabulary, style, and/or organization make the postings difficult to read. TOTAL 0 to 10 POINTS POSSIBLE 1-4 1-3 5 4 3 2 0 Points 5 4 3 2 0

Course Expectations
This course functions much like a standard classroom course. You will need to login to WebCT several times a week to be successful in this course. However, you can participate at any time of day and choose where to participate...at the library, at home, or anywhere you have Internet access. This is an intensive writing course. As such, you should expect to devote approximately 5-10 hours to this course each week. This includes the two and a half hours you would normally spend attending a regular class (reading/viewing lectures or participating in discussions) and time spent doing assigned readings and working on writing assignments.

All announcements/changes/due dates will be posted on WebCT: It is your responsibility to check WebCT for communications and any changes to the course several times a week.

Late Work
All assignments are due by 11:59pm on the dates listed on the syllabus. As a proposal writer it is essential that you meet deadlines. Therefore, I expect all of your assignments to be turned in on time. However, I understand that sometimes problems can arise. Therefore, I will allow you to submit one assignment late. To earn this privilege, however, you must write me an e-mail in advance that tells me you will be submitting the assignment in late and when you will submit it. If you fail to inform me that your work will be late, I will not accept your assignment. Please note: Submitting your assignment more than one day late will result in a 10-percent per day deduction from your grade for the assignment. This means that you will lose an entire grade for each additional day your assignment is late. Thus, I encourage you not to wait until the last minute to work on assignments; get them done early so you have time to ask me questions or deal with unexpected computer or Internet problems.

Grammar, Punctuation, and Typos

In this class, we will talk about grammar issues when appropriate, but you should have mastered English grammar and correct punctuation by this point in your academic career. You should also make sure to review your work to locate any typos. If I find grammatical mistakes, spelling or punctuation errors, or typos in your work, they will negatively affect your grade.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the using of anothers language and/or ideas without acknowledging the source. The University considers plagiarism a serious form of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism in this course results in one or more of the following consequences: failure of the assignment, failure of the course, and disciplinary action by the University. Always cite your sources.

Course Policies
Positive Learning Environment: The English Department affirms its commitment to the joint responsibility of instructors and students to foster and maintain a positive learning environment. Access to Education: Qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate academic adjustments should contact me as soon as possible to ensure your needs are met in a timely manner. Contact the Accessibility Services Resource Center at 277-3506 or through their website at http://as2.unm.edu/ for information on available assistive technology and services. UNM Policies: This course falls under all UNM policies for last day to drop courses, etc. Please see http://www.unm.edu/studentinfo.html or the UNM Course Catalog for information on UNM services and policies. Please see the UNM academic calendar for course dates, the last day to drop courses without penalty, and for financial disenrollment dates.

WebCT Information
Technical Support: If you are having technical problems with WebCT, contact free technical support: Phone (505) 277-4848 M-F 8AM-5PM or Email webct@unm.edu.

Privacy and WebCT Tracking Notice: WebCT automatically records all students activities, including your first and last access to the course, the pages you have accessed, the number of discussion messages you have read and sent, chat room discussion text, and posted discussion topics. I will access this data to evaluate class participation and to identify students having difficulty using WebCT features. Copyright: All materials in this course fall under copyright laws and should not be downloaded, distributed, or used by students for any purpose outside this course.