Assignment Part I -
Write a proposal on why your business should implement a recycling program. Conduct research to find information from two different sources, and remember to document source information. Create an outline using the information you find. Complete the following steps as you create your proposal:
1. Read the Recycling Basics page of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) website. Also read the Benefits page of the Recycling at Work website.
2. Take notes on all the main ideas from the Recycling Basics page and the Benefits page, highlighting the ones you could use to support the implementation of a workplace recycling program.
a. Be sure to write down any source information that you will need to incorporate into a works cited page in MLA format.
3. Look up the cost of purchasing two 32-gallon recycle carts from your local hardware store as well as two other suppliers.
4. In the company's budget information, you determine that currently the office cleaning/waste management budget has $1,000 that is not being spent. You also find the training costs per employee in the table below:
|
Average Training Costs
|
|
Expense
|
Per Employee
|
For Entire Company (45 people)
|
|
Training time (per hour)
|
$12.00
|
$540.00
|
|
Time creating the training materials (per hour)
|
$20.00
|
-
|
|
Materials
|
|
Paper Handouts
|
$0.05
|
$4.00
|
|
PowerPoint Presentation
|
-
|
-
|
a. Make note of the cost of training all employees to participate in the recycling program if the training will take one hour and a team of three people will take three hours each to create the training program.
5. After completing your research, create an outline to guide your proposal. Complete the following steps:
a. Write a bottom-line statement for your proposal. Remember, your bottom-line statement should say what you are proposing and why.
b. List your major points, and then put these points in a logical order for a persuasive proposal.
c. Under each major point, list the details you will use to support it.
While you are researching and taking notes, think about what note-taking systems and reading strategies work best for you. Whichever method you use, always remember to write down where the information came from. Otherwise it's easy to lose track of your sources.
Though you might be tempted to skip the outline to save time, this will likely backfire. In the long run, the outline itself is what will save you time. Outlines help you stay organized and plan ahead. When you can see the main points you want to make in your proposal, you can rearrange them more easily. Outlines also help you spot areas that need more supporting research.
Looking ahead, when you actually begin writing your proposal, you will need to think about the most effective way to format the information, including the best font, spacing, and use of various tools found in your word processing software. Also consider what types of visuals you could add to enhance your proposal. Would a graph or chart help communicate any information? How about a photograph or illustration?
1. Explain whether the EPA and Recycling at Work website sources are primary or secondary, and why they make good sources for your proposal.
2. What are four points you highlighted from the EPA website and the Recycling at Work website?
3. What source information did you write down from the EPA website? (Note: This information does not need to be formatted correctly yet.)
4. How much will it cost to train the entire company to use a recycling program if the training includes paper handouts? (Remember, the training will take one hour and a team of three people will take three hours each to create the training program.) With the current budget, is it possible to train the company and buy recycling carts if recycling pickup in your city is free? Assume the best choice for recycle carts in your area was $80 per cart.
5. What is the bottom-line statement for your proposal?
6. How did you structure your outline? Show in a basic bulleted format the structure you used to fill in specific points.
7. When you write your proposal, what is one item from the Recycling at Work website that you could incorporate into a text box to support the idea that recycling programs boost employee morale? Show that piece of information in a text box.
8. What type of visual could you use to show a breakdown of how the $1,000 budget overage could be used to pay for the recycling program? Create this visual.
9. What size margins will you use in your proposal to fit with MLA style? What command in your word processing software will you use to change the margins?
10. In your proposal, you want to hyperlink the page where you found a 32-gallon recycle cart to show that two of them will not be too large for the office's break room.
a. Show how this will appear in the context of a sentence.
b. Now show where you could place the recycle carts in the break room using the floor plan below. Insert two squares with a height of .15" and a width of .15" to represent the carts. Make these squares black. Add a text box to the image to label the squares as recycle carts. Make it so that you cannot see the lines of the textbox.
11. What is your MLA citation for the Recycling at Work website?
12. How will you incorporate a footnote into your proposal to show where information from the EPA website came from? Show what it will look like.
13. Imagine your manager wants you to expand the proposal into a 10-page document with a focus on the following major subjects: background on recycling, cost of recycling program, pros and cons of recycling program, ways to implement recycling program, and recommendations. Create a table of contents for this proposal where the first item starts on page 1 and the following items appear on every other page. Remember to include other main elements, such as an executive summary and works cited page.
14. After you complete your proposal, your manager wants you to email the head of the accounting department asking her to take a look at the proposal and sign off on whether the project could move forward. You manager directs you to use the company's template for budgetary proposals to write the email. Use the following template to create an email to send your proposal to the head of accounting, Angela:
Hello [Recipient's name],
I have a budgetary proposal regarding [main point of your proposal]. Please see the attached file to review the details of my plan.
Thank you for considering this proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
[Your name]
Assignment Part II -
Now that you've researched and outlined your proposal, it's time to write the actual proposal. Your outline does organize your ideas and make writing the final document easier, but it is still not a completed proposal. However, if you did a thorough job completing the outline and including all main points, supporting details, and source information for those details, you will have an easier time getting started writing.
You'll start writing your proposal by opening up your word processing software and creating a new document. Then, you can take your outline and start to format it into an actual proposal. Start with your bottom-line statement. Then, enter your main points on separate lines. These are your headings. Format them in a way that makes sense in your proposal. Whatever you do, don't forget to save your work!
Make sure your proposal includes all the standard items needed in formal business documents, such as a title and topic sentences for your paragraphs. Also be sure to support each point you make with appropriate details. Overall, the style of your writing needs to be appropriate for a formal business document. Think about the elements this includes, and check your final version of the proposal to ensure it meets these standards. Editing is an important step for creating a professional, clear document.
Before you finish writing though, think about where to incorporate visuals into your proposal and what visuals to use. These visuals can come from outside sources, or you can create them in your word processing software. Charts, tables, graphs, illustrations, and photographs can all aid your reader's understanding of the document. Just make sure the visuals enhance your points, rather than distract from them.
Once you are confident with your written work, you will need to apply formatting techniques to your proposal, from standardizing fonts, to aligning bullets, to checking spacing. Be sure to add page footers to show the sources of the information in your proposal. Add headers to show the title of your proposal centered on every page. Also be sure to add page numbers to your proposal. Finally, include your works cited page at the end of your proposal, giving full citations in MLA format for each of your sources. Save your work frequently as a document compatible with different versions of word processing software, and send the final version of your proposal to your teacher.
Tips for Success - Here are some tips to keep in mind as you write your proposal.
- Use your research notes and outline to keep your proposal organized.
- Make sure your sources are cited properly in MLA format.
- Make sure the visuals you create are simple and enhance your proposal, not detract from it.
- Use formatting techniques to make your final proposal look its best.
- Do a final edit, including checking spelling and grammar, before turning in your proposal.