The Graduation Project Proposal



The Graduation Project Proposal

A proposal is a document that makes an offer. You have an idea, and you share it with interested readers in the hope that they will agree with you. It is, therefore, important that you know exactly what you are proposing, what you want to do, and how you are going to go about doing it. Otherwise, your readers will not be able to agree, no matter how much they want to.

While you are drafting your proposal, think about the following questions:

Who are your primary readers?

What will your readers’ key questions be?

Proposals typically have set elements. They are presented in sections, each with a heading that lets the reader know exactly what the section is. Following are suggested sections.

Title:

Nothing fancy here, just that it is a graduation proposal and add your name. For example:

Jane Smith’s Graduation Proposal, 2005.

Introduction:

The introduction tells the readers what you are writing about. It can be very brief, sometimes only one or two sentences. In this instance, it should mention that you are presenting your graduation project idea and tell what it is, in general terms. The introduction should also include a forecasting of the remainder of the document: what are the other major sections of this proposal, and in what order will they be presented?

Problem or Task:

Depending on the complexity of your project, this section could often be imbedded in the introduction. If you have a very complex project, however, you will need to spend some time detailing what it is you want to achieve. With that in mind, this second section of your proposal should present the problem or task you will be addressing. Remember that your graduation project should allow you to grow and challenge yourself, so this section puts forward the areas that will allow for that. What is it that you will do or create? For example, if you plan on making a movie, the task section will tell the reader that you will be making a movie on life in State College. You will need to include certain parameters: what aspect of State College? What type of movie? What length of move? What audience?

Goals:

In the goals section, you can detail what you wish to accomplish during your project and at its conclusion. These goals can be both general learning goals and specific academic goals. For example, if you are making a movie about State College, your goals may be to learn specific computer programs (name them), filming and editing techniques, and a general goal to learn more about your community.,

Methods:

Probably the largest section of your proposal, the methods section states how you are going to go about doing all that you want. It will include the following (not necessarily in this order):

a step by step process detailing exactly how you plan on performing your task, addressing your problem and meeting your goals. Each step should include essential people, resources, travel, budget, etc.

necessary equipment

a list of resource people and contacts,

schedule/timeline accompanied by text if necessary. How much time will each step take? Who will it involve? It’s a good idea to highlight the benchmarks (i.e., script due 11/1/05, filming complete 1/1/06, editing completed 2/3/06, etc.).

details of when you will be meeting with resource people and certifying teacher,

Costs if any, and how they will be addressed.

Conclusion:

Take some time to wrap up your ideas, restate what you think is important to remind your readers what they will be approving.

Approval and Signature Page:

Part of your proposal will be a page that allows your team to sign onto your project. This proposal is like a contract in that each party needs to read what is required of them, and sign off on that. For each individual, please allow lines for the following information:

Name

Role

Address

Telephone

Email

Comments: allow for at least 3 lines where individuals can add comments, such as how often they want to meet with you, when they want to see drafts, and other expectations.

Include the following individuals:

Resource person

Certifying teacher

Graduation project advisor

Parent

You

Your proposal should be submitted to the grad project advisor in draft form BEFORE you obtain signatures.

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