professional and Technical writing ENGL 3405
(topic to address in memo)
(task to do!! )
(task to do - continued !!)
Problem to address in the Memo: Lack of affordable and accessible afterschool programs for low-income students in our neighborhood. To improve this situation, I propose the creation of a new program called "Community Scholars." This program would provide a safe and supportive environment for students to engage in enriching activities, receive academic support, and develop crucial life skills. By offering a structured and stimulating after-school program, we can help address educational disparities, reduce the achievement gap, and enhance the overall well-being of these students. - The intended audience would be key stakeholders within our community, including local government officials, community leaders, and educators. - Present a comprehensive analysis of the existing gaps and challenges in after-school program accessibility. - Provide evidence from research studies that highlight the positive impact of high-quality after-school programs on academic performance, social-emotional development, and long-term success. - Outline the specific details of the proposed Community Scholars program, including its objectives, curriculum, staffing requirements, and estimated costs. - Present a plan for sustainability and evaluation, ensuring that the program can continue to serve students effectively in the long run. TASK: Draft a proposal memo laying out a plan to investigate possible solutions to your problem. Your goal here is not to solve the issue but to consider the steps you will take to research the issue. design your memo as a road map, describing how you will go about finding out answers to your questions, how you will gather data, whom you will interview, which resources you will incorporate into your plan to use as a foundation for your argument, how you can gauge results, what monies you will need to allot to the investigation process (if any), how much time it will take you to explore viable options, etc. - Include the following (use these as headings within your memo): - Problem statement (a short narrative employing all three appeals: ethos, pathos, logos describing the issue) - Purpose (how does attention to the problem or opportunity connect to the vision or mission of the institution?) - Benefit (how will your investigation of the issue benefit the organization? Specifics needed) - Audience (who is concerned, who will make the decisions?) - Methods/Procedures (what steps will you take, specifically, to investigate the issue? What agencies or suppliers will you contact? What surveys or interviews will you conduct? Websites consult? Analysis solicits? Where will you gather data? etc.) - Qualifications and/or resources? (what do you bring to the table? What is your involvement?) - Success criteria? (How will you judge your ultimate recommendations? The video on project proposal writing delineates SMART success markers, ways to evaluate results: they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. You may use these elements as well, for they also will serve as partial criteria with which your instructor will judge your final recommendations within the report) - Budget (for this proposal, you will only need to include a short-term budget for your investigative process: do you plan to print documents or conduct an interview off-site, for example? Then perhaps you should include those costs here. You will need to provide real cost structures for implementing your suggestions within the final recommendation report, however) - Timeline? (how long will it take you to gather up this research and write your report? Create a Gantt chart in either Word or Excel to capture your schedule and include it in the proposal. Again, you will reconstruct a timeline for implementation of your final suggestions within the recommendation report) - Ultimately, what is your goal? What is your call to action? (Largely, what you wish to gain here is approval to investigate the issue) Problem to address in the Memo: Lack of affordable and accessible afterschool programs for low-income students in our neighborhood. To improve this situation, I propose the creation of a new program called "Community Scholars." This program would provide a safe and supportive environment for students to engage in enriching activities, receive academic support, and develop crucial life skills. By offering a structured and stimulating after-school program, we can help address educational disparities, reduce the achievement gap, and enhance the overall well-being of these students. - The intended audience would be key stakeholders within our community, including local government officials, community leaders, and educators. - Present a comprehensive analysis of the existing gaps and challenges in after-school program accessibility. - Provide evidence from research studies that highlight the positive impact of high-quality after-school programs on academic performance, social-emotional development, and long-term success. - Outline the specific details of the proposed Community Scholars program, including its objectives, curriculum, staffing requirements, and estimated costs. - Present a plan for sustainability and evaluation, ensuring that the program can continue to serve students effectively in the long run. TASK: Draft a proposal memo laying out a plan to investigate possible solutions to your problem. Your goal here is not to solve the issue but to consider the steps you will take to research the issue. design your memo as a road map, describing how you will go about finding out answers to your questions, how you will gather data, whom you will interview, which resources you will incorporate into your plan to use as a foundation for your argument, how you can gauge results, what monies you will need to allot to the investigation process (if any), how much time it will take you to explore viable options, etc. - Include the following (use these as headings within your memo): - Problem statement (a short narrative employing all three appeals: ethos, pathos, logos describing the issue) - Purpose (how does attention to the problem or opportunity connect to the vision or mission of the institution?) - Benefit (how will your investigation of the issue benefit the organization? Specifics needed) - Audience (who is concerned, who will make the decisions?) - Methods/Procedures (what steps will you take, specifically, to investigate the issue? What agencies or suppliers will you contact? What surveys or interviews will you conduct? Websites consult? Analysis solicits? Where will you gather data? etc.) - Qualifications and/or resources? (what do you bring to the table? What is your involvement?) - Success criteria? (How will you judge your ultimate recommendations? The video on project proposal writing delineates SMART success markers, ways to evaluate results: they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. You may use these elements as well, for they also will serve as partial criteria with which your instructor will judge your final recommendations within the report) - Budget (for this proposal, you will only need to include a short-term budget for your investigative process: do you plan to print documents or conduct an interview off-site, for example? Then perhaps you should include those costs here. You will need to provide real cost structures for implementing your suggestions within the final recommendation report, however) - Timeline? (how long will it take you to gather up this research and write your report? Create a Gantt chart in either Word or Excel to capture your schedule and include it in the proposal. Again, you will reconstruct a timeline for implementation of your final suggestions within the recommendation report) - Ultimately, what is your goal? What is your call to action? (Largely, what you wish to gain here is approval to investigate the issue)
