Introducing a 24/7 meal plan service to NCSU dining

• 1-page memo of transmittal
• 5-7 single spaced pages (proposal)
• bibliography
• appendix

Address a current need or an opportunity for change or advancement on campus at North Carolina State. (Introduction of 24/7 meal plan)

Provide a brief account of the current situation — circumstances, causes, effects — to merit a recommendation for an opportunity/advancement/change. Then, propose a feasible recommendation using argument, rhetoric, and research. Through persuasion and substantiating evidence, convince your audience that you are knowledgeable of their needs and are offering a recommendation that 

• is purposeful and feasible
• has a clear projected budget, and 
• will yield benefits/deliverables.

AUDIENCE

Address your proposal to the appropriate party at the university.

Part of any research and/or proposal process should involve identifying an audience that needs to be persuaded and informed about a possibility you are recommending.

• Who would you approach with your recommendation in order to make a change at the university?

In our class, analyze your audience with these types of questions:

• What attitude to this audience have toward your topic?
• What level of involvement does the audience have?
• What information does this audience need to be persuaded?
• How do I approach this audience persuasively and professionally while employing ethical conventions in how the document is written and in my approach to the issue/opportunity?
• What information would that target audience need in order to determine if your recommendation is viable?

TOPICS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (INTRODUCTION OF 24/7 MEAL PLAN SERVICE)

• The most approachable topics are usually technical in nature because they are easier to describe in concrete terms. But you are certainly not restricted to these types of topics.
• Just remember that any proposal you design must aim to advance campus and NCSU.
  • Also, please remember to review the Banned Topics(opens in new window) list.

FORMAT AND DOCUMENTATION

For the full outline you are required to follow, refer to the Required Outline.

This proposal memo must consist of six sections with talking heads (i.e., section headings). Below are the required sections:  

     Memo of Transmittal

     I. Introduction

     II. Current Situation 

     III. Recommendation / Solution / Project Plan

     IV. Costs / Budget Analysis

     V. Work Schedule / Task Schedule

     VI. Positive Implications / Benefits / Deliverables

     References

For each heading, choose one of the options that best suits your project (e.g.,  I. Purpose; II. Issue; III. Recommendation; IV. Budget Analysis; V. Plans for Completion; VI. Benefits; Resources).

Tip – Section VI: not a general concluding paragraph.

• • • Includes resources and depth just as in sections II, III, and IV.
    • Discusses only the positive implications, potential benefits, and/or anticipated deliverables of your recommendation.
    • Is often the most difficult because there are usually fewer resources for positive implications than for illustrating the current problem or situation. So be careful not to leave writing this section for the last minute.

RESOURCES AND DOCUMENTATION

Documentation: Required for sections II, III, IV, and VI.

• • • 6 scholarly/peer-reviewed/reliable resources (not general sites or news sources).

      1-2 of these resources must be an NCSU webpage.

• • Professional Correspondence: 1 (university faculty/staff or simply a professional familiar with the recommended action you are proposing). Correspondence may be conducted by phone, by online meeting (i.e., Zoom) and/or by email.

    A set of student-designed questions (5 minimum) to gather essential information particular to your topic is required.

Formatting: 

IEEE

In-text references must be in numerical order and in brackets, e.g., [1], [2-4].

• • • If you choose a topic you are familiar or experienced with, you are still required to perform scholarship by conducting research and supporting your document with evidence and citation throughout. Personal knowledge/observation will not suffice.
    • Any claims and/or details must be verified with substantiating evidence and citation.

The bibliography must follow standard IEEE style for a formal Resources page. 

For this report, you should gather recent information available from a variety of resources, but you may not cite general websites, news sites (CNN, Fox News), or biased sources. Be selective with reputable sources.