TIPPS & TRICKSProposal

  • Part 2, one of three options
  • 220-260 words
  • Formal, with headings
  • Ends with recommendations
  • About 45 minutes

A proposal is one of the Part 2 options. You write to someone who can make a decision, such as a manager, a college principal, a council or a committee, suggesting a course of action and persuading them it is worth taking.

The register is formal, and the text is organised in sections with headings. Unlike a report, which mainly examines what has already happened, a proposal looks forward: what should be done, how, and what difference it would make.

Answer every question asked

Proposal tasks usually ask for several things: what you suggest, how it would work, who would benefit, sometimes what it would cost. Turn each one into a section so the examiner can tick every point at a glance.

Invent concrete, believable details: a budget, a timetable, a survey of fifty students. Specific plans persuade; vague wishes such as there should be more activities do not.

Formal, confident, persuasive

Write as a well-informed insider addressing a decision-maker: formal but not stiff. Impersonal phrases such as it is proposed that sound objective, while I and we are acceptable when you speak for a group.

Persuasion comes from reasons and benefits, not exclamation marks. Show that you have thought about obstacles and costs, and the reader will trust your recommendations more.

Headings that guide the reader

Give your proposal a title and short, informative headings (Current situation, Proposed changes, Benefits, Recommendations). Headings are a feature of the genre, and they make your organisation visible.

Under each heading, write full paragraphs with linking: in light of this, consequently, to this end. Bullet points are allowed, but a proposal made only of lists shows too little language.

Look forward, not back

Proposals are about the future, so use the language of suggestion and possibility: would, could, should, the subjunctive (it is recommended that the club offer) and conditionals that show consequences.

Describe the present situation only briefly, as the reason for change. Most of your words belong to what should happen next and why it would work.

Range with precision

Show your C1 range through precise, formal vocabulary (implement, allocate, feasible, cost-effective, a pilot scheme) and structures such as passives, participle clauses and inversion after not only.

Keep the grammar under control and watch verb patterns in particular: suggest that we introduce or suggest introducing, but never suggest us to introduce.

Marks and common traps

Content: every part of the task answered. Communicative Achievement: a persuasive, formal text that suits a decision-maker. Organisation: title, headings, logical order. Language: range and accuracy.

Common traps: writing a report about the past, leaving the recommendation vague, forgetting headings, and spending half the word count on the introduction.

Structure

  1. 1TitleShort and clear: Proposal for a peer tutoring centre or Improving the canteen: a proposal.
  2. 2IntroductionThe aim of the proposal in one or two sentences, plus how you collected your information, if relevant.
  3. 3Current situationA brief outline of the problem or need that makes the change necessary. Keep it short.
  4. 4Proposed changesYour plan in detail: what, how, who and when. Use one or two headed sections, depending on the task.
  5. 5BenefitsWho would gain and how. Anticipate an objection and answer it.
  6. 6RecommendationsWhat the reader should do now, stated clearly and persuasively.

Strategy

  1. 1Analyse the task (3 minutes). Who will read the proposal, what do they want, and which questions must you answer? Underline each one.
  2. 2Choose your idea (4 minutes). Settle on one realistic, specific plan and a few details that make it convincing: numbers, dates, people.
  3. 3Plan the sections (4 minutes). Title, introduction, one headed section per task point, recommendations. Note the key argument for each.
  4. 4Write the introduction (4 minutes). State the aim of the proposal and, if useful, how you gathered your information.
  5. 5Write the main sections (18 minutes). Explain what you suggest, how it would work and who would benefit, with reasons.
  6. 6Write the recommendations (5 minutes). Say what should be done and why it is worthwhile, ending on a persuasive note.
  7. 7Check (7 minutes). Headings, register, word count, verb patterns after suggest and recommend, spelling.

Nützliche Ausdrücke

Stating the aim

  • The aim of this proposal is to...
  • This proposal sets out a plan to...
  • The purpose of this document is to outline...
  • The following suggestions are based on a survey of...

Suggesting

  • It is proposed that...
  • One possible solution would be to...
  • A cost-effective option would be to...
  • It would be advisable to...
  • Consideration should be given to...

Explaining benefits

  • This would enable students to...
  • The main advantage of this scheme is that...
  • Not only would this..., but it would also...
  • As a result, ... would be likely to...
  • In the long term, ...

Recommending

  • In light of the above, it is recommended that...
  • I would strongly recommend that the committee...
  • Were this plan to be adopted, ...
  • Given the relatively low cost, ...
  • I am confident that this scheme would...

Musterantwort

Your college has an unused room, and the principal has invited proposals for how it could benefit students. Write a proposal explaining your idea, how it would work and who would benefit.

Proposal for a peer tutoring centre Introduction The aim of this proposal is to suggest how the empty room on the second floor of the library building could be put to better use. The ideas below are based on a short survey of sixty students carried out last month. Current situation Many first-year students struggle with the step up to college work, particularly in maths and academic writing. Teachers' office hours are limited and often fully booked, so a considerable number of students are left without help at the very moment they need it most. Proposed use of the room It is proposed that the room be turned into a peer tutoring centre, open every weekday from 3 to 6 pm. Second- and third-year students with strong grades would volunteer as tutors, offering thirty-minute sessions that could be booked online. Tutors would receive a short training course and a certificate recognising their contribution, which would strengthen their university or job applications. Benefits Not only would struggling students receive support quickly, but they might also find it easier to ask questions of someone close to their own age. The tutors, meanwhile, would consolidate their own knowledge and develop valuable communication skills. Recommendations In light of the above, I would recommend that the college furnish the room with four tables and a whiteboard, and launch the scheme as a one-term pilot. Given the minimal cost involved, the centre could make a real difference at very little risk.

245 Wörter

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