Proposal Assignment
What do you include?
 Cover Sheet
o Title of the proposal
o Name of the student submitting the proposal
o Name of the agency to which the proposal is being submitted
o Date submitted
o Investigator’s signature
o Teacher’s signature

Title Page
o Although titles should be comprehensive enough to indicate the
nature of the proposed work, they should also be brief. One good
way to cut the length of titles is to avoid words that add nothing to a
reader's understanding, such as "Studies on...," "Investigations...,"
or "Research on Some Problems in...." A good title is usually a
compromise between conciseness and explicitness.
o The title page should include not only the title of the project, but
also the submission date, who the proposal is being submitted to,
and the name of the institution submitting the proposal, i.e., "
Submitted to the National Endowment for the Humanities by the
Trustees of Dartmouth College."

Abstract (at least 200 words)
o Every proposal, even very brief ones, should have an abstract. Some
readers read only the abstract, and most readers rely on it to give
them an initial quick overview of the proposal and later to refresh
their memory of the project's main points. Agencies often use the
abstract alone in their compilations of research projects funded or
in disseminating information about successful projects.
o The abstract speaks for the proposal when it is separated from it,
provides the reader with a first impression of the request, and, by
acting as a summary, frequently provides the reader also with his
last. Thus it is the most important single element in the proposal.
o To present the essential meaning of the proposal, the abstract
should summarize or address all the questions identified in the
Section 3.2 of this manual, with the exception of the cost of the
project. The project cost is excluded from the abstract because the
abstract is often subject to a wider public distribution than the rest
of the proposal.
o Although it often appears at the beginning of the proposal, the
abstract should be written last, as a concise summary
(approximately 200 words) of the proposal. It should appear on a
page by itself numbered with a small Roman numeral if the
proposal has a table of contents and with an Arabic number if it
does not.

Table of Contents
o The convenience of the reader should be the guiding consideration
in producing a table of contents. Very brief proposals with few
sections ordinarily do not need a table of contents. Long and
detailed proposals should list all major parts and divisions,
including the abstract and significant preliminary pages.
Subdivisions usually need not be listed. The table of contents may
require a list of illustrations (or figures) and a list of tables. If all of
these are included, they should follow the order presented in the
text, and each should be numbered with lower-case Roman
numerals. The table of contents should be simply labeled
"Contents" in the header of the page.

Introduction (at least one page)
o The introduction to a proposal sets the tone. The researcher must
appear appropriately confident, organized, and clear as to the intent
of the research to be undertaken. The introduction should begin
with a capsule statement of what is being proposed and then should
proceed to introduce the subject to someone unfamiliar with the
topic. One cannot assume that the proposal reviewer is familiar
with the topic of the proposal. The introduction should briefly
outline the goals and objectives of the project, how long it will take,
and give enough background to enable the reviewer to place this
particular research problem in a context of common knowledge.
o The introduction should very specifically and concisely state the
importance of the research being proposed. The introduction may
introduce the concept of how this project's approach and resulting
work will advance the field of knowledge and prove an important
contribution to other related research. It may also be helpful to
state what the proposal does not expect to accomplish or address.
The introduction may also specify the order and arrangement of the
sections included in the proposal.

Review of Literature (at least half-page for each poem)
o Include copies of the poems that you’ve picked from your poet.
o Include BRIEF synopsis of what the poem is talking about.
o Include found poem

Description of research (at least one page)
o What information did you find out about your poet when you
researched him/her?
o Give ALL background information that you found (day 1 of
research)

Evaluation (at least one page)
o Your response to each poem
o Your response to your poet as a whole
o Critics response of poet’s time
o Critics of today (if found)