12 Proposal: Writing About Problems and Solutions

Introduction

You are likely familiar with the term proposal—people propose toasts to celebrate occasions and make marriage proposals. Businesses create proposals to describe the services they will provide and at what cost—from electricians, plumbers, and decorators to advertising firms, website designers, and caterers. Sometimes the proposals are for a specific project; sometimes they are general. In these types of real-world proposals, the problem being solved is straightforward, but often it is not stated directly: for example, someone needs an extra bathroom built in their house, a revision to their website, or food for a gathering, and the person needing a service will contact a provider.

The purpose of the kind of proposal you will write in this chapter is to propose, or suggest, a solution to a problem, usually one whose solution is not straightforward. Proposals of this type call on writers to explain the problem so that readers understand it is real and needs a solution. Because these problems are often complex, they usually have more than one solution, and sometimes the writer will recommend several possible solutions. For example, imagine you are studying food science. You likely pay more attention to food than most people do, and perhaps you’ve noticed a lot of food being thrown away in a cafeteria on your campus. You believe it is important to reduce food waste. Solving this problem of wasted food will require investigation and research into what food is being thrown away; why students, faculty members, and employees are throwing it away; possible ways to reduce the amount of wasted food; and a recommendation to the people who can put your proposal—that is, your proposed solution— into action. This is one example of the kind of problem you might write about in this chapter.

12.1 Proposing Change: Thinking Critically About Problems and Solutions

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Ask critical-thinking questions about problems to explore an idea for a proposal.
• Distinguish between fact and opinion.
• Recognize and locate bias in reading and in yourself.

As a proposal writer, you will offer factual evidence to show a problem exists and needs to be addressed. Then you will present and recommend one or more solutions, again providing evidence to show that your solution or solutions are viable. To accomplish this task, you’ll need to think critically about problems and potential solutions, know the difference between fact and opinion, and identify bias.

Adopting a Problem-Solving Mindset

As you start thinking about a problem you would like to explore, gather information by reading, viewing, or talking with others. Is there a local problem you have noticed—perhaps you think your campus needs better transportation, more diverse food options, more mental health services, or a new student organization related to a cause you care about? Or is there a larger issue that is important to you, such as funding for public schools, better access to health care, or helping the environment?

As you gather ideas, think critically about what you are learning. Asking questions like the ones below can help you get into a problem-solving mindset:

Questions about Problems

• What is/was the cause of the problem?
• What is/was the effect of the problem?
• What makes this problem a problem?

Questions about Solutions

• Have solutions to this problem been proposed in the past? What are they?
• Why have the solutions proposed in the past succeeded or not succeeded in solving the problem?
• Who can put the solutions into action?

The proposal that appears in Annotated Student Sample of this chapter, written by student Shawn Krukowski, takes on a large, complex problem: climate change. At the start of the project, Shawn thought about his topic in terms of the questions above:

• What is the cause of climate change?
• What is the effect of climate change?
• What makes climate change a problem?
• What are some possible solutions to climate change?
• What solutions to climate change have been tried in the past?
• Why have the solutions tried in the past been unsuccessful in solving climate change?
• Who can put the solutions into action?

In writing answers to these questions, Shawn identified what he needed to learn about climate change before he began his reading and research.

Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

A proposal contains both fact and opinion. Proposal writers use facts as evidence to show that the problem they are writing about is real. They use facts to show that the proposed solution can work. They give opinions (based on evidence) when they recommend a solution to their audience and call them to action.

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish fact from opinion, allegations, and fake news. Social media platforms, in particular, make it hard for many people to distinguish between sources that are credible and those that are not. As a writer, you need to use a critical eye to examine what you read and see.

Facts are statements that can be proven or whose truth can be inferred. They are built on evidence and data. The following are examples of factual statements:

• The first mass-produced hybrid vehicle was the Toyota Prius, which was launched in Japan in 1997.
• Americans born after 1996 are considered Generation Z.

Facts that use numbers are called statistics:

• According to the Pew Research Center, 50 percent of Gen Z-ers aged 18–23 reported that they or someone in their household had lost a job or taken a pay cut in March 2020, the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The six-year graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students was 62 percent in 2018.

Opinions are statements of belief or value. Opinions form the basis of recommended solutions in proposals. Below is an opinion that precedes a list of recommendations to raise the graduation rate:

• The six-year graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students, which was 62% in 2018, can and should be improved by taking the following steps…

Recognizing Bias

Critical thinking and reading of information involve recognizing bias. Bias is commonly defined as a preconceived opinion, or a prejudice, about something—a subject, an idea, a person, or a group of people, for example. As a proposal writer, you will need to recognize bias in the information you read as you learn about the problem and to recognize possible bias in your own thinking as well.

Bias in Sources

Some writing is intentionally biased and intended to persuade, such as editorials and opinion essays, also called op-eds (because of their placement opposite the editorial page in print newspapers). Writing meant to persuade is generally not used as source material in a proposal. Instead, seek out informative, neutral sources that consider more than one aspect of a problem. Be aware, however, that even sources that seem impartial may contain some bias. Bias becomes a problem when a source that seems objective and trustworthy contains language and images intended to sway your opinion, or when a source downplays or ignores one or more aspects of a topic.

The evidence you use to support the discussion of a problem or the worth of a solution should not be heavily biased. As you consider sources for your proposal, the following tips can help you spot bias and read critically:

Determine the purpose of the source. Is the writing intended to inform you or to persuade you?

Distinguish between fact and opinion. Mark facts and opinions when gathering information from the source.

Pay attention to the language and what the writer emphasizes. Does the language include inflammatory words or descriptions intended to sway readers? What do the title, introduction, and any headings tell you about the author’s approach to the subject?

Research the author. Is the writer an impartial expert? Or is the writer known for being biased?

Read multiple sources on the topic. Learn whether the source is omitting or glossing over important information and credible views.

Look critically at the images and any media that support the writing. How do they reinforce positive or negative treatment of the subject?

Bias in Yourself

Most individuals bring what psychologists call cognitive bias to the interactions in their lives, whether with information or with other people. Cognitive bias refers to how humans’ thinking patterns affect how they take in and process new information. As you research information for a proposal, also be aware of confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out and accept information that supports (or confirms) a belief you already have and to ignore or dismiss information that challenges that belief.

For example, perhaps you believe strongly that the graduation rate at the college you attend is too low and that more students would graduate if the college provided more financial aid in the form of grants. With that belief, you would likely be more receptive to facts and statistics showing that students who receive financial aid in the form of grants, not loans, are more likely to graduate. However, if you believe that more students would graduate if they took advantage of the academic support services the college offers, then you would likely be more receptive to facts and statistics showing that students who work hard and use academic support services graduate in higher numbers.

As you read about problems and solutions, the best way to guard against bias is to be aware that bias exists, to question what you read, and to challenge your own beliefs.

12.2 Glance at Genre: Features of Proposals

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Discuss the roles of purpose and audience in writing a proposal.
• Define key features and characteristics of proposals.

As you think about the problem for your proposal, it is important to understand the rhetorical situation, or the circumstance in which a writer communicates with an audience of readers, including your purpose, audience expectations, and the key elements of the proposal genre. The rhetorical situation and its relationship to writing your proposal is discussed more fully in Writing Process: Creating a Proposal.

Defining Your Purpose

Your purpose is your reason for writing. The broad purpose for most academic and real-world proposals is to offer a solution to a problem. You, the writer, are tasked with identifying a problem and recommending a solution. You may need to write a proposal for a research project in a sociology class, or you may need to write a business proposal for a marketing class or a business you’ve started. Many topics are suitable for a proposal in a college writing class. For example, some problems are local and can be acted on directly, such as improving access to mental health services on your campus, offering a new food delivery option to campus buildings, designating quiet study spaces in your library, or bringing a farmer’s market to your campus. Others are large-scale, research-oriented proposals such as reducing automobile emissions, providing broadband Internet access nationwide, or reforming immigration policies in the United States. Read your assignment carefully, and be sure you know the requirements and the amount of flexibility you have.

Tuning in to Audience Expectations

The audience for your writing consists of the people who will read it or who could read it. Are you writing for your instructor? For your classmates? For students or administrators on your campus or people in your community? Think about the action they can take to solve the problem. For example, if the problem you’re presenting is a lack of diverse food options on your campus, a proposal to other students would perhaps ask students to join you in calling for change in dining options, whereas a proposal to administrators would request specific changes.

Whoever your readers are, they expect you to do the following:

Address a specific, well-defined problem. As the writer, ensure that your readers know what the problem is and why it needs to be solved. Some problems are well-known, whereas others need to be explained.

Have an idea of what they already know. It is up to you as the writer to learn as much as possible about your audience. You need to know how receptive your audience may be to your suggestions and what they know about the problem you’re proposing to solve. Their knowledge—or lack thereof—will require you to adjust your writing as needed. If readers are new to the problem, they expect you to provide the necessary background information. If they are knowledgeable about the problem, they expect you to cover background information quickly.

Provide reliable information. in the form of specific facts, statistics, and examples. Whether you present your own research or information from sources, readers expect you to have done your homework and present trustworthy information about the problem and the solution.

Structure your proposal in a logical way. Open with an introduction that tells readers the subject of the proposal, and follow with a logical structure.

Adopt an objective stance. Writing objectively means adopting a position and tone that are neutral and free from bias, personal feelings, and emotional language. In doing so, you show respect for your readers’ knowledge and intelligence, and you build credibility and trust, or ethos, with your readers.

Tell them what you want them to do in response to your proposal. Do you want them to engage other members of the community? Build something? Contact their legislators? Although they may not do what you want, they are unlikely to act at all if you don’t tell them what you would like them to do.

Exploring the Genre

A formal proposal may include the components addressed in Analytical Report: Writing from Facts. If you’re writing a business proposal (a document that proposes a transaction between a business and a client and also spells out deliverables, a schedule, costs, and payment), you can find a full discussion in OpenStax’s forthcoming Business Communications text.

The following are key terms and characteristics of problem-solution proposals:

Abstract or executive summary: paragraph that summarizes the problem and recommended solution. The purpose is to present information in the most concise and economical way possible for your readers.

Audience: readers of a proposal or any piece of writing.

Bias: a preconceived opinion about something, such as a subject, an idea, a person, or a group of people. As a reader, be attentive to potential bias in sources; as a writer, be attentive to bias in yourself.

Body: main part of a proposal; appears between the introduction and the conclusion and recommendation. The body of a proposal consists of paragraphs that discuss the problem and present a solution or solutions.

Citation of sources: references in the text of a proposal to sources the writer has used as evidence. The sources are also listed, with full bibliographic information, at the end of the proposal. Citing sources is essential to avoid plagiarism.

Conclusion and recommendation: last part of a proposal. The conclusion restates the problem and recommends a solution. This paragraph often issues a call to action.

Critical thinking: ability to look beneath the surface of words and images to analyze, interpret, and evaluate.

Ethos: also known as ethical appeal; the sense that the writer or other authority is trustworthy and credible.

Evidence: statements of fact, statistics, examples, and expert opinion or knowledge that support the writer’s points.

Facts: statements whose truth can be proven or verified.

Introduction: first part of a proposal, in which the writer introduces the problem to be addressed. Often, the thesis appears at the end of the introduction.

Objections: questions or opposition readers may have about a proposed solution. These also are known as counterclaims.

Objective stance: writing that is free from bias, personal feelings, and emotional language. An objective stance is especially important in a proposal.

Problem: central topic to be discussed in a proposal.

Purpose: reason for writing the proposal, usually to examine a problem and propose a solution.

Solution or solutions: proposed resolution or resolutions to the problem, the central topic of a proposal.

Statistics: factual statements that include numbers and often serve as evidence in a proposal.

Synthesis: making connections between ideas and combining them to arrive at an original conclusion. Synthesizing draws from others’ opinions and ideas, facts, statistics, and the writer’s information based on research or original thought.

Thesis: the main idea you will convey in your proposal and to which all paragraphs in the paper should relate.

Topic sentence: a sentence that states the main idea of each paragraph.