The Graduation Project Proposal

A proposal is a document that makes an offer. You have an idea, and you share it with
interested readers in the hope that they will agree with you. It is, therefore, important that
you know exactly what you are proposing, what you want to do, and how you are going
to go about doing it. Otherwise, your readers will not be able to agree, no matter how
much they want to.

While you are drafting your proposal, think about the following questions:
Who are your primary readers?
What will your readers’ key questions be?

Proposals typically have set elements. They are presented in sections, each with a
heading that lets the reader know exactly what the section is. Following are suggested
sections.

Title:
Nothing fancy here, just that it is a graduation proposal and add your name. For example:
Jane Smith’s Graduation Proposal, 2005.

Introduction:
The introduction tells the readers what you are writing about. It can be very brief,
sometimes only one or two sentences. In this instance, it should mention that you are
presenting your graduation project idea and tell what it is, in general terms. The
introduction should also include a forecasting of the remainder of the document: what are
the other major sections of this proposal, and in what order will they be presented?

Problem or Task:
Depending on the complexity of your project, this section could often be imbedded in the
introduction. If you have a very complex project, however, you will need to spend some
time detailing what it is you want to achieve. With that in mind, this second section of
your proposal should present the problem or task you will be addressing. Remember that
your graduation project should allow you to grow and challenge yourself, so this section
puts forward the areas that will allow for that. What is it that you will do or create? For
example, if you plan on making a movie, the task section will tell the reader that you will
be making a movie on life in State College. You will need to include certain parameters:
what aspect of State College? What type of movie? What length of move? What
audience?

Goals:
In the goals section, you can detail what you wish to accomplish during your project and
at its conclusion. These goals can be both general learning goals and specific academic
goals. For example, if you are making a movie about State College, your goals may be to
learn specific computer programs (name them), filming and editing techniques, and a
general goal to learn more about your community.,
Methods:
Probably the largest section of your proposal, the methods section states how you are
going to go about doing all that you want. It will include the following (not necessarily
in this order):
a step by step process detailing exactly how you plan on performing your task, addressing
your problem and meeting your goals. Each step should include essential people,
resources, travel, budget, etc.
necessary equipment
a list of resource people and contacts,
schedule/timeline accompanied by text if necessary. How much time will each step take?
Who will it involve? It’s a good idea to highlight the benchmarks (i.e., script due
11/1/05, filming complete 1/1/06, editing completed 2/3/06, etc.).
details of when you will be meeting with resource people and certifying teacher,
Costs if any, and how they will be addressed.

Conclusion:
Take some time to wrap up your ideas, restate what you think is important to remind your
readers what they will be approving.

Approval and Signature Page:

Part of your proposal will be a page that allows your team to sign onto your project. This
proposal is like a contract in that each party needs to read what is required of them, and
sign off on that. For each individual, please allow lines for the following information:
Name
Role
Address
Telephone
Email
Comments: allow for at least 3 lines where individuals can add comments, such as how
often they want to meet with you, when they want to see drafts, and other expectations.

Include the following individuals:

Resource person
Certifying teacher
Graduation project advisor
Parent
You

Your proposal should be submitted to the grad project advisor in draft form BEFORE you
obtain signatures.