Propose a Professional Communication Project

Write a formal proposal for a communication project that addresses a clear, targeted communication challenge or gap in your professional context.

1. Research and identify a specific communication need or gap in your professional context.
2. Research technical communication literature to develop a theory-driven strategy for addressing this need.
3. Conduct an audience analysis to ensure your project meets the needs of its audience.
4. Write a formal proposal as a document that you would present to your supervisor or other manager(s) requesting approval to move forward.

This communication project proposal document should be 3-4 single-spaced 12-point pages (1,500-2,000 words). It should follow guidelines for proposals; see Technical Writing Chapter 3 for sample guidelines.

You’ll be responsible for defining this scope of your project proposal in conjunction with the professor. Examples of proposed projects might include developing an online operations manual or handbook using a web-based content management system (like WordPress), developing a personal blog with a clear focus and purpose, creating a wiki shell to which employees can contribute, designing a brochure using Adobe InDesign, developing a portfolio of professional letter templates for business or personal purposes, and many more professional genres. You can also develop a Facebook chatbot with canned responses, develop a Twitter page for an organization or yourself that shares specific content types. If you can imagine a communication need, it will likely partially or completely fulfill the assignment requirements.

Examples of previous project proposals include the following:

• Voter information guide (website and tri-fold brochure) for those whose voting rights are being restored following incarceration — developed by someone working in a voter advocacy nonprofit organization.
• Detailed implementation plan (and results) for an instructional boot camp to prepare at-risk students for English language standardized testing — developed by a professional teacher who works with at-risk students. 
• Personal blog sharing advice and best practices for home-based instruction during coronavirus lock-downs — developed by a professional teacher who also has a school-age child at home.

The primary artifact you create should be focused on your chosen professional context(s) and audience(s) to address the specific purpose. Be sure to include in the proposal the business, professional & technical communication practices and/or theories you’re employing in your project.

You’ll informally propose your project in a blog post. We’ll discuss the project and develop final parameters for the proposal through comments on your proposal post.

Submission Instructions

1. Write an informal proposal as a blog post. Include the category “Communication Project” and relevant tags.
2. Follow comments on the post, as we’ll collaborate there to nail down the specifics of your project.
3. Compose your final proposal as a Google Doc or word processing document following guidelines and standards in our various texts.
4. Produce a PDF version of the proposal, naming it using LastnameFirstname-CommProj.pdf as the filename.
5. Submit your final proposal as a PDF document to the Communication Project shared Google folder.
6. Copy shared links from Google Drive for the PDF document (context menu > Get shareable link).
7. Send a professional email from your UR account to me (dhocutt@richmond.edu) as a cover memo of transmittal, as if I were the supervisor responsible for approving this proposal. Include a link to the Communication Project document in the text of the email so I can retrieve it from the email message.

Assignment Overview