WRIT 415W - Writing Winning Proposals

3 credits (Hrs: 3 Lec.)

Preparation of written proposals requires specialized knowledge and skill that goes well beyond the generalized prerequisite skill of being able to communicate effectively in a professional environment. Students will learn how to identify and characterize the specific problem or opportunity that triggers a proposalpreparation process; they will learn how to seek, select, and effectively interact with audiences of proposals; they will learn how to optimize their chances of creating a successful proposal by assessing the audience’s needs and concerns, the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, and the uniqueness of their own offering; they will learn how to develop a logical and convincing plan for dealing with the roblem or opportunity at hand–this encompasses the project-management as well as the technical and cost-proposal planning skills; they will learn how to develop budgets as part of the overall persuasive proposal strategy; and they will learn how to adapt to specific source-selection processes in competitive bidding cycles.

Prerequisite(s): a junior-level business, technical, or scientific writing course, or permission of instructor. Satisfies upper division Writing core. Course generally offered 2nd semester.