Proposals + Graphics

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Quotation of the day: "[Because] Translation can cost more than 10 cents per word... graphics can reduce the number of words you have to translate" (Markel and Selber 293).

Activity I:

Let's talk about Chapter 12 ("Creating Graphics"). Turn to a partner and discuss your impressions of the following:

1. the authors' definition of a graphic,

2. the characteristics of graphics, and

3. the guidelines for creating infographics

Activity II:

Circling back to Chapter 16 ("Writing Proposals"), I want to make sure we're all on the same page about the concept of a proposal. Here are some key terms to understand:

• Proposal: "an offer to carry out research or to provide a product or service" (Markel and Selber 423). Proposals can be internal or external (and if external, then the proposal may be solicited or unsolicited). Regardless of the origin, a proposal is always an argument (Markel and Selber 428).

• Request for Proposal (RFP): is a proposal that recruits a person or organization to create specific or "customized products or services" (Markel and Selber 425).

• Deliverable: is the intellectual property you are delivering, i.e. the good or service you are proposing to create (Markel and Selber 423).

• Boilerplate Language: is prose written by an organization that you have been given permission to use without attribution (Markel and Selber 431).

A key aspect of this genre is that there isn't a correct way to structure a proposal. However, the book provides helpful guidelines for creating structure (pp. 431-38) and an example (pp. 439-45).

For the remainder of the class, please look through these pages and write down any questions that come to mind. If you want to think about these guidelines in relation to the rubric, you can find the rubric by clicking on this link: Writing Project III.

Your homework is to give yourself a refresher on MLA Style by scanning The Purdue OWL's MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Please also familiarize yourself with TWU's Visual Identity Manual, and bring your writing implements.