Chapter 57. PROFESSIONAL PROPOSAL Basics of Writing a Professional Proposal --- Why?           Starting                                         Organizing                       Revising & Editing           --- Introduction This section explains the basics of writing and revising a professional proposal--why this type of paper exists and how to start, organize, and edit it.  You may want to first see the "Introduction" before reading this page.  Be sure, before or after reading this "Basics Page," to see "Sample Papers" by students.  For more advanced information, go to "Advanced Methods."                  Why This Type of Paper?    The heart of a proposal is a problem and a solution.  It is never a pat answer--an easy or obvious one--nor a simple report of a situation.  A proposal actively engages the audience in new ideas: sometimes a new awareness of a hitherto unknown problem or need, and sometimes a new solution to a problem or need.  Even if the problem or need is obvious, and the general solution is clear, too, a good proposal does not restate the obvious: instead, it details the problem and then even more carefully provides new details of the method or steps for solving the problem. Proposal writing has many uses in the professional world, and some in school, too. In the professional world, proposal writing is a necessary skill if you wish to thrive and, in some workplaces, simply survive.  There will be times when you need to institute new or different activities; to do so, you will need official permission, and such permission will require a formal or informal proposal.  Some of you may become owners of your own small businesses and will need to learn to sell your products or services to others; to do this, you also will need to know the basic skills of proposal writing.  Your services or products will help solve or fill your clients' problems or needs with specific results, and a proposal can use these elements of presentation to explain to your clients why they should engage your business.  Proposal writing also is helpful to know for acquiring bank loans, convincing government units to make a change, and even sometimes for deciding when to propose marriage or thinking through a potential marriage proposal from someone else. (There is nothing like a little bit of cause-and-effect logic to decide whether and when you can promise to live with someone for the rest of your life!) In academic courses, proposal writing is useful for setting up a scholarly or scientific project to propose to an instructor.  Proposal writing--or the basic elements in it of problem, solution, and results--also can be useful in analyzing events and people in such disciplines as history, psychology, sociology, chemistry, physics, and other classes.  --- Return to top.              How Will You Start?    The major section of WritingforCollege.org called "Starting" offers a number of useful ways to start thinking, speaking, and writing about a subject. The advice here, which follows, is for this chapter's type of paper in particular.  When brainstorming a proposal, you might start by imagining some need or problem of which you are aware in your place of work or academic subject.  Then imagine a way to satisfy this need. Another way to start a proposal is to propose yourself to someone for a job. Still another way to start is to write a simple complaint letter about a product, service, or activity that is wrong and needs changing--and then to suggest a method of making the change.  You also can propose a paper or other academic project by describing a problem or need, first--a missing, incomplete, or incorrect idea or belief, for example--and then describing how your paper will detail a solution or resolution to this problem.   You can brainstorm by writing down a long list of ideas, events, and details you want to discuss; then choose one or a few and start writing.  You also can start by freewriting: simply letting out your thoughts and feelings about the project or situation on paper.  Outlining is another option, especially if you are an experienced proposal writer.  If you are looking for an especially interesting, sharp, or reader-grabbing proposal, you might start by first developing some interesting or wild opposite ideas--that is, make up some fictions--and write about those a bit; then look at them and see if any of them reflect an interesting truth or otherwise new angle on how to see problem or need.  (However, don't get too wild!  The final proposal must be an accurate reflection of reality.)  You also can practice imaging.  Stretch, then sit back, relax, breathe, clear your mind.  Then ask yourself, "What image accurately demonstrates the core of the problem or need?"  You also can practice imaging by imagining your readers, or one typical reader, and writing your first draft for that person in answer to the questions he or she might have.   The style, tone, or sense of audience you use in your early drafting can, of course, be anything you want.  However, if you are the type of person who writes early drafts better if you know what tone of voice to use, then for a proposal, you should choose a professional tone--businesslike if it is for a workplace proposal, or formally academic if it is for a college course.  Your report should have a tone of confidence, fairness, and logic.   The style should be formal unless you specifically have been told that an informal style is preferred.  In a workplace proposal, your style generally should be clear, simple, straightforward, and efficient.  In an academic proposal, your style should make use of somewhat longer and more complex words, phrases, and sentences.  In either type of writing, avoid sounding emotional, but also avoid sounding mechanical; try instead to sound logical, thoughtful, and open to suggestions.  In some situations, a friendly tone is helpful; in others, a tone of strength and certainty is more appropriate.   You also may start with a sense of your audience, if you wish.  If you do, consider not only the immediate person(s) who might see your proposal, but also the wider network of peers, other supervisors, and/or committees who might read it, as well. In any case, write your first drafts however you wish.  Then revise as needed so that the appropriate tone, style, and sense of audience are evident in each paragraph and sentence. Also be sure--as you build your paper--that you have plenty of details.  In professional writing, details may include quotations, paraphrases, personal-interview information, illustrations or images, and charts, lists, diagrams, or other statistics.  Be sure to cite and document each, even illustrations and experiential anecdotes, using in-text citation a bibliography.  --- Return to top.           What Are Some Organizing Methods?    When organizing a professional proposal, you may want to consider three practical matters.  Be aware of (1) the typical visual/textual design, (2) the central key to organizing this type of paper, and (3) dangers to avoid.  General principles of organization are described in detail in the "Organizing" chapter.  Specific details for this type of paper are below.   The "Introduction" has already shown you the following organization for a professional proposal:     The Visual Plan or Map Unique Title                            TYPE OF PAPER PROPOSAL/ PURPOSE OVERALL RESULT           (A Brief Abstract, if Needed)               Section 1: Problem, Need, or Background         Section 2: Solution (Proposal)         Section 3: Plan (with Schedule, Budget, and/or Personnel)         Section 4: Results                (Your Credentials if Needed)          RESTATEMENT OF PURPOSE CONCLUDING IDEAS and/or PROJECTIONS                                            Bibliography [if Needed] Bitson, A.J. Book. et al. Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al. Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al. Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al. --- Here is a more detailed view of this structure.  This view is a visual and textual plan of how a dialogic paper generally looks when it is finished.           More Detailed Visual Plan or Map Descriptive Title* by Your Name       Introduction**           Type of paper: a "proposal."  Proposal: Summarize it (1 sent.).  Purpose: If needed, add a purpose (a problem or need) your readers will understand (1-2 sent.).  Overall result: Summarize the results/outcomes after implementation (1 sent.) of your proposal.  [1 par.]         Abstract***           If required or needed, a brief summary of the overall proposal. [1-2 par.]       Problem, Need, or Background           (a) a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b) a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a discussion developed using a list of problems/needs, (d) if helpful, the details supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases, graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence.  [2+ par.]    Solution, Resolution, or Proposal           (a) a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b) a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a discussion developed using readers' questions, (d) if helpful, the details supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases, graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence.  [2+ par.]    Plan or Method of Implementation           (a) a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b) a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a discussion developed using activities, schedule, budget, personnel, and/or evaluation, (d) if helpful, the details supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases, graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence.  [2+ par.]    Results or Outcomes           (a) a Subtitle and, if needed, SUB-SUBTITLES, (b) a summarizing topic sentence, (c) a discussion developed using positives, negatives, and short- and long-term results, (d) if helpful, the details supporting your ideas (such as quotations/paraphrases, graphics, statistics, etc.), and (e) a brief, concluding sentence.  [2+ par.]          Credentials           If required or needed, a brief summary of your qualifications. [1 par.]       Conclusion            Proposal (1-2 sent.).  Purpose (if needed;1-2 sent.).  Summary of results/outcomes (1 or more sent.).  Final positive statement.  [1 par.]             Bibliography [if Needed] Bitson, A.J. Book. et al. Jones, D. L. "Chart," et al. Smith, M. S. "Diagram," et al. Zamura, R.F. "Personal Interview," et al. Create an alphabetized bibliography on a separate page, according to the requirements of your discipline/instructor.  Formats vary among differing disciplines.  (See the chapter the "Researching" section on "Quoting/Paraphrasing" for more detail.)       --- The Key to Building a Proposal: Answering a Need in Detail The key to building a proposal is to carefully and fully provide an answer or solution (your proposal) to a need (a problem, lack, or new situation) using thorough detail.  The overall organization of a proposal is to have the basic structure of  problem  >  solution  >  method  >  results A proposal is a clear, simply ordered explanation of why someone needs something, and how that need can be answered.  As in most workplace writing, you need to have clear, obvious organization: separate divisions or body sections, each with its own brief subtitle and a topic sentence detailing what the subtitle implies.  You may develop these body sections in any order you want as you write your first and second drafts.  However, at some point these body sections need to be carefully organized in the pattern shown above, as follows. Openings:  In a simple proposal, a brief title and opening paragraph often is enough.  However, more complex proposals may require more opening paragraphs as follows: Title: Keep the title simple and efficient, and describe your proposal.  If appropriate for your workplace or instructor, you may print the title in slightly larger and/or bold print; otherwise, use normal type.  After the title, on a separate line, print your name (or names if the proposal is collaborative, in order of contribution or, if contribution is equal, in alphabetical order).  Iif appropriate or helpful, add a contact email address and/or phone number. Introduction: Keep it simple.  State the type of paper you are writing in the introduction and/or the title (so readers can distinguish it from similar types of papers such as a report or a recommendation).  Also state the proposal itself succinctly--preferably in one clear, strong sentence.  If your readers may not understand exactly why you are making this proposal, then you should also explain the specific purpose of your paper: i.e., is there a special problem or need such as a required change or a new opportunity that you need to mention so your readers know exactly why you are making the proposal?  Finally, you should summarize in a sentence or two the overall result or outcome  if you have not already done so.   Some workplaces also like to have a shorter version of the "abstract" (below) placed, instead, in the introduction.  And if you happen to be writing a proposal with research--a proposal requiring quotations, paraphrases, charts and graphs, or other details, it may be appropriate to place an especially important quotation or other detail in the introduction Abstract: If requested to do so, you should write an abstract.  An abstract is a summary, often just a paragraph or two, of a paper you have written.  Sometimes workplace supervisors, especially those who are above your immediate supervisor or who are members of a supervising committee, may want a brief abstract of a proposal so that they do not have to read the entire paper.  At other times, an abstract may be useful when supervisors wish to refresh their memory of the key details of a proposal they already have read.  For more details about how to write an abstract, see "Writing an Abstract."  (Your supervisor or instructor may prefer a shorter abstract that is part of the "Introduction," above.) Main Body Sections: The exact names and final form or style of body sections in proposals may differ from workplace to workplace or instructor to instructor, so it always is important to ask your supervisor or instructor what he or she wants.  Most proposals require multiple paragraphs in each body section; in fact, major proposals involving hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars usually are book length, with each body section requiring one or more "chapters."  When writing a proposal for a supervisor or instructor, it usually is especially helpful to see good examples of previous proposals this person has requested in order to understand exactly what contents and body sections you should write.  Even though body sections may vary dramatically from one to another proposal, usually there is an underlying structure or overall pattern that is somewhat typical of most general workplace proposals.  If your supervisor or instructor has no other pattern for you to follow, the pattern below may be helpful: Problem or Need: a thorough, helpful, knowledgeable description of the basic problem, need, or new requirement, or changed situation.  Break the problem or need into two or more subcategories, or list several problems/needs, explaining each, and start your list with an overall summary of the general problem/need area.   You should confine this problem or need and its description to just what can be solved by your proposal: i.e., don't wax at length about a series of problems or needs that your proposal does not address.  If research is appropriate or desirable, often this section is the place for adding statistics, quotations, and/or paraphrases that help highlight or better explain the problem or that compare it to such problems in similar situations.  If your proposal is for an academic project, this section offers the opportunity for you to provide background information and, perhaps, conflicting data or ideas that make your proposal appropriate.  As you develop this section, consider your readers' sensitivities and needs.  Do not blame anyone; moreover, do not make a problem or need sound like it is an error of judgment, a lack of intelligence, or any other negative event.  In this regard, remember that once upon a time, someone whose motives were probably, in their own way, just as pure--and whose vision was just as intelligent--as your own proposed what currently exists.  Rather, emphasize the constructive and the positive.  You may even wish to include a fault-relieving reason for the present problem or new need: for example, "Twenty years ago, no one was able to foresee the need for this project, but now we have a new opportunity to...."  Proposals in particular must foster teamwork.  They create change, which is not always an easy thing to start.  As a result, you need the cooperation of a great many people to accept the proposal, successfully implement it, and live with it happily after implementation. Solution, Resolution, or Proposal: a general statement of one or more paragraphs of the solution or resolution that you propose.  This section should clearly explain exactly what the proposal is, what it means, and why it is the best available option.  The 5 W's of journalism might help in developing this initial explanation: Questions to Answer in Explaining Your Proposal What?   Who?   Where?   When?   Why/How?       What is the basic proposal? Who is involved in it? Where will it happen? When will it happen? Why is it good and/or how will it happen? However, you should keep this section relatively brief, explaining the proposal in general terms.  You should not yet explain the specific details of how the proposal will be carried out, nor should you yet describe the details of what the results or outcomes will be.  Those details should come later, in the sections below.  It may help to think of this section as a summary of your proposal and its purposes and results.  In this section, you have the opportunity to explain your reasoning to your readers in a language that is clear, logical, and thoughtful.  As you do so, keep in mind your readers and the questions they might ask.  Who might your readers be if your proposal is passed on to higher-level supervisors and/or a committee for consideration?  What kinds of questions might these different types of people ask?  Using the 5 W's of journalism above is a simple, efficient, and broad method of posing such questions.  However, the 5 W's are a generic system.  If you can brainstorm a more specific list of questions your own real workplace readers may ask, answering these questions may help you develop this section better.  Often, a combination of some of the 5 W's of journalism and your own brainstormed questions helps most.   Plan or Method of Implementation: a detailed description, often with lists, of the steps of implementing your proposal and of the people, deadlines, and materials involved in doing so.  Proposals are the poetry of the business world: they require a strong, highly focused set of details in a relatively short space of paper.  The poetry is especially in the details: a proposal is worthless unless it has excellent details that show, step by step, how it can be implemented.  This section proves whether your proposal is possible to turn into a reality.  Start this section with a very brief summary of what you are going to present in it.  Then present details.  Usually you should use sub-subtitles.  Once again the exact categories you need may vary from situation to situation: for example, an academic proposal may not require a "Budget" section.  Check with your supervisor or instructor.  In workplace environments, you may need some or all of the following categories: GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES--Write a general description of the number and types of activities if you are required to do so.  If not required, and especially if the activities are simple or few in number, this subsection can be combined with the next one, "Schedule." SCHEDULE, STEPS, or DEADLINES--Use dates and descriptions of activities to show what you will do, step by step, and when.  In proposals suggesting large amounts of time or several complex series of activities, you may need several subcategories of "Schedule." BUDGET--Show all the costs, both obvious and hidden.  Consider not only new purchases but also the dollar amounts of taking people's time and overhead away from their normal activities.  In proposals with complex finances, you may need several subcategories of "Budget." PERSONNEL--Develop a job description--a role title and description of activities--for each person involved.  Include how much time will be required of each person, what he/she will cost (including benefits), and, if they already are employees, how much of their time will be taken away from their normal work and the dollar value of this time.  If you also are proposing specific individuals by name for the activities, it may be appropriate to develop a brief description of each person's credentials here; if additional descriptions of their credentials are helpful, you can add their resumes to the very end of the document and note that addition in the "Personnel" section.  (If you are the only person who will be active in implementation and you decide to add your credentials, you may do so here or at the end in a separate "Credentials" paragraph, below.) EVALUATION--If appropriate, describe how you will evaluate the project's success and when.  In more complex projects, usually there is some kind of evaluation at least once or twice during it, at its end, and, often, several months or a year later when final outcomes can be better assessed. Results, Product, Gain, or Outcomes: a discussion, list, and/or description of what will happen after successful implementation of your proposed project.  Though this section is placed near the end of your proposal, it is as important as the other sections, in some situations more so.  It is here that you show the proposal actually has merit.  Why should your proposal be implemented?  What good does it accomplish?  What bad might it do?  How will it affect the workplace and everyone connected to it, employees, customers, and owners?  The answers to these questions are very important to those who must decide whether to fund or reject your proposal.  You have to convince them that change is worthwhile--that it is safer or better than keeping everything as it is.     There are several ways this section can be developed.  Often, people develop a list of outcomes, then define and explain each one in more detail.  There are two pairs of subcategories often used in some form in a "Results" section: "Results" Subcategories POSITIVE OUTCOMES SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES POTENTIAL PROBLEMS LONG-RANGE OUTCOMES In longer and/or more complex proposals, you may need to develop these subcategories as official subtitles with their own separate lists or paragraphs.  In shorter and more simple proposals, you may not need to use these subcategories so obviously.  However, even in short proposals, it may be valuable to mention (after describing several positive results) at least one or two potential problems--during or after implementation--and how they can be handled.  And it also may be worthwhile to mention, after describing the short-term results, one or two long-term benefits, as well.  Doing so--mentioning both potential problems and long-range results--helps demonstrate that you have considered the full dimensions of what you are proposing. The length of this section may be determined in part by how obvious and simple (or previously unimagined and complex) the outcomes may be to readers.  In any case, it is better to once again remember the workplace-writing maxim that your proposal may rise several levels higher than your immediate supervisor, so you should consider whether to explain outcomes more thoroughly to those who may not be immediately involved in day-to-day management.  You also need to consider the hopes and needs of these higher levels of supervision and tailor your suggestions to their perceptions and knowledge as well as you can. Closing Paragraph(s): A simple proposal often requires only a short final paragraph to restate and summarize what you have said.  However, longer or more complex proposals sometimes require more: Credentials or References: In some situations, the readers of your proposal may not know who you are or what you have accomplished in the past that gives you the appropriate background for making your proposal intelligently.  If such is the case, add a relatively brief paragraph summarizing your relevant experience, training, and/or education that makes you capable of writing this proposal well.  Often, a proposal writer also coordinates or assists in implementation of the proposed project; for this reason, you may also need to mention the credentials that make you an appropriate coordinator or assistant for implementation.  If a short paragraph is not enough to present yourself fully, then you may also add your resume to the end of the entire proposal and make a note of this addition in your "Credentials" paragraph.  (If you already have described your credentials in the "Personnel" subsection above, you do not need to repeat them here.)  At times, you may also--or instead-- need to briefly list or describe references: one or more people who know you and your work and can vouch for you.  When writing a references paragraph, generally you should very briefly state each reference's name, position, relevance to judging your work on this project, and phone number and/or email address. Conclusion: a usually short paragraph summarizing your proposal, your need/problem, and the outcomes very briefly.  Some supervisors or instructors may prefer that you develop a longer conclusion of a paragraph or two by discussing the results or outcomes here, rather than in a separate "Results/Outcomes" section, as above. --- Dangers to Avoid as You Organize One of the dangers in writing a proposal is to assume that you can say whatever you want in the proposal because the details can be changed once it is accepted.  This often can be entirely untrue.  Oftentimes, workplaces are not that flexible.  In other words, whatever you propose may come to pass exactly as you have proposed it.  For this reason, be sure that you know exactly what you are suggesting, especially in the details of the "Plan/Implementation" section.  Whatever it is, you may have to live with it for better or worse. Another danger, as stated above, is to underestimate how widely your proposal may be read and how high up the chain of command it may go.  Good proposals tend to have a life of their own, reaching a lot more readers than you might expect--even, sometimes, to subsidiaries, supervisors, and  committees entirely unrelated to the proposal's project.  Sometimes this happens because proud supervisors want to show others what their employees are doing, and sometimes because it is an easy way for supervisors to share current and future activities in their areas without having to write their own summaries.  In any case, it often is wise to write a proposal with a much larger audience in mind, vertically and horizontally, than your immediate supervisor. A third danger lies in using a boring style that leaves your readers feeling that you do not strongly support your own proposal.  While proposals should be efficient and logical, the best proposals have a tone of underlying strength and excitement.  They do not sound emotional; rather, there is a confidence and a hope in the tone that convinces the reader not only that the author knows what he or she is talking about, but also that the author really does think the proposal is a great idea and very much hopes it will be accepted.  Generally you should not state in your proposal that you are excited and that your hopes or high, for that would sound unprofessional.  However, your tone in the paper clearly should convey your strong, positive attitude. ----- As you complete your later drafts, look carefully at the visual map above and the sample papers in this chapter.  Rearrange the order of your body sections and of your paragraphs as needed.  Consider your use of major organizing devices: for example, have you placed the correct key sentences in your introduction and conclusion, and have you developed a subtitle and topic sentence at the beginning of each major body section?                                    Asterisks *, **, and *** for the organizational plan or map above (similar advice given in most chapters): *In most professions and businesses, the title is typed simply: no quotation marks, underlining, or bold marking.  It is centered, and the font size and style are those used in the rest of the paper--normally a 12-point font in a style such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or CG Times.  In a professional situation, you may use academic style or whatever is commonly acceptable in your workplace. ** In some disciplines, the "Introduction" subtitle may be optional or even forbidden.  (Most social sciences and psychology papers, for example, should not have an "Introduction" subtitle.)  ***Some professions and disciplines sometimes require a short summary, abstract, or précis (see) of a text before you begin responding to it.  Ask your instructor.  Such a summary generally should have no quotations within it and, in professional and business writing, it usually must be a summary of the contents of your paper.         ***Some instructors may allow--or even, occasionally, prefer--your paper to be completely free of subtitles.  In most professional and business situations, however, subtitles are required or encouraged.  That is because they are efficient.  Because of the expectation of efficiency, your topic sentences should be very brief, sometimes just a transition word, along with a key word from your title or your introduction's main statement of the paper's subject: for example, in a paper about a zoo, your three major topic sentences (at the beginning of each major topic section) might start with "First, the zoo...," "Second, the zoo...," and "Third, the zoo...").  (See "Topic Sentences.")  In addition, it is more efficient to add simple, short transition words than to avoid them.  Your word count may end up slightly higher, but your improved clarity will make your paper much easier to read.   For more about organizing body sections, topic sentences, and subtitles in general, please go to "Organizing College Papers."  For more about organizing paragraphs, go to the "Paragraphing" chapter. --- Return to top.        Are There Special Revising and Editing Needs?    In revising a professional proposal, the focus techniques with which you started in the "Introduction" to this chapter also can help you finish your paper:     FOUR FOCUSES FOR REVISING: Subject, Drafts, Style, & Authenticity SUBJECT: Have you stayed on the subject throughout?  In a proposal, this means being sure that everything ties together logically, not just in your own mind but in the minds of readers.  You also should avoid adding details and thoughts ideas just because they are interesting.  In professional writing, be efficient in keeping to the subject at hand.  (If you have a really helpful or interesting detail that is indirectly related, place it in a brief footnote.)  If you think your audience may have trouble grasping some parts of your paper, add background or explanation.   Be sure, in addition, to introduce, explain, or connect each resource to the content of your discussion.  This means that whether you have a quotation, paraphrase, graph, image, or copy of something from the Internet, be sure you have at least a sentence before and after it showing readers its purpose or fit in the flow of your paragraph.   FIRST & SECOND DRAFTS: Have you used all of the needed steps to write and revise your drafts? Free-write: If, after reading your paper aloud, you feel there are places where the paper sounds choppy or the flow is otherwise poor, try rewriting one or more paragraphs spontaneously without looking at your original words.  (To help cure choppy sentences, see "Using Mixed-Length Sentences" in the "Editing" section.")  Imagine you are saying it aloud to a friend, instructor, or work coordinator.  Then revise and edit the new portions.  For general freewriting, see "How to Start First Drafts.")   Gather details: Have you spent too much time on general explanation and too little on details?  Details--names, dates, data, charts, lists, diagrams, illustrations, and/or quotations and paraphrase--are the proofs of a good professional paper.  They also are the first elements your readers tend to notice and the ones they will most remember, whether in the same kind of detail or with a strong sense of you having supported your points well.       If you have too many details for one section, consider dividing the section into two sections or subsections.  Instead, you might try moving some of the details to another section where they might fit as well or better.        Write for your audience: Imagine your audience as being more than your immediate supervisor or instructor.  To whom might your supervisor show this paper?  What committee(s) might see it?  A good professional paper can travel far, and it may even be the basis of legal action, good or bad, or the basis of a proposals, profits, or losses.  Have you visualized your audience?       Have you read your paper aloud as if reading to this audience?  Have you tried reading your paper aloud to a colleague, peer, friend, or family member, pretending he or she is your audience?  If you are working with others in a pair or committee, have you asked them to read, comment on, and help rewrite it?  Organize: Have you used either the organization above or a modified version of it suggested by your supervisor or instructor?  Have you carefully added and then reread each major and minor part of this organizational system?  Have you kept your introduction, conclusion, and/or a beginning summary reasonably short, moving excess discussion in them to body sections?  Do you need to reorganize the body sections for the greatest degree of logic, clarity, and audience interest?  Does each body section fulfill its purpose as expected with this type of paper as applied to your particular discipline or profession? Research: iF you need to support your points and/or others' points with research, do you have a sufficient number of high-quality sources?  Have you fully integrated them with your paper by citing and documenting them?  (In most disciplines or professions, "citing" means adding authors' names and page numbers beside quotations, paraphrases, graphic elements--e.g., pictures or charts--and anecdotes of experiences.  "Documenting" means providing a bibliography--or, if you have just a very few sources, you sometimes are allowed to provide bibliographic details in parentheses immediately after source material or in a footnote.)      If you are using non-print sources such as interviews, videos, or television, will they be considered appropriate and representative (well representing a viewpoint needed and accepted by your audience?  If you are using online sources, have you checked them carefully to verify their quality and accuracy (see "Evaluating Web Sites" in OnlineGrammar.org)? STYLE, TONE, AUDIENCE, & CRITICAL THINKING: Have you converted all parts of your writing to the appropriate style and tone?  This type of paper should use a formal professional writing style.  If your audience and purpose are of a more general nature (rather than of an academic or scholarly nature), then you may want to use a more efficient business style of writing with a mixture of medium and short sentences, and varied medium and short paragraphs.  Generally, in professional and business writing, the tone or voice in your words should show professional competence, honesty, and confidence.  Warmth may or may not be helpful, depending on your audience, but coldness, sarcasm, or emotionalism should be avoided.  To check tone or voice, try reading your paper aloud--or have a colleague, peer, or friend read it aloud to you--so you can hear whether your sentences sound as you want them to..  AUTHENTICITY: Have you made your paper as reasonable, practicable, and logical as possible to your audience?  If you're not sure, ask questions of your audience ahead of time, and imagine how your audience member(s) might want elements of your paper explained to them.  Have you tried to go to the heart of the matter you are discussing?  Have you brought interesting, vivid, and even unusual details into the paper's contents?  Have you been true to yourself and your own interests in the subject by trying to find the most interesting information to write about in each paragraph, something meaningful to you?   --- Final Advice Given in Most Chapters In most papers, you should use the third-person pronoun: "he," "she," "it," and "they."  You should not use "you" unless you are giving directions, or writing a diary or personal reflection, or a less formal magazine or newsletter article or other specific advice (as in this chapter).  In professional writing, "I" is never used (unless occasionally in the form of an anecdote, starting with a phrase such as "For example, I was..."). Paragraphing in most academic papers follows some relatively standard guidelines.  You usually are working with a large amount of information when you write a professional paper.  For this reason, clear, consistent paragraphing becomes even more important.  Your paragraphs should help you logically divide your body sections into smaller sub-parts, ideas, or sub-ideas--just for the sake of clarity and ease of reading, if for no other reason.  Also, generally, for a short- to medium-length paper, you should have one paragraph each for your introduction, conclusion, and--if you have it--your summary.  You should, as a matter of habit, have at least two or three paragraphs per page in your final draft.  On the other hand, be careful not to have too many paragraphs per page.  If you have a lot of short, choppy paragraphs, combine them.  The goal, graphically speaking, is to provide your audience with a variety of paragraph lengths--an occasional short one for emphasis or change of pace added to a mix of varying medium and long paragraphs.  The goal in terms of content is to make your ideas flow so well that your audience can easily keep them clear and separate without ever even noticing your paragraphing (or, for that matter, any other mechanical aspect of your paper).  For more advice, go to the "Paragraphing" chapter.   Several other common, useful strategies of efficient, thorough editing are in the several chapters of the "Revising and Editing" section.  Some of these strategies also are summarized in the following very-brief web page, which is aimed especially at people writing professionally and/or in their majors:   Very Brief Review of How to Edit Your Final Draft --- Good luck with writing this type of paper.  For more advanced and/or interesting information on this type of paper, please see the "Advanced" section of the chapter. --- Return to top.