Final Post

I came away with so much more than my original expectations of the course. I work in a research environment where I work with grants and proposals all day, every day. It is all too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day process of getting a proposal out the door and forgetting what the objective of a proposal actually is.

Proposals are tools for managing change. The proposal writer’s primary responsibility is to develop a rhetorical strategy to persuade the reader his or her proposal is worth funding. Rhetorical strategy is a phrase that is often preached, but how often is it explained in depth for an individual to understand what the true meaning of rhetorical strategy is?

During the development phase I found a great deal of research about proposal writing that talked all around rhetorical strategy; however, none defined it enough for the reader to come away with a clear understanding and ability to use it. I also learned I have been a preacher of rhetorical strategy in my position in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies in AAH. I can look back on situations where I assisted in editing or framing proposals where I prompted the writer to revisit his or her rhetorical strategy. Ironically, I have been preaching rhetorical strategy just as the authors of the books and articles I reviewed. I never tried to enable the writer to understand how and why their rhetorical strategy could be improved.

Rhetorical strategy is more than just the writing. Rhetoric is a tremendous tool if you use it wisely. Every word, every image, every page, and every punctuation mark of a proposal is rhetorical strategy. Writing a proposal is more than writing words to obtain funding for a project. Writing a proposal is a way of persuading the reader your proposal is the project that will be the tool for managing change he or she is looking for.

I also learned that proposal writing should not be done alone. Peer review is vital to the success of a proposal. Individuals not associated with the proposal can offer a fresh perspective and constructive criticism.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course, and it will benefit me as a MAPC student, as well as in my position at Clemson. I have a new appreciation of theory and the power of rhetoric, not only in proposal writing, but in writing and communication in general.