Proposals are persuasive documents designed to convince a decision-maker to make a change. Proposals are often written to solve a problem, offer a service, or gain approval for research.

Audiences for proposals include university administrators, professors, government agencies, private corporations, managers within a company, granting agencies, and private individuals. The typical proposal reader is a very busy person who is constantly faced with important decisions. The writer should do everything possible to make sure the proposal is clear, well organized, and easy to understand.

Proposals can be formal or informal, internal or external, solicited or unsolicited, so the appearance of proposals can vary. However, since proposals are persuasive documents, certain aspects remain necessary, regardless of the form. Proposal readers, for example, are generally going to want to know the answers to these basic questions: What? Why? How? Who? When? Where? How much?

Here are the same sorts of questions in a more explicit form:

• What problem does the writer propose to solve?
• What is the actual work the writer plans to do?
• What benefits will this work provide?
• What procedures will be followed?
• What makes these people qualified to do this work?
• Are there potential difficulties with the proposed project?
• How long will the project take?
• How much will it cost?
• How realistic is everything mentioned above?
• Should the writer seek support elsewhere instead?

Formal proposals often follow a format like this:

• transmittal letter
• abstract
• introduction
• plan (including schedule)
• evaluation procedures
• qualifications
• resources
• costs
• conclusion (summary of main advantages)
• appendixes

Whether formal or informal, proposals usually use emphasis strategies, like headers and visual aids, to fit the readers' needs and the writer's purpose.