Writing Assignment 3: Internal Project Proposal for an Engineering Product or Service

Assignment Overview. Write an internal proposal describing an engineering-related idea on which you are interested in working.

The Scenario

You are employed as a design engineer for a company. One day, you get an idea that you think would significantly improve one of your company’s products. You discuss this idea with your supervisor, who asks you to write an internal proposal describing your idea so that he/she can get approval from management for you to spend time developing and building a prototype, and testing it.

Assignment Details

Write an internal project proposal in memo format whose purpose is to convince management to let you develop your idea. Your idea should be something you’re interested in working on, and one that hasn’t been done before. Come up with a new idea! Be creative! Do not base your proposal on a capstone project (yours or anyone else’s). However, your proposal may be based on an existing product; for example, you have thought of a way to significantly improve a product or service.

Memo format (for an internal proposal)

Include the following sections in your proposal.

• Summary
• Introduction
• Plan of Work
• Qualifications and Experience
• Budget
• Task Schedule
• References

Assignment Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to do the following:

• write a short technical report based on a realistic scenario as a design engineer;
• write an effective internal proposal using the memo format;
• apply the concepts of audience and purpose in a short technical report;
• apply the concepts of clear, concise, audience-appropriate, and “noise-free” writing;
• be creative in your approach to the assignment.

Creativity is Encouraged

You will be graded on how convincing and persuasive your proposal is, and on the quality of your idea, but not on your idea’s feasibility. In other words, the science behind your idea does not have to hold up under scrutiny. Your idea does not have to be grounded in reality, either; it could fall into the realm of science fiction. Creativity is encouraged.

Refer to the textbook and lectures for guidance

For guidance on writing proposals using the memo format, review the relevant chapters in Technical Communication, 11^th edition, by Mike Markel, including the following:

• Chapter 16: Writing Proposals
• Chapter 14: Writing Correspondence
• Chapter 12: Creating Graphics
• Chapter 11: Designing Documents and Websites

Avoid Plagiarism

Your project proposal cannot be based on a capstone project—yours or anyone else’s.

Assignment & Formatting Instructions

• Word document;
• Single spaced;
• Correct assignment heading;
• Include the name of your company (fictionalized or otherwise);

• Length: four (4) pages, including graphics (but not including references);
• One-inch margins all around;
• 12-point Times New Roman font for body text;
• 12-point Helvetica or Arial font for headings;
• Headings (left-aligned, bold typeface);
• Do not indent first lines of paragraphs. Do add a line of white space between paragraphs;
• Left-justified (Do not “justify” text.);
• Page numbers at bottom right corner, starting on page two;
• Create two or more supporting graphics.
• Label graphics correctly and make them big enough to read.