Institutions of higher education introduced professional writing classes as a way of preparing students for on-the-job-writing. To better accomplish the goal as well as to get a more consistent output from these classes that require the writing of a project proposal or report, writing teachers may want to incorporate "R.E.A.L."…

Proposals are ubiquitous documents with challenges beyond the writing task itself, such as project management, strategic development, and research. Reporting on proposal instruction research in other fields and the results of an interview study with proposal writers, this article argues for a shift in how proposals are taught and conceptualized.…

Describes how a request for proposals (RFP)--a solicitation of offers to perform a job or service--can be an effective tool to teach proposal writing to technical writing students. (MM)

Suggests that proposal writing can benefit technical writing students by enhancing skills in using persuasion devices with technology. Presents three rhetorical structural steps (beginning, middle, and end) that reinforce a proposal writing exercise suitable for both university and business applications. (HTH)

Technical communications courses, which frequently present the research proposal as part of the report writing segment, rarely teach the grant proposal, even though it can provide the instructor with a vehicle for presenting such rhetorical strategies as audience analysis and persuasive writing. In addition to its problem solving structure, the…

The justification for including a year-long course in practical writing and editing in a research-oriented university's writing program and a description of that course are presented in this paper. Discussed are the responses to four questions: What is practical or survival writing? How much is there of it? What can a university gain from teaching…