Purpose and Reason

One of the first things mentioned in Chapter I is that the purpose of writing a proposal is to cultivate the new opportunities and solve the new problems that are always coming up. I thought that by emphasizing that change should be embraced and that proposals are the way to do it. I also appreciated that the chapter makes a point to break any stereotypes associated with Rhetoric and that it delves into interpretation and expression. 

After taking Grant Proposal Writing last semester, I realized that interpretation is a rhetorical strategy that I use a lot, even outside of writing. I like to solve problems and the best way to do so is to find the root of the problem and focus in on finding factors that contribute to that problem. Of course, I use expression too. The chapter describes expression to be more than just taking advantage of the facts that you may have, but that it is a way to persuade the audience to take on what you are giving them—which is really a big role in writing a proposal. To effectively propose your project to a prospective sponsor, you have to be able to tell and sell yourself, while always keeping in mind the facts that are needed to solve the problem.

This idea of "taking advantage" bleeds into one of the reasons that we write grant proposals in the first place. According to Chapter II, “Proposals and grants are written for two basic reasons: to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.” (9) The most thing to ask yourself when writing grant proposals, I think and what I think this chapter is hinting at, is that we should always ask who, what, when, where, why, and how—in all scenarios. I think that this methodology, despite being taught in elementary school, is never outdated and provides the opportunity to dig deeper into the core problem(s) and solution(s).