PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSThematic programme“Non State Actors and Local Authorities in Development”PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOPFOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSMODULE 3:TECHNICAL TIPS FOR PROPOSAL WRITINGDELEGATION OF THEEUROPEAN COMMISSIONTO THE JECTPROPOSALMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips1

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSCLEARONE AND ONLY ONEMEANING TO WHAT IS WRITTENCAN BE EASILYUNDERSTOOD BY THE READERACCURATE.FACTS WRITTENEXACTLY AS THEYARE.and OBJECTIVEFACTS PRESENTEDFULLY AND FAIRLYACCESSIBLEEASY TO FINDNEEDEDINFORMATIONCONCISEBRIEF, DIRECT TOTHE POINTCORRECTIN GRAMMAR,PUNCTUATIONAND USAGEMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips2

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSStyle tipsINPROPOSALWRITINGTIP # 1WRITE TOEXPRESS,NOT TO IMPRESSReaders’need tounderstandMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips1Writer’sdesire tograndstand3

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSBE SPECIFICTIP # 2AVOID UNNECESSARYJARGONAVOID WORDINESSAVOID HIGHSOUNDING WORDSAVOID SEXIST/GENDER-BIASEDLANGUAGEBEING SPECIFICUse precise, exact wordsProvide enough detailAvoid ambiguity and vaguenessMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips4

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSAVOIDING JARGONJargon – technical terms,abbreviations or“slang” understood onlyby a specific groupUse words and terms that the ‘average’ intended readercan understand easilyAVOIDING WORDINESSIf you can say it with one word, say it with one wordThe fewer the words used,the easier the reader understands.“The conduct of an investigation is necessitated of us by the situation”“It is necessary that we investigate”“We need to investigate”“We must investigate”MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips5

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSAVOIDING HIGH-SOUNDING WORDSSimpler words are easier to understandDifficult words do not make your writing better,only more difficult to read and understand.“We would like to take this opportunity to extendto your good office our most profound and sincere gratitudefor the prompt and favorable response to our request.”“Thank you very much for your fast approval.”AVOIDING SEXIST/GENDER-BIASED LANGUAGEUse non- Chair or chairperson, not chairmangender Spokesperson, not spokesmanterms Firefighter, no firemanEliminate“his, him,he” ifpossible“An officer shouldsubmit his report ”“Officers shouldsubmit reports ”If the “his, him, or he” cannot be eliminated “The reporter should“The reporter shouldmake sure his or hermake sure hisreadersreadersunderstand ”understand ”MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips6

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSTIP # 3SHORT 15 to 20 wordsUse mostly SIMPLE SENTENCEScombined with someCOMPOUND SENTENCESand occasional COMPLEX SENTENCES.Avoid as much as possibleCOMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES.SIMPLE SENTENCE¾One (1) independent clause(“stand-alone” subject-and- ¾Has only one basic ideapredicate combination)Subject (what is described)Predicate (the description)“Barangay residents don’t have a safe source of drinking water.”5SHORT 5DIRECT 5CLEAR4ONLY ONE IDEA AT A TIME4”CHOPPY”, BORING, DISTRACTING“Barangay residents don’t have a safe source of drinking water. They get waterfrom holes in the riverbank. The river water is dirty. Residents often getsick from the dirty water they drink. Many die.”MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips7

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSCOMPOUND SENTENCE¾Two (2) independent clauses linked by a comma (,) or a semicolon (;) a coordinating conjunction (“and”, “or”, “nor”,“for”,“so”, “yet”, “but”)“Barangay residents don’t have a safe source of drinking water,and they get water from holes in the riverbank.”First independent clauseSecond independent clause5STILL SOMEWHAT SHORT5CAN EXPRESS MORE THAN ONE IDEA5CAN MAKE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN IDEAS CLEARCOMPLEX SENTENCE¾One independent clause and at least one dependent clause,linked by a subordinating conjunction (“although”,“even”, “despite”, “because”, “if”, “while”)“Residents often get sick because of the dirty water they drink.”Independent clauseDependent clause5STILL SOMEWHAT SHORT5EXPRESSES MORE THAN ONE IDEA5CAN MAKE RELATIONSHIPSBETWEEN IDEAS CLEARMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips8

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSCOMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE¾At least two independent clauses andat least one dependent clauseIndependent clause 1Independent clause 2Dependent clause“The barangay residents get water from holes in the riverbank,and many die from water-borne diseases because ofthe dirty water they drink.”4RATHER LONG4MAY BE HARD TO FOLLOW, EVEN CONFUSING5SOMETIMES NEEDED TO SHOWSOMEWHAT COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS Simple, compound and complex sentencescan express ideas clearly and briefly A combination of simple sentences withcompound and complex sentences avoids‘choppiness’, makes relationships betweenideas clearer, and makes thought flowsmoother.“Barangay residents don’t have a safe source of drinkingwater. They get water from holes in the riverbank, and oftenget sick because of the dirty water they drink. Many diefrom water-borne diseases.”MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips9

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSWrite mostly in the ACTIVE VOICEACTIVE VOICESubject does the actionPASSIVE VOICESubject receives the action“The boy ate the food.”“The food was eaten by the boy.”5SHORTER5EMPHASIZES THE DOERBack to main discussionTIP # 4Group of sentences discussing acentral point or clarifying a mainideaEXAMPLE:A paragraph groups several sentences (althoughsometimes it may have only one sentence) into a singleunit that discusses a central point or clarifies a mainidea. Aside from putting together sentences thatclearly support one main idea, a paragraph should alsorelate clearly to and logically follow the paragraphthat comes before it.MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips10

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSTOPIC SENTENCEMain idea orcentral pointSupport sentencesMake topic sentenceclearer and moreconvincingEXAMPLE:While putting the “point” clearly, the topic sentence alone isusually not enough. The reader still needs to be convinced ofthe “point.” Thus, the topic sentence must be supported byadditional sentences to complete the paragraph. Define/clarify key term or ideain topic sentence Give examples/illustrations ofsituation described in topic sentence Identify factors leading tosituation described in topic sentence Define/explain implicationsof situation described in topicsentence Defend/substantiate assertionmade in topic sentenceMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips11

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSGoodparagraphsshould beSHORT.Topic sentence 4 or 5 support sentences5 to 6 sentences 75 to 120 wordsAVOID long unbroken blocks of textIf necessary, break uppresentation of one main ideainto two or more paragraphsWITHIN PARAGRAPHSSentences must have logical, clear and smoothlinking and flow of ideasBETWEEN PARAGRAPHSParagraphs that follow each other must havea clear and smooth flow of related thoughtMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips12

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSUse of transitionalwords and phrasesRepeating key wordsor phrasesUse of demonstrativesCOMMON TRANSITIONAL WORDS ANDPHRASESRELATIONSHIPTRANSITIONAL WORDS/PHRASESAdditionalso, and, finally, first (second, etc.), furthermore, inaddition, likewise, moreover, similarlyComparison/similarityin the same way, in the same manner, likewise, similarlyContrastalthough, but, however, nevertheless, on the other hand,yetfor example, for instance, in other wordsIllustrationCause-effectTime or spaceSummary orconclusionas a result, because, consequently, hence, so, therefore,thusabove, around, earlier, later, next, to the right (left, east,etc.), soon, thenat last, finally, in conclusion, to conclude, to summarizeMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips13

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSEXAMPLES: REPEATING KEY WORDS AND PHRASESWithin a paragraph“Paragraphs in a technical document should be generally short. Longparagraphs are more difficult to read and understand. Longparagraphs are often simply skipped by many readers who are ‘turnedoff’ by long unbroken blocks of printed words.”Between paragraphs“Coherence means logical, clear and smooth linking of ideas. Intechnical writing, there must be coherence within paragraphs andbetween paragraphs.“Coherence within paragraphs means that there is a smooth flow ofthought from one sentence to the next.“Coherence between paragraphs can be achieved ”USE OF DEMONSTRATIVESDEMONSTRATIVES:“this”, “that”, “these”, “those”EXAMPLESWithin a paragraph“Paragraphs in a technical document should be generally short. Longparagraphs are more difficult to read and understand. These areoften simply skipped by many readers who are ‘turned off’ by longunbroken blocks of printed words.”Between paragraphs“ Many readers are ‘turned off’ by long unbroken blocks of printedwords.“These long blocks can be avoided by keeping paragraphs within fiveto six sentences long, with sentences between 15 to 20 words long.”MODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips14

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSTransitional devices should be placedas near as possible to the beginning ofa sentence or paragraphTransitional devices are tools for making thelinkage and flow of ideas clearer and smoother.They are useless when the ideas being linked arethemselves unrelated to each other.HEADING 1TIP # 5USINGΑς ΧΠ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ Ας ΧΠ ΓΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ Ας ΧΠ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠΘΩφ τδωπ Ας ΧΠ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπΑς ΧΠ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠΘΩφ τδωπ Ας ΧΠ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ ΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπANDMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips1.2.3.4.5.6.7. Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ ΑςΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ ΑςΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ Ας Γ ΩΑςΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ Ας Γ ΩΞΩΚ Γ ΩΞΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ ΑςΩΚΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ ΑςΧΠ ΘΩφ τδωπ Ας Γ ΩΞΩΚ15

PROJECT DESIGN AND PROPOSAL WRITING WORKSHOP FOR INDIGENOUSPEOPLE’S GROUPS AND PARTNERSWhy useheadings?Short phrases or single wordsDivide sections or parts ofa documentFor TWOPURPOSESTell the reader the topic to be discussedIndicate relative order of importanceof different sections of the documentHeadings also make a document more ACCESSIBLE.Readers can more quickly find the sections they wantor need to read.LEVEL 1 HEADINGLEVEL 2 HEADINGLEVEL 3 HEADINGLEVEL 2 HEADINGLEVEL 3 HEADINGMODULE 3 Proposal Writing Technical Tips16