For this assignment, you are asked to articulate the relationship between grant proposals as a genre of writing and elements of persuasion as they may play out in grant proposals. There are two elements of persuasion you should consider: both what one says in a grant proposal and how one might use language to create an impression. To provide contrast, you should also compare the genre of grant proposal to another genre of professional writing (perhaps one from another course you have taken or one you encounter regularly at work).
Background: According to Mikhail Bakhtin, all communication consists of a recurring occasion, content, structure, and style (citation). Taken together and adjusted for context, these elements help us understand communication as particular types: telephone calls, billboard advertisements, sitcoms on television, business proposals, and tweets are all different types of communication. One might think of them as “packages” of communication that one uses to respond to situations that keep happening over and over again. There are general expectations for content, structure, and style for each one, although those are adjusted to fit particular instances of a given genre’s recurring occasion. Understanding those elements for any particular type of writing will help you adapt your writing skills to that type.
Task: Your task is to write an analysis of 1500 words in which you describe the recurring occasion, content, structure, and style of a grant proposal and compare them to those of a different type of professional writing.
● What are the recurring occasion, content, structure, and style of grant proposals? How are the content, structure, and style typically used (and sometimes adjusted) to respond to the recurring occasion? What is typically expected, and what might happen when those expectations are violated?
● What are the recurring occasion, content, structure, and style of a second type of writing with which you are more familiar? How are the content, structure, and style typically used (and sometimes adjusted) to respond to the recurring occasion? What is typically expected, and what might happen when those expectations are violated?
● How are the two types of writing you have described similar? Different? How do you account for those similarities and differences?
● Metacognitive reflection: Given the above, what previous skills do you have as a writer that can be adapted to grant writing? How well do you think you can use skills like the stasis theory to write a grant proposal? What affordances and constraints do you anticipate as you write a grant? What are some different approaches you might use to complete a full grant project?
Resources to use:
● Mikhail Bakhtin’s definition of genre
● Berkencotter & Huckin for more about genre
● The stasis theory (Fahnestock & Secor, 1983) for help with strategies of argumentation that can be applied to grant proposals
● Theories of language use: Kenneth Burke’s concept of “terministic screens” and Perelman’s concept of “presence”
• Use additional resources as needed.
Length: 1,500 words
Format: Use GCU style with the appropriate heading. Save your document as .doc or .docx, and use the following naming convention: Last Name_First Name_Sponsor Research
Submission: Go to the “Assignment Dropbox” for this assignment and submit before or by the deadline.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.