Pilot Study of Proposal Writing Pedagogy Trends in Technical Communications Programs: A Content Analysis of Syllabi Course Descriptions and Objectives

Typically, proposal writing conjures up images of grant proposals with stringent requirements—word limits, specific questions that must be answered, and detailed accounts of how funds will be used. However, growing in prevalence are philanthropic proposals, which often have more variability and flexibility in the format of these proposals and can be just as lucrative if not more. With government funding becoming more competitive and restrictive—and increased funding coming from philanthropy—technical communication students need to be familiar with the unique requirements of both philanthropic and grant proposals. However, not only is proposal writing considered a complex subject to teach, there are limited data about the extent to which philanthropic proposal writing is taught in universities.This study builds on previous research by conducting a content analysis of course descriptions and objectives in syllabi from the publicly available undergraduate proposal writing courses housed within English departments or technical communications programs. While data was limited, preliminary results identified the most common themes to center around rhetoric and grant principles with philanthropy rarely included.