Whether responding to a potential client's request or pitching a new IT project to the Board, a well-written proposal can be the difference between success and failure. This volume can help create high-quality, persuasive proposals. Paul Coombs explains how to influence the reader's decision by developing the writer's unique selling points. He discusses the structuring of documents, the secrets behind persuasive writing, and the basic grammar and punctuation rules that will prevent writers from destroying a good argument through bad presentation. The volume is written for IT managers, consultants and anyone producing internal or commercial proposals.
Author(s): Paul Coombs
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 156
Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Does good writing matter?......Page 13
Management Summary......Page 14
Inappropriate content......Page 15
Unconvincing prose......Page 16
The proposal lifecycle......Page 17
The art of persuasion......Page 19
Determining the BOD and USP......Page 21
Unsolicited proposals......Page 24
Knowing the reader......Page 25
Choosing a strategy......Page 26
The proposal lifecycle – reviewed......Page 28
Content and structure......Page 29
The covering letter......Page 30
The management summary......Page 31
Management Summary......Page 32
Our qualifications......Page 33
The technical solution......Page 34
The costs and benefits......Page 35
The appendices......Page 37
The proposal lifecycle – reviewed......Page 38
Why have a plan?......Page 40
Scientific versus business document structure......Page 41
Point by point through the BOD......Page 42
Problem-cause-solution......Page 43
Questions and answers......Page 44
Soap......Page 45
Illustrations first......Page 46
Size and order......Page 47
Structuring paragraphs as triangles......Page 48
Flowing your arguments......Page 49
Headings......Page 52
Pre-write checks......Page 53
Spin the words......Page 55
The power of language......Page 56
Avoid abstraction......Page 58
Passive sentences......Page 59
Weak words......Page 61
Dangling modifiers......Page 62
False subjects......Page 63
Vague figures......Page 64
Summary......Page 65
Don't understand......Page 66
Technobabble......Page 67
Buzzwords......Page 68
Musty old words......Page 69
Use of `we'......Page 70
Pentagonese......Page 71
Clichés and metaphors......Page 72
Windy phrases......Page 73
Consider the tone......Page 75
Remove the boilerplate......Page 76
Tune each sentence......Page 77
Sentence length......Page 78
Sentence focus......Page 79
Repetition of words......Page 80
The little words......Page 82
Does grammar matter?......Page 84
Don't end a sentence with a preposition......Page 85
Make the subject agree with the verb......Page 87
Keep sex out of it......Page 89
Which and that......Page 91
Avoid foreign words and phrases......Page 93
Etc.......Page 94
Disentangle noun knots......Page 95
Singular and plural......Page 96
Avoid ambiguity......Page 97
Conclusion......Page 99
The purpose of punctuation......Page 100
Full stops......Page 101
Dividing lists......Page 102
Enclosing subsidiary information......Page 103
Closing the introduction to a sentence......Page 104
Connecting the parts of a sentence......Page 105
Bad uses of commas......Page 106
Semicolons......Page 107
Dashes......Page 108
Exclamation marks......Page 110
Possessive apostrophes......Page 111
Apostrophes and abbreviations......Page 112
Apostrophes in pronouns......Page 113
Quotes......Page 114
Hyphens......Page 115
Ellipsis......Page 116
General rules......Page 117
Grammar in bulleted lists......Page 118
Italic......Page 120
Capitalisation......Page 121
Acronyms......Page 122
The proposal lifecycle – reviewed......Page 123
Validating compliance......Page 125
Protecting yourself......Page 126
Illustrating your arguments......Page 127
Automated checks......Page 128
Creating an impression......Page 129
The internal impression......Page 130
The external impression......Page 131
Review methodology......Page 133
Instructions for use......Page 135
Modifications to the questionnaire......Page 136
The proposal lifecycle – reviewed......Page 138
CHAPTER 10 Summary......Page 139
Why have a standard?......Page 140
Word processor standards......Page 141
Maintenance of the standard......Page 142
Technical style guides......Page 143
Other relevant books......Page 144
Services......Page 145
Case study 1......Page 146
Case study 2......Page 152
Index......Page 154
