WRA 453 Grant

1
WRA 453Grant Proposal Writing

• Fall 2005
• Bill Hart-Davidson
• hartdav2_at_msu.edu

Session 2 Tardy article Intro to P1
2
A Genre System View

• Connors (2000) study hints at this interactive
  nature of grant funding genres, as she claims
  that the genre of a grant proposal does not exist
  in isolation but is part of a system of
  interacting genres (pp. 22-23). Connors
  statement suggests that grant writers require
  knowledge of multiple genres spanning a variety
  of rhetorical contexts and discourse communities.
  Yet, despite the crucial role of grant genres in
  the production of knowledge and the complexity of
  the grant-writing genre system, these interacting
  genres have yet to be studied.

Tardy, p.2
3
Tardy You

• Exploration of this grant proposal genre
  system is the focus of this article.

Tardy, p.2
In Project 1, you will conduct your own
exploration of the genre system of proposal
writing, choosing a site to investigate that will
inform your own forays (present or future) into
grant writing.
4
Tardys Questions
What genres and communities interact to form the
genre system of proposal writing for seeking
space in What are the roles and functions of
this genre system? What type of knowledge does
participation in the text genres and genre system
require of grant writers and how do these writers
develop such knowledge?
Youll want to modify and add to these to suit
your own project
5

• Who does Patrick Patterson of (Volunteers of
  America) VoA communicate with to gain information
  of what a funding organization likes and who
  within the VoA has the knowledge of VoA from
  which Mr. Patterson can accurately present VoA in
  an acceptable form?
• How does your approach change with physical
  distance from the granting/funding agency?
• What genres and communities interact to form the
  genre system within a corporation proposing an
  internal fundraising event for an organization
  within a community?
• What genres and strategies are utilized by
  nonprofit housing agencies in Lansing seeking
  funding from the Michigan State Housing
  Development Authority?
• 5. How would a religious organization find a
  suitable genre system of proposing to acquire a
  non-affiliated space in which to hold a youth
  leadership conference?

6
Whats a genre system?
3 key assumptions for Tardy

• Genres are social action typified responses to
  recurring situations
• Genres are used and work together, creating a
  kind of interactive system
• Specialized knowledge is required to use genres
  and to act within genre systems

7
Whats a genre system?
3 key assumptions for Tardy

• Genres are social action typified responses to
  recurring situations
• Genres are used and work together, creating a
  kind of interactive system
• Specialized knowledge is required to use genres
  and to act within genre systems

8
How do you study genres as social action?
Tardy used the following methods

• Interviews with writers
• Analysis of documents samples of the various
  genres used

Note that these methods tend to yield a
retrospective account of the social action. That
is, we see and learn from the results of action
or from accounts of action given by the writer.
9
Seeing action in action
Id like you to add one additional method of
inquiry for your project

• Interviews with writers
• Analysis of documents samples of the various
  genres used
• Observations of writers doing proposingcreatin
  g, using, or coordinating genres

10
What will you watch for?
Evidence of
The specialized knowledge required to use genres
and act in genre systems.
Individual moves
Community rules

• what genres are used?
• in what sequence?
• for what purposes?
• in what situations?

• what genres are required or optional?
• what patterns of use lead to success?

11
What youll turn in

• A written report of your genre system
  investigation, 4-6 pages in length not including
  any attachments.
• A 10 minute presentation, for the class, based on
  your report
• Process documents
• research questions
• interview questions
• genre samples
• observation notes

When?

• Post process docs to your project page as you go
• Final report due 10/6 draft for review 9/27
• Presentations on 10/6 10/11

12
Tardy a good guide

• grant proposals function within a larger system
  of documents with which writers interact as they
  navigate through the grant-writing process.
  Documents such as letters of intent and
  grant-writing guidelines, as well as face-to-face
  interactions with program officers, are all
  interconnected genres within the grant-writing
  process.

Tardy, p. 11
How should I collect documents? What should I
watch for?
13
For next time

• Think about your P1 context, well work on a
  short proposal for P1 in class
• If you already have WWBP read Intro and Ch. 1,
  Ch. 2 well talk about the basic structure of
  proposals following the model introduced here
• Read Knoblauch article for session 3