Choosing a topic
choose one of the scenarios below (or another, with your teacher's approval). you will use it to build your proposal around.

you are the president of a club in your community or at your school. the club has an upcoming event (dance, carnival, etc.) and needs covering its costs. you are in charge of writing a proposal to submit to potential sponsors that will convince them to donate to your cause.
you and a group of friends notice some things about your school that need changing (cafeteria menu, damaged lockers, write a letter to the principal proposing that changes be made.
determining soap
once you have chosen your scenario, it's time to begin constructing your argument. the first step to building your argument is to consider soap.

subject: what am i writing about?
occasion: what event is prompting this proposal?
audience: to whom am i writing this proposal? why this company or person rather than another?
purpose: what is it that i am trying to get my audience to do?
when martha began her essay, she wrote a short paragraph that summarized her soap. this is a good way for you to begin as well. use the essay box below to write your paragraph. simply answer the questions above.

writing a thesis statement
next come claims or assertions. because this letter is persuasive, you have to follow the golden rule of persuasion: determine what your desired outcome is and figure out how to make the other party believe that your idea is a good idea.

let's say that you've decided to propose that company x ought to donate to your cause (i. e. tell them what you'd like the audience to do). you're going to make the claim that doing so is beneficial (i. e. explain why the audience should do what you've requested). that's your thesis statement. take a look at the example below.

proposition: donate funds to my important cause.
claim: donating benefits company x through word of mouth advertising and improved public image.

this proposition and the claims you make about it will become your thesis statement

sample thesis statement
by donating funds to boys and girls , you will benefit your organization through word of mouth advertising and improve your public image.

now, try writing your own thesis using this process. when you make a claim, it's best to give three reasons to support it. use the essay box below to write your thesis.

generating an outline
as you know, your thesis is a roadmap for your letter. once you have it, you can expand it into a sentence outline. you've made a claim and then supported it with three pieces of evidence in your thesis. therefore, it's easy to turn your letter into a five-paragraph essay.

paragraph i: introduction and thesis
paragraph ii: first thesis point
paragraph iii: second thesis point
paragraph iv: third thesis point
paragraph v: conclusion and restatement of thesis
instructions
create an outline like the one below to reflect your own thesis. simply copy the outline and paste it into the essay box below. once you fill it in, you're ready for the research process. continue filling in your outline as ideas occur to you.

introduction
introduce soap
present thesis
thesis point #1
support
support
support
thesis point #2
support
support
support
thesis point #3
support
support
support
conclusion
restate thesis submit your project below.