Whether this is your first time submitting your work to an academic conference or you’re an experienced center director helping new consultants with their proposal submissions, crafting a strong proposal can feel daunting. This section offers helpful tips for writing proposals. 

1. Address the conference theme. The theme is there for a reason: articulate how your work fits into the theme.

2. Demonstrate knowledge of the literature in the field. Summarize or paraphrase source material to show how your work fits into the larger field.

3. Make a contribution. Academic pieces, whether conference presentations or  peer-reviewed articles, must address the question, “So what?” Think about why your work matters and why others at our conference would want to hear about it. Are there practical takeaways? Are you suggesting a change to a long-held tradition or belief? Are you adding to a body of work that will help other centers or staff in some way?

4. Engage the audience. No one wants to sit for an hour listening to people drone or read from papers. Articulate what will make your presentation engaging. Will you interact with the audience? Ask the audience to participate? Have handouts? Build a Google Doc? Stage a flash mob? Engaging the audience doesn’t necessarily mean doing the most innovative thing we’ve ever seen, but it does mean thinking critically about who your audience is and what modes of communication are best to express your research and takeaways.

5. Follow instructions. Be aware of what the proposal submission form asks for and adhere to those expectations.

Questions to Consider as You Write

• What goals do you have for those who attend your session?

• What will you do in your proposed session?

• How do these actions help you achieve your stated learning goals?

• How does your presentation contribute to writing center work? 

• How does your proposal engage the idea of community in writing centers?

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