Proposal – examples & model answers | C1 Advanced (CAE)
A proposal is written for a group of contemporaries like club members or colleagues. Candidates will be expected to make suggestions backed by facts to persuade their readers.
Proposals are often structured in a similar way to reports and should be clearly organised under headings. The main difference between a report and a proposal is that in the latter we have to give recommendations on improving the situation.
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CAE Proposal Example: Modernisation
Topic
There are plans to demolish an old and unused building in the town where you are a student. You feel that the building should be saved. You decide to write a proposal for the town council explaining why you think the building should be preserved, suggesting what could be done to modernise it and saying how the building could benefit the local people.
Write your proposal.
Answer:
Introduction
I come through this letter to make an appeal for the not destruction of the Municipal Library’s building.
Historical Interests
One of the reasons why the building should be preserved is because of its touching past. It was built with only imported material of best quality, and it was the second library in the country. It was also, for more than a hundred years, the biggest and more luxuous public building in the whole country. For its characteristic seventeenth century building and for its importance in the past, it is still studied and visited by historians.
Benefits for Community
The building is located right in the middle of the town, so it is accessible for the entire population, and it is also the biggest building in town, and it can surely support more books than any other building. By destructing the building it would with absolutly no doubt be a huge loss of books and culture.
Improvements
There is no point arguing that the building is quite old-fashioned and could use some improvements. It could really use some painting and repairing on the wall and floor, however, the best would be making some technological improvements, such as elevatiors, computers and an electronic “finding books” system.
Conclusion
To sum up, there are plenty of reasons why the library should be preserved, it benefits the people, the history and the culture, and I would be pleased if you took my letter in consideration.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | All content is relevant and the target reader is fully informed. The candidate addresses and develops each of the points from the input in an appropriate way. The suggestions to modernise it include technological improvements and re-decorating. The target reader would be able to consider the information put forward and make a decision. |
| Communicative Achievement | 2 | Although the text mentions a letter, the conventions of a proposal are evident and language of suggestion and persuasion is used. The focus of this proposal tends to be on the past rather than on the future. There should be more emphasis on how this building could make a huge difference to the town and the community if it were preserved and modernised. The register and tone are appropriate and the use of headings is suitable in this context. The target reader’s attention is held and straightforward ideas are communicated. |
| Organisation | 3 | The text is well organised and coherent. There is good use of sub-headings and each section is focused on a separate aspect of the question. Within the paragraphs, there is a variety of cohesive devices and more complex organisational patterns are used for emphasising important points to generally good effect. |
| Language | 2 | There is a range of vocabulary used appropriately. Some less common lexis is attempted but is not always successful. There is a range of simple and complex grammatical forms used with control. There are also some errors but these do not impede communication. |
CAE Proposal Example: Support for students
Topic
Your college currently doesn’t provide enough support for students planning to spend time studying in another country. You see this notice in the library.
The college is planning to introduce a special course for students planning to spend time studying in another country. The college principal invites students to send a proposal outlining any problems students may face when studying abroad and suggesting ways in which the course could address these problems. A decision can then be made about what to include on the course.
Write your proposal.
Answer:
Introduction
This proposal is intended to outline common issues students have when studying abroad, and suggest ways that a course could help them to deal with these. The final section makes recommendations about what should be included in the course courriculum.
Problems when studying abroad
Interviews were conducted with 2o students who have recently completed the student exchange programme. The majority of students were of the opinion that overcoming the language barrier in their new country was the biggest challenge and nearly half also said that they experienced culture shock. Other problems cited included unrealistic expectations, loneliness and pacing the wrong things / particularly being unprepared for a different climate.
Ways a course could address these
A course could prepare students for culture shock by raising awareness of the phenomenon and describing cultural differences that students may encounter in their host country. To aid participants with language, course could include some useful phrases for the first days after arrival, in addition to some resources for language learning. The course could also include a discussion about combating isolation and adjusting expectations.
Recommendations
I would like to make the following recommendations:
- Invite students who have previously studied abroad to share aspects of the culture they found surprising and give advice on what to take.
- Provide a list of useful phrases, together with suggestions of useful resources for language learning such as websites, blogs or e-books.
- Facilitate a discussion about engaging with people to avoid loneliness and isolation.
If these recommendations are implemented, young people are bound to feel more prepared for their experience.
CAE Proposal Example: Careers Service
Topic
The city council that you work for has received funding to start a new careers service for young people. Read the notes below and write a proposal giving your suggestions as to what the service could offer and how it could be run.
Notes
- opening hours: 11.30am to 8.00pm or even later when students can visit the office
- provide information on higher education and part-time I temporary work opportunities
- maintain a job notice board that companies can advertise on
Write your proposal.
Answer:
Dear Jackie Sandown,
We have received funding to set up a new careers service. My proposal is as to what the service could offer and how it could be run. The opening hour should be lunchtime and till 8 pm because this is when the students are free to visit the new office.
It should provide for the students many higher education information and also part-time and temporary work opportunities. These are all very good opportunities for students and they will be very interested in the information. It will also be very good for them to see seminars and talks about people in different careers. They will learn about the different careers and have an interesting time learning about that. In addition, it would be advantageous for us to make job notice boards that companies can be used to advertise on about the jobs they want someone to do. Student can come and read this and be helped to find a good job while the companies are helped because they find the students.
In conclusion, I think you will have a very nice careers service. The students will be helped so much by this service and they will appreciate it so much. You should follow my proposal and everyone will be very glad.I hope to hear from you very soon.
Sincerely
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 2 | All points are addressed, but there is little expansion. There is considerable borrowing from the prompt. The target reader would be informed, however, there would be a rather negative effect |
| Communicative Achievement | 2 | Too informal; requires formal register: ‘ You should follow my proposal and everyone will be very glad. |
| Organisation | 3 | Some cohesive devices used, but the first paragraph is too long and it contains different ideas. Letter form is not correct for a proposal. |
| Language | 2 | Some cohesive devices used, but the first paragraph is too long and it contains different ideas. Letter form is not correct for a proposal. |