Quick Tips for Proposal Writers

The following tips address some of the more common and critical elements of proposal writing. However, this is not a comprehensive guide on proposal writing and does not replace broader texts and training courses that cover the complete set of principles for compliant and compelling proposal writing. The following tips would not necessarily take precedence over an organization’s recognized industry-standard style guide (such as the Chicago Manual of Style) and any internal style guides that may exist within that organization.

Quick Writing Tips:

·       Use the serial comma.

·       Insert only one space after each sentence.

·       Use only approved terms when referring to the organization, its subcontractors, and the JV partnerships it may have.

·       Provide acronym terms upon first use, and use the appropriate capitalization.

·       Be careful when using shall and will.

·       Do not use informal, overly formal, or pretentious words or phrases.

·       Use the active voice.

·       Use the proper verb tense when describing activity.

·       Use parallel structures in lists.

·       Get to the point as quickly as possible.

·       Claim but explain.

·       Write from general to specific.

·       Technical explanations do not need to sound technical.

·       Avoid long, complex sentences.  

Use the Serial Comma. Also known as the Oxford comma, the serial comma is the last comma in a series of items within a sentence. Not using it can sometimes introduce an alternate meaning.

Example that Uses the Serial Comma: Our company develops cloud networks, maintains application systems, and manages change.

Example that Omits the Serial Comma and Alters the Meaning of the Text: For this contract, our company partnered with two SBA-certified 8(a) small businesses, CACI and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Insert Only One Space After Each Sentence. Ensure that your sentences have only one space after the punctuation mark. Do not insert two spaces.

The Reason: Two spaces were used at the end of a sentence during the age of typewriters to visually emphasize the end of a sentence. Modern computers produce fonts that have variable spacing, which makes the need for two spaces obsolete.

Use Approved Terms When Referring to Your Company, Subcontractors, and JV Partnerships. Company ABC, Team Company ABC, our team, our partners, and the specific names of people, departments, and associated companies are often good terms when your company (Company ABC) is the prime contractor. The proper term should be used when referring to Company ABC’s JV partnership (for example, Company XYZ). Particular personal pronouns such as he, she, we, and they are good to use but should only be used when referring to a specific person or specific group of people and if it is absolutely clear to whom you are referring. Do not use the personal pronouns I and you.

Provide Acronym Terms Upon First Use, and Use the Appropriate Capitalization. When first using an acronym, pair the acronym with its full term. Remember that just because an acronym uses capital letters does not mean that its associated term is capitalized.

Example: We provide change management (CM) to our customers.

Be Careful When Using Shall and Will. Do not use the words shall or will if it will introduce a legally binding obligation to provide a service or product to the government customer that is not required. If you ever have a question about the legal impact of particular language in your company’s proposal, always consult your company’s government contract and legal experts.

Do Not Use Informal, Overly Formal, or Pretentious Words or Phrases. Text should not sound like a conversation—do not use slang. Text should also not sound overly formal or pretentious either and should not include meaningless technical jargon.

Example of Informal Language: Company ABC is awesome at change management.

Example of Overly Formal Language: The methodology by which Company ABC practices change management is indicative of the foremost thought leaders in information technology theory.

Example of Pretentious Language: Company ABC takes change management to the bleeding edge. 

Use the Active Voice. Use the active voice, especially when it is important to have succinct sentences that emphasize who is performing the activity. Only use the passive voice when the activity being performed or the recipient of the activity is more important than who is performing it. The passive voice can also be used sparingly when it is necessary to break up the monotonous rhythmic structure of sentences within a paragraph.

Example of Active Voice: Company ABC will perform change management for the government customer.

Example of Passive Voice: Customers will benefit from the change management provided by Company ABC.

Use the Proper Verb Tense When Describing Activity. Use the future tense when describing what you will do for the government customer. Use the present tense when describing what you are currently doing for a government customer. Use the past tense when describing what you have done for a government customer.

Example of Future Tense: Company ABC will manage the DOD cloud migration for this upcoming PoP using the following key personnel…

Example of Present Tense: Company ABC is currently managing the DOD cloud migration, which includes…

Example of Past Tense: Company ABC’s cloud migration past performance includes…

Use Parallel Structures in Lists. Ensure that lists within sentences or in a bulleted or numerical format have the same sentence structure.

Example of Parallel Structure: Company ABC has a history and an expertise in cloud migration, cybersecurity, and website transition.

Example of No Parallel Structure: Company ABC has a history and an expertise in cloud migration, integrates cybersecurity, and website transition capabilities.

Get to the Point as Quickly as Possible. Provide as much information as is needed to inform and persuade—no more, no less. Superfluous text will clutter the document, may confuse or bore the evaluator, and may contribute to losing the solicitation. Some context is good. Too much context is bad.

Claim but Explain. When developing proposal content, it is good to make general claims about your company’s capabilities and how they might satisfy the required work in an RFP, but also briefly explain how your company might satisfy the required work. General claims with no specifics often sound empty. Specifics often include the details of a technical solution, examples of current and past performance, and proof points such as deliverable metrics.

Example: Company ABC is a leading Government contractor in maintaining network availability. Between 2018 and 2021 during the contract’s period of performance (PoP), our team provided consistent network availability with a 99.9% uptime. We met all of the Government’s stated service level agreements (SLAs) for network performance.

Write from General to Specific. Because of limited page counts, text is often cut down in a proposal. Make that process easier by constructing sections and paragraphs with general, critical information first and then with specific, non-critical information second. While specific information is often essential in the proposal persuasion, sometimes that information has to be cut. 

Technical Explanations Do Not Need to Sound Technical. Good proposal writing does not need to sound unnecessarily technical—quite the opposite. Because proposal subject matter is often already very technical, it will just make the text harder to read if it is written in an unnecessarily technical style. But don't write in a conversational style either. There is a middle ground of writing style—it's called Plain Language. Write plainly and simply. Avoid the unnecessary inclusion of obscure technical references. Avoid using too many technical terms, and avoid empty jargon, which is designed to impress but can sound like it's being used to cover up a lack of actual capability.

Avoid the Winding Road of Long, Complex Sentences. The longer or more complex a sentence is, the more chance that the evaluator will get bored or even lost, so try to keep sentences short and simple, but don't make them too short or too simple either because even if the long sentence is grammatically correct, the evaluator is going to feel exhausted after reading the sentence or might have to re-read the sentence because they are confused, which will harm the effort to communicate to the client and win the proposal.

See what I mean?

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