51:085 / 51:178 Biomedical Engineering Senior Design
Project Proposal Guidelines

The purpose of the preliminary proposal is to convince the reader that this is an important project that should be undertaken and that your group can accomplish the project.   You can assume that the audience is a technical manager responsible for approving or rejecting your project proposal.  

Formatting:

• Cover page plus three to five pages of text, single-spaced, typed, 1 inch margins

• Cover page:

  • Title should be  "Project Proposal for <insert your project title here>".  Center it near the top of the page.

  • List of group members, arranged alphabetically by last name

  • Project advisor's name

  • Course number (51:085 or 51:178)

  • Date

• Use APA format for all references.

Content:

Please review the notes for the lecture Writing an Effective Proposal

Grading:

        Handed in on time: 10%
        Formatting: 10%
        Appropriate references to literature: 10%
        Executive summary: 10%
        Body: 60%

How to get an extra 5 points on your written assignment:     

The CTC can help critique a draft of your document.    If your group takes a draft of your document to the CTC and meets with a writing consultant, you will receive an extra 5 points on the written assignment.  To demonstrate that you have met with a writing consultant, please attach the CTC Contact Report to your proposal when you hand it in.  

Note that you must sign up for an appointment with the CTC writing consultant.  All group members are not required to be present for the meeting with the consultant, but try to find a time that most group members can fit the consult into their schedule.

To get credit for meeting with the CTC, you must have the appointment on or before Oct. 26.    This will allow adequate time for you to consider the CTC's suggestions before handing in your final proposal.

Hand-In:

Each group should submit one copy of their document by 5 PM on Oct. 29.  You can leave your document in the BME office.

Note:

Please share a copy of this document with your project mentor.    If you draft a copy early enough, the mentor might be able to provide valuable feedback.  I will ask the mentor for input when grading the report.