Characteristics of Exemplary Conference ProposalsThe following characteristics were compiled from proposal reviewers and session participants when asked:· What are the top five characteristics of an exemplary proposal?· What are significant shortcomings (errors of omissions/commission)of a poor proposal?· Do you have any suggestions for improving the quality of proposal submissions? üü Clarity and succinctness of writing üü Organization and completenessclear and concise explanation of topic, goals and format organized in content and planno jargon or “insider speak” purpose, format and content fit the session typeclarity of thought shown in the description time allotment is realistic based on the outlined planreadable author has followed the written instructionsclear proposal structure all required materials are includedconcisely stated objectives typed, clean copy, no errorsunderstandable content for someone not familiar with the work well-defined audience activitiesevidence of thought given to content and session plan title and abstract are relevant, original, intriguing and how the plan will accomplish the objectives title matches description and abstractcommunicates precisely what will be happen in the allotted timeunderlying concepts/theories are clearly statedwritten in the active voice üü Academic meritmethods match intended purpose of studyüü Timeliness and importance of the topic concept and conclusions are theoretically groundedtopic is relevant to current educational practices suggestions are offered for further study/activityinnovative, original and creative, fills a niche or is a hot topic study objective and plan are providedinteresting- fun to read; exciting new idea or approach summary of study is succinctappeals to both logical and creative sides of the brain strengths and weaknesses of study are includedtopic is “right” for the Generalists audience demonstrates knowledge of current literaturehas potential for contributing to literature and practice generalizable and portable (useful to others)if an older topic, authors should demonstrate awareness of previous work demonstrates authors having “wrestled” with topictopic is relevant to the conference theme data and results are well supportedShortcomings of Poor ProposalsL Absence of characteristics listed above L Inadequate supporting dataindications that data has been collected but not analyzed;L Weak knowledge base no preliminary results are necessaryunacknowledged methodological problemsevidence that the author is not current on important issues L No plan to engage audience (for most session types)lack of familiarity with previous writings on the topicno literature citations; unoriginal work L Presentation seems too long/ too short for session typelack of or a weak theoretical baselimited generalizability - too limited to one school/program L Lack of clarity/ thoroughnessincoherent, incomplete sentences; run-on sentencesL Failure to follow directions for proposal submission verbositytoo few detailsL Evidence of hasty preparation rambling writing style, lack of direction or focusTypographical and/or grammatical errors (no proofreading) unrelated, disconnected narrative unrelated to studySuggestions for Improving the Quality of Future Submissionsn tighten requirements for acceptance to counteract the perception that it’s “easy” to get a proposal to the Generalists acceptedn provide advance notice during the conference about next year’s proposal deadlinesn schedule a “brainstorming” session for those who only see each other once a year to work up an idea for the next conferencen include an ideal proposal with the Call for Proposals; include annotations to point out most effective aspectsn include handout, “Characteristics of Exemplary Proposals” with the Call for Proposalsn consider having only 2 types of session categories: descriptive and workshop; define each clearly in the instructionsn revise the “proposal review form”Proposal Writing: Getting StartedChallenges StrategiesKnowing about and choosing a presentation formatFinding the time and place to do itWhy am I doing this?What have I done that would be interesting and would contributeto medical education and/or to the work of other Generalists?Doing a literature search and finding time to review sourcesNeed for perfectionKnowing what to include and what to excludeDictate initial ideas - in the car, on an airplane with no distractions etc. Think about content and session outline before writing it downGet a first rough draft on paper, then plan time to polish it laterInvolve a colleague in brainstorming and/or writing the proposalAssign tasks to collaborators- agree on deadlinesIf you were the reviewer of your proposal: - Is the topic interesting? - Would you want to go to this session? - Is there enough time to cover the proposed material? - Did you complete all sections on the submission forms? - Can you imagine how the session will flow? - What other questions would you have as the reviewer? - Does the proposal/topic have a theoretical base?Let go - deal and understand the drive for perfectionismYou may not need to cover all aspects of the topic.Narrow the topic if necessary. Could it be divided into two ormore
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