Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Mar 2024

<i>Topoi</i>of Nonprofit Proposal Writing

Emily Barrow DeJeu

Abstract

Studies of the grant proposal tend to conflate academic research grant proposals with other kinds of nonprofit grant proposal genres, even though research and nonprofit grant proposals have different audiences and goals. To address this gap, this study draws on the Aristotelian concept of topoi (or typical arguments) and uses corpus analysis, interview, and coding methods to answer the question, what topoi distinguish the academic research and nonprofit grant proposal genres? Findings suggest key differences in the topoi that research and nonprofit proposals use to advocate for problems and outcomes, set goals, and establish credibility.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2024-03-01
DOI
10.1177/23294906231182616
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Topics
quantitative research

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. DeJeu (2024)
    A Rhetorical Approach for Reimagining Business Writing Instruction in the AI Age
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  2. McDowell et al. (2024)
    The Importance of Topoi in the Business and Professional Communication Classroom
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

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