If this is the first time you’re submitting a proposal for a conference, you’re probably wondering what exactly is expected of you. As with any genre of writing, the most important thing about a conference proposal is having something you want to say. Ideally, the Call for Proposals (CFP) should prompt some thinking for you, and you should consider the theme: “The ART of it All.” Though it’s not necessary for every presentation to relate to the conference theme, that theme will be a coherent thread through the conference. (It’s a lot like writing an essay for class—read the prompt and see how you want to play off the language the professor has used.)
One of the most important things to consider when writing a conference proposal is what contribution you are making to writing center scholarship. You are joining a conversation, and your goal is to move that conversation forward. Your proposal should acknowledge that others have talked about the topic, and then indicate how your paper is contributing to our knowledge. (For example, if you are interested in free speech in the writing center, then you would probably want to know that Margaret Weaver has written on that topic: “Censoring What Tutors’ Clothing “Says”: First Amendment Rights/Writes Within Tutorial Space.” The Writing Center Journal, 24.2 (2004): 19-36.) You do NOT need to know everything that has been written about a topic, but there should be a foundation of others’ work for you to build on.
Good places to look for writing center scholarship are
As with most research, though, it can also be helpful to look beyond the directly relevant scholarship, in order to offer new perspectives. You may find that things you are reading in your courses outside the writing center resonate with what you’re seeing (and not seeing) in that space. Those moments of connection can be valuable places to start thinking—how can what you learned in an archeology course influenced your thinking about writing center work? (Or for this conference especially, what did you learn in your art courses?)
The proposal for the 2019 IWCA-NCPTW conference consists of four elements:
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A title for your presentation (make it catchy and informative—puns welcome)
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A description of session, which is a brief (300-500 words) summary of what your presentation, workshop, or panel will be about.
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An abstract, which is an even briefer (70-100 words) description intended for the conference program
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A rationale for the type of presentation you chose—for example, if you want to have the audience responding to an email session and talking with one another about their responses, a workshop would be a good idea. If you want mostly to talk to the audience, then a panel presentation is best.
Remember, you do not have to have completed your paper or presentation at this time. A proposal is a promise that you will complete the work by the time of the conference in October. At the same time, make sure the promise you make is something that you’ll be able to accomplish in that time-frame. And yes, it’s perfectly fine to recycle some of your proposal for the abstract; that’s expected. Just keep in mind that the abstract is less about demonstrating that you have a sense of the field and a plan for engaging it; it is more about attracting attendees to the conference and about boiling down the most essential elements of your proposal.
As with any application process, conference proposals involve relatively few words, but each of those words counts. We look forward to reading your proposals! Hope to see you in Columbus in October!