How To Write a Conference Proposal

Proposals will be Evaluated Based On

  • Clear purpose and objectives
  • Contributes to the field of academic advising
  • Timeliness of the subject matter
  • Presents a creative perspective
  • Engages a wide audience
  • Grounded in research and literature
  • Professionally written and concise
  • Encourages interaction from the audience

Submission of an Abstract and Proposal is Required

The abstract will appear in conference program, if accepted, and is meant to draw attendees to your session. Be sure to include the level of participation as well as your target audience. 

The proposal is a description of your session that reviewers use to evaluate your session. A proposal should be as thorough as possible to ensure the reviewers have enough information to accurately evaluate your proposed presentation. A proposal should include learning objectives, describe how objectives will be met, and cite relevant scholarship. Effective proposals provide a clear foundation for the reviewer to understand the content of the presentation being described. 

Do NOT include your name, names of co-presenters, and department or institution affiliation in the title, abstract, or proposal to ensure an impartial review.

Evaluation Criteria Used by Reviewers

Your proposal will be evaluated by members of the conference planning committee using the following criteria:

  1. Interest: Would there be a high level of interest in this session within and outside Penn State?
  2. Completeness: Is enough information included in the proposal to evaluate the session?
  3. Clarity: Are the abstract and purpose clearly articulated and free of grammatical and spelling errors?
  4. Application: Would these ideas be adaptable to other institutions?
  5. Relevance: Is this topic relevant to current advising issues?
  6. Creativity: Would this introduce new ideas, approaches, and concepts? 

Tips for Writing an Effective Proposal

Title

The title of your presentation is the first chance to attract the reviewer and conference attendees to your program. Titles should accurately describe the content of the presentation. Try to avoid long titles.

Abstract

The abstract is a brief description of your presentation that provides the reader with an accurate summary of what the presentation will cover. The abstract helps conference attendees choose between concurrent sessions. Well-written abstracts identify the purpose, objectives, and target audience of the session. Abstracts should be succinct. Be sure to define unfamiliar abbreviations and acronyms. Please adhere to the 135-word limit for abstracts. 

Tip: Sometimes it is easier to write the abstract after the proposal by pulling the important points from each part of the proposal into a concise summary.

Proposal

Reviewers rely on an in-depth, well-written proposal to understand the content and goals of the presentation. A complete proposal includes relevant background information, an overview of the presentation, and a description of the format. If the presentation is reporting on research, a description of methods, findings, and recommendations should be included. All proposals should include learning outcomes, methods of audience engagement, and the familiarity and background of the presenters with the subject matter of the presentation.

Proposals should include appropriate in-text citations and a reference section. The Penn State Conference on Academic Advising recommends following APA (American Psychological Association) style guide (https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide). 

Proposals should be thorough and clear, but concise. There is no recommended length for proposals. Proposals that are too short risk leaving out important information for the reviewer to evaluate. Proposals that are too long risk losing reviewer interest.

Proposals must be proofread before submitting. Grammatical and spelling errors can distract from the content of the presentation. A well-written proposal suggests the presentation will be carefully crafted and likely to be free of errors. 

Tip: Ask someone unfamiliar with your proposed session to read your proposal and summarize it to you. If they accurately summarize your proposal, that is a good sign that all relevant information is included. If they have questions, you may want to listen carefully to those questions to help identify missing information.

Keywords

Identification of Keywords can help conference attendees select conference sessions that best fit their interests and goals. Proposals are limited to no more than 3 keywords, so it’s best to select the keywords that best fit your presentation topic.

Additional Resources