UNIT 3: WRITING THE REACTION PAPER/ REVIEW/ CRITIQUE

LESSON 4: Presenting a Novel Concept or Project

LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Comprehend various kinds of concept papers.
2. Explain and clarify concepts in fields.
3. Present a novel concept or project they are interested with.
4. Identify situations in which a concept paper may be effectively used to
improved our society.
TIME ALLOTMENT: 2hrs
PREQUISITE CONCEPTS: none

LESSON PROPER:

REVIEW OF THE PAST LESSON:

In the past lesson. We had a short introduction about Concept paper.
We learned it’s used and importance in different upcoming projects. We
also learned about different ways on how to elucidate concepts and how
to use them in our writing.

DAY 1: 1 hr.

A. INTRODUCTION

For this week’s lesson, we are going to discuss about tips and ways on
how we can make a concept paper. We will also look for some situation
in our society where we can apply writing a concept paper to be of
help in our community. Have you ever thought of an idea that can solve
a problem? Have you ever tried imagining some projects for our community
that you think can help our society? This is now the time to share those thoughts
in mind. Let’s now start learning how to write a concept paper.

HERE ARE OUR GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR OUR LESSONS:

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING:

These are the questions we aim to answer and we
aim to recognize in this lesson:
1.. What background information should you know
in writing a concept paper?
2. What are the roles of concept papers in the
advancement of humanity and the society at large?
 Before the start of our discussion, let us first try to evaluate what we know about
concept paper making. Here’s our warm up activity.

WARM UP ACTIVITY: (Formative Assessment)

Let’s check what pre-knowledge you have
about writing a concept paper. Here is a short
test for you to answer. 

Please take note that your score in this quiz will not be
recorded, but rather, it will measure the current knowledge you
have for concept paper writing.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

Choose the right answer for the given questions. Write the letter of your choice on the
blenk before
the number.
______ 1. Which is the first thing to consider in writing a concept paper?
a. revising b. editing c. cost d. topic
______ 2. Which of the following is a primary source of data?
a.newspaper b. magazines c. interview d. internet
______ 3. What must be prepared before writing the concept paper?
a. data b. chart c. analysis d. outline
______ 4. Concept paper provides _____________ of the study/project.
a. overview b. questions c. aims d. workers
______ 5. Concept paper helps save time and effort between the writer and the
________________.
a. author b. agencies c. solicitor d. student
______ 6. Aside from providing overview of the project, concept paper also serves as its
___________.
a. outline b. summary c. foundation d. all of the above
______ 7. What is the maximum words to be used in writing a concept paper?
a. 200 b. 2000 c. 500 d.3000
______ 8. TRUE/FALSE
It is impossible to obtain informal feedback in preparing and presenting concept
paper of the project.
a. TRUE b. FALSE
______ 9. Heading, subheading, content and arrangement of a concept paper may vary
depending on the nature of the project.
a. TRUE b. FALSE
______ 10. Some concept paper is written with the intent of receiving funding.
a. TRUE b. FALSE

How was your answering of the questions? Was it easy for you to
answer the questions? How confident are you with your answers?
At this point, we will now proceed to the checking of your answers
by discussing the different concepts in concept paper writing. Along
our discussion, we will find the right answer to the questions
you’ve answered!
 B. INTERACTION

HOW TO WRITE A CONCEPT PAPER?

In cases when we want to present a proposition; simple ones, such as planning

to go out on a Saturday with friends, asking Mom and dad to treat you on a trip, to a
more serious one like how to make our “Kabarangays” be more obedient to rules, or
how to make Senior High School students follow a good study habits for online learning,
we need a simple plan on how we can present our ideas and suggestions for it. We have
to present a plan and the proposition. The same is true with writing a research or
making a project; we need to present a summary of what the research is about, why is
it important, and how it contributes to our society, especially with regards to a particular
industry. We have to write a concept paper.

For us to prepare ourselves in writing one, let’s review the characteristics of a concept
paper.

Characteristics of Concept Papers

1. Concept papers are summaries of projects or issues that reflect the interests,
experiences and expertise of the writer or organization.

2. Concept papers generally serve the purpose of providing in-depth discussion of a

topic that the writer has a strong position on. The terms "concept paper" and
"proposals" are often used interchangeably as they can be used for the same
function.

3. The concept paper may also be used as an instructional tool that may have developed
as a result of extensive research, committee input and/or as a result of the outcome of
a current project.

4. In addition to providing guidance for implementation of a program, a concept paper

could also discuss best practices, philosophies and other related issues that the writer
believes action should be taken on in the near future.

As you can see, some concept paper is written with the intent of receiving
funding, that grantors publish guidelines to instruct the writer(s) on how to write the
concept paper that they will consider funding. Despite the individual guidelines that may
be published, the format and many of the key elements are consistent between
organizations. It is suggested that writers develop standard templates of concept papers
that they can personalize and submit based on specific guidelines to eliminate the extra
time added to the process by completely starting a new concept paper from the
beginning each time.

For today’s homework, have an advance reading on the structures

of a concept paper and be ready for a graded recitation.

DAY 2: 1hr.
Here are the structures of Concept Paper base from its use:

Billanes (2019) explains that the heading, subheading, content and

arrangement of a concept paper may vary depending on the nature
of the project.
 Barrot and Sipacio (2016) presented two outlines of a concept paper based on
context.

A. CONCEPT PAPER FOR A PROJECT: Use this structure

when proposing tangible projects in your area of discipline.
1. Cover Page

- State the name of the proponents and their affiliations.

- State the addresses, contact numbers, and email
addresses of the proponents.
- State the head of the agency and his/her contact
information.
- State the date of submission.

2. Introduction

- State the information about the funding agency to show that you understand its mission.
- State the mission of the agency that the proponents represent and align it to the funding
agency’s mission. Also, state the year the proponent’s agency was established, its major
accomplishments, and other details that demonstrate its capability to undertake the
proposed project.
- Present and describe other partner agencies and why they are qualified as such.
- Provide reasons why the funding agency should support the project.

3. Rationale or background
- State the gap in knowledge to be addressed by the project.
- State the problems to be solved.
- State the project’s significance.

4. Project Description
- State the goals andobjectives of the project.
- Present the methodology (sometimes termed as Action Plan, Project Activities, or
Approach)
- Present the timeline expressed in months and year.
- State the benefits or anticipated outcomes.
- State how success of outcomes will be evaluated.

5. Project Needs and Cost

- Outline the main budget; include the item description and amount.
- Explain or justify how the budget will be used.
- List the personnel or equipment needed for the project.

B. CONCEPT PAPER FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH:

- Use this structure when you intend to present an

idea or concept for a research you want to work on.

1. Title Page
- State your research title.
- State your name and School.
 - State the date of submission.

2. Background of the study

- Provide the current state of the field you are researching on.
- State the gap in knowledge and problems to be addressed by the research. Provide
statistics and previous studies to prove your claims.
- State the reasons why you want to investigate on the chosen topic.
- State the theoretical and practical implications of your proposed research.

3. Preliminary Literature Review

- Provide a theoretical framework. The theoretical framework includes the theory that
will guide you in the conduct of your research.
- Provide related literature that supports your topic.
- Provide related studies that will help you in conducting the research or analyzing
and discussing the data.
- Provide a brief synthesis of the reviewed literature and studies.

4. Statement of the Problem/ Objectives

- State your general problem in one sentence.
- State your specific research questions or objectives.

5. Abridged Methodology
- Provide the context and participants of the study.
- Provide the instruments to be used.
- Provide the date collection procedure.
- Provide the data analysis scheme to be used.

6. Timeline
- Provide a timeline (e.g. Gantt Chart) set in months and year.

7. References
- Provide a list of all books, journals, and other resources cited in your paper.

Finally, remember that the concept paper is based on facts and your personal
opinions are not allowed. Ensure that your topic is researchable through any academic
means such as the use of libraries, interviews, internet, and the like. The research must
add value and be useful in the academic fraternity and not be casual. It must have a
question or questions that are very specific and answerable by carrying out the
research.

GUIDELINES IN WRITING A CONCEPT PAPER

In addition, here are the guidelines we have to follow to come

up with a well written concept paper given by Barrot and Sipacio
(2016).

1. Cost and methodology should be reasonable.

2. The budget, methodology, and timeline should be clearly aligned.
3. Use statistics and figures when discussing rationale for the project.
4. Use no more than five pages (single spaced) excluding the cover page. Do not
overwhelm the reader with details.
5. Never request funding for planning the proposal.
 6. Adjust your language to the intended readers. You may use technical terms if
readers are scholars and scientist. However, refrain from using jargon when
your target readers are lay persons.
7. Include the overview of the budget if it is required. If not, then skip the
budget section. In place of this, you may simply include the type of support
you may need such as personnel, travel and communication, and equipment.
8. Be sure that basic format details, such as page numbers, are incorporated.
9. Cite references.

C. INTEGRATION

Now that you already know some guidelines and concepts in writing a
concept paper. Let’s study the example below. Read the sample paper and
be ready to answer some questions about it for your assessment.

Sample Concept Paper

ABC PROJECT CONCEPT PAPER:

How to involve young parents in advocating for proposed school regulation

Background of this idea

ABC’s mission is to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. In the past few
years, we have been concerned about how to best advocate for young parents with children
who have disabilities—especially since a recently proposed school regulation will have a huge
impact on their lives. To sufficiently influence policy makers, these parents need to be
educated on the issues and involved in advocating for the new regulation. Their involvement
will give ABC’s advocacy work the necessary visible support of young families. However,
few young parents participate in ABC’s advocacy programs, preferring to join XYZ for their
relevant information and support groups or LMN for their help in addressing problems in the
school system. ABC recognizes that young parents have a limited amount of free time and
wants to make it easy for them to participate in its advocacy efforts. In addition, ABC needs to
be a good steward of its resources and not compete for clients with other organizations that are
providing excellent complementary services.

Purpose of the alliance

The purpose of this alliance is to
 Share information about the proposed school regulation
 Recruit young parents into the project
 Provide training to young parents so that they can assist in revising the proposed
school regulation
 Defray the costs of parent involvement in the project

Outcomes
An alliance of ABC, XYZ, and LMN (and perhaps other partners) will directly impact
people with disabilities and their families and make a difference in their lives for years to
come. The involvement of informed, concerned constituents will influence policy makers
and help to make needed revisions in the proposed school regulation.

The first steps

Before the end of the summer, we will need to
1. Assign a lead organization to manage the advocacy component
2. Recruit young parents of disabled children who are willing to advocate for revising
the proposed school regulation
3. Provide a comprehensive training program for the young parents so they
 ACTIVITY 1:

Briefly reread the sample concept paper and pay attention to its features
by answering the given questions.

1. What is the proposed project about?

2. What is the main objective of the paper.
3. What are the expected outcome for this project?
4. Who will benefit with this project? What benefit could they get?
5. In general, was the sample paper effective as a concept paper?
(State your reasons.)
6. If you are one of those people to give approval for that project, will you
approve it? Cite points from the text to support your answer.
7. How else can this concept paper be improved?

After answering the questions in your activity, share now your answer to a
partner. Discuss through chat, phone call, or video call about your
thoughts on our sample concept paper. Write a short summary about
your discussion.

POST ASSESSMENT:

For your post assessment, I want you now to look around you and think
of some issues you want to work on. Share now your ideas on how we can solve
specific issues or possible projects through a Concept Paper Plan.
Concept Paper Plan
 Brainstorm for a project that could address one problem in your school or
locality. Fill out the table to present your rough plan. This could be a possible
draft for a full blown concept paper.

PROJECT: __________________________________________________
Background of the Project (short paragraph of 5 – 10 sentences)
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Project Description:
a. Goals
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
b. Objectives
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Project Needs and Cost
a. Budget
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

b. Personnel
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
c. Equipment
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

LESSON CLOSURE:

Very good! You did a great job in sharing your thoughts on

possible projects and possible solutions to problems in our
society. I hope that you are able to appreciate the use of a
concept paper in situations around us.

HERE ARE OUR KEY POINTS FOR THIS WEEK’S LESSON

 We have learned that concept papers are summaries of projects or

issues that reflect the interests, experiences and expertise of the
writer or organization.
 Concept papers generally serve the purpose of providing in-depth
discussion of a topic that the writer has a strong position on.
 Heading, subheading, content and arrangement of a concept paper
may vary depending on the nature of the project
 There two outlines of a concept paper based on context and we have
to follow certain guidelines in writing our concept papr


REFERENCES:
Barrot, J. and Sipacio, PJ. (2016). English for Academic and Professional Purposes for
Senior High School. C and E Publishing Inc.
Billanes, L.A. (2019). English for Academic and Professional Purposes (First Edition).
Tech Factors Inc.

Flores, J., Payas, H., Chapap, K.,Diwan, D., Padilla, C.,(2019). English for Academic and
Professional Purposes. UB-SHS English Department

aub.edu.(n.d.).Writing a Concept Paper. Retrieved on July 8, 2020 from

https://www.aub.edu.lb/ogc/Documents/Writing_Concept_Paper.pdf