The Concept Paper
• The concept paper defines an idea or a concept
and explains its essence in order to clarify the
“whatness” of that idea or concept. It answers
the questions: What is it and what about it
(Dadufalza 1996:183). A concept paper starts
with a definition, either formal or informal, of
the term or the concept and proceeds with an
expanded definition and an analytic description
of the aspects of the concept.
• Another purpose of the concept is to
stipulate the meaning of a term by
limiting, extending or redirecting the
reference or sense in which the term is
commonly understood or to use in a
special way a term borrowed from
another field in which it is made to apply
(Dadufalza 1996:183).
• A concept paper can be subjective because the
writer can choose what areas to emphasize,
what explanations and analyses to include and
exclude and what complex ideas have to be
simplified but the writer still has to make sure
the concepts are clarified and explained in
such a way that the readers can understand and
make sense of the connections.
Parts of a Concept Paper
• Name or title of the concept- give your concept
a catchy or interesting name.
• Introduction- introduce the concept briefly. Tell
the reader what the project is all about.
• Statement of the purpose- why you are writing
the concept
• Objectives- In bulleted or numbered statements
Parts of a Concept Paper
• Stakeholders/ Beneficiaries- List who will be
involved in the whole process and who will
benefit later on
• Short Description- can be written in several
paragraphs, but try to limit in 3-5 paragraphs.
• Methodology- What process are you going to
follow to carry out your concept into reality.
Parts of a Concept Paper
• Timetable- you can create an illustration, a graph
or table that will show the dates or time that you
expect a certain task to be done.
• Conclusion- emphasize the purpose and the
importance of your big idea in the paper.
Concept Paper
2 techniques of defining
• Genus- defining a term by giving the class where the
word/term belongs
Ex: Definition= A mode of paragraph development
• Differentia- the characteristics that distinguish the
terms from other terms.
• Ex: Definition= that answers to questions; what is it,
what does it mean or what’s its special features
Kinds of Definition