Answer to Question 1
Simple sentence: Contains one complete thought (an independent clause) with a subject and predicate verb.
Compound sentence: Contains two complete but related thoughts. May be joined by (a) a conjunction such as and, but, or or; (b) a semicolon; or (c) a conjunctive adverb such as however, consequently, and therefore.
Complex sentence: Contains an independent clause (a complete thought) and a dependent clause (a thought that cannot stand by itself). Dependent clauses are often introduced by words such as although, since, because, when, and if. When dependent clauses precede independent clauses, they always are followed by a comma.
Compound-complex sentence: Contains at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.
Answer to Question 2
Proposals may be solicited or unsolicited. Solicited proposals are invited and initiated when a potential customer or client submits exact specifications or needs in a bid request or a request for proposal, commonly referred to as an RFP. Governmental agencies such as the Department of Education solicit proposals and place orders and contracts based on the most desirable proposal. The bid request or RFP describes a problem to be solved and invites respondents to describe their proposed solutions.
An unsolicited proposal is prepared by an individual or firm who sees a problem to be solved and submits a solution. For example, a business consultant is a regular customer of a family-owned retail store. On numerous occasions she has attempted to purchase an item that was out of stock. Recognizing that stock shortages decrease sales and profits, she prepares a proposal to assist the business in designing a computerized perpetual inventory with an automatic reordering system.
For the business to accept the proposal, the consultant must convince the business that the resulting increase in sales and profits will more than offset the cost of the computer system and the consulting fee.