University of Foreign Languages and
International Studies DIVISION OF
ENGLISH FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES Chapter 10:
Student’s name: Luong Thanh Thao Proposals and
Formal Reports
Date of birth: 10-08-2000
Fill the gap with a suitable word or phrase. Use textbook as a reference.
Outcome 1: Understanding Business Proposals
Proposals may be informal or formal; they differ primarily in length and format.
⮚ Informal proposals may contain an introduction, background information, the
proposal, staffing requirements, a budget, and an authorization request.
▪ To make your introduction more persuasive, you need to provide a (1)
“hook” to capture the reader’s interest.
▪ The background section identifies the problem and discusses the (2)
goals/purposes of the project.
▪ In the proposal section itself, you should discuss your (3) plan for solving
the problem.
▪ The (4) staffing section is a good place to endorse and promote your staff by
describing the credentials and expertise of the project leaders.
▪ A central item in most proposals is the budget, a list of (5) budget. Because
a proposal is a legal contract, the budget must be carefully researched.
▪ Informal proposals often close with a request for (6)
approval/authorization. In addition, the closing should remind the reader of
key benefits and motivate action.
⮚ Formal proposals differ from informal proposals not in style but in tone,
structure, format, and length.
▪ Formal proposals respond to big projects and may range from 5 to 200 or
more pages.
▪ Formal proposals include all the (7) basic parts of informal proposals but
may contain some or all of the following additional parts:
1) copy of the RFP,
2) letter or memo of transmittal,
3) (8) abstract and/or executive summary,
4) title page,
5) table of contents,
6) list of figures,
7) (9) appendix.
▪ In addition, the tone used in formal proposals is often more formal than
the tone used in informal proposals.
Outcome 2: Preparing to Write Formal Reports
1. Researching Secondary Data
Data fall into two broad categories, primary and secondary. (10) Primary data result
from firsthand experience and observation. (11) Secondary data come from reading
what others have experienced and observed.
⮚ Most secondary material is available either in print or (12)
electronically:
▪ Print Resources: Books, Periodicals (Magazines, pamphlets,
and journals), Bibliographic indexes such as Reader’s Guide
▪ Electronic Databases: Collections of magazines, newspaper, journal
articles, the Web, Blogs, Wikis, and Social Networks
⮚ To give a complete picture for a report, you will probably need to generate
primary data through:
▪ surveys,
▪ (13) interviews,
▪ observation,
▪ or experimentation.
2. Documenting Data
⮚ Whether you collect data from primary or secondary sources, the data must be
documented; that is, you must indicate where the data (14) originated.
⮚ Report writers document their sources to strengthen an argument, protect
themselves from charges of (15) plagiarism, and help readers locate data.
⮚ To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use the following:
▪ Another person’s ideas, opinions, examples, or theory
▪ Any facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings that aren’t (16) common
knowledge
▪ Quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words
▪ Paraphrases of another person’s spoken or written words
⮚ You can direct readers to your sources with parenthetical notes inserted into the
text and with bibliographies or works-cited lists. The most common (17)
citation formats are those presented by the Modern Language Association
(MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA)
3. Organizing and Outlining Data
⮚ As you begin the process of organization, ask yourself two important
questions:
(a) Where should I place the (18) conclusions? And
(b) How should I organize the findings?
⮚ In the (19) direct strategy, conclusions and recommendations come first; in
the (20) indirect strategy, they are last.
⮚ Three principal organizational patterns: chronological, geographical, and
topical
▪ (21) Chronological order: Arrange information in a time sequence to
show
history or development of topic. Useful in showing time relationships, such
as five-year profit figures or a series or events leading to a problem.
▪ (22) Geographical or spatial arrangement: Organize information by
regions or areas. Appropriate for topics that are easily divided into
locations,
such as East Coast and West Coast, etc.
▪ (23) Topical or functional arrangement: Works well for topics with
established categories, such as a report about categories of company
expenses.
4. Illustrating Data
⮚ If your report contains complex data and numbers, you may want to consider
using (24) graphics (such as tables and charts) to clarify data, create visual
interest, and make numerical data meaningful.
⮚ By (25) simplifying complex ideas and (26) emphasizing key data, well-
constructed graphics make key information more understandable and easier to
remember.
▪ A table presents quantitative or verbal information in systematic columns
and rows; it can clarify large quantities of data in small spaces. The
disadvantage is that tables don’t readily display (27) trends.
▪ (28) Bar charts enable you to make emphatic visual comparisons by
using horizontal or vertical bars of varying lengths. They can be used to
compare related items, illustrate changes in data over time, and understand
how parts relate to a whole.
▪ (29) Line charts illustrate trends and changes in data over time.
▪ Pie, or circle, charts enable readers to see a whole and the (30) proportion
of
its components, or wedges. Although less flexible than bar or line charts, pie
charts are useful in showing percentages.
▪ (31) Flowcharts use standard symbols to illustrate a process or
procedure.
▪ Organization charts provide such information as who reports to whom,
these charts may illustrate a company’s (32) structure, for example, by
function, customer, or product.
▪ Photograph, Map, Illustration: To achieve authenticity, to spotlight a
location, or to show an item in use.
Outcome 3: Presenting the Final report
Long reports are generally organized into three major divisions: (a) prefatory parts,
(b) body, and (c) supplementary parts.
1. Prefatory Parts (Preceding the Body of report) include:
▪ Title page
▪ Letter of authorization
▪ Letter of transmittal
▪ Table of contents
▪ Executive summary, abstract, synopsis, or epitome.
2. Body of report:
The body of a report includes an introduction; discussion of (33) findings;
and summary, conclusions, or recommendations.
3. Supplementary Parts of report:
▪ Works Cited, references, or Bibliography: Readers look in the bibliography
section to locate the sources of ideas mentioned in a report.
▪ Appendix: The appendix contains any supplementary or supporting
information needed to clarify the report.