Writing the Business Report and Proposal
Your boss has asked you to write a major report for a project you’ve been working on for months. You are comfortable with the project and its associated business matters, but the thought of having to write this report terrifies you. Or perhaps you’ve started your own business and you’ve pitched a major account! The account rep likes what she sees, but asks you to prepare a formal proposal to bid on the business. Where do you begin?
You begin right here! In this course on report and proposal writing, you will learn every aspect including the different types of reports and proposals, how to analyze the audience and purpose, the steps in the writing process, different ways to present information, and the components of reports and proposals. You will conclude the course by preparing a report or proposal of your own for a given scenario.
In addition, the course is set up so that if you want to cover just one or the other, reports or proposals, we can easily do just that at a price differential of 25 % less the list price.
Course Type:
Private Mentoring
Objective:
When you have completed this course, you will be able to:
- Perform an audience and purpose analysis
- Use effective methods of presenting information
- Prepare a professional report or proposal
Learner Prerequisites
A good, working knowledge of Microsoft Word
Course Outline
Module 1: Introduction and Overview
- Introduction to the course
- Types of reports
- Types of proposals
Module 2: Audience and Purpose Analysis
- Audience Analysis worksheet
- Audience Analysis: Report
- Audience Analysis: Proposal
- Purpose Analysis: Report
- Purpose Analysis: Proposal
Module 3: Steps to Writing Reports and Proposals
- Gathering Information
- Outline
- Writing
- Documenting Information
- Editing
- Proofreading
- Review Cycles
Module 4: Usability Concerns
- Clear purpose and goal
- Information is sufficient and accurate
- Good use of visuals
- Clear and concise writing
- Active vs. passive voice
- Use of clear headings
- Clear understanding of audience (proposal)
- Has clear focus on benefits (proposal)
- Contains honest and supportable information
Module 5: The Nitty Gritty
-
Guidelines for effective report and proposal writing
- Style and tone
- Structure
- Editing exercise
Module 6: Ways to Present Information
- Anecdotes
- Illustrations and examples
- Facts and statistics
- Definitions
- Divide and classify
- Compare and contrast
Module 7: Components of the Report
- Section I: Introduction
- Section II: Data and Facts
- Section III: Conclusion
Module 8: Components of the Proposal
- Section I: Introduction
- Section II: Body
- Section III: Conclusion
Module 9: Final Scenario
- Report scenario
- Proposal scenario