Completing Formal Business Reports and Proposals Prentice Hall

Completing Formal Business Reports and Proposals © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 1

The Three-Step Process • Planning • Writing • Completing © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 2

Revising Reports and Proposals • Style and tone • Organization • Readability • Content © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 3

Producing Formal Reports and Proposals • Design elements – Margins – Justification – White space – Visual aids © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 4

Components of Formal Reports • Prefatory parts • Text of the report • Supplementary parts © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 5

Prefatory Parts • Letter of authorization • Synopsis or executive summary • Cover page • Table of contents • Letter of acceptance • Letter of transmittal • Title fly or title page • List of illustrations © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 6

Text of the Report • Opening • Body • Closing © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 7

Supplementary Parts • Appendixes • Bibliography • Index © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 8

Components of Formal Proposals • Cover • List of illustrations • Title fly • Title page • Request for Proposal • Table of contents • Executive summary • Letter of transmittal © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 9

Text of the Proposal • Opening • Body • Closing © Prentice Hall, 2005

Proofreading Reports and Proposals • Inconsistencies • Errors • Missing components © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 11

Getting Feedback • Positive response • Half-hearted praise • No action • Serious criticism © Prentice Hall, 2005 Excellence in Business Communication 12