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Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s Handbook
Section NineReports,
Proposals, and References
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.2
This section provides The fundamentals of writing and formatting informative documents written for a specific purpose and designated audience.
Styles for documenting print and electronic sources used in the course of developing business communications.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.3
Objectives
Develop long documents that present information in a style and format that enable the reader to digest the information and extract the essentials quickly and efficiently.
Document sources used in the course of developing a report or other long document.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.4
Business reports
Cover one topic and are written for various purposes: To present findings and data from study
To summarize activities To analyze/discuss a specific issue or problem
To offer recommendations or solutions
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.5
Reports usually include
Cover Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Body Conclusion References
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.6
Reports might also include
Title Page Acknowledgments Foreword or Preface List of Figures List of Tables Appendix Glossary
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.7
Cover/title page
Title of the report Name/title of author(s) Name/title of person/group/organization for whom the report was prepared
Date the report is distributed Company logo, if desired
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.8
Transmittal document (optional) Brief description giving the title and purpose
A brief statement as to why the report is being sent (if applicable)
What action, if any, is expected of the recipient
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.9
Table of contents
Format for Readability Front matter Main headings of body text Subheadings, if appropriate Back matter
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.10
Foreword or Preface A preface is written by the author of a report.
A foreword is written by someone other than the author.
A report might include one or both or neither.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.11
List of Tables/Figures Include if the report has a large number of figures and/or tables.
Place in the front matter.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.12
Acknowledgments A brief statement of appreciation listing people/groups who contributed to and/or assisted with the report
May be written in paragraph form or in list format
May be a separate section or placed at the end of the preface or introduction
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.13
Executive Summary A brief but thorough synopsis of the cof a report.
Provides an overview of major points and conclusions/recommendations.
Is essential in a long report.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.14
Introduction A brief discussion of the report contents.
Writer uses it set the stage for the reader’s interpretation and response to the information.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.15
Introduction may include Overview of the report’s main focus Summary of the scope of information covered
Background/context of the information Methods used for gathering the information
Explanation of how the information is presented
Highlights of key findings or conclusions
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.16
Body—main content of the report Logical order; clear and comprehensive coverage
Broken into topics and subtopics Structured with clear, consistently worded and styled headings
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.17
Recommendations/solutions May be
A list of possible actions to solve a problem
Suggestions for organizational changes A plan for implementation of an idea.
The need to include recommendations depends on the purpose of the
report.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.18
Conclusion Lists or summarizes the writer’s interpretation of the contents.
Is a standard element that needs to be included in most any report.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.19
Recommendations and Conclusion May be placed at the end of major sections
May be placed only at the end of the report
All reports should have a conclusion at the end.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.20
Document sources/avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of another’s intellectual property as your own.
When you paraphrase, summarize, or quote from sources documentation is necessary – for published and unpublished sources in print or electronic format.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.21
Typical business reports use
Footnotes indicated with a superscript number (or asterisk) at the point of reference in the text Source documented at the bottom of the page
Bibliography (reference list) – an alphabetic listing of sources, always placed at the end of a document.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.22
Parts of a source citation Name of author(s) or editor(s) Title/name of publication Publisher and location Date of publication Page reference (if applicable) Volume number (if applicable) Web site URL (if applicable)
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.23
A typical book source citation
Blumenthal, Karen, Grande Expectations: A Year in the Life of Starbucks’ Stock, Crown, New York, 2008.
Author’s name
Title
PublisherLocation of publisher Date of
publication
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.24
Proposal A document written to make a request, for example, funding a project, purchasing a service, or approving a reorganization of staff.
Its essential purpose is to persuade.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.25
Types of proposals Internal/external Solicited/unsolicited Based on RFP (Request for Proposal)
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.26
Opening of a proposal Tells the reader the who, what, where, and why of
Needs to capture the readers attention
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.27
Methods for the opening An anecdote: a (brief) story/example that elicits an emotional reaction
A historical perspective: explanation of what has led up to the need
Statistics: studies and facts that dramatize the situation
A description of the current situation: what is creating the need
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.28
Project description A detailed discussion of the product, service, or project
Tells the reader what you are going to do and how you are going to do it
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.29
Description might include Facts and figures: data that supports the rationale for the proposed
Research: verification of the need for your project (formal studies, data, expert opinion)
Methods: details of how you will proceed to reassure the reader that you can do what you are proposing
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.30
Budget/Financial Impact Charts and graphs: showing proposed income and/or costs and allocation
Milestones and time lines: stages of development tied to funding
Staffing requirements: persons and/or position descriptions
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.31
Conclusion A brief summary of the “why” of the proposal.
Can include a sales pitch focusing on the proposers qualifications and unique ability to provide the service or product being proposed.
Pearson Business Reference and Writer’s HandbookMoore, Seraydarian, and Fruehling
© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
Reserved.32
Developing long documents
The examples in this Section focus on business reports and proposals, but the standard parts are explained and shown so that you may adapt them to the needs of other long documents as well.