Chapter 23 & 24

(Chapter 23- Proposals)

Proposals vs. Reports

Proposals use persuasion more heavily than reports.  Reports can come before proposals to give a heads up at the facts so that when the proposal is given, it can sell the idea.

Proposal Audiences

The audience will have to read the proposal and then decide if the idea is worthwhile, or whether the product is useful.  The audience will have these questions-

• What exactly is the problem or need, and why is this such a big deal?
• Why should we spend time, money, and effort on this?
• What exactly is your plan, and how do we know it is feasible?
• Why should we accept the items that seem wrong or costly about your plan?
• What action are we supposed to take?

To deliver a good proposal you should be able to connect with your audience by spelling out the problem clearly and convincingly.  Tell the benefits of solving the problem.  Be realistic and cost effective.  Address anticipated objections and induce your audience to act.

Proposal Types

Elements of a Persuasive Proposal

• Forecasting Title: should tell the purpose and content
• Clear understanding of the audience's needs: know what the plan will do for them
• A clear focus on benefits: what the audience will gain
• Honest and supportable claims: solid ethical and legal foundation
• Appropriate detail: provide adequate detail but not excessive
• Readability: straightforward, easy to follow, easy to understand
• Convincing language: want to move people to action
• Visuals: emphasize key points
• Accessible page design: need to read quickly
• Supplements tailored for a diverse audience: need to give every member of the audience what they need
• Proper citation of sources and contributors: give credit where credit is due

Chapter 24- Formal Analytical Reports

-Leads to recommendations and replaces the memo when the topic is a lengthy discussion.

Synopsis:
Formal Analytical Reports are a replacement for the traditional memo when it is necessary to elaborate at greater lengths for the purpose of making recommendations. When your audience is done reading your report, they should know which direction to proceed based on your research and findings.



Purpose of Analysis:
Problems and issues come up in the workplace. Through analysis we can determine the best solution to these issues.

The basis procedure for analyzing a process, product, or objective is the same.

1. Asking the right questions
2. Searching the best sources
3. Evaluating and interpreting your findings
4. Drawing conclusions

Analysis can help you solve a variety of issues you may come across in the workplace. These will generally fall into one of a small number of categories. When completing causal analysis, you are trying to determine why something happened. An example of this would be a police report completed after a traffic accident. Comparative analysis is different in that you are making a choice between two products, ideas, or concepts. One comparative analysis that many of us did was deciding where to attend college. Feasibility analysis is a little different from the previous two mentioned. Feasibility deals with justifying a decision. An analysis of this nature might deal with deciding where to relocate a business or deciding whether to budget for more entry level positions in a company.

(Note: This is theory. In reality you may find yourself combining the ideas listed above to find solutions to more complex issues.)


Creating Formal Analytical Reports:
Putting an effective formal analysis together requires many of the steps and skills you've already learned how to do. Remember to be precise when defining your goal. When you are collecting data, only include relevant information that helps the audience understand the issue at hand. Developing your formal analysis is no different from writing any other formal document as far as ethics is concerned.



Analytical Report Outlining:
As with all formal documents, you can create an outline to help with the structure of your analytical document. This report should contain an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone for the remainder of the document. It must contain your purpose for writing, methods of inquiry, and a brief reference to your findings and conclusion. Your conclusion should close all loose ends with a summary of your findings, and should contain your unbiased interpretation and recommendations.

The body of your analytical report should paint a clear picture of your findings. The evidence you are basing your recommendations on should be broken down by specific subtopics when appropriate. Take advantage of formatting such as the use of white space and bold text.


Closing Remarks:
Creating a formal analytical report is very similar to other forms of technical writing previously discussed in this class. The same design principles still apply. Recall that the formal analytical report differs from the memo in length and level of detail.