1 Devising Longer Reports and Proposals Quarterly & annual reports/long range planning programs/systems evaluations/ grant requests/proposals Make strong recommendations Are strongly persuasive Address a wide audience Usually include front and back matter

2 Devising Longer Reports and Proposals cont. Presentation features Title page Transmittal correspondence Table of Contents List of Illustrations (graphics/visuals) Abstract or summary Body of report with topical headings Necessary back matter

3 Front Matter Title page Use high quality paper Consider appropriate art work Include name/title/company of recipient Include name/title/company of author(s) The date

4. Sample proposal title page (Courtesy of Charles E. Smith)

5 Front Matter cont. Transmittal correspondence Brief letter or memo format Names the title and purpose Includes names if requested Includes submission date Comments on problems encountered Acknowledges others who helped Elicits feedback

6 Front Matter cont. Table of contents Include for reports 8 or more pages Center and title Table of Contents List all headings and page numbers Include appendices and exhibits, glossaries, and other back matter Include separate List of Illustration on same or separate page with titles and page numbers List tables separately from figures

7 Front Matter cont. Abstracts and summaries Short, concise previews of parent documents Orient the read to material to follow Reflect purpose/content/scope/ methodology/conclusions of parent document

8 Front Matter cont. Abstracts Accompany scientific, technical reports and articles Descriptive or Informative Descriptive type Represent the complete document Usually one to five sentences Usually words

9 Front Matter cont. Sample descriptive abstract

10 Front Matter cont. Abstracts cont. Informative type Accompany research-related documents Completely describe parent document content Longer, more detailed than Descriptive type Typically words

11 Front Matter cont. Summaries Accompany reports to management/executives or are included in textbooks Concluding or Executive types Concluding summaries Follow sections/chapters of books, reports Sometimes in manuals/system evaluations

12 Front Matter cont. Summaries cont. Executive summaries Used for long feasibility reports, proposals, etc. Highlight the contents of report to follow Usually persuasive More casual organization than an abstract Typically 10% of report in length

13 Front Matter cont. Sample concluding summary for system evaluation paper

14 Front Matter cont. Abstract and Summary methodology Determine appropriate type Reread entire report to grasp content Estimate number of words not to exceed 10% of original document Determine organization, scope, methodology Include key facts, statistics, conclusions in informative abstracts Summarize the content for a concluding summary

15 Front Matter cont. Abstract and summary methodology cont. Condense details and include persuasive words for a executive summary Condense and explain findings for both informative abstracts and an executive summaries Edit carefully for completeness and accuracy

16 Back Matter Back matter Include glossaries, tabulated survey results, financial projections, job descriptions, equipment brochures, bibliographies, etc. Number and title each supplement Exhibit 1 Title here Exhibit 2 Title here Appendix A Title here, etc.

17 Back Matter cont. cont. Refer to each in body of text Include each in Table of Contents

18 Devising Longer Reports and Proposals cont. Proposals – action-oriented reports Investigate solutions, expense and profit issues Cover all details of implementation Proposal types Internal – written by members of company External – written by outsiders Solicited – sought by the organization Unsolicited – written by employees or group of outsiders

19 Devising Longer Reports and Proposals cont. Proposal organization and format Clear statement of what is proposed and why Explains background or problem Presents the actual proposal with methods/costs/personnel/action Discusses advantages/disadvantages Offers conclusions, recommendations Includes all longer report features