How to Write Reports and Proposals
In a business organization, reports and sample proposals are abundant pieces of documents produced on a timely basis. These two play a big role in the flow of small business. However, there is a thin line between the two. Reports sum up the achievements of a task while proposals are written to persuade businessmen to invest in a product or service.
Writing these two take time and effort. If you are still clueless on how to write reports and proposals, here are some of the steps to get you through it.
How to write a report
A business report has to be well-structured. In that way, you can provide a clear picture of what your report is all about. Business sample reports follow a structure that is common in most pieces of writing. Before writing your report, you need to follow the three-act structure (beginning, middle, and end) so it will be clear to your readers.
1. Beginning
The beginning is the peek to the entirety of your business report. This is the part where you catch the attention of your readers and it should be off to a good start. Write your report in a catchy and interesting way so your readers (or your superiors at work), will read the rest. It should include the following:
- Introduction. The introduction of your report should be brief at expressing what your financial report is about. It does not have to be long and wordy. You should write your introduction in a way that connects to the next part of your report. A good introduction undoubtedly catches attention.
- Situation. After the introduction, it is time to talk about the situation. This will explain what is happening to the task or how the system works. Do not leave anything out in this part. Explain every detail simply, honestly, and clearly to make your readers understand everything. You may also check out simple business reports for more information.
2. Middle
The middle part contains the juiciest information of the sample business report. This serves as the body that continues to explain where the end of the introduction left off. This is the “meat” of the report and should include the information gathered as well as an analysis of the data. You can use graphics and illustrations to state your point. You also have to state the methods used to gather the data.
In writing the middle part of the report, do not forget to include these two parts:
- Implications. This part of the report talks about the involvement of the people in the situation. It digs in on how the task was carried out logically. The implications can be briefly explained in the introduction and continued in the middle. You may check report examples to view some samples.
- Possibilities. In every situation, there are possibilities. These should be explained well in the report. These are about thinking of what might happen when one action is done in the middle of the situation. You can also include how these can affect future actions as well.
3. Ending
The ending of your report wraps up everything. It has a brief review of the entire report. In writing this part, it should include the following details.
- Summary. Give the readers a gist of your executive report. This part should be written briefly and concisely. It includes the main point of the report and some extra details related to it.
- Conclusion. Make a conclusion of your report based on the information you gathered. Conclusions are written after further analyses and this will lead you to make recommendations. This part should not present any new information.
- Recommendations. The recommendations come after the conclusion of the whole report. This states the future actions the company can do in the future to avoid encountering the same problem. Recommendations should always be related to the conclusion of the whole report. You may also like marketing report templates.
How to write a proposal
Business proposals are written to persuade investors to take a risk on a particular company’s product or service. They are taking a slightly different route than reports since these involve marketing reports and promotions. In writing proposals, you must have a clear goal of what you want to achieve at the end. Investors will either say yes or no to your proposal, so do the best that you can when writing it.
Here are some steps in writing a business proposal.
- Have clear objectives. Think of a clear objective before writing a proposal. This will help you determine the flow of your small business proposal from start to finish. Having a clear objective allows you to experiment with the content you need to write.
- Write in simple language. Every part of the sample business proposal is written in simple language, from the introduction to the summary. There is no need to use five-dollar words. Every proposal should be easy to understand by all readers. Be descriptive when the need arises. Simple language helps reach out to readers easily.
- State the need and solutions. Now, here comes the part where you have to state the need for investors to invest in your product or service, as well as the solution attached to it. Balance your words carefully as this will affect the decision of the investors. Choose what to write since this is the persuasive part of your business proposal.
- Provide other details. Include some additional details in your proposal to give more context to the investors. It serves as a background of the product or service that you are selling to them. There is a need for them to understand what you are talking about. You may also see sample business proposal templates.
- Summarize. Finally, wrap up everything in a clear and concise way. End your sample proposal well and wait for the results.
Writing reports and simple proposals is not a walk in the park. It comes with a lot of logical thinking, research, and patience to build everything from scratch. It is a task that requires a brave soul to perform it. At the end of the day, always tell yourself that you have done a pretty good job. You may also see proposal templates.
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