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Summarize the four tasks involved in completing business reports and proposals.

· Formal reports have a higher degree of polish and production quality, and they often contain elements not found in informal reports.

· Revising for clarity and conciseness is especially important for online reports because reading online can be difficult.

· In today’s leanly staffed companies, you should be prepared to produce formal reports with little or no assistance from design specialists or other professionals.

Identify the major components of a formal report.

Report components can be divided into prefatory parts, text parts, and supplementary parts. Prefatory parts, which present and package your report, can include a synopsis or executive summary, a list of illustrations, the table of contents, a letter of transmittal, a letter of acceptance, a letter of authorization, a title page, a title fly, and a cover. Text parts include the standard message elements of introduction, body and close. Supplementary parts can include an index, a bibliography, and one or more appendixes.

identify the circumstances in which you should include letters of authorization and letters of acceptance in your reports.

· A letter of authorization is a document that instructs you produce a report; a letter of acceptance is your written agreement to produce the report.

· A letter or memo of transmittal introduces your reports to your audience.

· If you don’t include a synopsis, you can summarize the report’s content I your letter of transmittal.

· To save time and reduce errors, use the table of contents generator in your word-processing softwars.

Explain the difference between a synopsis and an executive summary

· A synopsis is a brief preview of the most important points in your report.

· An executive summary is a “mini” version of your report.

· No matter how many separate elements are in a formal report, the heart of the report is still the introduction, body, and close.

· Use an appendix for materials that are too lengthy or detailed for the body or not directly relevant to all audience members.

· A bibliography fulfills your ethical obligation to credit your sources, and it allows readers to consult those sources for more information.

· If your reports is lengthy, an index can help readers locate specific topics quickly.

Identify the major components of a formal proposal

· Formal proposals must have a high degree of polish and professionalism.

· An RFP may require you include a copy of the RFP in your prefatory section; be sure to follow instructions carefully.

· Ask for proofreading assistance from someone who hasn’t been involved in the development of your proposal; he or she might see errors that you have been overlooking.

· Using portable document format (PDF) is a safe and common way to distribute reports electronically.

· When writing an RFP, be sure to give potential respondents all the information they need to craft a meaningful response to your request.

Identify the major components to include in a request for proposals (RFP)

The content of RFPs varies widely from industry to industry and project to project, but most include background on the company, a description of the project, solution requirements, the criteria that will be used to make selection decisions, expectations for submitted proposals, and any relevant submission and contact information.

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