FORMAL REPORT PROPOSALS Seeking permission to begin a project

10/25/20152 Background Purpose: to suggest a solution to a problem. You’re writing to your supervisor (in some cases, me) to request that you be the person to do a formal report on a specific topic. Your aim is to get your audience to agree that you should work on your chosen topic. Format: use memo format for this document since this is an in-house assignment.

10/25/20153 Background 2 Provide a full explanation of the topic for your report, the audience/purpose, literature review, and the scope (what you will and will not cover in the report), the same information that will appear in the report’s introduction. Give your audience enough information so that he/she can decide to allow you to go ahead with the project.

10/25/20154 Report Types Explain what type of formal report you wish to write. Feasibility study: you investigate a specific solution to a problem or an opportunity and relate whether it is worth doing Process report: you explain how to do a specific task or sets of tasks. Proposal report: you persuade your audience to okay a specific project. Information report: you provide your audience with information that they need.

10/25/20155 Examples of Formal Reports Here are links to excerpts from the different types of formal reports on the Course Materials page. Feasibility study on use of synthetic oil Information report on tornadoes for new home buyers in Tornado AlleyInformation report on tornadoes for new home buyers in Tornado Alley Proposal on adding catering to a restaurant Process manual on floor maintenance

10/25/20156 Memo Format Mandatory elements: –TO –FROM –DATE –SUBJECT Basic organization of the contents: introduction, body, and conclusion Headings required for all major sections

10/25/20157 Introduction Use this section to provide a frame of reference for your audience. Explain what the topic will be for your formal report and what kind of report you will write. Include the audience/purpose, literature review, scope, development.

10/25/20158 Body Discuss your topic in some detail. Remember that your audience needs to know enough about it to decide if you’re the person to compose the report. For instance, if you’re doing a problem/solution formal report, explain in detail what the problem is. Include the benefits that the report will bring to the company: it will save money; it will make the work environment safe, etc.

10/25/20159 Conclusion Give your audience an idea of the results that you hope will come from the report and a sense of what you will recommend to your audience. Include a bibliography of your primary and secondary source material.