Career Development Training

Writing Reports and

Proposals

Agenda: Day One

8:30-8:45

Session One: Introduction and Course Overview

8:45-9:00

Icebreaker: Common Ground

9:00-9:15

Session Two: Becoming a Good Writer

9:15-10:00

Session Three: The Rules of Writing

10:00-10:15

Break

10:15-10:45

Session Four: The Readability Index

10:45-11:15

Session Five: Paragraphs

11:15-11:45

Session Six: Emphasis

11:45-12:00

Morning Wrap-Up

12:00-1:00

Lunch

1:00-1:15

Energizer: Riddle Me This

1:15-2:30

Session Seven: Unity and Coherence

2:30-2:45

Break

2:45-3:00

Session Eight: Active and Passive Voice

3:00-3:15

Session Nine: The Stages of Report Writing

3:15-4:15

Session Ten: The First Stage Investigation

4:15-4:30

Day One Wrap-Up

Session One: Course Overview

To learn the value of good written
communications.
To develop paragraphs that introduce, connect,
develop, and conclude some part of an idea.
To prepare reports and proposals that inform,
persuade, and provide information.
To learn how to proofread your work so you are
confident it is clear, concise, complete, and
correct.
To provide an opportunity to apply these skills in
real work applications.

Session Two:
Becoming a Good Writer

You must read.

You must write.
You should want to write.
You need a feedback system to judge
how you are doing, to know if your
writing works.
Good writing must be clear, concise,
complete, and correct.

Session Three: The Rules of Writing

1. Use familiar words
2. Prefer short, simple words
3. Use concrete words
4. Prefer active to passive verbs
5. Avoid camouflaged verbs
6. Arrange sentences for emphasis and clarity
7. Keep sentences short
8. Ensure modifying words and phrases relate
to nouns and pronouns
9. Use words economically

Session Four: The Readability Index

1. Mark out samples of 100 words each.
2. Divide the number of words in all the samples by
the number of sentences. This will give you the
average sentence length.
3. Count the number of words of three or more
syllables in each 100 words. Dont count proper or
words which are combinations of short, easy words.
4. Add the average sentence length and the number
of hard words per hundred.
5. Multiply the sum by 0.4. The resulting number
corresponds to the grade-level reading ability.

Session Four: The Readability Index

The Cognoman of Crane was not inapplicable to this
person. He was tall but exceedingly lank with narrow
shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a
mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for
shovels, and his whole frame hung most loosely
together. His head was small and flat at the top, with
huge ears, green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so
that it looked like a weather-cock placed on his spindle
neck, to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding
along the profile of a hill on a windy day, with his clothes
bagging and fluttering about him, one might have
mistaken him for the genius of famine, descending upon
the earth, or some scarecrow, eloped from a cornfield.

Session Five: Paragraphs

A paragraph is defined as a collection of
sentences developing one topic.
Paragraphs have a beginning (a statement
of the theme), a middle (clearly and logically
develops the theme), and an end (concludes
the discussion and sometimes provides a
link to the next paragraph).
Limit each paragraph to one idea.
A good length for ordinary report writing is
100 to 150 words.

Session Six: Emphasis

To emphasize an idea in your reports, you can use:
Underlining
Italics and boldface
Font changes
All caps
Dashes
Tabs
What are some other ways of making important
points stand out?
What are some ways of de-emphasizing bad news?

Session Seven:
Unity and Coherence
Unity means oneness.
A paragraph has unity if it sticks to one
subject.
While planning a paragraph, ask
yourself frequently, Is this on the
subject?
If it isnt, cross it out.

Session Seven:
Unity and Coherence
Coherence means sticking together.
When referring to paragraphs, it includes the
proper arrangement of ideas so they fit
together.
The different sentences that compose a
paragraph should follow one another in
natural and logical order.
If they do not, the reader can become
distracted and find it hard to keep the
threads of the topic together.

Session Seven:
Unity and Coherence

Session Seven:
Unity and Coherence

Session Seven:
Unity and Coherence

To show time relation

To indicate order
To show space relations
To introduce illustrations
To indicate a consequence or
conclusion
To indicate the repetition of an idea
To compare

Session Eight:
Active and Passive Voice
In sentences with active-voice verbs,
the subject is the doer of the action.
In passive voice verbs, the subject is
acted upon.
Most writers prefer action verbs
because such verbs tell the reader
clearly who or what is performing the
action.

Session Eight:
Active and Passive Voice
The new process is believed to be superior
by the investigators.
The office will be inspected by Mr. Hall.
An appointment was made for January 12.
A complete reorganization was affected by
the president.
In response to your order, the documents
are being sent today.
This letter is being written to help you
understand more about our personal
computers.

Session Eight:
Active and Passive Voice
A check is being made about your order, and
upon its completion, a full analysis will be
sent to you.
The letter was typed by Brian.
It was felt by most readers that the report
was too long and complex to be read by
them.
The tax return was completed before the
April 30th deadline.

Session Nine:
The Stages of Report Writing

Session Ten: The First Stage

(Investigation)
The Rules of Evidence
1.Look at the evidence and follow where
it leads.
2.Look for the simplest explanation that
accounts for all the evidence.
3.Look at all likely alternatives.
4.Beware of absolute statements.

Session Ten: The First Stage

(Investigation)
360 degree performance reviews
How much succession planning New
England farmers have done
Efficiency of different types of project
management software
Alternative energy sources that your
company could use
Safety issues in your workplace
Trends in the shipping industry

Session Ten: The First Stage

(Investigation)
Styles of documentation :
MLA (Modern Language Association)
The APA (American Psychological
Association)
The CBE (Council of Biology Editors)
The Chicago Manual of Style

Agenda: Day Two

8:30-8:45

Re-Connect: Say it Simply

8:45-11:00

Session Eleven: The Second Stage Planning

11:00-11:45

Session Twelve: The Third Stage Writing

11:45-12:00

Morning Wrap-Up

12:00-1:00

Lunch

1:00-1:15

Energizer: Word Jazz

1:15-2:00

Session Thirteen: The Fourth Stage Revising

2:00-2:15

Session Fourteen: Formal Reports

2:15-2:30

Break

2:30-2:45

Session Fifteen: How to Use Headings

2:45-3:00

Session Sixteen: Charts and Graphs

3:00-3:30

Session Seventeen: Writing Proposals

3:30-3:45

Session Eighteen: The Finishing Touches

3:45-4:15

Session Nineteen: Practical Application

4:15-4:30

Workshop Wrap-Up

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
The first letter of PAFEO stands for
purpose, but in report writing it can also
be a reminder of the need to define the
problem.
Purpose and problem need to be
considered in two ways:
Find out what purpose management
had in mind in ordering the report.
Define the problem as precisely as you
can.

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
This series of questions can help you
describe the dimensions of a problem.
What is the problem?
Where is the problem?
When is the problem?
What is the extent of the problem?

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Who will your audience or audiences be?
How much background do I need to give this
reader?
What does the reader need to know and how
can I best provide this information?
How is my credibility with this reader?
Is the reader likely to agree or disagree with
my position? What tone would be most
appropriate in view of this agreement of
disagreement?

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Ways to highlight your material:
Bullets
Bold
Italics
Headings
Sub headings

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
The direct approach contains:
Synopsis
Recommendations
Body/Discussion
Summary
Conclusions

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
The indirect approach contains:
Executive Summary
Introduction
Body/Discussion
Conclusions
Recommendations

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Which approach do you think might be
best with the following topics?
Restricting the age limit of ATVs
Recommending flu shots be
administered to small children
Discussion paper on immunization for
all beef cattle
The best use of school buildings during
silent hours

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
The Rules of Evidence
1.Look at the evidence and follow where
it leads.
2.Look for the simplest explanation that
accounts for all the evidence.
3.Look at all likely alternatives.
4.Beware of absolute statements.

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Using a Summary
A report in miniature
Gets quickly to the point
Sets up framework that helps the
reader follow your line of thinking in the
entire report.
Use headings to divide and clarify each
part

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Organizing the Report
Introduction: Prepares the reader for
the report to follow
Body of the report: Contains your
findings
Report ends with conclusions and
recommendations

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Organizing your Research
Experienced writers often use file
cards/post-it notes when they collect
information.
These can be easily arranged and
rearranged.
By arranging them in piles, you can
create and organize information into a
plan.

Session Eleven: The Second Stage

(Planning)
Organizing your Research
Time
Place
Factor
Problem-analysis-solution
Order of importance

Session Twelve: The Third Stage

(Writing )
First, review your problem/purpose
statement.
Then, review your report outline.
After that, concentrate on getting your
ideas down on paper, not on the
niceties of style.
Once you have completed your first
draft, go over it carefully, penciling in
improvements.

Session Thirteen: The Fourth Stage

(Revising)
Check the facts
Check the length
Check the organizational structure
Check the style
Check the spelling, grammar, and
punctuation

Session Fourteen: Formal Reports

Cover
Letter of Transmittal
Title Page
Synopsis or Executive Summary
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Body/Discussion
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
Appendix

Session Fifteen:
How to Use Headings
MAJOR HEADING
MAJOR SUB-HEADING
Minor Sub-Heading
Secondary Minor Sub-Heading.

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs

Area Graph

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs

Bar Graph

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs

Column Graph

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs

Curve Chart

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs

Surface Chart

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs
Use graphics in your report:
If your data is complex and using a table or
chart will help the reader understand your
point.
If compiling the data in a table or chart will
save the reader time.
If a list, chart, or table will conveniently
collect information the reader may want to
refer to later.

Session Sixteen:
Charts and Graphs
Keep tables and charts as brief a possible.
Signal the reader when a table or chart is
coming up.
Label graphics clearly and specifically.
Number tables and charts consecutively.
Use a graphic only if it will help the reader
understand your point.
Dont interrupt the text with a graphic.
Point out the significance of the table/chart.
Keep the graphic as simple as possible.
Use white space and labeling.

Session Nineteen:
Writing Proposals

Session Eighteen:
The Finishing Touches
The Acid Test
Does the reader know me?
Does the reader like me?
Does the reader want to do business
with me?

Session Eighteen:
The Finishing Touches
The Six Steps of Persuasion
1. You must get your message to the
audience.
2. You must get someone to pay attention to it.
3. The message must be understandable.
4. Your arguments must be convincing.
5. The audience must be willing to give in or to
yield.
6. They must remember their new attitude and
be willing to act.

Session Eighteen:
The Finishing Touches
Design your message to take advantage of
any helpful qualities your organization, your
department, or you have.
Credibility is an important quality.
Being liked helps make persuasion more
successful.
Perceived power is another characteristic
that leads to effective persuasion.
Can you think of any additional helpful
characteristics to develop in your proposals?

Session Eighteen:
The Finishing Touches
Should you only give one side of the story in
your message?
Which side should you give first?
Should you make conclusions specific or let
the audience draw its own conclusions?
Do fear techniques work?
Is it better to use an emotional or a factual
argument?