Angela Walker

The introduction (or opening) of a business report or proposal should always

• outline your conclusions or recommendations.

• list all the sources from which you draw information.

• provide a detailed description of your qualifications to write the report.

• tie your report to a problem or an assignment.

The detailed information needed to support your conclusions and recommendations should appear in the __________ of your report.

• opening

• body

• closing

• appendix

In the introduction, explaining the historical conditions or factors that led up to your report

• enables readers to understand how the problem, situation, or opportunity developed and what has been done so far.

• is unnecessary in internal reports.

• diminishes your credibility by wasting readers’ time.

• is necessary only in very formal reports.

The writing for a proposal should

• follow the AIDA plan.

• follow the plan for good news messages.

• avoid the “you” attitude.

• be as vague as possible.

In an online report, hyperlinks

• should be used only for headings and subheadings.

• are a useful way to provide access to an appendix that supports one of your arguments.

• are considered trendy and should usually be avoided.

• complicate the organization of your report by enabling readers to jump from section to section.

The best type of visual aid for showing trends over time is

• a table.

• a pie chart.

• a line chart.

• an organization chart.

Nancy has been asked to prepare a presentation for her class that compares the market share data of three breakfast cereals from 1997 to 2008. She wants to create a visually appealing presentation that simplifies the data. Which of the following visuals should Nancy use?

• Venn diagram

• bar graph

• pie chart

• organizational chart

To verify the quality and integrity of completed visuals ask yourself all of the following questions, except:

• Is the visual accurate?

• Is the visual properly documented?

• Is the visual flashy?

• Is the visual honest?

Using technological tools to craft reports and proposals

• reduces the mechanical work involved in developing long reports and proposals.

• eliminates the need for the writer to do any work.

• makes reports and proposals too cluttered with non-essential information.

• is too time-consuming because you must learn how to use the technology first.

Saving your report in PDF format

• makes it easy to share electronically.

• drastically limits the number of people who can access it.

• will make most of the graphics impossible to read.

• should only be used as a backup measure.