D3-g: Sample student papers: An investigative report and a proposal

D3-gSample student papers: An investigative report and a proposal

Sample report

Different business situations require different types of reports. Formal reports are comprehensive discussions of a topic from multiple angles, while investigative reports often focus on a specific issue. If you are asked to write a report, you should always be sure that you understand the expectations of your audience.

The investigative report below was written for an introductory course in business writing. The student, Brian Spencer, was asked to research the problem of employee motivation at a small company. He used the style guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) to format the paper and to cite and list sources.

Sample proposal

Proposals are written to convince a specific audience to adopt a plan. If you are asked to write a proposal, you might start by identifying the purpose and the audience for the document.

The internal proposal that appears after the sample report was written for a course in business writing. The student, Kelly Ratajczak, wrote her proposal in the form of a memorandum to the senior vice president of human resources at the medium-size company where she completed an internship. Her goal was to convince the vice president to adopt a wellness program for employees.

SAMPLE REPORT

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Marginal annotations indicate business-style formatting and effective writing.
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SAMPLE PROPOSAL

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Marginal annotations indicate business-style formatting and effective writing.
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