Warm-up
Reports & Proposals
Reports & Proposals
After this lesson you'll be able to...
- Use key report and proposal vocabulary
- Structure a short report: summary, findings, conclusion, recommendation
- Connect ideas with linking words for contrast, reason, result and addition
- Present a recommendation and justify a cost in a clear way
Get to know each other (3 minutes)
- What kind of reports or documents do you write at work?
- What is difficult about writing in English: grammar, style or structure?
- Do you prefer short summaries or detailed reports? Why?
- Have you ever written a proposal that was accepted? What was it?
Say it out loud
Practise opening a report. → The aim of this report is to find out why customer satisfaction has fallen.
Fact worth knowing
Vocabulary
Report and proposal vocabulary
Useful report phrases
| The aim of this report is to… | Мета цього звіту — … |
| The survey shows that… | Опитування показує, що… |
| Although costs are high, … | Хоча витрати високі, … |
| As a result, we recommend… | Як наслідок, ми рекомендуємо… |
| In addition, … | Крім того, … |
| However, there are some risks. | Проте є певні ризики. |
| On the basis of these findings, … | На підставі цих результатів, … |
| In conclusion, … | Підсумовуючи, … |
Try out the new words
Say what the objective of a project of yours is. → The objective of my project is to …
Say what you would recommend for it. → On the basis of the results, I recommend …
Which word is it?
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct word
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English.
Grammar
Linking words
| Contrast | However, (new sentence, comma): Costs are high. However, the benefits are clear. Although / Even though + clause: Although costs are high, we recommend it. Despite / In spite of + noun or -ing: Despite the high costs, … / Despite being expensive, … |
| Reason | because / since / as + clause: We chose Supplier B because it is faster. because of / due to + noun: because of the delay. |
| Result | Therefore, / As a result, / Consequently, (comma): Sales fell. As a result, we reduced costs. so (informal, between clauses): …, so we reduced costs. |
| Addition | In addition, / Moreover, / Furthermore, + new idea: In addition, training is cheap. as well as + noun or -ing. |
| Purpose | to / in order to / so as to + infinitive: We need a survey in order to understand the problem. so that + clause: …so that managers can decide. |
| Careful! | NOT "Although… but…" (use only one). NOT "Despite of". NOT "Because of it is expensive" (because of + noun). However is followed by a comma and cannot join two clauses with a comma only. |
Choose the correct linking word
Complete with the correct word
Which function?
Join the sentences
Join the two sentences with the word in brackets.
Correcting mistakes
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Say it about your own work
Describe a recent decision at your company with one contrast word and one result word. → Although …, we decided to …. As a result, …
Reading
Read: a short proposal
Proposal: a customer feedback survey — prepared by Sofia Melnyk, Customer Care
Executive summary. The aim of this proposal is to introduce a short customer survey after every purchase in order to understand why satisfaction has fallen from 86% to 79% in the last two quarters. The cost is 4,000 euros for six months.
Findings. We analysed 120 complaints from March to June. Although most customers like the product, 58% are unhappy with delivery times. In addition, 22% say that nobody answered their emails. Despite these problems, only 6% of customers have stopped buying from us — which means we still have time to act.
Conclusion and recommendation. The cost of the survey is feasible and easy to justify: losing just 40 customers would cost us more than the whole project. Therefore, we recommend a six-month pilot. As a result, managers will receive monthly data, so that they can improve delivery and response times quickly. However, the survey must be short — no more than five questions — because long surveys have low response rates.
True or false?
Customer satisfaction has risen in the last two quarters.
The survey would cost 4,000 euros.
Most customers are unhappy with the product itself.
Only a few customers have stopped buying.
The author recommends a six-month pilot.
The survey can be long and detailed.
Answer the questions
What is the aim of the proposal?
What are the two main problems?
How does the author justify the cost?
Why must the survey be short?
Find the linking words
Write the linking word or phrase from the text.
Fill in from the text
Why is this a good proposal?
Your own opinion
- Would you approve this proposal? Why or why not?
- What would you add to the findings?
- Is a five-question limit a good idea?
Practice
Picture the report
Summary → Findings → Conclusion → Recommendation → Appendix. A reader should find any part in seconds.
Match the phrase to its function
Put the words in order
Put the words in the right order and write the full sentence.
Fill in the missing phrase
Make it more concise
Rewrite the sentence in a shorter, clearer way.
Translate into English
Write each sentence in English. Several answers are possible.
A report fact
Speaking — Present Your Case
How to use this section
Your tutor plays a manager or a client who reads your report. React in real time — summarise findings, defend a recommendation, justify a cost and answer sceptical questions. Use linking words to show how your ideas connect.
Stating the aim
Task: open a report meeting by stating the aim and the structure of your report in 30 seconds.
Starter: "The aim of this report is to explain why satisfaction has fallen. I'll start with the findings, then give two recommendations."
Presenting findings
Task: present three findings from a survey (invent the numbers) with contrast and addition words.
Starter: "The survey shows that most customers like the product. However, 58% are unhappy with delivery. In addition, one in five says nobody answered their emails."
Making a recommendation
Task: make a recommendation and say why, using a result word.
Starter: "On the basis of these findings, I recommend a six-month pilot. As a result, managers will have monthly data so that they can react quickly."
Justifying a cost
Manager: "Why does it cost 4,000 euros?"
Starter: "Although it seems expensive, losing just 40 customers would cost us more than the whole project. Despite the cost, it's a feasible plan."
Answering a sceptical question
Manager: "Customers never answer surveys. Why would this work?"
Starter: "That's a fair point. However, our survey has only five questions, so response rates will be higher. We can also test it on a small group first."
Summarising in 30 seconds
Task: summarise a report you know (or invent one) in 30 seconds: aim, main finding, recommendation.
Starter: "In short, the aim was to …. The main finding is …. Therefore, I recommend …"
Disagreeing with a proposal politely
Task: you disagree with a colleague's proposal. Explain why with a contrast word, and offer an alternative.
Starter: "I see the benefits. However, I'm worried about the cost. Instead, could we start with a smaller test?"
Full report meeting — no stopping
Present a short report to your tutor: the aim, two findings, a conclusion and a recommendation. Then answer two sceptical questions — entirely in English.
Let's talk — reflection
- Which linking words did you use most naturally?
- Did you give reasons for your recommendation?
- What would you improve in your next real report?
Cool down
Now I can...
- Use key report and proposal vocabulary
- Structure a short report: summary, findings, conclusion, recommendation
- Connect ideas with linking words for contrast, reason, result and addition
- Present a recommendation and justify a cost in a clear way
Quick self-check
What is the difference between "although" and "despite"?
Which words show a result?
Why do we write a short executive summary?
One more thing before you go
Tell your tutor one report or proposal you would like to write. → I would like to write a … about …
Homework
- Do the exercises below and press Check in each one. Green = correct. Red shows what was expected.
- Do the writing and speaking tasks and tick them when they are done.
- Write your name and press Copy my result, then send the text to your tutor.
Words to remember
| an executive summary | резюме для керівництва |
| an objective | мета |
| a finding | висновок дослідження, результат |
| a recommendation | рекомендація |
| a conclusion | висновок |
| an appendix | додаток |
| a survey | опитування |
| to analyse | аналізувати |
| to outline | коротко викласти, окреслити |
| a proposal | пропозиція (проєкт) |
| feasible | здійсненний |
| to justify | обґрунтувати |
| to draft | підготувати чернетку |
| to proofread | вичитати (на помилки) |
| concise | стислий, лаконічний |
| on the basis of | на підставі |
Fill in the missing word
Choose the correct linking word
Join the sentences
Join the two sentences with the word in brackets.
Correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.
Translate the phrase
Write each phrase in English. Several answers are possible.
Write it yourself
Write a short proposal (8–10 sentences) for a real or imaginary project: an executive summary, two findings, a conclusion and a recommendation. Use at least five different linking words.
Practise out loud
Present your proposal aloud in 60–90 seconds and record it. Check that your linking words sound natural.
Read aloud
Read the proposal from the Reading section aloud twice before the next lesson.
- 8.7 I wrote a short proposal (8–10 sentences)
- 8.8 I presented my proposal aloud in 60–90 seconds
- 8.9 I read the proposal aloud twice