{"id":409,"date":"2022-04-28T12:41:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T16:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=409"},"modified":"2022-08-11T16:25:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T20:25:54","slug":"13-5-format-of-proposals","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/chapter\/13-5-format-of-proposals\/","title":{"raw":"13.5 Format of Proposals","rendered":"13.5 Format of Proposals"},"content":{"raw":"<p id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01_s04_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">A professional document is a base requirement. If it is less than professional, you can count on its prompt dismissal. There should be no errors in spelling or grammar, and all information should be concise, accurate, and clearly referenced when appropriate. Information that pertains to credibility should be easy to find and clearly relevant, including contact information. If the document exists in a hard copy form, it should be printed on a letterhead. If the document is submitted in an electronic form, it should be in a file format that presents your document as you intended. Word processing files may have their formatting changed or adjusted based on factors you cannot control\u2014like screen size\u2014and information can shift out of place, making it difficult to understand. In this case, a portable document format (PDF)\u2014a format for electronic documents\u2014may be used to preserve content location and avoid any inadvertent format changes when it is displayed.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01_s04_p02\" class=\"para editable block\">Effective persuasive proposals are often brief, even limited to one page. \u201cThe one-page proposal has been one of the keys to my business success, and it can be invaluable to you too. Few decision-makers can ever afford to read more than one page when deciding if they are interested in a deal or not. This is even more true for people of a different culture or language,\u201d said Adnan Khashoggi, a successful multi-billionaire (Riley, 2002). Clear and concise proposals serve the audience well and limit the range of information to prevent confusion.<\/p>\r\nYou have the following options for the format and packaging of your proposal. It does not matter which you use as long as you use the memorandum format for internal proposals and the business-letter format for external proposals.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span class=\"subrunin_heading\"><strong><em>Cover letter or memo with separate proposal<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0In this format, you write a brief \"cover\" letter or memo and attach the proposal proper after it. The cover letter or memo briefly announces that a proposal follows and outlines the contents of it. In fact, the contents of the cover letter or memo are pretty much the same as the introduction (discussed in the previous section). Notice, however, that the introduction to the proposal proper that follows the cover letter or memo repeats much of what preceded. This is because the letter or memo may get detached from the proposal or the recipient may not even bother to look at the letter or memo and just dive right into the proposal itself.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong><em><span class=\"subrunin_heading\">Consolidated business-letter or memo proposal:<\/span><\/em><\/strong> In this format, you consolidate the entire proposal with a standard business letter or memo. You include headings and other special formatting elements as if it were a report. This consolidated memo format is illustrated in the left portion of Figure 13.1.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<img class=\"alignnone wp-image-1032 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-1024x828.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"828\" \/>\r\n\r\n<sup>Figure 13.1 | Consolidated vs Letter Memo<\/sup>\r\n<div id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01\" class=\"section\"><\/div>","rendered":"<p id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01_s04_p01\" class=\"para editable block\">A professional document is a base requirement. If it is less than professional, you can count on its prompt dismissal. There should be no errors in spelling or grammar, and all information should be concise, accurate, and clearly referenced when appropriate. Information that pertains to credibility should be easy to find and clearly relevant, including contact information. If the document exists in a hard copy form, it should be printed on a letterhead. If the document is submitted in an electronic form, it should be in a file format that presents your document as you intended. Word processing files may have their formatting changed or adjusted based on factors you cannot control\u2014like screen size\u2014and information can shift out of place, making it difficult to understand. In this case, a portable document format (PDF)\u2014a format for electronic documents\u2014may be used to preserve content location and avoid any inadvertent format changes when it is displayed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01_s04_p02\" class=\"para editable block\">Effective persuasive proposals are often brief, even limited to one page. \u201cThe one-page proposal has been one of the keys to my business success, and it can be invaluable to you too. Few decision-makers can ever afford to read more than one page when deciding if they are interested in a deal or not. This is even more true for people of a different culture or language,\u201d said Adnan Khashoggi, a successful multi-billionaire (Riley, 2002). Clear and concise proposals serve the audience well and limit the range of information to prevent confusion.<\/p>\n<p>You have the following options for the format and packaging of your proposal. It does not matter which you use as long as you use the memorandum format for internal proposals and the business-letter format for external proposals.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"subrunin_heading\"><strong><em>Cover letter or memo with separate proposal<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0In this format, you write a brief &#8220;cover&#8221; letter or memo and attach the proposal proper after it. The cover letter or memo briefly announces that a proposal follows and outlines the contents of it. In fact, the contents of the cover letter or memo are pretty much the same as the introduction (discussed in the previous section). Notice, however, that the introduction to the proposal proper that follows the cover letter or memo repeats much of what preceded. This is because the letter or memo may get detached from the proposal or the recipient may not even bother to look at the letter or memo and just dive right into the proposal itself.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em><span class=\"subrunin_heading\">Consolidated business-letter or memo proposal:<\/span><\/em><\/strong> In this format, you consolidate the entire proposal with a standard business letter or memo. You include headings and other special formatting elements as if it were a report. This consolidated memo format is illustrated in the left portion of Figure 13.1.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1032 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-1024x828.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-1024x828.png 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-300x243.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-768x621.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-65x53.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-225x182.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM-350x283.png 350w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/983\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-11-at-1.20.41-PM.png 1392w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><sup>Figure 13.1 | Consolidated vs Letter Memo<\/sup><\/p>\n<div id=\"mclean-ch09_s03_s01\" class=\"section\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":847,"menu_order":6,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-409","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":399,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/847"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/409\/revisions\/1035"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/399"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/409\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=409"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=409"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}