Deck 9: Proposals and Formal Reports

Question 1

The informal proposal that Juliette is writing will include a schedule of dates, specifying when various services will be completed. What section of the proposal would this schedule go in?

A)plan
B)budget
C)staffing
D)authorization

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following should Juliette include in the authorization section of her informal proposal?

A)a copy of the original RFP from the financial firm that requested the proposal
B)résumés of the lawyers who will provide the proposed legal services
C)a request for approval of the proposal
D)an expression of appreciation for accepting the proposal

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Juliette tells Sylvia that she is considering creating a Facebook account. She thinks that people who link to her site may provide some insights about how to market her firm's legal services more effectively. Sylvia, however, is reluctant to agree. What ethical problem raised in the textbook may be causing Sylvia's reluctance?

A)People aren't usually honest on social network sites, so the information Juliette gets may be misleading.
B)Using a social networking site such as Facebook as a marketing tool without letting the audience know how the information will be used may be dishonest and manipulative.
C)Using a Facebook page to collect information would break federal laws.
D)Legal professionals should not profit from the private thoughts and opinions of the people who post their comments.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Although she found information for her report in some excellent print sources, Juliette began her research by looking at online databases. What is the main reason that Juliette and many other writers do so?

A)Online databases are fast and they contain current, focussed information.
B)Any information found in online databases will be relevant and credible.
C)It is easier to cite information found in these databases than information from print sources.
D)These databases make it easy to find the data needed, requiring no special skills or knowledge.

Question 5

When Juliette describes the strategies she is using to search for information on the Internet, you remember something that you read about in the textbook. Which idea do you think she might find useful?

A)Pick one big search engine like Google and learn to master it.
B)Learn about and test several search engines to determine the quality of information you find.
C)Ignore online library databases because they are too commercial to be used for formal business research.
D)Look only at the top three search results, as these will have the information you are looking for.

Question 6

Juliette is writing a portion of a proposal describing the qualifications of Bennett-Renault's legal staff. What section should this information go in?

A)budget
B)background
C)introduction
D)authorization

Question 7

Juliette is now preparing to write the formal report that her boss, Sylvia, requested. According to the textbook, what should Juliette do first?

A)Research primary data.
B)Define the project.
C)Analyze the primary audience for the report.
D)Decide on the format for the report.

Question 8

According to the textbook, what is the primary difference between the informal and formal proposals that Juliette writes?

A)Informal proposals are written as memos; formal proposals are written as letters.
B)Informal proposals are presented in writing; formal proposals are presented orally.
C)Informal proposals are shorter and are subdivided into fewer parts than formal proposals.
D)Informal proposals are written for internal audiences; formal proposals are written for external audiences.

Question 9

Juliette uses several secondary sources to find information for her report. What decision should she make about use and cite information found on the Internet?

A)She should use only online sources for her report, as they are the most up to date.
B)She doesn't need to cite her electronic sources as rigorously as the print-based materials she found.
C)She should not use information from online sources, because the information is constantly changing and unreliable.
D)She should evaluate Web sources very carefully, since the volume of information available online makes locating accurate resources challenging.

Question 10

The search engine Juliette is using to gather information for her report locates several blogs that focus on legal services for financial institutions. She wants to use only pertinent and credible information for her report. According to the textbook, how should Juliette treat the information she finds in these blogs?

A)She should treat them as possible sources of valuable information, but should evaluate their credibility and authority very carefully.
B)She should trust the credibility of these blogs because the people who write them are usually experts in the area they write about.
C)She should recognize that in business, blogs are only used to communicate within an organization, so the information will be of limited usefulness.
D)She should ignore the information, because blogs are not written for professional audiences.

Question 11

Juliette is wondering how to capture the reader's interest in the introduction of the proposal she is currently writing. What strategy does the textbook suggest?

A)Identify a serious problem and offer a solution.
B)Discuss a detailed plan for solving the problem.
C)Prove that you understand the problem completely.
D)Describe the credentials and expertise of the project leaders.

Question 12

When would Juliette write a request for proposal (RFP)?

A)when Bennett-Renault wants to attract new clients
B)when the firm has openings for three paralegals
C)when she has been asked to replace and upgrade Bennett-Renault's existing computer equipment
D)when Bennett-Renault wants to start branching out into other kinds of law

Question 13

Juliette decides to include primary data to make her report as convincing as she can. How would Juliette be most likely to generate primary data?

A)Survey a large number of financial institutions about their needs, the types of legal services they use most often, and how legal services could be improved.
B)Search on the Internet for other large legal firms to see what services they currently provide to financial institutions.
C)Access an online government report detailing the nature and the outcomes of legal cases involving financial institutions.
D)Access an online report by a particular financial institution about specific legal issues it has faced.

Question 14

Which of the following statements best explains why Juliette is very careful to cite her sources completely and correctly?

A)She wants to impress readers with her thorough coverage of the material related to her report.
B)She knows that documenting her sources will strengthen her argument.
C)She knows that most readers will want to examine the original source material.
D)She wants to show that she has consulted every available relevant source.

Question 15

Which part of Juliette's report should "hand over" the report to the reader and briefly describe the project?

A)title fly
B)introduction
C)executive summary
D)letter of transmittal

Question 16

Juliette wants to create an effective graphic to illustrate what percentages of the total services Bennett-Renault provides to its clients in a year fall into various categories. How could she best display this information?

A)a flow chart
B)a bar chart
C)a line chart
D)a pie chart

Question 17

Juliette assumes that her boss and other readers of her report will know a great deal about her topic and will have no reason to resist her conclusions. Where should she place her conclusions and recommendations?

A)in an appendix
B)at the end of the report
C)in a memo of transmittal
D)at the beginning of the report

Question 18

Which of the following will make up the main section of Juliette's formal report?

A)summary
B)recommendations
C)discussion of findings
D)introduction and background

Question 19

Juliette knows that her report must include complete and correct in-text citations as well as a "References" or "Works Cited" list to show the sources of her information. As she creates these in the proper style and format, she is struck by one major difference between print and electronic sources. What has she most likely realized?

A)She doesn't need to worry too much about the format for citing electronic sources, since most readers understand that this is a relatively new and undefined area and won't expect to be able to find the original sources.
B)As long as she provides URLs for all electronic sources, readers won't expect to find much more information.
C)She usually needs to include more information when citing electronic sources than she does for print sources.
D)Creating citations for electronic sources is much easier than for print sources because electronic sources are more stable and the format and standards for citing them more consistent.

Question 20

Why might Juliette need to prepare a proposal?

A)to meet government regulations
B)to deliver bad news to employees
C)to advertise job openings in the firm
D)to make an offer to provide legal services to a financial institution

Question 21

Formal reports typically have three characteristics: They are short, fairly formal, and organized with a traditional structure.

Question 22

Informal proposals are often presented in letter format containing six principal parts.

Question 23

Tables are probably the most frequently used visual aids in reports.

Question 24

Organizing a report skilfully makes it more readable and effective.

Question 25

It is not necessary to locate a visual aid close to its reference in the text because it will have a title that will allow the reader to find it easily.

Question 26

One of the challenges for researchers when searching for information online is the enormous and rapidly expanding number of Web sites on the Internet.

Question 27

Secondary data can be accessed in either print or electronic formats.

Question 28

Business writers don't normally waste time writing unsolicited proposals.

Question 29

Paraphrasing someone else's ideas without documenting the source is plagiarism.

Question 30

The main points in the outline of a report often become its main headings.

Question 31

One valuable Web search technique is to enclose every search term in quotation marks.

Question 32

The textbook claims that the most important thing to remember when writing a proposal is that proposals are sales presentations.

Question 33

Because there is so much information on the Web and because it changes so quickly, researchers and business professionals no longer expect complete citations for these sources.

Question 34

The major advantage of using vertical bar charts is that it helps readers to visualize a whole and the proportion of its components.

Question 35

Primary data result from reading what others have experienced and observed.

Question 36

Many companies depend significantly on proposals to generate their income.

Question 37

Using online resources, you can access relevant, credible secondary data without leaving your home or office.

Question 38

Most proposals begin by discussing proposed methods for solving the problem.

Question 39

Most researchers begin by analyzing primary data because it is easier to gather.

Question 40

Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter are used by many businesses.

Question 41

Companies use ___________________ to solicit competitive bids on projects.

Question 42

Informal proposals need to close with a request for approval or ______________________.

Question 43

The best way to graphically illustrate changes over time is to create a(n) _________________ chart.

Question 44

______________________ is the act of quoting directly, paraphrasing, or summarizing information from a source without citing that source.

Question 45

Surveys, questionnaires, and interviews are examples of __________________ data.

Question 46

A(n) ____________________ contains supplementary information needed to clarify the report.

Question 47

___________________ proposals are those that are published in newspapers or Web sites.

Question 48

The _________________ section of a proposal identifies the problem and discusses the goals or purposes of the project.

Question 49

A(n) ___________________ is collaborative software, usually a collection of Web pages, which can be edited by any one of a group of users.

Question 50

A summary that condenses the entire report is often called a(n) ___________________ summary.