Module 21

Module 21 talks about proposals and progress reports.  The module talks about different types of reports, such as formal, informal, informational, analytical, and recommendation reports.  The book suggests that before writing any kind of report, you should plan and do all of your research first.  The proposal or progress report should start with a very good purpose statement, telling the person the organizational problem or conflict, the specific technical questions that must be answered to solve the problem, and also the rhetorical purpose the report is designed to achieve.  The module also talks about different typed of proposals, including sales proppsals, proposals for funding,  and figuring the budget and cost.  The module also talks about what should go in a progress report, and that they can do more than just report progress.  They can enhance your image, float trial balloons, and minimize potential problems.  Module 21 also explains that progress reports should be put in chronological order.  There are two different types of progress reports, including task progress reports, and recommendation progress reports. 

The most important thing that I learned from this module was about the purpose statement.  Just like in the business letters, it is the one chance for the writer to catch and keep the attention of the reader.