Report or Proposal

Practising for Cambridge English: Business Vantage
Writing Part 2
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Practising for Cambridge English: Business Vantage Writing Part 2 www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org
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Contents

A. TEACHERS NOTES ...........................................................................................................2
A1. ...............................................................................................................2 Lesson Plan
A2. ................................................................................................6 Classroom Handout 1
A5. .....................................................................................9 Classroom Handout 4 Part A
A5. .....................................................................................9 Classroom Handout 4 Part B
A6. ..............................................................................................10 Classroom Handout 5
A9. ........................................................................13 Classroom Handouts Answer Key
A10. ............................................................15 Suggested homework/self study activities
B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES ....................................................................16

Writing Part 2

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A. TEACHERS NOTES

Description
Time required: 60 minutes (+ 1315 minutes optional)
Materials
required:
Classroom Handout 1 (optional) (one copy per student)
Classroom Handout 2 (optional) (one copy per student)
Classroom Handout 3 (one copy per student)
Classroom Handout 4 (one copy for each pair of students, cut up)
Classroom Handout 5 (one copy for each pair of students, cut up)
Aims: To prepare students for Cambridge English: Business Vantage
Writing Part 2 by:
raising awareness of the differences and similarities
between proposals and reports
identifying and practising formal phrases and expressions
exploring the structure and language required in reports
and proposals

A1. Lesson Plan
1. [Optional: this step is appropriate if you are not sure how familiar your students are
with the Cambridge English: Business Vantage Writing test and Part 2 in particular.]
Ask students the following questions about Cambridge English: Business Vantage
Writing:
How long does the paper last? (45 minutes)
How many questions do you have to answer? (2)
Do you have a choice of questions? (yes)
Elicit the answers quickly and do not give any more detail at this stage. Tell learners
that they are going to do a quick quiz on Part 2 of the paper.
Give out A2 Classroom Handout 1. Students complete the worksheet on their own
then check their answers in pairs.
Check the answers together (see A9 Classroom Handouts Answer Key).
Writing Part 2

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Timing: 57 minutes
2. [Optional: this step is appropriate if you feel the need to clarify the difference between
a proposal and a report.]
Students look at exercise 2 on A2 Classroom Handout 1. They work in pairs and
decide if the document in each case would be a report or proposal.
Check the answers together. (Answers: 1 proposal, 2 report, 3 report, 4 -
proposal)
Give out A3 Classroom Handout 2. Elicit/Remind students that there are many
similarities between reports and proposals. Students work in pairs to complete the
worksheet.
Feed back and check answers together.
Timing: 8 minutes
3. Give out A4 Classroom Handout 3.
Individually, students read the question carefully and highlight the key words. Allow
up to five minutes for this.
Ask students to turn the worksheet over. In pairs, they should recall as much
information as they can about the question.
Check answers to the following questions:
a. Are you writing a report or a proposal? (a report)
b. Who is the report for? (your line manager, or boss)
c. What are the five points you must include? (other companies sales in North
America; how to improve sales in North America; why sales in Australia went
up; sales in Europe stayed the same; drop in sales in North America was
unexpected)
d. How many words must you write? (120140)
Timing: 810 minutes
4. Discuss what students would do if they received this type of message from their line
manager. What information would they need to collect?
Explain that they are going to find out the information they need through a role play.
Give out A5 Classroom Handout 4 Part A to one half of the class, and Part B to the
other half of the class. Allow students 23 minutes to read through their role cards
and discuss any queries with the person next to them. Answer any questions.
Re-organise the class so that there is one A and one B together. Elicit/clarify that they
are colleagues who both work in the sales team and are meeting to share their
information for the report.
Writing Part 2

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As students carry out the role play, monitor and note down any examples of suitable
informal language used (for Lesson Plan Step 6).
Timing: 810 minutes
5. Give out A6 Classroom Handout 5 (cut up) to each pair.
Explain that this is an example of the report, which is mixed up and needs to be put in
order. Elicit that there are headings as well as paragraphs. Pairs re-order the text.
Check the exercise together (see original of handout for the correct order).
Discuss with students:
Are all the handwritten notes answered? (yes)
What style is the report written in? (formal)
What are the headings? Are these useful headings for a report? (Introduction,
Findings, Recommendations; these are both useful and typical)
Timing: 5 minutes
6. Write or show the following words and phrases on the board:
a) because of
b) went up a lot
c) stayed the same
d) fell a lot
e) how we can do better
f) do some more training
g) how much we sold in 2010
h) was definitely
Explain that these are paraphrases of words or phrases used in the text. Elicit
whether these are formal or informal (informal). Together, find the paraphrase for a)
in the text (Answer: as a result of).
In pairs, students find and underline the other paraphrases.
Check answers together, emphasising the importance of this kind of language for
reports and proposals (see A9 Classroom Handouts Answer Key). Draw attention to
the way both vocabulary and grammar can be used to make language more formal.
Encourage students to copy these expressions into their vocabulary record.
Write on the board some of the examples of student talk that you noted down during
the role play in Lesson Plan Step 4. These should be examples of informal use of
language. Elicit more formal ways to express the same ideas, feeding in useful
language if necessary.
Timing: 1015 minutes
Students work individually to complete the exercise. They then check their answers
with a partner and add any other phrases to the list.
Writing Part 2

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With the whole class, go through the answers. Feed back students further ideas for
the lists, writing any particularly good ones on the board. Ask students to record the
phrases.
(Answers: Introduction: 1, 3, 10; Findings: 7; 9; Conclusion: 2; 6 Recommendations:
4; 5; 8)
Timing: 10 minutes
8. Collect in A6 Classroom Handout 5.
Students write their own reports in response the question on A4 Classroom Handout
3, based on their discussions in the role play in Lesson Plan Step 4. They must:
agree on the structure of the report (What headings will you use?)
share the sections out between them, so they each write different sections
(What sections are you going to write?)
write their own sections (allow 5 minutes maximum for this)
read, edit and improve each others work, joining the sections together (Has
your partner included the important information? Is the message clear? Is the
language suitably formal? Do the sections join together well, without repetition
or inconsistency?)
Timing: 15 minutes
Students write the proposal for homework.
Note: if you omitted Lesson Plan Steps 1 and 2, you may want to give students A2
Classroom Handout 1 and A3 Classroom Handout 2 with the key to read and
complete before the start writing their proposals.

Writing Part 2

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A2. Classroom Handout 1
Complete the text with the words/numbers from the box below. You will not need all
of the words.
recommendations informal four five
proposal 200 formal situation actions
140 report suggestions email

In Part 2 of the Cambridge English: Business Vantage Writing test, you have to write a letter,
___________ or ___________. You must write between 120 and ______________ words.
In a report, you will be asked to write about what you have found out about a problem or a
__________ and may be asked to make ___________ or __________. In a proposal, you
will be asked to recommend ___________ and explain why they are a good idea. Both
pieces of writing should be written in a ___________ business style and should include all
_______ handwritten notes on the question paper.

Read the situations below and decide if you should write a proposal or a report. Delete as
applicable.
1. You work in the sales department as a sales representative and want to go on a
course to learn about the latest sales techniques. You write a proposal/report
explaining why you should go on the course.
2. You are a sales manager and have bad sales figures for the last year. You write a
proposal/report explaining some of the reasons for poor sales and recommendations
for improvements.
3. You work in the customer service department and have been asked to write a
proposal/report explaining the numbers of complaints in the past six months.
4. Your company is planning to relocate to another area of the city. You must write a
proposal/report outlining the choices available and the advantages and
disadvantages of each location.
Writing Part 2

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Look at the statements below and decide if they are true of reports, of proposals, or of
both.
The first one has been done for you.

Reports Proposals
This document is often organised using headings.
This document is usually based on a future situation
or future plan.

This document is usually based on a situation that
has already happened.

This document usually contains more
recommendations than the other.

This document can often be personal, for example I
may be used more than an impersonal it. E.g. I
recommend rather than It is recommended.

This document focuses on findings.

The language used is formal.

Writing Part 2

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Read the question below and highlight the key words.
You work in the Sales Department of a computer company. You have been asked to write a
short report on last years sales for your line manager.

Look at the information below, on which you have already made some handwritten notes.

Then, using all your handwritten notes, write your report.

Write 120140 words.

Could you write me a report on last years sales figures? The results for North America dont
look good how did other companies perform? Also, could you make some
recommendations to improve sales in this area?
give details
Suggest
something

COMPUTER SALES 2010

Australia 100,000

Europe 90,000
North America 70,000
Did not
meet
Explain why
better than last

Same as last
year
Writing Part 2

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A5. Classroom Handout 4 Part A
You and your colleague work in sales. Youve been asked by your line manager to compile a
report on the sales figures for 2010. Youve found out the following information:
Competitor computer sales North America
2008 2009 2010
Delta 139,000 145,000 128,000
Sunny 62,000 74,000 63,000
Holden Parker 97,000 123,000 88,000
Cherry 192,000 221,000 176,000
Arrange a meeting with your colleague to:
share the information youve both found out
discuss which parts of the information youll use in the report
discuss any other points you need to cover in the report.
A5. Classroom Handout 4 Part B
You and your colleague work in sales. Youve been asked by your line manager to compile a
report on the sales figures for 2010. Youve found out the following information:
Australia:welaunchedanewinternetadvertisingcampaigntotargetthe1825market,
whichprovedverysuccessful.Weneedtoconsiderhowtomaintainandimproveonthis
positionin2011.
SalesinEuropein2009were89,000.Wekeptourpositionassecondhighestselling.
TheEuropeanmarketisslowduetofinancialpressures.Weexpectedsalestobedifficult
heresoitsgoodthatwehaventfallenback.
SalesinNorthAmericafellfrom79,000in2009.Ourtargetforthisregionwas85,000.
Salesteamsreportedaveryslowmarketwhichhasbeenheavilyhitbytherecession
there.
Arrange a meeting with your colleague to:
share the information youve both found out
discuss which parts of the information youll use in the report
discuss any other points you need to cover in the report.

Writing Part 2

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Sales Report for 2010

Introduction

The aim of this report is to compare the sales achieved in 2010 with those of the previous
year. In addition, it will give reasons for the figures and suggest ways of improving them.

Findings

While sales in Europe remained constant, those in Australia increased dramatically. This was
due to the fact that we launched a new internet advertising campaign targeting young
consumers, which has proved to be very successful. However, in the same period sales in
North America plummeted and did not meet our targets. After some research, it was found
that all our competitors performed badly as a result of the recession and low consumer
demand.

Recommendations

In order to improve our sales figures in North America, staff should undertake additional
training in the latest sales techniques.

Writing Part 2

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The following phrases could be used in reports. Put them into four groups:
(a) Introduction (b) Findings (c) Conclusion (d) Recommendations

1. This report outlines the sales figures for
2. It was concluded/decided/agreed/felt that
3. The aim of this report is to
4. It is recommended that
5. It is suggested that
6. On balance,
7. clearly shows that
8. It is proposed that
9. It was found that
10. The purpose of this report is to

When youve finished, check your answers with your partner.
Are there any other words, phrases or expressions that you could add to the lists? Try
to write two other phrases in each group.

Writing Part 2

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Your company has agreed to pay for you to go on a sales training course. You have seen an
advertisement about a course.

Read the advertisement below, on which you have already made some handwritten notes.

Then, using all your handwritten notes, write a proposal for your Training Manager,
explaining why you would like to attend the course.

Write 120 140 words.

INNOVATIVE SALES TECHNIQUES
DATES: 11
TH
OCTOBER OR 22
ND
DECEMBER
LOCATION: LONDON

Aimed at managers with three years experience of sales.

Training includes:
Marketing skills
Direct sales strategies
Customer service

Trainers have at least ten years experience of working in companies.

Cost: 150 per person. 10% discount if more than two people book.
Deadline for booking
October 30
th
August, December 31
st
October
December-
better say
Really useful-need to
im rove this
Excellent-
you will be
able to learn
Suggest two
ll
Need to book
Writing Part 2

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A9. Classroom Handouts Answer Key
In Part 2 of the BEC Vantage writing exam you have to write a letter, report or proposal. You
must write between 120 and 140 words. In a report you will be asked to write about what you
have found out about a problem or a situation and may be asked to make recommendations
or suggestions. In a proposal you will be asked to recommend actions and explain why they
are a good idea. Both pieces of writing should be written in a formal, business style and
should include all five handwritten notes on the question paper.

Reports Proposals
This document is often organised using headings.

This document is usually based on a future situation
or future plan.

This document is usually based on a situation that
has already happened.

This document usually contains more
recommendations than the other.

This document can often be personal, for example I
may be used more than an impersonal it. E.g. I
recommend rather than It is recommended.

This document focuses on findings.

The language used is formal.

Lesson Plan Step 6
a) because of
b) went up a lot
c) stayed the same
d) fell a lot
e) how we can do better
f) do some more training
g) how much we sold in 2010
h) was definitely
Writing Part 2

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Sales Report for 2010
Introduction
The aim of this report is to compare (g) the sales achieved in 2010 with those of the previous
year. In addition, it will give reasons for the figures and suggest (e) ways of improving them.
Findings
While sales in Europe (c) remained constant, those in Australia (b) increased dramatically.
This was due to the fact that we launched a new internet advertising campaign targeting
young consumers, which has (h) proved to be very successful. However, in the same period
sales in North America (d) plummeted and did not meet our targets. After some research, it
was found that all our competitors performed badly (a) as a result of the recession and low
consumer demand.
Recommendations
In order to improve our sales figures in North America, staff should (f) undertake additional
training in the latest sales techniques.

Writing Part 2

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A10. Suggested homework/self study activities
1. Students could expand the questions on A2 Classroom Handout 1, adding prompts
for the five content points. They then swap their expanded questions other students,
who choose one question to answer. They could email each other their answers, or
bring them to class to check.
2. Students could use the internet to research topics of local or current interest, which
could then be turned into reports or proposals. For example on A2 Classroom
Handout 1, one of the situations outlined was the possible relocation of a company.
Get students to research possible locations for a company in their country and then
write a proposal recommending a city and giving reasons why.
3. In Lesson Plan Step 6, students were encouraged to notice formal language
expressions used in the text on A6 Classroom Handout 5. Noticing useful language in
texts is an excellent way of improving vocabulary and allows students to borrow
phrases and expressions, with the aim of making these part of their active language
resource. Other sources for this kind of language include newspaper reports,
especially the business and financial sections, business magazines and journals and
company annual reports and documents. Encourage students to search for and read
reports from companies theyre interested in, or in their sector. There should also be
a good supply in business course books and resource materials.
4. The writing and editing process in Lesson Plan Step 8 could take longer than 15
minutes if students are motivated. They can exchange and edit their sections via
email or the internet until they are happy with the end result, which they bring to class
in the following lesson.

Writing Part 2

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B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

1. Authentic texts could be used to develop similar questions to those in A4 Classroom
Handout 3.
Good sources of adverts/texts which could be used to develop questions and students
vocabulary are the internet, business magazines and course books.
When choosing a text, it is useful to think about the following:
keep the text quite short so that students dont get frightened by it
include headings to make the text easy to follow
you can adapt the text by substituting a high level word with an easier synonym
consider what handwritten notes you could add. Aim to always have five, so
students get used to answering this number.
2. Many students lose marks in the exam because they do not include all of the content
points in their answer. In A4 Classroom Handout 3, A6 Classroom Handout 5 and when
editing their own answers in Lesson Plan Step 8, students are encouraged to consider
whether the content points are included. Train students to:
to highlight the points when they read the question
to tick them off as they write their answer
to consider whether the content points are clearly answered when they check
their work after theyve finished writing
3. This activity combines a writing activity with a speaking task in the role play on A5
Classroom Handout 4. This not only makes a writing lesson more interesting as it varies
the pace and interaction, it also helps students with their writing. They have a chance to
think of ideas, to share and adopt ideas of other students, to activate their vocabulary and
to formulate phrases and expressions they can use.
Other speaking activities that can work well with writing tasks are:
brainstorming ideas in groups
pyramid discussions
ranking activities
informal debates, where students have to defend a point of view given to them by
the teacher.
4. When students work on vocabulary, such as in Lesson Plan Step 6 and A7 Classroom
Handout 6, its important that they keep good records of new words or expressions.
Encourage students to
record phrases in groups and add to them as they do more activities.
Writing Part 2

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write full sentences so that they remember the structures that follow them.
keep a functional language bank with phrases that could be used for different
aspects of a report or proposal complete with sample sentences.
5. In Lesson Plan Step 8, students do pair writing and editing to produce a text. Pair and
group writing can help students to develop their confidence as they have less to write and
can share their writing with a colleague before showing it to the teacher. Editing and
improving each others and their own work trains them to do this when working alone,
and helps them to be more objective about their own writing. When setting up pair or
group writing:
make sure everyone knows what they should write
if appropriate, allocate longer sections to the more able/quicker writers
set a time limit, to encourage the slower writers to speed up
give students specific points to look out for when editing.
6. Its also important to assess students written work yourself. Ideally, this assessment
should encourage students to edit their work further. You can do this by using a
correction code. These can be found in most course books and can be adapted easily for
your purposes. An example of one is:
Gr grammar
Prep preposition
Sp spelling
WW wrong word
WO word order
^ missing word
You can also use codes for a range of other aspects of language that you want to focus
on, e.g. use of conjunctions, interesting language, clear communication, answering all
parts of the question, etc.
Keep the code as simple as possible and make sure all students understand it. When
returning work, give students five or ten minutes in pairs or individually to try to correct
their mistakes.

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