Three documents, three purposes

Most business writing falls into one of three families. Purpose determines everything else — structure, vocabulary, modal verbs, register, and how much you hedge.

What today recycles from Lessons 1–4

You’ve already met the vocabulary and grammar; today you’ll use it.

What today recycles from Lessons 1–4

Three quick principles that will guide every document we write today:

• Modal verbs (L3) calibrate recommendations: must (obligation), should (advice), could / might (possibility).
• Hedging is essential in reports (“the data suggest”) but inappropriate in proposals, where conviction matters.
• Passive voice (L4) depersonalises and reports findings; active voice commits and persuades.

Purpose and style of memos

• Purpose: inform, request, confirm, or (occasionally) persuade.
• Audience: internal — colleagues who know the context.
• Register: professional but direct; concise over flowery.
• Voice: active for commitments (“We will implement…”); passive occasionally for policy (“Expense reports must be submitted by Friday”).
• Modal verbs (L3) are central:
  • “Department heads must cascade this update” (obligation)
  • “Teams should complete training by month-end” (advice)
  • “We may need to revise the timeline” (possibility)

Memo structure

1. Header — To / From / Date / Subject
2. Opening (1–2 sentences) — context + purpose
3. Body — organised with headings or bullet points
4. Closing — call to action + contact

Memo writing task (20 min, in small groups)

In small groups (4–5), draft one shared memo described in the exercises document:

• You: Chief Compliance Officer
• Recipients: All department heads
• Topic: New whistleblower procedures and code of ethics update
• Key changes: new anonymous reporting platform; mandatory compliance training; revised conflict of interest disclosure rules
• Required action: department heads must cascade the changes and return acknowledgement form

Target vocabulary (use at least 5 from Lessons 1–4): accountability, compliance, conflict of interest, integrity, transparency, risk assessment, stakeholders, whistleblower, sustainability, code of ethics.

Target grammar (use deliberately): - At least three different modal verbs (L3) — at least one obligation, one advice, one possibility - At least two sentence adverbials (L2) — e.g. consequently, furthermore, importantly

Discuss each sentence as you draft it: does the modal say what we mean? is the register right? have we earned this hedging? Keep it to one page.

Purpose and style of proposals

• Purpose: persuade — secure agreement, funding, or a contract.
• Audience: external (usually) — a busy decision-maker.
• Register: professional, confident, client-focused.
• Voice: predominantly active (recall L4); avoid hedging; quantify wherever possible.
• Grammar levers:
  • Present perfect (L1) for track record: “We have delivered 40+ similar projects”
  • First conditional (L1) for projected outcomes: “If you implement this, you will reduce churn by 15%”
  • Cause and effect (L2): “As a result of…”, “This led to…”, “Consequently…”
  • Sentence adverbials (L2) to signal logic: “Strategically…”, “Importantly…”, “Typically…”

Proposal structure

1. Title and executive summary — the “elevator pitch”
2. Problem statement — the client’s pain points, in their language
3. Proposed solution — how your offering addresses the problem
4. Key benefits and deliverables — quantified where possible
5. Timeline — realistic milestones
6. Budget / investment — costs, payment terms, ROI (L2)
7. Next steps — call to action, contact

Proposal writing task (25 min, in small groups)

In your small group, draft a short proposal for the NordicPrime Retail expansion scenario in the exercises document. NordicPrime, a Polish retailer, wants to enter the Czech and Slovak markets. Your consultancy proposes a market-entry study. Produce four sections only:

1. Executive summary (already drafted — read and incorporate)
2. Problem statement (recycle: market share, competitive advantage, outsourcing, tariff)
3. Proposed solution (recycle: due diligence, feasibility study, strategic partnership, prototype)
4. Key benefits and deliverables (recycle: ROI, profit margin, scalability, time-to-market, first-mover advantage)

Proposal writing task (25 min, in small groups)

Purpose and style of reports

• Purpose: present findings objectively; support evidence-based decision-making.
• Audience: internal or external; decision-makers and specialists.
• Register: formal, objective, data-driven.
• Voice (L4):
  • Passive for findings: “A significant trend was observed…”
  • Active for recommendations: “We recommend…”
  • Hedging for uncertainty: “The data suggests that…”
• Reported speech (L4) for stakeholder inputs:
  • “The CFO stated that revenue had risen 18%…”
  • “The Head of HR acknowledged that retention had declined…”

Report structure

1. Title page and executive summary
2. Introduction — background, purpose, scope, methodology
3. Findings — presentation and analysis of data
4. Conclusions — what the findings mean
5. Recommendations — specific, actionable proposals
6. Appendices — supporting data, charts

Why outlining matters

• The hardest step is not the prose — it is the analysis: what do the findings mean, and what follows from them?
• An outline forces you to commit to an interpretation before you start writing.
• A report whose outline is weak cannot be rescued by good sentences.
• Today we will outline collaboratively in small groups, because disagreement around the table surfaces analytical weaknesses early.

Report scenario: GlobalTech Innovations

GlobalTech Innovations Sp. z o.o. is a mid-sized software firm (470 employees) facing a combined retention and innovation crisis. The CEO has commissioned your consultancy to analyse the data on the next three slides — covering people, innovation, and finance — and recommend a course of action.

The data appear as charts. Your job in the findings section of the report is to describe what the charts show, in formal English, using passive voice and hedging where appropriate.

Report task (30 min, in small groups)

• Step 1: collaborative outline (10 min) — in your small group, produce:
  • section headings for the full report
  • one-sentence summary of what each section will say
  • the three main recommendations (use at least three different modals: must, should, could, might, ought to)
• Step 2: divide and draft (20 min) — assign one section per group member and draft in parallel. Together, the group should produce:
  • the executive summary
  • at least two findings paragraphs, each describing one of the three charts above (with at least one passive and one reported speech sentence using a reporting verb)
  • the three recommendations (with mixed modals)

Report task (30 min, in small groups)