Proposal / report

DON’T FORGET!
• Use impersonal, formal style. Express your opinion ONLY at the end of your proposal / report.
• Begin by stating the purpose of your proposal / report
• Use clear headings
• You can use bullet points, but not too many!

INTRODUCTION
-The main purpose/aim of (this report/proposal) is to outline/ present / discuss / examine / evaluate…
-This proposal/ report is intended to present discuss / examine / evaluate /the...
-This proposal/ report (outlines/looks at)…
-In order to do this, interviews were conducted among…

CURRENT SITUATION / BACKGROUND INFORMATION

-Many students/local residents/members of the local community have commented that...

-There is a strong feeling among all concerned that...
-Following a survey of … (local residents, students, etc.) it was found that...
-A number of concerns with regard to …. were expressed by students/local residents/ members of the
local community …
-Of those interviewed, …% reported that…
-The following areas for improvement can be highlighted:

MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUDING

-Based on the interviews, it seems clear that… -In light of the above, we believe the following
-It is clear from customer feedback that… measures should be adopted…
-With regard to…, the general view seems to be… -In the short/long term, we suggest you should
-In the light of (this year’s experience),… consider…
-Perhaps the most effective way of… -In my view, in future, we should…
-If the (centre) is to attract more customers, it is -To improve the situation, we recommend…
vital that… -It is recommended that…
-It is (therefore) believed / obvious that…would be -It is my considered opinion that…
ideal for…
-It would (not) be advisable / practical to…
-We suggest/propose that… -If these suggestions are implemented, it will lead
-We suggest/propose + ing to…
-A (more spacious area) would be the solution…/ -Unless these suggestions are implemented, it is
an effective way of… unlikely that…
-I hope that the plan outlined/presented in this
report meets with your approval.
-I hope that the recommendations outlined/
presented in this report/proposal will receive
your serious consideration.

STYLE
-Do not use contractions.
-Use passive forms whenever possible.
-Use relative clauses to join ideas: The period during which he lived was full of uncertainty.
-Use these formal words:
like → such as / kids → children
a lot (of)→ many / a large number of + countable noun
a lot (of)→ much / a great amount of / a great deal of + uncountable
a lot (intensity)→ very much / significantly / dramatically
 RELATED WORDS AND PHRASES
AGREEMENT
-A great number of people share the view that…
-Today there is general / widespread agreement that …
-It is now widely accepted that …

DISAGREEMENT
-Opinions differ about…
-There is considerable disagreement among people about…
-There has been a great deal of controversy over…

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

-…. has many benefits, including …
-Despite a few problems with …, the advantages clearly outweigh its disadvantages.
-The major drawback of … that …
-The downside of …

CAUSE
-lead to: The research could lead to a cure for many serious illnesses.
-result in: The fire resulted in damage to their property.
-be responsible for: He was responsible for the accident.
-bring about: The war brought about enormous social change.
-give rise to: Poor performance in exams can give rise to depression and even thoughts of suicide.
-contribute to: Passive smoking could contribute to the development of respiratory diseases among
nonsmokers.
-factor: Cost is often the deciding factor when choosing any product.

EFFECT
-impact on: His work has had an enormous impact on the study of genetics.
-influence on: In his book, he examines the influence of the media on our society.
-affect: (v) The disease affects women more than men.
-implications: The results of the study could have important implications for future educational policy.

EMPHASIZING
-I would like to stress that…
-It should be noted that …
-It is worth bearing in mind that …
-Factors such as … play a crucial role in …/ play a vital part in …
-It is essential that …

PROBLEMS
-issue: Issue is used especially about problems that affect a lot of people in society: International terrorism
is the biggest issue (=the most important issue) facing the world today. Previous governments failed to
address (=try to deal with) social issues such as unemployment and homelessness.
-challenge: something difficult that you must do or deal with, which needs a lot of skill, effort, and
determination: She said she was looking forward to the challenge of starting up a new business on her
own.
-difficulty: The company has managed to overcome (=deal with) its recent financial difficulties.
Many people experience difficulty in sleeping at some time in their lives.
- trouble: a problem or several problems that make something difficult, spoil your plans etc: Students of
English often have trouble with phrasal verbs. The company ran into trouble (=started to have problems)
when it tried to expand too quickly.
-setback: something that happens which stops you making progress or which makes things worse than
they were before: Despite some early setbacks, his campaign for the presidency was successful.
-obstacle: Criminal gangs are the biggest obstacle to democratic reform.
-dilemma: The doctors were faced with a moral dilemma.
-vicious circle: Some developing countries get caught in a vicious circle. They cannot afford to pay their
debt repayments, and so the debts get even bigger.
-complication
INCREASE
-increase by (percent): Last year, the number of burglaries increased by 15 percent.
-go up: Last month unemployment went up from 1.6 million to just over 1.7 million.
-grow: The volume of traffic on our roads continues to grow.
-expand: After two years of no growth, the economy started to expand again in 2003.
-double/triple/quadruple: Since 1950, the number of people dying from cancer has almost doubled.
-growth: (n) There has been a huge growth in sales of big 4-wheel-drive vehicles.
DECREASE
-decrease by (percent): The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.
-go down: The percentage of fat in our diets has gone down.
-fall: The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.
SURPRISING
-amazing / unbelievable / incredible / astonishing / staggering
-come as a surprise / come as a shock

SURPRISED
-amazed / astonished / speechless

EXCITING
-thrilling / gripping / exhilarating / action-packed

BORING
-dull / tedious / monotonous / uninspiring

BEAUTIFUL PLACES
-breathtaking / stunning / awe-inspiring / striking / spectacular

UGLY PLACES / PEOPLE

-unattractive / unpleasant / unsightly / hideous (=extremely ugly)

VERY
-absolutely / extremely / highly / incredibly / remarkably

GOOD PERFORMANCE / PIECE OF WORK

-excellent / outstanding / impressive / exceptional

GOOD FOR A PARTICULAR JOB, PURPOSE, ETC

-suitable / right / proper / appropriate

WRONG INFORMATION / NUMBERS

-incorrect / inaccurate / misleading

NERVOUS
-tense / uneasy / anxious / be under stress

COMPARISONS
-a great deal / far / much + comparative + than
-a bit / slightly / barely + comparative + than
-by far / easily the + superlative

VERY MUCH / NOT VERY MUCH

-dramatically / significantly / slightly

AND
-As well (as) / in addition to: Over 600 people will lose their jobs, in addition to the 400 people who left
the company last year.
-In addition: A fifth of the world's population lives on less than $1 a day. In addition, over 100 million
children are living on the streets.
-Furthermore / Moreover: used at the beginning of a sentence when adding an important fact that is
connected with what you have just said: The drug has strong side effects. Furthermore, it can be
addictive.

IF
-as long as / on condition that / provided that

OR
-alternatively: You can go up into the mountains. Alternatively, you can stroll around one of Switzerland's
delightful cities where the old mixes with the new.
-on THE one hand ... on the other (hand)

BECAUSE
-As / since: As it was a hot day, they decided to leave all the windows open. Since it is difficult to predict
how the climate will change, it is not possible to say which countries will suffer the most.
-thanks to
-DUE TO/OWING TO + NOUN
The delay was due to a problem with the ship's engines.
-DUE TO/OWING TO + THE FACT THAT + subject + verb
The men did most of the work in the fields. This was partly due to the fact that the men were stronger.