C1 Advanced · Writing · Part 2
Persuasive proposals that recommend action for the future.
A proposal looks like a report and is often confused with one, but the tense gives it away: a report looks back at what is, a proposal looks forward to what should happen. It exists to persuade someone with authority to approve a course of action.
So the persuasion has to be visible. Set out what you are proposing, why it is needed, and — the part most candidates skip — what the benefits will be for the reader's organisation. Headings and a formal register, as with a report, but the ending is a case rather than a summary. This task exists only at C1, and it is the one where the difference between reporting and arguing is being tested directly.
A report describes a situation that exists and draws conclusions from it. A proposal recommends something that does not exist yet and argues for it. Same formality and structure; different tense and different purpose.
Yes — it is what makes a proposal persuasive rather than merely descriptive, and it is usually one of the required content points whether or not the task spells it out. State what the reader's organisation gains.
