Deck 10: Conciseness

Question 1

____ writing involves using as few simple words as possible to make a point.

A) Concise
B) Candid
C) Clever
D) Coy

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The foundation of conciseness is focus.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following is not a guideline for achieving concise communications?

A) Omit rhetorical questions.
B) Avoid obvious statements.
C) Reword clunky prepositional phrases.
D) Prefer quotations to paraphrases and summaries.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Being concise and to the point shows your audience that you value their attention and respect their time, which can foster trust.

Question 5

____ is any word or group of words that has no meaning; they do not add information or advance the communication's objective.

A) Anachronism
B) Archaism
C) Fodder
D) Filler

Question 6

One form of filler is "bullshit."

Question 7

Which of the following is a wordy phrase, which should be replaced with its more concise equivalent?

A) due to the fact that
B) there can only be one
C) there is no excuse
D) unless there are any objections

Question 8

Which of the following is a strategy for eliminating filler from written communications? Select all that apply.

A) Pretend that each word costs $1.
B) Try not to overthink or spend too much time on it.
C) Outline before we write the draft.
D) Write only one draft.

Question 9

Which of the following is a strategy for eliminating filler from oral communications? Select all that apply.

A) Talk fast so there is less opportunity for filler.
B) Record ourselves so we can learn what filler we tend to use.
C) Try to replace filler with informative transitions.
D) Read our presentation word-for-word to our audience.

Question 10

____ are overused, unoriginal, and generally meaningless-and they can trivialize a communication, making the speaker look ignorant and/or insincere.

A) Verbalizations
B) Trite expressions
C) Inoperative caveats
D) Transitions

Question 11

A(n) ____ question is a question asked when no answer is sought.

A) reflexive
B) operative
C) rhetorical
D) one-way

Question 12

Based on the information provided, which of the following underlined passages is an example of a rhetorical question? Select all that apply.

A) Do you know why? I'll tell you why. Because….
B) And why would he report the accident? After all, he had already seen the victim drive off….
C) Who in here has experienced road rage? Raise your hands, please.
D) Is there a reason to believe he would be involved in a hit-and-run? A few years ago, he was caught in….

Question 13

Generally speaking, we should answer, not ask, questions in technical communications.

Question 14

A(n) ____ is a set of words that modifies some other part of the sentence.

A) compound subject
B) complex predicate
C) restrictive clause
D) prepositional phrase

Question 15

A(n) ____ is a word that can be used as a preposition but instead is being used as part of a verb, such as "to" and "in."

A) participle
B) pronoun
C) adverb
D) conjunction

Question 16

There is no such thing as an appropriate and necessary prepositional phrase; all can be edited to be more concise.

Question 17

A prepositional phrase contains….

A) a preposition at the beginning and a noun at the end.
B) a subject and a verb connected by a preposition.
C) a preposition and a particle separated by a conjunction.
D) a particle at the beginning and a verb at the end.

Question 18

A(n) ____ word or collection of words is superfluous in that it is merely repeating information that appears elsewhere in the communication.

A) vague
B) abstract
C) concrete
D) redundant

Question 19

Whether the material is important or not, as a rule, repetition is beneficial for the audience.

Question 20

Which of the following sets of words are redundant?

A) final exam
B) completely full
C) past event
D) recent trend

Question 21

Which of the following word pairs are redundant?

A) armed guard
B) circular drive
C) advance planning
D) partial payment

Question 22

If something is really "needless to say," then it should not be said.

Question 23

The phrase "needless to say" does not belong in technical communications.

Question 24

We should not insult our audience by saying something is "obvious."

Question 25

Which of the following is not a common obvious statement that should be avoided?

A) It goes without saying
B) Of course
C) As a case in point
D) As plainly seen

Question 26

A(n) ____ is when source material is repeated verbatim, using the exact same words and sentence structure to express the exact same idea.

A) paraphrase
B) summary
C) preposition
D) quotation

Question 27

Quotation marks are required around any quote that is a complete sentence or more, but quotation marks are not needed around phrases or fragments.

Question 28

The longer the quotation, the more compelling should be the reason for including it.

Question 29

Which of the following is not an effective use of quotations?

A) The source makes a controversial statement
B) Using the source's exact words acts "serves as a second voice" for the point you are making
C) You do not fully understand the material and might not be able to reword it accurately
D) Your communication will analyze the source, so you want the reader to see the actual source

Question 30

A(n) ____ is when source material is relayed in our own words and sentence structure, using approximately the same amount of space to convey the source's idea.

A) paraphrase
B) summary
C) preposition
D) quotation

Question 31

Which of the following is not a feature of a proper paraphrase?

A) alters wording without changing meaning
B) keeps the basic sequence of ideas
C) retains the argument's basic logic
D) replaces the argument's basic examples

Question 32

An in-text citation and quotation marks are needed for all paraphrases.

Question 33

Which of the following are appropriate situations for paraphrasing? Select all that apply.

A) demonstrating how the source's word choice and writing style reveal emotions
B) outlining sequential steps in a process
C) breaking down a complicated passage to help the audience understand
D) identifying the main points in a book

Question 34

Paraphrasing can be a particularly effective way to demonstrate knowledge of the source material without disrupting the flow and tone of your communication.

Question 35

A(n) ____ is when source material is relayed accurately using your own words and sentence structure as well as in substantially less space.

A) paraphrase
B) summary
C) preposition
D) quotation

Question 36

When we paraphrase, we take a relatively big chunk of information and boil is down to its essence or main point.

Question 37

Whether we paraphrase, summarize, or quote, we need to provide an in-text citation.

Question 38

When we summarize, we use mostly the source's own words.

Question 39

Which of the following ways of incorporating source material is most consistent with the goal of concise writing?

A) quotation
B) paraphrase
C) duplicate
D) summary

Question 40

If the source material is long as well as unclear and/or complicated, then we should ____ it.

A) summarize
B) quote
C) paraphrase
D) borrow

Question 41

A(n) ____ is a concise summary of an article's purpose, methods, and conclusion.

A) footnote
B) appendix
C) abstract
D) running head

Question 42

A typical abstract is approximately how long?

A) 3 pages
B) 1 page
C) 1 sentence
D) 1/2 page

Question 43

The job of the abstract is to summarize the paper.

Question 44

Which of the following generally do not belong in an abstract? Select all that apply.

A) quotations
B) citations
C) definitions
D) examples

Question 45

Which of the following is not a best practice for developing compelling abstracts?

A) Summarize each major section.
B) Include all pertinent details.
C) Use one tone consistently.
D) Use your own words.

Question 46

One way to write a thorough and accurate abstract is to write the abstract last-after you have written the paper.

Question 47

An original post on Twitter is called a(n) ____.

A) snap
B) tweet
C) blog
D) flip

Question 48

To ____ is to repost or forward a post on Twitter.

A) reply
B) share
C) retweet
D) snip snap

Question 49

Twitter posts can be up to but not above 500 characters of text, including spaces.

Question 50

Despite the popularity of social media, fewer than 5% of police agencies currently use Twitter or any other social media platform.

Question 51

As presented in Chapter 10, which of the following is not a reason why law-enforcement agencies use social media? Select all that apply.

A) gathering information about crime
B) announcing hirings, promotions, demotions, and firings
C) notifying the public
D) dating and match-making

Question 52

Twitter is a way that police agencies can connect with citizens.

Question 53

Which of the following are benefits of law-enforcement use of Twitter (and other forms of social media)? Select all that apply.

A) Twitter facilitates a more widespread and interactive form of citizen and community engagement.
B) Twitter allows the police to improve the accuracy of crime news reporting.
C) Twitter allows the police to reach a wide audience.
D) Twitter creates a safe environment for hate speech.

Question 54

There appear to be two general styles of law-enforcement social media communications: true and false.

Question 55

Which of the following is not a best practice for law-enforcement tweeting?

A) Have a social media presence and policy for your department.
B) Only tweet during emergency times so the community does not become desensitized.
C) Manage emergencies with frequent, informative, and serious tweets.
D) Use photos, videos, and other media to attract attention and enhance memory.