Deck 4: Planning, Writing, and Revising

Question 1

"Planning"and "gathering"are interchangeable terms.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Research shows that all good writers can use different processes.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

When revising, evaluating your work and measuring it against your goals is a good idea.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When writing, creating lists can help you to compose.

Question 5

Good writers use rules rigidly.

Question 6

You should finish one writing activity before starting another.

Question 7

Expert writers are more likely to realize that the first draft can be revised.

Question 8

One way to overcome the tendency to put off writing is to write regularly.

Question 9

Spend about a quarter of your time planning and revising.

Question 10

When you first get a writing assignment, you should think about all of the steps you will need to go through so that you can plan your time for the project.

Question 11

You should write a full, formal outline for every document you write.

Question 12

Grammar checkers are infallible, so rely on them to do the editing for you.

Question 13

Because spell checkers catch all errors, there's no reason to proofread by eye.

Question 14

Participating actively in your organization and finding out more about its culture and expectations can make it easier to write.

Question 15

Expert writers seem to have accurate expectations. For example, they realize that the first draft should be perfect and therefore are discouraged when they need to revise.

Question 16

It's a lofty goal to keep working to improve your writing process, but the truth of the matter is that people are simply born with their skills.

Question 17

Most, if not all, writers need to revise.

Question 18

Brainstorming is a method that enables writers to evaluate each preliminary idea quickly and to avoid wasting time on unproductive approaches.

Question 19

Thinking about the physical layout of your document can help generate ideas about its content.

Question 20

Talking to your audience is a silly way to generate ideas because if you're going to talk to the audience anyway, why bother to compose a message?

Question 21

There's no reason to review a document you've put together from several sittings because, as you're the author it should naturally flow well.

Question 22

It's OK for editing to precede revision.

Question 23

Writers who use computerized spell checkers should still proofread their documents.

Question 24

The document revision stage includes which of the following steps?

A) Evaluating your work.
B) Adding, deleting, substituting, or rearranging.
C) Proofreading the final copy.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT something an expert is likely to realize about the writing process?

A) The first draft can be revised.
B) Big jobs can be broken into smaller jobs.
C) Editing works better after the draft is complete.
D) Clear goals are less important because they can change while writing.
E) Rules are flexible.

Question 26

Someone who sits down regularly to write but cannot think of anything to say is experiencing

A) Writer's block.
B) Procrastination.
C) Freewriting.
D) Psychological reactance.
E) None of the above.

Question 27

All of the following are elements of revising EXCEPT

A) Adding.
B) Deleting.
C) Substituting.
D) Rearranging.
E) Positioning.

Question 28

Which of the following processes is MOST likely to be used by good writers?

A) Break a large task into smaller, more manageable chunks.
B) Stop writing when words don't flow quickly.
C) Set modest goals and rewards for reaching them.
D) Identify and deal with the problem that makes writing difficult.
E) None of the above.

Question 29

Research shows that experts differ from novices in

A) Identifying and analyzing the initial problem more effectively.
B) Understanding the task more broadly.
C) Drawing from a wider repertoire of strategies.
D) All of the above.
E) Only A and C

Question 30

One way to help you visualize a meeting or document better is to use a

A) Storyboard.
B) Information map.
C) Panel layout.
D) Box diagram.
E) None of the above.

Question 31

Cycling includes

A) Drafting.
B) Getting Feedback.
C) Revising.
D) Getting more feedback.
E) All of the above.

Question 32

While reviewing a report for a colleague, you notice historical information on the topic stops with dates from 15 years ago and seems phrased differently than the rest of his words. Chances are, your colleague used old

A) Ideas.
B) Research.
C) Boilerplate.
D) Form letters.
E) None of the above.

Question 33

List and explain the three major activities of the writing process.

Question 34

Explain why it makes sense to wait until the content is revised before editing.

Question 35

Explain four strategies to help writers plan documents.

Question 36

Good writers make their drafts better by judicious ________, ________, and ________.

Question 37

_________ is hard because writers tend to see what they know should be there rather than what is really there.