Deck 1: What Is Good Writing

Question 1

One of the keys to clarity in writing is

A) using jargon
B) simple sentences
C) lots of big words
D) leaving out many facts

Answer 1

simple sentences

Question 2

The strongest words in the English language are

A) nouns and verbs
B) adjectives and adverbs
C) prepositions and conjunctions
D) interjections and pronouns

Answer 2

nouns and verbs

Question 3

News writers who use big words when simple ones would do and who use more words than are necessary so that they can make what they write appear more important are writing.

A) jargon
B) clichés
C) bureaucratese

Answer 3

bureaucratese

Question 4

Most people find that good, simple, clear writing is fairly easy and just takes a little practice.

Question 5

Jargon is a specialized language that

A) every journalist should know
B) is unnecessary for journalists to understand
C) that journalists should actively use in their writing
D) should be avoided in writing for the mass media

Question 6

One of the reasons that writing is such hard work is that it

A) takes a lot of time to learn to use a typewriter or word processor
B) is hard to learn the rules
C) takes a long time to produce very little
D) is something that must be done alone

Question 7

One of the ways to achieve simplicity in writing

A) is to use compound and complex sentences.
B) to try to find shorter rather than longer words to use
C) to change dictionaries
D) to limit sentences to no more than 10 words

Question 8

"These are the times that try men's souls."
"I have a dream."
"To be or not to be; that is the question."
We remember all of these famous sayings because of their

A) erudition
B) simplicity
C) complexity

Question 9

Writers should never edit their own copy - it's too painful.

Question 10

Clichés were once out of fashion with most writers, but now they are generally accepted as promoting clear, fresh writing.

Question 11

What are the four characteristics of media writing?

A) short, simple, complex, compound
B) newspaper, Web, advertising, broadcast
C) accuracy, precision, clarity, efficiency

Question 12

The sentence below is an example of what kind of writing error: He always arrived at the exact same time on Sunday.

A) cliché
B) bureaucratese
C) redundancy

Question 13

The sentence below is an example of what kind of writing error: When her business failed, she found herself in dire straits financially.

A) cliché
B) bureaucratese
C) redundancy

Question 14

The sentence below is an example of what kind of writing error:
They said it was important for their website to increase their revenue stream.

A) cliché
B) bureaucratese
C) redundancy

Question 15

The chief goal of a journalist is

A) accuracy
B) brevity
C) clarity
D) human interest

Question 16

When we talk about precision in writing, we are referring to

A) attempts by a writer to include many details in the writing
B) using as few words as possible
C) following accepted grammatical rules and knowledge of the meanings of words

Question 17

Efficiency in writing means

A) getting the writing done as quickly as possible
B) using as few words as possible to say what you have to say
C) using at least one cliché or redundancy in each paragraph

Question 18

One of the techniques a writer has of tying information together is through the use of

A) participles
B) clichés
C) transitions