Deck 6: Completing Business Messages

Question 1

Which of the following sentences contains a camouflaged verb?

A) He slowly, deliberately added the numbers.
B) She is a marketing manager but also serves as ad manager.
C) The recommendation of the committee is to proceed as planned.
D) Some do; others don't.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a hedging sentence?

A) The employee's performance appears to be less than satisfactory.
B) The financial statement needs to have two sections.
C) The deadline is next Tuesday.
D) None of the above are hedging.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

"If the figures are in by the end of the month we will hopefully be able to begin planning for the upcoming year's budget, but if they are not then the planning process will most definitely have to wait until later" is an example of

A) an indefinite pronoun starter.
B) a comma splice.
C) an overly long sentence.
D) an awkward pointer.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Starting a sentence with "It is" or "There are" is

A) a sign that you are using passive voice.
B) perfectly acceptable, and you need not try to rewrite the sentence.
C) usually a sign that the sentence could be shorter and more active.
D) a sign that you are using active voice.

Question 5

"Environmental impact consultant study results" is an example of

A) a dangling modifier.
B) a dependent clause.
C) a long noun sequence.
D) redundancy.

Question 6

Skilled business writers

A) use long sentences to emphasize important information.
B) vary the length of their sentences.
C) keep their sentences to an average length of 40 words or fewer.
D) do all of the above.

Question 7

"The above-mentioned book" is an example of

A) an awkward reference.
B) a strung-out sentence.
C) a redundancy.
D) an indefinite pronoun starter.

Question 8

When it comes to paragraph length

A) use one-sentence paragraphs only occasionally, for emphasis.
B) use long paragraphs if you want your document to look more inviting.
C) keep all paragraphs to fewer than 60 words.
D) use long paragraphs with detailed information for direct-mail letters.

Question 9

When reviewing your document for content, you should be concerned with

A) style and tone.
B) punctuation and spelling.
C) grammar and usage.
D) the accuracy and relevance of the information.

Question 10

"Visible to the eye" is an example of

A) a cliché.
B) the passive voice.
C) redundancy.
D) obsolete language.

Question 11

Which of the following is not a technique for helping readers who skim your document?

A) Including headings and subheadings
B) Keeping all sentences the same length
C) Using shorter paragraphs
D) Using lists and bullets instead of narrative

Question 12

What is wrong with the following sentence? "To waste time and missing deadlines are bad habits."

A) It contains a dangling modifier.
B) It contains a split infinitive.
C) Similar ideas are not parallel.
D) Nothing-it is grammatically correct as written.

Question 13

Which of the following sentences is the most concisely worded?

A) Project managers have the capability of changing specifications before the official start date.
B) The project manager is in charge of furnishing specifications until such time as the project gets underway.
C) All specifications should be provided by the project manager prior to the start of a project.
D) The project manager must give the engineers the revised specifications before the project starts.

Question 14

When creating a list for a business document

A) always use bullets, rather than numbers or letters.
B) any text in the list should be typed in all caps.
C) be sure to introduce it clearly.
D) keep in mind that the items need not be parallel.

Question 15

When evaluating the work of others, you should

A) talk with the writer about his or her intent only after you suggest changes, since this is a good way to test the effectiveness of the document.
B) make sure you understand the writer's intent before you begin suggesting or making changes.
C) avoid talking with the writer about the document, since other readers may not have that opportunity.
D) compare the other person's writing style with your own, and if yours is better, rewrite the document in your own style.

Question 16

When revising a document, you should

A) try to accomplish all revision tasks in one pass, in order to finish quickly.
B) first look carefully for grammatical errors.
C) first read through it to evaluate its overall effectiveness.
D) pay closest attention to the document's spelling.

Question 17

What is wrong with the following sentence? "Having stalled for two days, the assignment was now late."

A) It contains an awkward pointer.
B) It lacks parallelism.
C) It contains a dangling modifier.
D) Nothing-it is grammatically correct as written.

Question 18

Informative headings and subheadings

A) are easier to write than descriptive headings.
B) guide readers to think a certain way about the topics covered.
C) simply identify topics covered in the document.
D) are less helpful to readers than descriptive headings.

Question 19

The main tasks in completing a business message consist of all except

A) producing.
B) forecasting.
C) proofreading.
D) revising.

Question 20

For general business messages, your writing should be geared to readers at the

A) fifth- to sixth-grade level.
B) eighth- to eleventh-grade level.
C) first- to fourth-grade level.
D) twelfth- to fourteenth-grade level.

Question 21

Using white space in a document

A) makes your document look unappealing.
B) provides contrast.
C) is considered "cheating."
D) is only an option when you can't use color.

Question 22

Which of the following is not a subjective choice in designing business documents?

A) Restraint
B) Consistency
C) Detail
D) Balance

Question 23

Which of the following techniques can help you proofread more effectively?

A) Always proofread using your monitor (rather than printing out a hard copy of the document).
B) To ensure consistency, proofread long documents from beginning to end without stopping.
C) Read each page backward, from the bottom to the top.
D) Proofread the document as soon as you complete the draft.

Question 24

Multimedia documents

A) require highly technical training in order to create.
B) convey information more slowly than traditional documents.
C) are generally too expensive to produce to be useful in business.
D) can allow recipients to personalize the communication process to their own needs.

Question 25

At the beginning of the revision process, you should evaluate the content of your message, then review the effectiveness of its organization.

Question 26

For effective document design, you should

A) balance the space devoted to text, artwork, and white space.
B) use a mix of several typefaces and type sizes and include a variety of decorative touches to make the pages look more interesting.
C) fit as much material as possible on each page.
D) do all of the above.

Question 27

With more complex messages, it is a good idea to set aside a first draft for a day or two before beginning the revision process.

Question 28

The "replace all" feature in word-processing programs

A) can save you time when revising messages.
B) must be used with care, since it can make undesirable changes.
C) tracks down words or phrases and automatically changes them all.
D) is characterized by all of the above.

Question 29

Which type sizes are best for a business document?

A) 12 point text and 24 point headings
B) 18 point text and 36 point headings
C) 12 point text and 16 point headings
D) 10 point text and 10 point headings

Question 30

After you have completed the first draft of your business message, the next step is to make a final, quick pass through it to check for typos and spelling errors.

Question 31

Justified type is type that is

A) centered.
B) set flush or "lined up" on the right.
C) set flush right and ragged on the left.
D) set flush left and ragged on the right.

Question 32

With practice, most writers can create first drafts that do not need to be revised.

Question 33

A spell checker

A) highlights words it doesn't recognize.
B) has eliminated the need for proofreading.
C) suggests synonyms.
D) cannot automatically correct misspelled words as you type.

Question 34

If you're sending extremely large files, you should

A) send them through the mail to avoid excessive costs.
B) use overnight delivery to send a hard copy rather than sending them electronically.
C) always send them as MS Word attachments.
D) consider using a file compression utility, as long as your recipients have the ability to expand the file.

Question 35

When selecting typefaces for most business documents, you should

A) choose a nice sans serif face for your main body text.
B) use a large type size (at least 14 points) for your basic text if you need to fill up space.
C) make generous use of such styles as all caps, underlines, and boldface.
D) generally avoid using more than two typefaces on a page.

Question 36

Serif typefaces are generally preferable to sans serif fonts for

A) headings and captions.
B) regular paragraph text.
C) display treatments.
D) none of the above.

Question 37

A computer thesaurus

A) suggests correct spelling.
B) catches punctuation as well as grammar errors.
C) highlights phrases in passive voice.
D) can help you find just the right word for a given situation.

Question 38

In revising an important report, you want to make sure all numbers are written with numerals rather than being spelled out. Which of the following tools can help with this task?

A) Link checker
B) Thesaurus
C) Spell checker
D) Style checker

Question 39

Centered margins

A) make the document easier to read.
B) help get audience members' attention, even before they start to read.
C) create a cleaner look because of increased white space along the right margin.
D) are best for headings and tables.

Question 40

The best approach to completing your business message is to focus on the details first before addressing the document as a whole.

Question 41

The middle section of a message has the greatest impact on the audience.

Question 42

You should strive for a sixth-grade reading level for most business messages.

Question 43

It is inappropriate to use lists in formal business writing.

Question 44

To create a list, you can use numbers, letters, or bullets (graphic elements) to separate the items.

Question 45

Although readability formulas are easy to apply, they ignore some factors that contribute to reading ease.

Question 46

The subject and predicate of a sentence should be kept as close together as possible.

Question 47

Short words are generally more vivid and easier to read than long words.

Question 48

"The qualification of the runner in the race took one hour" is an example of a sentence with a camouflaged verb.

Question 49

Readers can get a more out of a document just by reading its descriptive headings than by reading its informative headings.

Question 50

Skilled business writers keep all their sentences as short as possible.

Question 51

Headings have only one function, which is to break up long blocks of type.

Question 52

Items in a list do not need to have parallel construction.

Question 53

To increase the sophistication of your message, make liberal use of references such as "the latter," "the former," "the aforementioned," and "as mentioned above."

Question 54

To avoid legal problems in your business messages, you should use as many hedging words (such as may or seems) as possible.

Question 55

An example of an informative heading would be "Redesigning to Cut Material Costs."

Question 56

Although you should vary the length of paragraphs in your business messages, in general you should strive for short paragraphs.

Question 57

Words that do not affect the meaning of a sentence are usually unnecessary and contribute to sentence clutter.

Question 58

A dangling modifier is a modifier that has no connection to the subject of the sentence.

Question 59

One way to make your messages clearer is to break up overly long sentences into shorter sentences.

Question 60

If you regularly edit for conciseness and clarity, you'll likely find that audiences are more likely to read your documents.

Question 61

Word combinations that are needlessly repetitive are called ________.

Question 62

A(n) ________ sentence uses words such as may and seems to avoid stating a judgment or fact directly.

Question 63

Using a ________ formula will give you a rough idea of how educated your audience must be to read and comprehend your message.

Question 64

________ verbs are those that have been changed into nouns or adjectives.

Question 65

An electronic ________ gives you alternative words and helps you find synonyms.

Question 66

A modifier is said to be ________ when it has no real connection to the subject of the sentence.

Question 67

Using a spell checker guarantees that your documents will be free of spelling errors.

Question 68

"Three AM in the morning" is an example of a redundancy.

Question 69

A(n) ________ ________ compares your document with an electronic dictionary, highlights unrecognized words, and suggests correct spelling.

Question 70

With ________ construction, two or more similar ideas are expressed with the same grammatical pattern.

Question 71

An effective alternative to using conventional sentences is to set off important ideas in a(n) ________-a series of words, names, or other items.

Question 72

Today's powerful grammar checkers can easily determine whether your document states your message correctly and communicates it clearly.

Question 73

To make your message more interesting and accessible, you should use as many design elements and decorative touches as possible.

Question 74

If you find graphics, photos, videos, and other elements online, you can use them in your own documents without worrying about copyright violations.

Question 75

One advantage of justified type is that it makes a message look more personalized and less like a form letter.

Question 76

Using many different fonts in the same document will make it more appealing to your audience.

Question 77

The sentence, "We see reasons to expand" is a more effective sentence than "There are reasons to expand."

Question 78

________ headings identify a topic but do little more; ________ headings guide readers to think in certain ways about a topic.

Question 79

To draw attention to important points or terms italic type is more effective than boldface.

Question 80

Because the first thing that readers will notice about your message is its appearance, you should pay special attention to design and page layout.