Deck 5: Electronic Messages and Digital Media

Question 1

Good advice for e-mail is to use the "top-of-screen" test, which means

A) beginning with a cute graphic or witty quotation to capture your reader's attention.
B) getting the e-mail address right.
C) composing offline.
D) conveying your purpose in the subject line and first paragraph.

Answer 1

D
Explanation:The top-of-screen test ensures that you convey your purpose in the subject line and first paragraph. This allows your readers to open the message, look at the first screen, and see what is most significant.

Question 2

Most e-mail messages and memos

A) have topics that are not sensitive.
B) require persuasion.
C) are indirect and begin with an explanation.
D) need not be carefully organized because they are informal.

Answer 2

B
Explanation:"A new procedure for submitting work hours will go into effect on April 1" provides detailed information about the purpose of the message, which is necessary for a direct opening.

Question 3

You are setting up a system for your tech support employees to communicate with customers to solve problems they are experiencing. What is the best electronic communication channel for this purpose?

A) E-mail
B) Instant messaging (IM)
C) Podcast
D) Blog

Answer 3

B
Explanation:More interactive than e-mail, podcasts, or blogs, instant messaging (IM) involves the exchange of text messages in real time between two or more people logged into an IM service. IM is especially useful for back-and-forth online conversations, such as a customer communicating with a tech support person to solve a problem.

Question 4

Generally, close an e-mail message or memo with action information, needed dates, a summary of the message, or a

A) witty quotation.
B) copyright notice or confidentiality statement.
C) closing thought.
D) reference line that includes the typist's initials.

Question 5

Alicia is sending an e-mail message about an important upcoming meeting. Which of the following represents the most effective subject line?

A) Urgent!
B) Our next staff meeting will be held on the 15^th of August.
C) Please Attend Staff Meeting August 15
D) Please Read Right Away

Question 6

What is the best advice for formatting hard-copy memos?

A) Use even (justified) right and left margins for a neater look.
B) Double-space memos to make them easier to read.
C) Leave five blank lines between the last line of the heading and the first line of the memo.
D) Key the guide words in bold at the left margin.

Question 7

Which of the following is the most appropriate closing for an e-mail message or memo?

A) Please submit your report by August 1 so that the information can be presented at the seminar.
B) Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.
C) Thank you in advance for answering my questions.
D) It's been great talking with you.

Question 8

As you compose an e-mail message during Phase 2 of the writing process, you should

A) gather any documentation necessary to support your message.
B) make a brief outline of the points you want to cover in your message.
C) use white space to separate paragraphs.
D) do all of these.

Question 9

Which of the following messages is appropriate to send via e-mail?

A) An announcement of a major benefit reduction for all employees
B) An announcement of a change in a meeting date
C) A quarterly performance appraisal of an employee
D) Notification of company layoff plans for the next quarter

Question 10

You are delivering information to your superior about proposed salary scales for employees in your department. What is the best communication channel for sending this confidential information?

A) E-mail
B) Podcast
C) Interoffice memo
D) All of the above are appropriate channels for sending confidential information.

Question 11

Which of the following statements about communication in the workplace is most accurate?

A) Paper-based messages such as memos and letters are no longer used in today's workplace.
B) People working in organizations exchange information internally with customers, suppliers, other businesses, and government agencies.
C) Because electronic messaging is so informal, it is used only for internal communication.
D) Information in the workplace can be exchanged electronically through e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, podcasts, blogs, and wikis.

Question 12

E-mail produces a permanent record. Therefore, business communicators should follow which of these recommendations?

A) Use e-mail to deliver bad news or to resolve arguments because it avoids confrontation.
B) Add humor or tongue-in-cheek comments to lighten the tone of serious e-mail topics.
C) Use e-mail instead of hard-copy memos for anything you wouldn't want published.
D) Care about tone, correctness, and conciseness to create messages with the reader in mind.

Question 13

Rania must send a long document to her boss via e-mail. What should she do?

A) Place the document in the body of her e-mail message.
B) Attach the document to the e-mail message, leaving the body of the message blank.
C) Attach the document to the e-mail message, including identifying information in the body.
D) Send it another way; e-mail is not appropriate for sending attachments.

Question 14

Office Manager Jim Arnold needs feedback from his employees. To improve feedback, which of the following sentences should he include in his e-mail?

A) What do you think about these suggestions?
B) If you don't respond, I will assume that you support this plan.
C) Please make an appointment to meet with me in my office to discuss your viewpoint on this plan.
D) I am confident that this plan meets with everyone's approval.

Question 15

Samantha must use e-mail frequently to communicate with others in her new job. What is the best advice to give her?

A) Consider composing important messages offline.
B) Use general tags such as Hi! or Important as the subject line to catch the reader's attention.
C) Add frequent emoticons, such as happy faces, to appear friendly and approachable in e-mail messages.
D) Always press "Reply to All" when replying to e-mail messages.

Question 16

Which of the following situations is most appropriate for sending an e-mail message?

A) Matthew is angry with one of his colleagues and wants to let her know exactly how he feels.
B) Ashley found a great political joke she wants to share with her colleagues.
C) Melissa must send the monthly sales data to her department.
D) Aidan needs to vent his frustrations about working conditions to his shift supervisor.

Question 17

Which of the following is the best advice for writing the body of an e-mail message?

A) To help the receiver act on the subject, discuss only one idea.
B) Because e-mail messages and memos are informal, do not use numbered or bulleted lists.
C) Use graphics, various fonts, and different formatting freely.
D) Type the body in all uppercase letters to make it look important.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a guide word used in e-mail messages and memos?

A) TO:
B) FROM:
C) RESPONSE:
D) DATE:

Question 19

Which of the following statements about Phase 3 of the writing process is correct?

A) E-mail messages should be revised for clarity as viewed from the sender's perspective.
B) Since e-mail messages are informal, a few spelling and punctuation mistakes are acceptable.
C) The writer of an e-mail should plan for feedback to ensure that the message is successful.
D) Phase 3 has little importance in routine messages.

Question 20

Your e-mail messages and memos should have high skim value, which means

A) you write the message quickly and efficiently.
B) information presented is easy to read and comprehend.
C) all sentences contain ten or fewer words.
D) all paragraphs contain five or fewer lines.

Question 21

Why do some employers forbid employees to use instant messaging (IM)?

A) Instant messaging is more expensive to use than faxes or phone calls.
B) Organizations fear that privileged information and company records will be revealed through public instant messaging systems, which hackers can easily penetrate.
C) Delivery of instant messages takes longer than e-mail message delivery.
D) Many companies forbid instant messaging use for all of these reasons.

Question 22

Including a subject line in your e-mail message or memo is optional because the message is usually short.

Question 23

Effective e-mail messages and memos generally discuss only one topic.

Question 24

Which of the following is the best tip for replying to e-mail messages?

A) Reply to an e-mail message as soon as you read it; don't read additional e-mail messages in your in-box because doing so might confuse you.
B) If you can't reply immediately, send a quick message to acknowledge receipt of the message and to tell the sender when you'll be able to reply.
C) Include the sender's entire original message in the body of your reply so that he/she knows what you're responding to.
D) Retain the original subject line to identify a conversation thread even if the topic shifts.

Question 25

You are writing a reply to an e-mail message. Which of the following is an appropriate opener for your reply agreeing to a request?

A) I have just read your May 10 e-mail message about working overtime.
B) Yes, I'm available to work overtime next weekend.
C) Thank you for your e-mail message of the 10th in which you asked about my ability to work overtime this weekend.
D) This is to inform you that I received your May 10 e-mail message.

Question 26

The popularity of electronic messages in the workplace has made paper-based messages obsolete.

Question 27

Kevin wants to make sure that he is demonstrating good netiquette when using e-mail. What should he do?

A) Document every business decision and action with an electronic paper trail.
B) Write his messages in all capital letters to make them look important and professional.
C) Ask permission before forwarding messages.
D) He should do all of these.

Question 28

Which of the following is an effective statement for an information or procedure e-mail or memo?

A) You are not allowed to smoke inside any room in any building according to the company's smoke-free workplace policy.
B) This is to inform you that the company at which you are currently employed has a smoke-free workplace policy.
C) Haven't you noticed the no-smoking signs located throughout the workplace?
D) Smokers may use the smoking area outside the north entrance as part of our smoke-free workplace policy.

Question 29

Which of the following is an advantage of instant messaging (IM)?

A) It includes "presence functionality," which allows coworkers to locate each other online, thus avoiding wasting time tracking someone down who is out of the office.
B) It is immediate; a user knows right away whether a message has reached its recipient.
C) It avoids phone tag and eliminates the downtime associated with personal telephone conversations.
D) All of the above are advantages of instant messaging (IM).

Question 30

Brianna's company has decided to let employees use instant messaging (IM) as an internal communication tool, and she wants to make sure that she's using it professionally. What should she do?

A) Make sure she's available via IM at all times so that her colleagues can always reach her.
B) Include both professional and personal contacts on the same IM contact list for efficiency.
C) Respect her receivers by using proper grammar, spelling, and proofreading in her instant messages.
D) Brianna should do all of these things.

Question 31

Because the recipient's e-mail address is located in the e-mail heading, including a greeting in the message body is not necessary.

Question 32

Please let me know if I may provide additional information or be of further assistance is an example of an effective, professional closing for an e-mail message or memo.

Question 33

The body of an e-mail message or memo is where readers look for deadlines and action language.

Question 34

Most e-mails and memos should be written indirectly to show respect for readers.

Question 35

Typing your name at the bottom of an e-mail message is unnecessary.

Question 36

Bilal is writing an immigrant-support procedural manual on obtaining a green card. What should Bilal do in his list of steps in the procedure?

A) Make sure all listed items are complete sentences.
B) Start each item in the list with a passive verb.
C) Use a bulleted list.
D) Use a numbered list.

Question 37

E-mail and memos are standard forms of internal communication that follow similar structure and formatting.

Question 38

A blog is a Web site that enables multiple users to collaboratively create and edit pages.

Question 39

Internal messages to fellow employees have been increasing in number and importance in today's workplace.

Question 40

Which of the following is the best closing for an information request?

A) Thank you in advance for your response.
B) Please send me your responses to these questions at your earliest convenience.
C) Please send me your responses before the November 15 board meeting, during which we will select our new service provider.
D) I need the answers to these questions ASAP.

Question 41

_______________ messages include e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, podcasts, blogs, and wikis.

Question 42

An e-mail message should include a descriptive __________ _________ to help ensure that the message will be read.

Question 43

If you are requesting routine information or action within an organization, the direct approach works best.

Question 44

Because employers have the legal right to monitor e-mail use, assume that all e-mail is monitored and don't use it for personal matters.

Question 45

A _____________ is a digital media file that is distributed over the Internet and downloaded on portable media players and personal computers.

Question 46

In writing information and procedure messages, managers should try to sound demanding and autocrat as a way to gain the respect of employees.

Question 47

When replying to a request that involves listed questions, it's best to arrange your answers in the same sequence as in the list.

Question 48

Although you may exchange very short instant messages, most of your writing tasks on the job will probably involve preparing e-mail messages and interoffice memos.

Question 49

E-mail messages and memos should use bullets, lists, headings, and white space to improve readability.

Question 50

Although teenagers use instant messaging (IM) frequently, corporations do not use this communication tool.

Question 51

Antonia is writing a memo to all employees explaining how they can request vacation time using the company's new online procedure. Antonia's primary goal should be to explain the procedure clearly.

Question 52

Sending very short messages (160 or fewer characters) from mobile phones and other wireless devices is called ____________ messaging.

Question 53

Once an e-mail message has been deleted, it can never be retrieved.

Question 54

Because e-mail is the preferred communication channel in most businesses today, most people know how to use it smartly, safely, and professionally.

Question 55

To, From, Date, and Subject in an e-mail message or a memo are called ________ words.

Question 56

Because e-mail is composed rapidly and is used primarily for internal communications, writers do not have to worry about following the three-phase writing process when preparing these messages.

Question 57

______________-based messages include business letters and memos.

Question 58

Information and procedure messages generally flow upward from employees to management.

Question 59

Guidelines for polite online interaction, known as _______________, govern use of e-mail and other electronic communication.

Question 60

When using instant messaging (IM), all communication is directly between the users' two computers without the need of a server.

Question 61

Writing an entire e-mail message in all capital letters may suggest to the receiver that the writer is ______________.

Question 62

Would you please give us your feedback on the proposed use of job sharing is an example of an appropriate ___________ command for a request e-mail.

Question 63

____________ messaging enables you to use the Internet to communicate in real time in a private chat room with one or more individuals. It is like live e-mail or a text telephone call.