Deck 1: Communicating in the Technical Workplace

Question 1

When you have finished drafting and designing the document, you are

A) finished with the bulk of the project.
B) a little over halfway finished.
C) just beginning.
D) ready to publish.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following skills are among the most important in the technical workplace?

A) oral communication
B) graphic design
C) fluency in another language
D) a and c
E) None of these is correct.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The rhetorical situation includes

A) headers.
B) margins.
C) length.
D) readers.
E) white space.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What is technical communication?

Question 5

Documents can contain small errors without being rejected by readers.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about the workplace writing process is NOT true?

A) The writing process consists of the following stages: planning and researching, organizing and drafting, improving the style, designing, and revising and editing.
B) Technical writing genres are helpful for organizing information into patterns your readers will expect.
C) Computers, the Internet, and instant forms of communication have lessened the need for teamwork.
D) Technical writing in the workplace is a blend of actions, words, and images. Readers expect technical documents to use writing, visuals, and design.

Question 7

Technical communication is

A) reader centered.
B) writer centered.
C) document centered.
D) company centered.

Question 8

Which of the following statements about genres is true?

A) Genres are formulas.
B) Genres should be followed mechanically.
C) Genres change frequently.
D) Genres reflect the activities and practices of scientific and technical workplaces.
E) All of the above are correct.

Question 9

Explain the differences in writing a college essay and writing effective technical communication.

Question 10

Which of the following steps is important when beginning the process of technical writing?

A) obtaining budget approval
B) creating a document design
C) defining the rhetorical situation
D) establishing organization

Question 11

Locate a document that is used in a technical workplace through a search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. To find documents, type in keywords like "report," "proposal," "instructions," and "presentation." What characteristics make the document you found a form of technical communication? Develop a two- minute presentation for your class in which you highlight these characteristics of the document. Compare and contrast the document with academic essays you have written for your other classes.

Question 12

Which of the following stages are typical of the process of technical writing?

A) planning and researching
B) designing the graphics
C) improving the style
D) a and c
E) None of these is correct.

Question 13

Your task in this assignment is to work with a group to develop a "Course Mission Statement" in which you lay out your expectations for the course, your instructor, and yourselves. To write the mission statement, follow these steps:
a. Use an Internet search engine to find examples of mission statements. Just type "mission statement" into Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
b. In class, with your group, identify the common characteristics of these mission statements. Pay special attention to their content, organization, and style. Make note of their common features.
c. With your group, write your own course mission statement. Be sure to include goals you would like the course to meet. You might also want to develop an "ethics statement" that talks about your approach to ethical issues associated with assignments, course readings, and attendance.
d. Compare your group's course mission statement with other groups' mission statements. Note places where your statement is similar to and different from their statements.
When your course mission statement is complete, it should provide a one-paragraph description of what you are trying to achieve in your class.

Question 14

The technical writing process is linear.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about document design is NOT true?

A) Your readers will expect your technical documents to be well designed.
B) Readers prefer documents that use effective graphics and layout.
C) Most readers care about the information instead of the design.
D) Designing a document only takes minutes with a computer.

Question 16

You should give your readers as much information as possible about your topic.

Question 17

New micro- and macro-political challenges have arisen from

A) the extensive collaboration that is often part of the process in technical communication.
B) increasing government regulation of technical documents.
C) computer use in the workplace.
D) the hierarchy present in most companies.