Deck 5: Emails, Letters, and Memos

Question 1

Routine correspondence typically does NOT involve writing to ________.

A) inform
B) record
C) analyze
D) request

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In the very top left corner of the first page of a letter, you should place ________.

A) today's date
B) your phone number and email address
C) your return address
D) your full mailing address

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In a letter, the mailing address should NOT include the recipient's ________.

A) name
B) phone number
C) position or title
D) postal code

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a letter, your return address should include your ________.

A) name
B) title
C) phone number
D) postal code

Question 5

Which of the following is the correct way to format a date in a letter?

A) June 24, 2021
B) 24 June, 2021
C) 06/08/21
D) Jun-21

Question 6

In a letter, what should you write when you don't know the recipient's name?

A) To Whom It May Concern
B) Dear Sir or Madam
C) Dear Friend
D) Nothing-leave the salutation blank.

Question 7

The signature block in a letter should include ________.

A) your name
B) your name and title
C) your name, title, and contact info
D) your name, title, contact info, and date

Question 8

The purpose of the enclosure line in a letter is to ________.

A) summarize the contents of the document
B) disclose any conflicts of interest
C) provide a closing salutation
D) alert the reader that other documents are contained in the same envelope

Question 9

Letters are generally sent to ________.

A) a colleague you want to invite to lunch
B) people within your organization whom you desperately want to impress
C) people outside your organization where formality is more important
D) department store complaint departments

Question 10

Compared to letters and memos, emails differ primarily in terms of ________.

A) tone
B) font style
C) paragraph style
D) addressing information

Question 11

Which of the following is the proper order of items in a memo's addressing block?

A) To, From, Date, Subject
B) From, To, Date, Subject
C) Subject, Date, From, To
D) Date, To, From, Subject

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT true about memos?

A) They are addressed less widely than email.
B) They are usually presented in hard copy.
C) They do not contain salutations.
D) They require your initials next to the "From" line.

Question 13

The emails you write at work are ________.

A) private property
B) public property
C) the property of the government
D) the property of your organization

Question 14

Professional emails should not ________.

A) employ slang or use internet abbreviations
B) consist of sentence fragments
C) omit articles or auxiliary verbs to save space and time
D) all of the above

Question 15

After you write an email it is best to ________.

A) send it right away before you start to overthink things
B) send it right away so that you don't waste your and your recipient's time
C) reread it to ensure it is clear and accurate, then send it
D) wait one business day, reread it, then send it

Question 16

When emails are written in a professional setting, slang and emoticons ________.

A) can be used among close colleagues only
B) can be used in internal communications only
C) can be used when the email is not of a serious nature
D) should never be used

Question 17

If your reader has replied to ask for clarification, it is a sign that ________.

A) your email has failed
B) your email has succeeded
C) your colleagues are too busy to read things thoroughly
D) your colleagues are less competent than you

Question 18

When you receive an email it is best to ________.

A) read it and respond to it right away
B) read it, but not respond to it right away
C) ignore the email until tomorrow morning
D) ignore the email and read it at a designated interval some time that day

Question 19

If someone sends you an email message that irritates you, your best course of action is to ________.

A) forward it to your manager and let them deal with it
B) ignore it
C) reply and let them know their message irritated you
D) reply in a professional and calm manner

Question 20

Copying your entire office in an email is ________.

A) a good way of keeping colleagues in the loop
B) a means of facilitating collaboration in the workplace
C) something you should avoid
D) essential for ensuring transparency

Question 21

In extremely urgent situations, it is best to ________.

A) send your email without wasting time on grammar or punctuation
B) flag your email as urgent
C) use all caps in the subject line
D) call the person or walk to their cubicle

Question 22

Which of the following is the most effective subject line for an email?

A) Request for reimbursement of picnic expenses
B) Reimbursement of picnic expenses
C) Request for reimbursement
D) Picnic expenses

Question 23

The best course of action when you receive spam is to ________.

A) forward it to your manager
B) flag it
C) ignore it
D) reply and politely tell the sender you are not interested

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a goal when writing email correspondence?

A) Avoid making a personal connection.
B) Avoid overly formal language.
C) Stick with neutral facts.
D) Take the reader's feelings into consideration.

Question 25

A "You-attitude" is one in which the writer ________.

A) takes the reader's feelings into consideration
B) uses an accusatory tone
C) is overly self-absorbed
D) is overly self-critical

Question 26

Emails are always less formal than letters.

Question 27

There is very little difference between the contents of letters, memos, and emails.

Question 28

Absolute rules for email etiquette do not exist.

Question 29

Your employer does not have the right to read your company emails.

Question 30

When you forward or reply to a message, it is best not to delete the email chain.

Question 31

It is okay to send or forward jokes at work, so long as it is just to colleagues.

Question 32

Email recall requests should be avoided.

Question 33

You should always read emails as soon as they arrive in your inbox.

Question 34

Proper tone sometimes requires using more words.

Question 35

Turning off your email alerts is bad practice.

Question 36

A permanent record is formed by all correspondence except emails.

Question 37

Letters and memos share the same address block format.

Question 38

Modern correspondence formatting favours left-margin justification.

Question 39

For convenience, letter writers writing about professional matters can refer to themselves as "the undersigned."

Question 40

Only lawyers write letters that carry legal ramifications.

Question 41

What is "routine correspondence"?

Question 42

What are the benefits of following a standard letter format?

Question 43

Describe the basic structure of the standard letter format.

Question 44

What are the main benefits of using email over letters?

Question 45

Describe the basic structure of the standard memo format.

Question 46

Describe the standard document organization as it pertains to personal correspondence.

Question 47

What is the key difference between correspondence and reports?

Question 48

Describe the proper tone of email correspondence.

Question 49

When is the best time to respond to emails?

Question 50

What is the best way to respond to spam, chain letters, and jokes?

Question 51

With advances in digital technology, email has now become the dominant mode of routine correspondence. What are the pros and cons of email compared to more traditional forms of communication (letters, telephone, fax, face-to-face interaction, etc.)?

Question 52

Compare and contrast the etiquette rules and challenges surrounding email correspondence compared to face-to-face interaction.

Question 53

The revised version of Mai Ling's email to Harb, under the discussion of professional tone, is longer than the original. Does this contradict what we've learned in earlier chapters about the need to write concisely? Explain your reasoning.