Deck 8: Sharpening Writing Skills

Question 1

Compare a dictionary with a thesaurus and give general uses for each type of reference book.

Answer 1

Student answers will vary.
Writers use dictionaries to find information on the spelling, definition, capitalization, and hyphenation of words, as well as synonyms and other information that help them use words effectively. A dictionary provides the pronunciation of words, their division into syllables, and accented syllable or syllables, using phonetic spelling. Dictionaries also provide inflectional forms of a word showing tense, number, and other meanings. The dictionary entries include derivatives, or a word formed from another word. In addition to word information, a good abridged dictionary contains special sections covering frequently used signs and symbols, biographical data on famous people, geographic names, and a handbook of style.
If you know a word, the dictionary will give you its meaning. The thesaurus works the other way around: If you have a general idea of the meaning you want to convey, the thesaurus will give you a choice of specific words to express it. Look up the general idea, then choose the word or expression that best fits your meaning. Writers use a thesaurus to find the most suitable word, to avoid overusing a word, to find the most specific word, or to replace an abstract term.

Question 2

Discuss the words or phrases a writer must avoid in order to build goodwill.

Answer 2

Building a successful business or career requires building goodwill. Because words play a vital part in establishing goodwill, a skilled communicator chooses words or phrases that the reader and listener can both understand and appreciate. In general, this means choosing positive rather than negative terms, presenting information directly and without repetition, and using fresh and current expressions rather than outdated and overused ones.
Words result in negative responses when the reader feels blamed or accused. Most expert business writers consider "failed," "careless," "delay," and "inexcusable" to be negative words, regardless of how the words are used, and they recommend avoiding these words. Actually, such words are unpleasant primarily when they are accompanied by "you" (you failed) or "your" (your delay).
Words that are repetitious are a waste of the reader's time. Such words clutter the message and can distract, delay understanding, and reduce emotional impact. The italicized words in the expressions "adequate enough," "both alike," and "past experience" is unnecessary and should, therefore, be omitted.
Words that are out of date suggest that the writer is behind the times. For example, "esteemed, kindly," and "via" are out-of-date words that must be avoided.
Replacing overused words with more exact and colorful terms can make your writing lively and interesting. The adjective "good" is overused and weak: a "good" maneuver, a "good" negotiator, a "good" speech, a "good" worker. Instead, for greater interest, say a "clever," "smart," or "skillful" maneuver; a "patient," "forceful," or "crafty" negotiator; an "eloquent," "informative," or "engrossing" speech; a "qualified," "intelligent," or "competent" applicant.
Clichés are overworked expressions such as "crystal clear," "needs no introduction," and "at a loss for words" that lost their strength long ago. The use of clichés exposes a lack of imagination-the tendency to repeat the familiar, even when the familiar is not worth repeating. Clichés waste time, obscure ideas, and bore readers and listeners.

Question 3

Discuss the principles behind doubling a final consonant before adding an ending to a word?

Answer 3

Knowing when to double a final consonant before adding an ending to a word is a matter of distinguishing between vowel sounds.
Words of One Syllable: If you can hear the difference between long and short vowel sounds, you can tell whether or not to double the final consonant of a one-syllable word. If the vowel sound is long, do not double; if the vowel sound is short, double the final consonant. Exception: Do not double the final consonant of words ending in "w" (saw) or "x" (fix).
Words of More Than One Syllable: The only rule needed is: Double the final consonant if the last syllable of the base word is accented, if the vowel sound in the last syllable is short, and if the suffix to be added begins with a vowel. However, there are exceptions such as "formatting," "handicapped," and "programmed."

Question 4

With the help of examples explain a few common confusing pronoun references made by writers.

Question 5

Writing effective sentences requires using the correct words. Elaborate on this statement.

Question 6

Differentiate active voice from passive voice with the help of examples. Which voice often makes writing more effective?

Question 7

Discuss any five areas in a sentence where the structural balance can get affected.

Question 8

List the basic guidelines for creating paragraph control.

Question 9

Why is proofreading one's own writing usually considered more difficult than proofreading the work of others?

Question 10

Describe the six Cs of editing.

Question 11

_____ forms are forms of a word that show tense, number, and other meanings.

Question 12

_____ are words that look or sound alike but have different meanings.

Question 13

While denotation refers to the dictionary meaning of a word, _____ is the meaning readers associate with the word based on their experiences and emotions.

Question 14

A combination of words that properly belong together, such as a noun or pronoun and its modifiers or a verb and its complement, is called a _____.

Question 15

A who-did-what violation is sometimes called a(n) _____.

Question 16

_____ is that property of a transitive verb that shows whether the subject acts or is acted upon.

Question 17

Any verb phrase composed of a past participle with a being-verb helper is in the _____ voice.

Question 18

Words such as "after," "below," and "more important" used by writers to provide connections between sentences and between paragraphs are known as _____ words and phrases.

Question 19

_____ refers to the general effect a piece of writing creates, which could be formal or informal, serious or humorous, positive or negative.

Question 20

_____ is defined as the process of checking a revised draft to make sure it meets the criteria of the six Cs of communication.

Question 21

"Does" is a(n) _____ of "do."

A) consecutive adjective
B) homonym
C) antonym
D) inflectional form

Question 22

Which of the following word groups represents homonyms?

A) peace, piece
B) good, bad
C) angry, annoyed
D) art, jazz

Question 23

The words "accept" and "except" are

A) antonyms.
B) derivative adjectives.
C) pseudo-homonyms.
D) participial adjectives.

Question 24

By adding the prefix "ir" before the word "relevant," the _____ of the word is formed.

A) antonym
B) synonym
C) pseudo-homonym
D) acronym

Question 25

Which of the following is the correct spelling of the plural form of the common noun "warranty"?

A) warrantys
B) warranties
C) warrantyies
D) warrantes

Question 26

Which of the following isnot a rule to follow when adding an ending to a word?

A) Double the final consonant if the vowel sound in the last syllable of the base word is short.
B) Double the final consonant if the suffix to be added to the base word begins with a vowel.
C) Double the final consonant if the last syllable of the base word is accented.
D) Double the final consonant if the base word ends in "w" or "x."

Question 27

In forming the past tense of the word "plan" you double the final "n" because

A) the accent is on the first syllable of the word.
B) it is a multisyllabic word.
C) it contains a short "a" sound.
D) the suffix is too short.

Question 28

Which of the following words does not require the doubling of the final consonant when adding the suffix "ing" to it?

A) fix
B) plan
C) tap
D) ship

Question 29

Which of the following sentences violates the who-did-what principle of sentence construction?

A) If you are not satisfied, we will refund your money.
B) Receiving the customer's urgent request, Deanne immediately processed the order.
C) Mr. Edwards saw the prospective customer leaving the stockroom.
D) After climbing to the top of the tower, we saw the whole city spread before us.

Question 30

In which of the following statements is the "which" clause misplaced?

A) Mark predicted that the stock price would increase, which is precisely what happened.
B) Janet is taking a five-month course in accounting, which will help her get a promotion.
C) Further economic crises will depreciate the value of your building, which neither of us wants.
D) His recent book, which was sold for $18, has pictures of the Royal Palace.

Question 31

Which of the following practices is preferred by writers in order to write effective sentences?

A) using negative words
B) using the passive voice
C) using the you-attitude
D) using excessive repetition of certain vowel or consonant sounds

Question 32

Which of the following examples is most effective in the context of the you-attitude conveyed through word usage?

A) I can wait for your response till Friday evening.
B) You can give me your response by Friday evening.
C) You cannot give me your response after Friday evening.
D) I expect your response before Friday evening.

Question 33

Which of the following sentences uses the active voice?

A) Last year, our production units were run at their optimum capacity.
B) Your order will be shipped by the end of this month.
C) A safety video will be watched by the staff every year.
D) The company improved the product to increase its market share.

Question 34

Which of the following statements doesnot have a faulty parallel structure?

A) The company is planning to employ an accountant and software engineer.
B) Rico always has done and always will do a great job.
C) Clara often talks about the time she was both popular and rich.
D) The new employee is positive, enthusiastic, and has much knowledge.

Question 35

Which of the following practices will make a paragraph effective for a reader?

A) using transitional words and phrases between sentences in the paragraph
B) introducing two or more main ideas in the paragraph
C) providing continuity breaks in the paragraph
D) keeping the middle paragraph shorter than the first and last paragraphs

Question 36

If a writer wants to provide an example between sentences and between paragraphs, the most effective transitional phrase to indicate the example would be

A) "on the contrary".
B) "for this purpose".
C) "in particular".
D) "as a result".

Question 37

A paragraph reads "The rating scale performance appraisal method uses a 10-point or a five-point scale against which an employee is rated by his superior. This method does not usually require employee participation.However, the Management by Objectives method to performance appraisal requires employee participation." In this paragraph, the italicized word "however" is used as a transitional word to ideally

A) indicate sequence.
B) show location.
C) compare or contrast.
D) add emphasis.

Question 38

Which of the following practices hampers the clarity of a message?

A) use of simple words
B) use of clichés
C) use of transitional words and phrases
D) use of variety in sentence structure

Question 39

Fred is going through the revised draft of a document to make sure that it is clear, complete, concise, consistent, correct, and courteous. It can be concluded that Fred is _____ the document.

A) revising
B) screening
C) editing
D) proofreading

Question 40

Which of the following practices makes a message less courteous?

A) adopting a reader-centered writing style
B) creating several short paragraphs instead of one long paragraph
C) using less traditional fonts such as cursive type fonts and solid capital fonts
D) varying the sentence structure in the message

Question 41

If you have a general idea of the meaning you want to convey, a thesaurus will give you a choice of specific words to express it.

Question 42

Dictionary entries use semicolons to indicate the correct places for breaking or dividing words.

Question 43

By adding the prefix "un" to the term "professional" its synonym can be formed.

Question 44

When adding an ending to a word with more than one syllable, the final consonant in the base word should be doubled if the vowel sound in the last syllable is long.

Question 45

The wordwhich is a relative pronoun that refers to another word in the sentence.

Question 46

If more than one man or more than one woman is mentioned in a sentence, place the pronoun as far as possible from the person to whom you refer.

Question 47

A way to make writing effective is to use "this" to refer to an entire preceding thought.

Question 48

Avoid using words with unpleasant sounds, and do not attempt to write business letters that sound musical or poetic.

Question 49

Planned repetition of words is best avoided in advertisements.

Question 50

To be effective, a written message should have two or more main purposes.

Question 51

One sure way to produce variety in written communication is to use all compound sentences.

Question 52

Before writers begin revising the initial draft of a document, it is advisable for them to put their writing aside for a few hours or even for a day.

Question 53

Using the you-attitude makes messages less courteous.

Question 54

Ideally, proofreading is a team effort.

Question 55

A sentence reads "There firm holds the maximum market share in the industry." The typographical error, "there," would be detected by spell-checkers in word processing programs.