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The Business Writing Process

Subjects : writing-skills, business-skills

Instructions:

Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.

1. What is important in the Revising stage?
Attractive and Readable Format
Sentence Type
Information needed for short report
Get Feedback From Others!

2. Less formal than in the past - Varies from conversational style - The use of personal pronouns is important - In emails etc. something between conversational & business writing should be used - Only use we when it is company policy
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Position
Attractive and Readable Format
Business Writing Style

3. Why Avoid Perfectionism in Drafting?
Short report
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Examples of medium s of business communication
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.

4. The attitude a writer expresses toward the subject and his or her readers. May range depending on purpose etc.
Sentence Type
Outlining
Tone
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision

5. When should email NOT be used?
Long - Complicated - Requires Negotiation - Questions/Info need clarification/discussion - Info Confidential/Sensitive - Requires Security - Could be Misinterpreted - Emotionally Charged - Requires Tone of Voice - Sent to Avoid - Contains Sensitive I
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Denotaion
Euphemismss

6. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations
Information needed for short report
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Tone

7. Introduction; list of equipment and materials; steps for your instructions; warnings - cautions - and notes; conclusion
Main parts of a set of instructions
Direct Statements
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages

8. What are Cons of Email?

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9. What are three levels of Editing?
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Garbled Sentences
Revision - Editing - Proofreading

10. Use to call attention to a particular word or statement --
Instructions
Sentence Variety
Intensifiers
Long Dashes

11. What techniques can be used for gathering information?
Euphemismss
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Active Voice
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

12. Steps to Successful Writing
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Denotaion
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision

13. What should you know about a Letter?
Recursive
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Purpose - Format - Composition
Ethics in Business Writing

14. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Biased Language
Short report

15. How is formatting important?
Information needed for short report
similar
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.

16. What are the activities in the planning stage?
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Main parts of a set of instructions
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness

17. Concern policies and regulations found in employee handbooks and other internal corporate communications
Get Feedback From Others!
Procedures
Rules for writing instructions
Business Writing Style

18. What is Indirect Order?
Denotaion
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Key draft questions
Selecting the proper medium

19. What types of research is done in gathering information?
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Active Voice
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Rules for writing instructions

20. Am I giving the reader too much or too little info? - does this point belong here? - is this point relevant? - am I repeating or contradicting myself? - have I ended appropriately?
Rules for writing instructions
Purpose - Format - Composition
Key draft questions
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose

21. They dentify things that can be perceived by the 5 senses - such as diploma - manager - or keyboard
Concrete Words
Climatic Order
Characteristics of job-related writing
Main parts of a set of instructions

22. Avoid language that attempts to evade responsibility - Avoid deceptive language - Do not deemphasize or suppress important information - Do not emphasize misleading or incorrect information - Avoid using language that is biased - racist - or sexist o
Main parts of a set of instructions
Ethics in Business Writing
Intensifiers
Buzz Words

23. Informal
Figures of Speech
Long Dashes
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

24. What is the best advice for Drafting?
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Characteristics of job-related writing

25. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -
Main parts of instructions
Characteristics of job-related writing
Procedures
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications

26. Listing the ideas or facts within a sentence in sequence from least to most important
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Climatic Order
Recursive
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

27. Are these stages recursive or linear?
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Sentence Variety
Recursive
Four keys to effective writing

28. How do you begin the message?

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29. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'
Recursive
Rules for writing instructions
Biased Language
Idioms

30. What are Pros of Email?
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed

31. Using short and long sentences strategically
Sentence Length
Information needed for short report
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

32. How do you present information in long messages?
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Things to think through when planning a website
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose

33. To emphasize the performer of an action: make the performer the subject of the verb
Active Voice
Sentence Variety
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Affectation

34. Correctness
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Conciseness
Characteristics of job-related writing

35. How to end an email
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
similar
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages

36. The principle of of stressing the most important ieas in writing. You can achieve this with the careful use of: Position - Climatic Order - Sentence Type - Sentence Length - Sentence Length - Active Voice - Repetition - Intensifiers - Direct Stateme
Emphasis
Connotation
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;
Selecting the proper medium

37. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.
Long - Complicated - Requires Negotiation - Questions/Info need clarification/discussion - Info Confidential/Sensitive - Requires Security - Could be Misinterpreted - Emotionally Charged - Requires Tone of Voice - Sent to Avoid - Contains Sensitive I
Selecting the proper medium
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Affectation

38. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.
One-third
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Concrete Words
Mechanical Devices

39. Sentences can vary in sentence length - word order - loose and periodic sentences
Sentence Variety
Long - Complicated - Requires Negotiation - Questions/Info need clarification/discussion - Info Confidential/Sensitive - Requires Security - Could be Misinterpreted - Emotionally Charged - Requires Tone of Voice - Sent to Avoid - Contains Sensitive I
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Idioms

40. What are three levels of Revision?
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Affectation
Rules for writing instructions
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

41. How do you Plan the message?
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Main parts of a set of instructions
Long - Complicated - Requires Negotiation - Questions/Info need clarification/discussion - Info Confidential/Sensitive - Requires Security - Could be Misinterpreted - Emotionally Charged - Requires Tone of Voice - Sent to Avoid - Contains Sensitive I
Denotaion

42. Varying sentences by using a compound sentence - a complex sentence - or a simple sentence
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Sentence Type
Telegraphic Style
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

43. How do you present information in message?
Wordiness
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
Cliches
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record

44. Expressions that have been used fro so long that they are no longer fresh but come to mind easily bc they are so familiar. Often wordy as well as vague and cab be confusing - especially to non-native English speakers - E.g. all over the map - run it
Cliches
Four keys to effective writing
Instructions
Mechanical Devices

45. The use of language that is more formal - technical - or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader.
Short report
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Affectation

46. Using words like 'most - much - very' with caution - wthout overdoing it.
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Intensifiers
Attractive and Readable Format

47. Conciseness
Long Dashes
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Abstract words
Conciseness

48. Plan what you are going to say - polish what you wrote before you sent it - proofread everything

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49. Tell and show how to do something
Coherent writing
Sentence Variety
Biased Language
Instructions

50. Modifiers that repeat an idea implicit or present in the word being modified contribute to wordiness by being redundant (basic essentials - final outcome) - Coordinated synonyms (each and every - first and foremost.) - Expletives - relative pronouns
Wordiness
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status