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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. Stages can also be summarized as...
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Outlining
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications

2. Why Avoid Perfectionism in Drafting?
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Sentence Type
'You Viewpoint'

3. Use to call attention to a particular word or statement --
Long Dashes
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Climatic Order
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

4. 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?
Key draft questions
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Guidelines for successful group writing
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages

5. Conciseness
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Goal of a letter of application
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Business Writing Style

6. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Idioms
Casual - Informal - or Formal

7. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision
Purpose - Format - Composition
Characteristics of job-related writing
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.

8. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Information needed for short report
Purpose - Format - Composition

9. Condenses writing by omitting articles - pronouns - conjunctions - and transitions - e.g. ' Per 5/21 email 12 copies of instruction needed asap'
Telegraphic Style
Mechanical Devices
Purpose - Format - Composition
Date - To - From - Subject Headings

10. The skeleton of the document you are going to write--structures your writing by ensuring that it has a beginning - middle - and end.Types: topic outlines - sentence outlines etc.
Outlining
similar
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages

11. The ____________ of a word are its literal meanings - as defined in a dictionary.
Strategy and Humanness
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Denotaion
Cliches

12. What techniques can be used for gathering information?
Attractive and Readable Format
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Sentence Type

13. When should email NOT be used?
Long Dashes
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
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Figures of Speech

14. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.
Guidelines for successful group writing
Selecting the proper medium
Ethics in Business Writing
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

15. 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
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Repetition
Figures of Speech
Emphasis

16. Provide practical info - give facts - not impressions - provide visuals to clarify - give accurate measurements - stating responsibility precisely - persuading and offering recommendations
Affectation
Sentence Type
Get Feedback From Others!
Characteristics of job-related writing

17. How to end an email
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Main parts of instructions
Sentence Variety
Information needed for short report

18. An imaginative expression that often compares two things that are basically not alike but have at least one thing in common.
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Figures of Speech
Cliches
Key draft questions

19. What is critical to a message's success?
Conciseness
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Attractive and Readable Format
Active Voice

20. What are three levels of Editing?
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Connotation
Denotaion
Revision - Editing - Proofreading

21. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Position
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better

22. Goal and audience
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Mechanical Devices
Things to think through when planning a website
Main parts of instructions

23. What should you know about a Letter?
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Sentence Variety
Biased Language
Purpose - Format - Composition

24. The attitude a writer expresses toward the subject and his or her readers. May range depending on purpose etc.
'You Viewpoint'
Buzz Words
Tone
Climatic Order

25. How do you Plan the message?
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Biased Language
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose

26. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.
Main parts of instructions
Characteristics of job-related writing
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Mechanical Devices

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

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28. Letters - memos - email - instant messages - telephone calls - Faxes - Face-to-face meetings - video conferences - web sites
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Examples of medium s of business communication
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Coherent writing

29. How much time should a student spend in each writing stage?
Characteristics of job-related writing
One-third
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Wordiness

30. What types of research is done in gathering information?
Intensifiers
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

31. Use Initialisms
Attractive and Readable Format
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way
Cliches

32. Understand and agree on the important goals - organization - and deadlines for the report - Establish group rules early on and stick to them - Put the good of the group ahead of individual egos - Agree on the group's organization - Identify each mem
Information needed for short report
Casual - Informal - or Formal
Guidelines for successful group writing
Attractive and Readable Format

33. To set you apart from the others; show that you have customized your resume for that company/job opening
Strategy and Humanness
Goal of a letter of application
Position
Direct Statements

34. To emphasize the performer of an action: make the performer the subject of the verb
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Active Voice
Key draft questions
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting

35. How is formatting important?
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Climatic Order
Figures of Speech

36. Places the reader's interest and perspective foremost. It is based on the principle that most readers are naturally more concerned about their own needs than they are about those of a writer or a writer's organization - often means using the words y

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37. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume
Connotation
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports

38. Clairty
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Attractive and Readable Format
Revision - Editing - Proofreading

39. Introduction - list of materials - actual steps - warnings - cautions - and notes - conclusion when necessary
Main parts of instructions
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Examples of medium s of business communication

40. Identifying your audience - Establishing your purpose - Formulating your message - and Selecting your style (how something is written rather than what is written) and tone (expresses your attitude toward your topic and audience)
One-third
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Four keys to effective writing
Position

41. Introduction; list of equipment and materials; steps for your instructions; warnings - cautions - and notes; conclusion
Main parts of a set of instructions
Business Writing Style
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

42. Formal
similar
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision

43. 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
Attractive and Readable Format
Conciseness
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Business Writing Style

44. Listing the ideas or facts within a sentence in sequence from least to most important
Characteristics of job-related writing
Climatic Order
Denotaion
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

45. General ideas - qualities - conditions - acts or relationships-intangible things that cannot be detected by the five senses
Abstract words
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Rules for writing instructions
Ethics in Business Writing

46. Used to show - by the structure of a sentence - the appropriate relationship between ideas of unequal importance.
Subordination
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Concrete Words

47. What are the activities in the planning stage?
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Purpose - Format - Composition
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
similar

48. Concern policies and regulations found in employee handbooks and other internal corporate communications
Examples of medium s of business communication
Recursive
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Procedures

49. Make sure your e-mail is confidential and ethical - observe all of the proprietary requirements when using e-mail - use an acceptable format- follow all of the rules of 'netiqette' when answering e-mail - adopt a professional style - ensure that yo
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Strategy and Humanness
Rules for writing instructions
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages

50. What is Direct Order?
Coherent writing
Characteristics of job-related writing
Information the reader will want - put it first.
Your audience is the best guide for What and How