Test your basic knowledge |

The Business Writing Process

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?






2. What is Indirect Order?






3. Etiquette






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


5. What are three levels of Revision?






6. What are Individual Contexts






7. The relationships among ideas are clear to readers. A logical sequence of related ideas and clear transitions between these ideas.






8. Words and expressions that offend because they make inappropriate assumptions or stereotypes about gender - ethnicity - physical or mental disability - age or sexual orientation.






9. How do you present information in message?






10. To set you apart from the others; show that you have customized your resume for that company/job opening






11. Formality Considerations






12. Casual






13. How do you begin the message?


14. A sentence that is so tangled with structural and grammatical problems that it cannot be repaired - often result from trying to include too many ideas in one sentence.






15. What are the activities in the planning stage?






16. 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






17. Tell and show how to do something






18. The ___________ of a word are its meanings and associations beyond its literal definitions - words often have particular connotations for audiences within professional groups and organizations






19. 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






20. Formal






21. General considerations with Email Messages






22. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations






23. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -






24. General ideas - qualities - conditions - acts or relationships-intangible things that cannot be detected by the five senses






25. Sentences can vary in sentence length - word order - loose and periodic sentences






26. Put instructions is correct order - right amount of information only - group closely related items into 1 step - give reader hints on how to best accomplish task - state when 1 step affects another - insert graphics where needed






27. Introduction - list of materials - actual steps - warnings - cautions - and notes - conclusion when necessary






28. How is formatting important?






29. Provide practical info - give facts - not impressions - provide visuals to clarify - give accurate measurements - stating responsibility precisely - persuading and offering recommendations






30. Letters - memos - email - instant messages - telephone calls - Faxes - Face-to-face meetings - video conferences - web sites






31. Informal






32. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.






33. Words or phrases that suddenly become popular and - because of an intense period of overuse - lose their freshness and precisness - E.g. interface (as a verb) - impact (as a verb) - skill sets - deliverables - slam dunk - bleeding edge - cash cow - 2






34. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.






35. An imaginative expression that often compares two things that are basically not alike but have at least one thing in common.






36. Correctness






37. Purpose - problem - plan/solution - conclusion






38. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance






39. What is format of most Memos?






40. 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






41. Goal and audience






42. Are these stages recursive or linear?






43. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'






44. An organized presentation of relevant data on any topic that a company or agency tracks in its day-to-day operations






45. E.g. 'most important'






46. What techniques can be used for gathering information?






47. 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






48. 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






49. Stages can also be summarized as...






50. Using words like 'most - much - very' with caution - wthout overdoing it.