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. Purpose - problem - plan/solution - conclusion






2. The use of language that is more formal - technical - or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader.






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






4. What is important in the Revising stage?






5. How is formatting important?






6. 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






7. 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






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






9. To emphasize the performer of an action: make the performer the subject of the verb






10. What should you know about a Letter?






11. 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






12. The ____________ of a word are its literal meanings - as defined in a dictionary.






13. 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






14. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations






15. Means that extraneous words - phrases - clauses - and sentences have been removed from writing without sacrificing clarity or appropriate detail.






16. Correctness






17. What is current emphasis on for a Letter?






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






19. Informal






20. Casual






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






22. Used to show - by the structure of a sentence - the appropriate relationship between ideas of unequal importance.






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






24. What is Direct Order?






25. 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






26. Condenses writing by omitting articles - pronouns - conjunctions - and transitions - e.g. ' Per 5/21 email 12 copies of instruction needed asap'






27. 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)






28. 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






29. General considerations with Email Messages






30. 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.






31. An inoffensive substitute for a word or phrase that could be distasteful - offensive - or too blunt.






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






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






34. Formal






35. How do you Plan the message?






36. Are these stages recursive or linear?






37. Stages can also be summarized as...






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






39. What are three levels of Editing?






40. Why Avoid Perfectionism in Drafting?






41. What techniques can be used for gathering information?






42. When to use Instant Messaging?






43. Techniques for writing memos and emails are...






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






45. Varying sentences by using a compound sentence - a complex sentence - or a simple sentence






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






47. When should email NOT be used?






48. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.






49. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.






50. Steps to Successful Writing