SUBJECTS
|
BROWSE
|
CAREER CENTER
|
POPULAR
|
JOIN
|
LOGIN
Business Skills
|
Soft Skills
|
Basic Literacy
|
Certifications
About
|
Help
|
Privacy
|
Terms
|
Email
Search
Test your basic knowledge |
Technical Writing Style Vocab
Start Test
Study First
Subject
:
writing-skills
Instructions:
Answer 42 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. Are built when a watered down or misrepresented version of one side is described and then attacked.
Appeals to authority
Unnecessary Words
Strawmen
Clarity
2. Unnecessary intensifier or explainer that is already implied by one (or more) of the words: e.g. - 'very unique -' 'free gift -' 'green in color -' 'round in shape -' etc... To fix: remove extra words.
Redundant Modifier
Ad populum
Redundant Pair
Red herrings
3. A word or phrase apparently modifying an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence: e.g. - 'when young' in 'when young - circuses appeal to all of us' or 'wearing a ball gown' in the sentence - 'She sat on the lap of a fat man wearing a
Accuracy
False dichotomies
Subject/Verb Separation
Misplaced Modifier
4. Words that pad a sentence without adding anything of value: e.g.: 'due to the fact that' is unnecessary when writers have 'because' to use. 'In order to' does not need the 'in order' portion to communicate the same message.
Unity
Accuracy
Subject/Verb Separation
Unnecessary Words
5. When the writer puts unimportant information at the end of a sentence. The end of a sentence is the last thing the reader remembers and only important information belongs there. Avoid ending sentences with phrases such as - 'however -' 'according to
Redundant Modifier
Negative Language
Emphasis Problem
Cultural Idiom
6. 'Against the person' arguments attacks a person who supports a dissenting position - rather than the position.
Subject/Verb Separation
Unnecessary Words
Unity
Ad hominem
7. Three or more nouns together can slow reading. To fix: break these long noun phrases up by adding in articles or prepositions.
Ad populum
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
Negative Language
Tu quoque
8. Words that the average 8th grade level reader and below would not be familiar with. Any jargon from a specific field. Use sparingly in technical documents unless you know your audience has the necessary vocabulary. Example: 'Pursuant to our conversat
Post hoc
Inflated Language
False dichotomies
Passive Voice
9. Spell check
Accuracy
Begging the question
Cultural Idiom
Negative Language
10. Page layout - make headings larger than body text - use highlighting techniques
Accessibility
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
Accuracy
Passive Voice
11. Based on facts - not opinions.
Objective descriptions
Redundant Modifier
Slippery slopes
Unity
12. To draw a conclusion that is more extreme than the evidence supports
Inflated Language
Missing the point
Nominalization
Accuracy
13. To base a conclusion on a piece of information that is essentially a restatement of the conclusion or to ignore flaws in a core piece of information.
Unnecessary Words
Subjective descriptions
Begging the question
Conciseness
14. Can take 2 forms; citing a person who is not an expert in the subject being discussed or failing to describe the reasons that support an expert's opinion.
Red herrings
Redundant Pair
Accuracy
Appeals to authority
15. This issue makes sentences more difficult to read for the average person. Anytime a writer places words between the subject and the verb - the writer is slowing the action of the sentence. Use sparingly and only when necessary. Subject/Verb Separatio
Redundant Pair
Subject/Verb Separation
Unnecessary Words
Parallel construction
16. A modifiying phrase or clause that does not sensibly modify any word or words in a sentence. Usually the actor is missing from the sentence: e.g. - 'Reading a book - the black cat crawled onto my lap.' The cat was not reading the book. To fix: add an
Offensive Language
Appeals to authority
Dangling Modifier
Red herrings
17. Be brief and to the point - use active voice - avoid redundancy
Conciseness
Appeals to authority
Accuracy
Ad hominem
18. Often found with the word 'not.' Tell readers what they need to know and what they should be doing instead of focusing on what they should not be doing: e.g. - 'You do not not have homework -' is more difficult to read and understand than - 'You have
Audience recognition
Unnecessary Words
Redundant Pair
Negative Language
19. Assumes a chain of events will happen - even thought the evidence does not support the entire chain.
Unnecessary Words
Slippery slopes
Clarity
Redundant Modifier
20. 'To the people' argument relies on public opinion to support a position
Inflated Language
Ad populum
Unity
Slippery slopes
21. Based on opinions.
Tech Term Placement
Cultural Idiom
Subjective descriptions
Strawmen
22. Language that is not clear or detailed. Non-specific language often related to numbers and times: soon - few - many - several. Non-specific language can include 'it' if it begins a sentence or is without clear prior reference.
Ad hominem
Subject/Verb Separation
Non-Specific Language
Accuracy
23. Have someone else read your document
Accuracy
Subjective descriptions
Unnecessary Words
Passive Voice
24. A conclusion based on a sample size that is too small or limited.
Hasty generalizations
Subjective descriptions
Tech Term Placement
Nominalization
25. Slang - cliches - or brand names that belong only to a specific group or culture: e.g.: 'I went home and crashed -' becomes 'I went home and napped -' 'Band-Aids' becomes 'bandages -' 'White Out' becomes 'liquid paper' or 'correction fluid -' etc....
Faulty Word Choice
Accessibility
Cultural Idiom
Hasty generalizations
26. When sentences are not tied together using the old/new information principle. To fix: New information comes at the end of a sentence to introduce the new idea. Once a writer has introduced the new info - then it becomes old information and is availab
Tie-In Problem
Faulty Word Choice
Slippery slopes
Passive Voice
27. A tangential issue that is addressed in order to distract the readers from the main problem
No Actor in Subject
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
Objective descriptions
Red herrings
28. A series of actions - a list of several things - a bullet list for example - or a sentence that is divided into two parts - in these cases when a main verb control several phrases that follow it - each of those phrases has to be set up in the same w
Post hoc
Strawmen
Ad hominem
Parallel construction
29. Use personal pronouns
Red herrings
Audience recognition
Non-Specific Language
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
30. Two words with the same meaning joined by 'and': e.g. - 'each and every -' 'full and complete -' 'null and void -' 'first and foremost -' etc.... To fix: removed extra words.
Emphasis Problem
Redundant Pair
Passive Voice
Offensive Language
31. Consider the needs of the reader
Appeals to authority
Tech Term Placement
Audience recognition
Subject/Verb Separation
32. A verb acting as a noun and hiding the main action of the sentence. Find all the nouns in a sentence - then see if they could be verbs - if they can - they are nominalizations. Use common sense to change all the nominalizations you can without changi
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
Slippery slopes
Audience recognition
Nominalization
33. Language that alienates a specific group or gender: e.g - 'Policeman' becomes 'Police Officer -' 'man-made' becomes 'synthetic -' 'autistic children' becomes 'children with autism -' etc...
Audience recognition
Tu quoque
Offensive Language
Unnecessary Words
34. Assumes a casual relationship between 2 events.
Negative Language
Dangling Modifier
Post hoc
Ad populum
35. This style error occurs when the person or entity performing the action is not in the subject position of the sentence. To fix: move the actor (what performs the action) to the subject position in the sentence.
Tu quoque
Red herrings
No Actor in Subject
Redundant Modifier
36. 'You too' attacks points out the hypocrisy of a person who supports a dissenting position.
Non-Specific Language
Faulty Word Choice
Subject/Verb Separation
Tu quoque
37. 1. Words that can have more than one meaning in the context of the sentence: e.g. - 'The teacher was mad -' --was she insane or angry? 2. Typos - misspellings - homonyms used incorrectly.
Tech Term Placement
Inflated Language
Faulty Word Choice
Non-Specific Language
38. The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb. This style error hides credit for ideas and can often indicate sloppy research. Passive Voice Formula: ('to be' v
Negative Language
Passive Voice
Unity
Accessibility
39. Most important trait - Have an understandable message - avoid vague words - answer the reader's questions
No Actor in Subject
Subjective descriptions
Clarity
Accuracy
40. The mistaken view that there are only 2 possible solutions to a problem.
Faulty Word Choice
Missing the point
Subject/Verb Separation
False dichotomies
41. The extent to which the elements of a document develop a shared idea.
Unity
Passive Voice
Tie-In Problem
Emphasis Problem
42. Technical information that your readers are unfamiliar with should come at the end of sentences. Sentences that open with unfamiliar technical terms slow readers.
Redundant Modifier
Post hoc
Tech Term Placement
Accuracy