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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. An inoffensive substitute for a word or phrase that could be distasteful - offensive - or too blunt.
Get Feedback From Others!
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Short report
Euphemismss

2. An organized presentation of relevant data on any topic that a company or agency tracks in its day-to-day operations
Strategy and Humanness
Subordination
Short report
Information needed for short report

3. What types of research is done in gathering information?
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
'You Viewpoint'
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Purpose - Format - Composition

4. Steps to Successful Writing
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Connotation
Euphemismss

5. How is formatting important?
'You Viewpoint'
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Concrete Words
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams

6. Introduction - list of materials - actual steps - warnings - cautions - and notes - conclusion when necessary
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Main parts of instructions
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way

7. Conciseness
Intensifiers
Get Feedback From Others!
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Tone

8. Etiquette
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Selecting the proper medium

9. The ____________ of a word are its literal meanings - as defined in a dictionary.
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Denotaion
Affectation
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

10. What techniques can be used for gathering information?
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Wordiness
Key draft questions
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose

11. What are three levels of Editing?
Main parts of a set of instructions
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Denotaion
Revision - Editing - Proofreading

12. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.
Mechanical Devices
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Main parts of a set of instructions

13. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance
Denotaion
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume
Business Writing Style
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

14. When should email NOT be used?
Recursive
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
Cliches
Your audience is the best guide for What and How

15. The use of language that is more formal - technical - or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader.
Affectation
Euphemismss
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status

16. Formal
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Repetition
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status

17. Use Initialisms
'You Viewpoint'
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way
Intensifiers
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages

18. What is Direct Order?
Information the reader will want - put it first.
Concrete Words
Idioms
One-third

19. 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
Connotation
Rules for writing instructions
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message

20. What is important in the Revising stage?
similar
Intensifiers
Get Feedback From Others!
Purpose - Format - Composition

21. E.g. 'most important'
Repetition
Selecting the proper medium
Telegraphic Style
Direct Statements

22. Sentences can vary in sentence length - word order - loose and periodic sentences
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
similar
Sentence Variety
Biased Language

23. When to use Instant Messaging?
similar
Tone
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
One-third

24. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Position
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Things to think through when planning a website

25. Goal and audience
Cliches
Telegraphic Style
Coherent writing
Things to think through when planning a website

26. 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
Long Dashes
Emphasis
Sentence Type
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility

27. 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
Things to think through when planning a website
Main parts of a set of instructions
Ethics in Business Writing
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume

28. Using short and long sentences strategically
Emphasis
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Main parts of internal proposals
Sentence Length

29. What is Indirect Order?
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
Information the reader will want - put it first.
similar

30. 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
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Position
Business Writing Style
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports

31. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'
Idioms
Position
Biased Language
Casual - Informal - or Formal

32. What are Individual Contexts
Outlining
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Three P's for success in writing a memo

33. What is the best advice for Drafting?
One-third
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Main parts of instructions

34. To set you apart from the others; show that you have customized your resume for that company/job opening
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision
Intensifiers
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Goal of a letter of application

35. How do you present information in long messages?
Affectation
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision

36. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations
Information needed for short report
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Strategy and Humanness
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports

37. What is format of most Memos?
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Sentence Variety
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Main parts of a set of instructions

38. Repeating keywords and key phrases
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Wordiness
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Repetition

39. What is a Memorandum?
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Sentence Type
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

40. Correctness
'You Viewpoint'
Figures of Speech
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume

41. Listing the ideas or facts within a sentence in sequence from least to most important
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
Climatic Order
Four keys to effective writing

42. What is the general Purpose of a Letter?
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Mechanical Devices
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
One-third

43. Are these stages recursive or linear?
Four keys to effective writing
Recursive
Examples of medium s of business communication
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

44. Using words like 'most - much - very' with caution - wthout overdoing it.
Intensifiers
Main parts of instructions
Business Writing Style
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

45. 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
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Climatic Order

46. How do you know what to include in your message?
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Subordination
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Your audience is the best guide for What and How

47. Stages can also be summarized as...
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume

48. General ideas - qualities - conditions - acts or relationships-intangible things that cannot be detected by the five senses
Direct Statements
Abstract words
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Characteristics of job-related writing

49. 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
Biased Language
Four keys to effective writing
Telegraphic Style
Guidelines for successful group writing

50. Varying sentences by using a compound sentence - a complex sentence - or a simple sentence
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Idioms
Business Writing Style
Sentence Type