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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. To emphasize the performer of an action: make the performer the subject of the verb
Active Voice
Characteristics of job-related writing
Repetition
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

2. Clairty
Wordiness
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Active Voice
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs

3. Words and expressions that offend because they make inappropriate assumptions or stereotypes about gender - ethnicity - physical or mental disability - age or sexual orientation.
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Biased Language
Main parts of a set of instructions
Active Voice

4. What are three levels of Revision?
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Examples of medium s of business communication
Euphemismss

5. How do you know what to include in your message?
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Conciseness
Connotation
Sentence Variety

6. How do you present information in long messages?
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
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
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself

7. What are Cons of Email?

8. What is the general Purpose of a Letter?
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.

9. Using short and long sentences strategically
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Ethics in Business Writing
Sentence Length

10. Are these stages recursive or linear?
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
One-third
Recursive
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

11. Using words like 'most - much - very' with caution - wthout overdoing it.
Outlining
Conciseness
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Intensifiers

12. 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.
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Garbled Sentences
Four keys to effective writing

13. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.
Idioms
Position
Procedures
Revision - Editing - Proofreading

14. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Connotation
Conciseness
Mechanical Devices

15. Provide practical info - give facts - not impressions - provide visuals to clarify - give accurate measurements - stating responsibility precisely - persuading and offering recommendations
Sentence Variety
Characteristics of job-related writing
Three P's for success in writing a memo
Affectation

16. How do you begin the message?

17. Informal
Abstract words
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

18. The relationships among ideas are clear to readers. A logical sequence of related ideas and clear transitions between these ideas.
Guidelines for successful group writing
Coherent writing
Abstract words
Characteristics of job-related writing

19. Casual
Emphasis
Characteristics of job-related writing
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only
Tone

20. 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
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Connotation
Recursive
Strategy and Humanness

21. Stages can also be summarized as...
Mechanical Devices
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better

22. Etiquette
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Long Dashes
Instructions
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only

23. An organized presentation of relevant data on any topic that a company or agency tracks in its day-to-day operations
Short report
Guidelines for successful group writing
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams

24. An imaginative expression that often compares two things that are basically not alike but have at least one thing in common.
Figures of Speech
Characteristics of job-related writing
Attractive and Readable Format
Mechanical Devices

25. To set you apart from the others; show that you have customized your resume for that company/job opening
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Goal of a letter of application
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications

26. What is the best advice for Drafting?
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Outlining
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

27. They dentify things that can be perceived by the 5 senses - such as diploma - manager - or keyboard
Outlining
Sentence Type
Concrete Words
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself

28. What is Indirect Order?
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Four keys to effective writing
Casual - Informal - or Formal
Idioms

29. Formal
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness
Main parts of instructions
'You Viewpoint'

30. How to end an email
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Active Voice
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING

31. The ____________ of a word are its literal meanings - as defined in a dictionary.
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Climatic Order
Denotaion

32. What is format of most Memos?
Main parts of instructions
Emphasis
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress

33. Used to show - by the structure of a sentence - the appropriate relationship between ideas of unequal importance.
Sentence Type
Subordination
Purpose - Format - Composition
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness

34. What types of research is done in gathering information?
Recursive
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Wordiness

35. What is critical to a message's success?
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
'You Viewpoint'
Attractive and Readable Format
Examples of medium s of business communication

36. How do you Plan the message?
Sentence Type
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Intensifiers
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

37. What are Pros of Email?
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Biased Language
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
Cliches

38. 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
Ethics in Business Writing
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Short report
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility

39. Letters - memos - email - instant messages - telephone calls - Faxes - Face-to-face meetings - video conferences - web sites
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Cliches
One-third
Examples of medium s of business communication

40. When to use Instant Messaging?
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Characteristics of job-related writing

41. What are the activities in the planning stage?
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Main parts of internal proposals
Euphemismss
Sentence Length

42. 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
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Euphemismss
Wordiness
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

43. Varying sentences by using a compound sentence - a complex sentence - or a simple sentence
Sentence Type
Direct Statements
Garbled Sentences
'You Viewpoint'

44. Use Initialisms
Sentence Variety
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Main parts of internal proposals
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way

45. What is Direct Order?
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Information the reader will want - put it first.

46. 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
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Buzz Words

47. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -
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
Coherent writing
Characteristics of job-related writing
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.

48. How do you present information in message?
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order
'You Viewpoint'
Wordiness
Long Dashes

49. Sentences can vary in sentence length - word order - loose and periodic sentences
Repetition
Sentence Variety
Sentence Type
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility

50. Tell and show how to do something
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Idioms
Instructions