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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. How do you know what to include in your message?
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Ethics in Business Writing
Concrete Words
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress

2. E.g. 'most important'
Direct Statements
Active Voice
Repetition
Procedures

3. What is the general Purpose of a Letter?
Emphasis
Short report
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Position

4. What is critical to a message's success?
Attractive and Readable Format
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Long Dashes

5. What are Pros of Email?
Long Dashes
Characteristics of job-related writing
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

6. Informal
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Affectation
Mechanical Devices
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

7. An inoffensive substitute for a word or phrase that could be distasteful - offensive - or too blunt.
Intensifiers
Short report
Euphemismss
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting

8. Use to call attention to a particular word or statement --
Long Dashes
Main parts of instructions
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Abstract words

9. How do you begin the message?

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10. 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
Guidelines for successful group writing
Ethics in Business Writing
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status

11. An organized presentation of relevant data on any topic that a company or agency tracks in its day-to-day operations
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Short report
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Wordiness

12. Etiquette
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Short report
Mechanical Devices
Get Feedback From Others!

13. Concern policies and regulations found in employee handbooks and other internal corporate communications
Procedures
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Conciseness
Selecting the proper medium

14. Introduction; list of equipment and materials; steps for your instructions; warnings - cautions - and notes; conclusion
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Cliches
Main parts of a set of instructions
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

15. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.
Selecting the proper medium
Affectation
Rules for writing instructions
Connotation

16. When to use Instant Messaging?
Characteristics of job-related writing
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Four keys to effective writing

17. Words and expressions that offend because they make inappropriate assumptions or stereotypes about gender - ethnicity - physical or mental disability - age or sexual orientation.
Biased Language
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Purpose - Format - Composition

18. Stages can also be summarized as...
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Climatic Order
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

19. 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.
Subordination
Wordiness
Outlining
Key draft questions

20. Provide practical info - give facts - not impressions - provide visuals to clarify - give accurate measurements - stating responsibility precisely - persuading and offering recommendations
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness
Direct Statements
Characteristics of job-related writing
Sentence Variety

21. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.
Position
Strategy and Humanness
Connotation
Sentence Type

22. Are these stages recursive or linear?
Strategy and Humanness
Recursive
Intensifiers
Information needed for short report

23. Iitalics - bold type - underlining etc.
Repetition
Euphemismss
Mechanical Devices
Coherent writing

24. What is a Memorandum?
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Guidelines for successful group writing

25. Why Avoid Perfectionism in Drafting?
Main parts of internal proposals
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Mechanical Devices
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise

26. What are three levels of Editing?
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Three P's for success in writing a memo
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record

27. How to end an email
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Idioms
Characteristics of job-related writing
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages

28. What are Individual Contexts
Goal of a letter of application
Main parts of instructions
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Three P's for success in writing a memo

29. 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
Key draft questions
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
'You Viewpoint'
Connotation

30. 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
Concrete Words
Figures of Speech
Guidelines for successful group writing
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages

31. Letters - memos - email - instant messages - telephone calls - Faxes - Face-to-face meetings - video conferences - web sites
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Examples of medium s of business communication
Information the reader will want - put it first.
Concrete Words

32. How do you Plan the message?
Instructions
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Get Feedback From Others!

33. The use of language that is more formal - technical - or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader.
Four keys to effective writing
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Affectation
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness

34. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -
Sentence Length
Characteristics of job-related writing
Wordiness
Telegraphic Style

35. Introduction - list of materials - actual steps - warnings - cautions - and notes - conclusion when necessary
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress
Denotaion
Position
Main parts of instructions

36. How is formatting important?
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Emphasis
Sentence Length
Rules for writing instructions

37. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Repetition
Connotation
Idioms

38. What is Indirect Order?
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume
Idioms

39. What should you know about a Letter?
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
Business Writing Style
Purpose - Format - Composition
Outlining

40. 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
Selecting the proper medium
Active Voice
Conciseness

41. What are Cons of Email?

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42. Tell and show how to do something
Outlining
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Garbled Sentences
Instructions

43. 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
Key draft questions
Biased Language
Affectation
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages

44. Repeating keywords and key phrases
Position
Things to think through when planning a website
Repetition
Most Important Information First - and then Descending Order

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

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46. Purpose - findings - conclusion - and recommendations
It is integral in how your audience will receive and accept the information.
Long Dashes
Information needed for short report
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;

47. 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)
Four keys to effective writing
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Attractive and Readable Format
similar

48. Correctness
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Cautiously i.e. BTW: by the way
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose
Garbled Sentences

49. They dentify things that can be perceived by the 5 senses - such as diploma - manager - or keyboard
Main parts of internal proposals
Concrete Words
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only
Connotation

50. What types of research is done in gathering information?
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews
Cliches
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself