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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. What is a Memorandum?
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Short report
Proper Conversation - Personal Pronouns/Contractions - Sentences are Short - Organized - Well Structured;
Use Direct Pattern if positive - Use Indirect Pattern if neutral or negative; State Objective - ALWAYS Consider Audience and Purpose

2. Introduction - list of materials - actual steps - warnings - cautions - and notes - conclusion when necessary
Cliches
Main parts of instructions
Active Voice
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

3. Formal
Information the reader will want - put it first.
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Long Dashes
Get Feedback From Others!

4. What is Indirect Order?
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
Telegraphic Style
Emphasis
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

5. What are Pros of Email?
Biased Language
Mechanical Devices
Three P's for success in writing a memo
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record

6. How do you know what to include in your message?
Direct Statements
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Idioms
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status

7. The relationships among ideas are clear to readers. A logical sequence of related ideas and clear transitions between these ideas.
Strategy and Humanness
Coherent writing
Subordination
Cliches

8. How do you begin the message?

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9. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Selecting the proper medium

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
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting
Concrete Words
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Ethics in Business Writing

11. Condenses writing by omitting articles - pronouns - conjunctions - and transitions - e.g. ' Per 5/21 email 12 copies of instruction needed asap'
Telegraphic Style
Your audience is the best guide for What and How
Main parts of a set of instructions
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress

12. What are three levels of Revision?
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness
Cliches
Revision of content - Organization - Formatting

13. The use of language that is more formal - technical - or showy than necessary to communicate information to the reader.
Affectation
Characteristics of job-related writing
Connotation
Organizational - Professional - Personal

14. What types of research is done in gathering information?
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Instructions
Examples of medium s of business communication
Past Correspondence - Employees - Records - Warranties - Product Descriptions - Survey - Interviews

15. 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
Main parts of a set of instructions
Short report
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Abstract words

16. Repeating keywords and key phrases
Selecting the proper medium
similar
Repetition
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;

17. What is critical to a message's success?
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Casual - Informal - or Formal
Attractive and Readable Format
Four keys to effective writing

18. 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
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Main parts of a set of instructions
Connotation
Information the reader will want - put it first.

19. 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
Ethics in Business Writing
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Buzz Words
Emphasis

20. How do you Plan the message?
Attractive and Readable Format
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Intensifiers
Short report

21. 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.
Garbled Sentences
Strive for Concreteness - Vigor - Precision - Short sentences and paragraphs
Figures of Speech
Telegraphic Style

22. What are Cons of Email?

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23. What are the activities in the planning stage?
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Direct Statements

24. Introduction; list of equipment and materials; steps for your instructions; warnings - cautions - and notes; conclusion
Four keys to effective writing
Main parts of a set of instructions
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself

25. Stages can also be summarized as...
Goal of a letter of application
Intensifiers
Characteristics of job-related writing
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better

26. What are three levels of Editing?
Revision - Editing - Proofreading
Put it Last - using the opening to prepare the audience
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
Telegraphic Style

27. What is the best advice for Drafting?
Short report
Procedures
Main parts of internal proposals
Be Flexible - Avoid Perfectionism - Keep Going - Keep making progress

28. Means that extraneous words - phrases - clauses - and sentences have been removed from writing without sacrificing clarity or appropriate detail.
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Conciseness
Euphemismss
Recipient's Name and Introduce Yourself

29. Places the reader's interest and perspective foremost. It is based on the principle that most readers are naturally more concerned about their own needs than they are about those of a writer or a writer's organization - often means using the words y

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30. Techniques for writing memos and emails are...
Define the Problem - Consider the Audience and their Individual Contexts - Consider your own Contexts - Best Way to Achieve message;
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise
Main parts of internal proposals
similar

31. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance
Characteristics do employers like to see in a resume
Selecting the proper medium
Gathering and Collecting Information - Analyzing and Organizing Information - Choosing the Form - Channel - and Format of the Message
Not Confidential - Doesn't Communicate Emotions - Tone of Voice - or Unspoken Communications - Can be Ignored or Delayed

32. 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
similar
Biased Language
Concrete Words

33. Purpose - problem - plan/solution - conclusion
Main parts of internal proposals
Date - To - From - Subject Headings
Keep Distance between Writer and Reader - Avoid Personal References/Contractions - Longer Sentences - for people of Higher Status
Wordiness

34. To emphasize the performer of an action: make the performer the subject of the verb
Denotaion
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports
Active Voice
Stress Brevity - uses abbreviations - Convey ideas completely - minimal need for response - Telephone message - but in writing.

35. How much time should a student spend in each writing stage?
Climatic Order
Cut out nonessentials - Minimize references to Previous Communications
One-third
Characteristics of job-related writing

36. What are Individual Contexts
Connotation
Organizational - Professional - Personal
Rules for writing instructions
Main parts of instructions

37. 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
Wordiness
Connotation
Characteristics of job-related writing
Your audience is the best guide for What and How

38. Correctness
Instructions
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Things to think through when planning a website

39. General considerations with Email Messages
Instructions
What do you want to say - Say It - Say it Better
Conciseness - Clarity - Etiquette - Correctness
One-third

40. What is current emphasis on for a Letter?
Strategy and Humanness
One-third
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Sentence Type

41. 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
Short report
Emphasis
Long Dashes
Outlining

42. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.
Outlining
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Position

43. Why Avoid Perfectionism in Drafting?
Rules for writing instructions
Euphemismss
Concrete Words
Helps include all important information; Makes you more willing to revise

44. Goal and audience
Your Name - Closing Statement such as Thanks - Regards in more formal messages
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility
Things to think through when planning a website
Eliminates phone tag - saves time - facilitates fast decisions - cheap - provides written record

45. 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
Direct Statements
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision
NO offensive or abusive emails should be sent - and no upper case - as that is considered SCREAMING

46. 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
Slang; Colloquialisms - Contractions - Short Sentences - for close friends only
Guidelines for effective business e-mail messages
Direct Statements
Rules for writing instructions

47. When should email NOT be used?
Examples of medium s of business communication
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
Sentence Variety
Write Correctly so others will not think you are stupid or lack credibility

48. What techniques can be used for gathering information?
Characteristics of job-related writing
Visualize Readers - Keep their interests in mind - List Pertinent Facts - Brainstorming - Diagrams
Three P's for success in writing a memo
Internal Letters. Sometimes classified as Reports

49. An inoffensive substitute for a word or phrase that could be distasteful - offensive - or too blunt.
Euphemismss
Three P's for success in writing a memo
Biased Language
Organizational - Professional - Personal

50. Steps to Successful Writing
Represent writer and topic formally to recipient. Correspondence with People Outside the your organization.
Rules for writing instructions
Idioms
Preparation - Research - Organization - Writing - Revision