Test your basic knowledge |

The Business Writing Process

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. Audience's preferences - personal work style - how widely info needs to be distributed etc.






2. The relationships among ideas are clear to readers. A logical sequence of related ideas and clear transitions between these ideas.






3. When to use Instant Messaging?






4. The ____________ of a word are its literal meanings - as defined in a dictionary.






5. General considerations with Email Messages






6. Correctness






7. Letters - memos - email - instant messages - telephone calls - Faxes - Face-to-face meetings - video conferences - web sites






8. Introduction; list of equipment and materials; steps for your instructions; warnings - cautions - and notes; conclusion






9. How do you know what to include in your message?






10. How do you present information in message?






11. Means that extraneous words - phrases - clauses - and sentences have been removed from writing without sacrificing clarity or appropriate detail.






12. What is critical to a message's success?






13. Varying sentences by using a compound sentence - a complex sentence - or a simple sentence






14. What is current emphasis on for a Letter?






15. What are Pros of Email?






16. Sentences can vary in sentence length - word order - loose and periodic sentences






17. Conciseness






18. Where you put the idea - The first & last words of a sentence - paragraph - doc - stand out in readers' minds.






19. How do you begin the message?


20. How much time should a student spend in each writing stage?






21. What types of research is done in gathering information?






22. Purpose - problem - plan/solution - conclusion






23. E.g. 'most important'






24. A group of words that has a special meaning apart from its literal meaning. Someone who 'runs for office'






25. Condenses writing by omitting articles - pronouns - conjunctions - and transitions - e.g. ' Per 5/21 email 12 copies of instruction needed asap'






26. 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






27. 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






28. 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.






29. Am I giving the reader too much or too little info? - does this point belong here? - is this point relevant? - am I repeating or contradicting myself? - have I ended appropriately?






30. Formal






31. General ideas - qualities - conditions - acts or relationships-intangible things that cannot be detected by the five senses






32. They dentify things that can be perceived by the 5 senses - such as diploma - manager - or keyboard






33. Honesty - attractive - carefully organized - concise accurate - current information - relevance






34. Used to show - by the structure of a sentence - the appropriate relationship between ideas of unequal importance.






35. What are Individual Contexts






36. Are these stages recursive or linear?






37. 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






38. Using short and long sentences strategically






39. What is the best advice for Drafting?






40. 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






41. 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.






42. 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






43. How is formatting important?






44. Use Initialisms






45. An inoffensive substitute for a word or phrase that could be distasteful - offensive - or too blunt.






46. 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






47. How to end an email






48. Provide practical information - give facts not impressions - provide visuals to clarify and condense information - give accurate measurements - state responsibilities precisely - persuade and offer recommendations -






49. Formality Considerations






50. 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