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Test your basic knowledge |
Technical Writing Style Vocab
Start Test
Study First
Subject
:
writing-skills
Instructions:
Answer 42 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. When sentences are not tied together using the old/new information principle. To fix: New information comes at the end of a sentence to introduce the new idea. Once a writer has introduced the new info - then it becomes old information and is availab
Tie-In Problem
Begging the question
Tech Term Placement
Ad hominem
2. To base a conclusion on a piece of information that is essentially a restatement of the conclusion or to ignore flaws in a core piece of information.
Redundant Modifier
Unity
Begging the question
Strawmen
3. This style error occurs when the person or entity performing the action is not in the subject position of the sentence. To fix: move the actor (what performs the action) to the subject position in the sentence.
No Actor in Subject
Slippery slopes
Audience recognition
Tech Term Placement
4. Be brief and to the point - use active voice - avoid redundancy
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
Strawmen
Conciseness
Accessibility
5. A modifiying phrase or clause that does not sensibly modify any word or words in a sentence. Usually the actor is missing from the sentence: e.g. - 'Reading a book - the black cat crawled onto my lap.' The cat was not reading the book. To fix: add an
Faulty Word Choice
Unnecessary Words
Dangling Modifier
Conciseness
6. Spell check
Ad hominem
No Actor in Subject
Accessibility
Accuracy
7. Are built when a watered down or misrepresented version of one side is described and then attacked.
Audience recognition
Slippery slopes
Subject/Verb Separation
Strawmen
8. Two words with the same meaning joined by 'and': e.g. - 'each and every -' 'full and complete -' 'null and void -' 'first and foremost -' etc.... To fix: removed extra words.
Red herrings
Subject/Verb Separation
Redundant Pair
Subjective descriptions
9. The extent to which the elements of a document develop a shared idea.
Red herrings
Non-Specific Language
Offensive Language
Unity
10. Consider the needs of the reader
Audience recognition
Slippery slopes
Subjective descriptions
Cultural Idiom
11. Use personal pronouns
Offensive Language
Dangling Modifier
Passive Voice
Audience recognition
12. A word or phrase apparently modifying an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence: e.g. - 'when young' in 'when young - circuses appeal to all of us' or 'wearing a ball gown' in the sentence - 'She sat on the lap of a fat man wearing a
Subject/Verb Separation
Ad populum
Misplaced Modifier
Accessibility
13. To draw a conclusion that is more extreme than the evidence supports
Negative Language
Missing the point
Begging the question
Redundant Pair
14. Have someone else read your document
Faulty Word Choice
Accuracy
Hasty generalizations
Tu quoque
15. When the writer puts unimportant information at the end of a sentence. The end of a sentence is the last thing the reader remembers and only important information belongs there. Avoid ending sentences with phrases such as - 'however -' 'according to
Ad populum
Emphasis Problem
Passive Voice
Tie-In Problem
16. 'To the people' argument relies on public opinion to support a position
Tie-In Problem
Begging the question
Ad populum
Inflated Language
17. Can take 2 forms; citing a person who is not an expert in the subject being discussed or failing to describe the reasons that support an expert's opinion.
Dangling Modifier
Appeals to authority
Clarity
Subject/Verb Separation
18. Slang - cliches - or brand names that belong only to a specific group or culture: e.g.: 'I went home and crashed -' becomes 'I went home and napped -' 'Band-Aids' becomes 'bandages -' 'White Out' becomes 'liquid paper' or 'correction fluid -' etc....
Clarity
Unity
Cultural Idiom
Misplaced Modifier
19. Based on opinions.
Subjective descriptions
Conciseness
Parallel construction
Appeals to authority
20. Based on facts - not opinions.
Strawmen
Ad hominem
Dangling Modifier
Objective descriptions
21. A series of actions - a list of several things - a bullet list for example - or a sentence that is divided into two parts - in these cases when a main verb control several phrases that follow it - each of those phrases has to be set up in the same w
False dichotomies
Non-Specific Language
Parallel construction
Red herrings
22. Often found with the word 'not.' Tell readers what they need to know and what they should be doing instead of focusing on what they should not be doing: e.g. - 'You do not not have homework -' is more difficult to read and understand than - 'You have
Clarity
Passive Voice
Audience recognition
Negative Language
23. Words that pad a sentence without adding anything of value: e.g.: 'due to the fact that' is unnecessary when writers have 'because' to use. 'In order to' does not need the 'in order' portion to communicate the same message.
Nominalization
Unnecessary Words
Audience recognition
Negative Language
24. A conclusion based on a sample size that is too small or limited.
Parallel construction
Hasty generalizations
Begging the question
Offensive Language
25. Technical information that your readers are unfamiliar with should come at the end of sentences. Sentences that open with unfamiliar technical terms slow readers.
Cultural Idiom
Unity
Tech Term Placement
Audience recognition
26. A tangential issue that is addressed in order to distract the readers from the main problem
Red herrings
Objective descriptions
Dangling Modifier
No Actor in Subject
27. Words that the average 8th grade level reader and below would not be familiar with. Any jargon from a specific field. Use sparingly in technical documents unless you know your audience has the necessary vocabulary. Example: 'Pursuant to our conversat
Emphasis Problem
Unity
Conciseness
Inflated Language
28. A verb acting as a noun and hiding the main action of the sentence. Find all the nouns in a sentence - then see if they could be verbs - if they can - they are nominalizations. Use common sense to change all the nominalizations you can without changi
Nominalization
Redundant Modifier
Subjective descriptions
Unnecessary Words
29. 'Against the person' arguments attacks a person who supports a dissenting position - rather than the position.
Redundant Pair
Accuracy
Negative Language
Ad hominem
30. The mistaken view that there are only 2 possible solutions to a problem.
Unnecessary Words
Slippery slopes
False dichotomies
Begging the question
31. 1. Words that can have more than one meaning in the context of the sentence: e.g. - 'The teacher was mad -' --was she insane or angry? 2. Typos - misspellings - homonyms used incorrectly.
Accuracy
Accuracy
Faulty Word Choice
Conciseness
32. 'You too' attacks points out the hypocrisy of a person who supports a dissenting position.
Subjective descriptions
Ad hominem
Tu quoque
Ad populum
33. Page layout - make headings larger than body text - use highlighting techniques
Inflated Language
Accessibility
Begging the question
Non-Specific Language
34. The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb. This style error hides credit for ideas and can often indicate sloppy research. Passive Voice Formula: ('to be' v
Passive Voice
Clarity
Begging the question
Non-Specific Language
35. Unnecessary intensifier or explainer that is already implied by one (or more) of the words: e.g. - 'very unique -' 'free gift -' 'green in color -' 'round in shape -' etc... To fix: remove extra words.
Redundant Modifier
Accessibility
Subjective descriptions
Dangling Modifier
36. Assumes a chain of events will happen - even thought the evidence does not support the entire chain.
Ad populum
Unity
Non-Specific Language
Slippery slopes
37. Three or more nouns together can slow reading. To fix: break these long noun phrases up by adding in articles or prepositions.
Objective descriptions
Hasty generalizations
Accuracy
Stacked Noun (Noun + Noun + Noun)
38. Most important trait - Have an understandable message - avoid vague words - answer the reader's questions
Redundant Pair
Audience recognition
Clarity
Ad populum
39. Language that is not clear or detailed. Non-specific language often related to numbers and times: soon - few - many - several. Non-specific language can include 'it' if it begins a sentence or is without clear prior reference.
Subject/Verb Separation
Non-Specific Language
Audience recognition
Redundant Pair
40. Language that alienates a specific group or gender: e.g - 'Policeman' becomes 'Police Officer -' 'man-made' becomes 'synthetic -' 'autistic children' becomes 'children with autism -' etc...
Parallel construction
Hasty generalizations
Offensive Language
False dichotomies
41. This issue makes sentences more difficult to read for the average person. Anytime a writer places words between the subject and the verb - the writer is slowing the action of the sentence. Use sparingly and only when necessary. Subject/Verb Separatio
Accessibility
Offensive Language
Subject/Verb Separation
Nominalization
42. Assumes a casual relationship between 2 events.
Nominalization
Tie-In Problem
Subjective descriptions
Post hoc