Business Writing Practice Exam
Course Introduction
Business Writing focuses on the development of effective written communication skills essential in a professional environment. The course covers the principles and techniques for crafting clear, concise, and persuasive business documents, including emails, memos, reports, proposals, and resumes. Emphasis is placed on understanding the audience, organizing information logically, and using an appropriate tone and style. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, students learn to communicate ideas efficiently, uphold professional standards, and achieve organizational goals through impactful writing.
Recommended Textbook
Practical Strategies for Technical Communication 2nd Edition by Mike Markel
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15 Chapters
600 Verified Questions
600 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A manager has asked a colleague to deliver a 15-minute presentation explaining the latest test data at tomorrow's department meeting. Ideally, the colleague should do all except which one of the following to prepare for this presentation?
A) Rehearse the presentation at least three times.
B) Visit the site of the presentation.
C) Prepare appropriate presentation graphics.
D) Memorize the presentation.
Answer: D
Q2) Which statement accurately describes PowerPoint and Prezi, the presentation software programs discussed in Chapter 15?
A) A Prezi presentation is organized as a network or web, while a PowerPoint presentation is linear.
B) A PowerPoint presentation is organized as a network or web, while a Prezi presentation is linear.
C) Both PowerPoint and Prezi allow you to arrange your images in a web with seamless transitions.
D) Both Prezi and PowerPoint require you to arrange graphics linearly.
Answer: A
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3
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chapter 1 lists six defining characteristics of technical documents. One characteristic is that a technical document addresses particular readers. What are three other characteristics mentioned in the chapter?
Answer: The other five characteristics of a technical document are that it helps readers solve problems, it reflects the organization's goals and culture, it is produced collaboratively, it uses design to increase readability, and it consists of words or images or both.
Q2) The engineering firm you work for is submitting a proposal to create an amphitheater at a state park. Proposals must be submitted in three-ring binders. You are in charge of assembling the binders. You decide to put section divider tabs and an index into each proposal binder. Which measure of excellence in technical communication does this decision reflect?
A) honesty
B) clarity
C) comprehensiveness
D) accessibility
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical and Legal Obligations
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the challenge in trying to apply the four moral standards from ethicist Manuel G. Velasquez described in Chapter 2?
A) The four standards cannot be applied in a systematic way.
B) Sometimes one standard conflicts with another standard.
C) The standards are imprecise.
D) All of the answers are correct.
Answer: D
Q2) what do court rulings in lawsuits about consumer products tend to reinforce?
A) Consumers must sometimes choose between safe products and effective products.
B) Consumers have a right to expect that companies will consider utility when creating products.
C) Consumers have access to a lot of information, so consumers must be expected to choose the safest, best products.
D) Companies know more about their products than consumers do, so companies have a responsibility to make products that are safe and effective.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Writing Collaboratively
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are two technologies that can make the collaborative writing process more efficient?
Answer: Wikis and shared document workspaces make the collaborative writing process more efficient.
Q2) one advantage of collaboration is that it helps acclimate new employees to an organization.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Videoconferencing allows two or more people in separate locations to see and hear each other simultaneously. What are two other activities that videoconferencing allows participants to perform?
Answer: Videoconferencing allows participants to exchange documents, share data on computer displays, and use electronic whiteboards.
Q4) Chapter 3 discusses three forms that collaborative teams can use to help ensure that the team's efforts will be successful. List the forms.
Answer: Work schedule, team-member evaluation form, and style sheet
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6
Chapter 4: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose
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Sample Questions
Q1) What mistake did McDonald's make when it printed takeout bags decorated with flags from around the world?
Q2) which of these is a question you should ask to learn about the primary reader of a document you are writing?
A) What are the reader's political views?
B) What are the reader's cultural characteristics?
C) How many times will the reader read your document?
D) What is the reader's attitude toward the subject?
Q3) Chapter 4 suggests that, in addition to educational background, you should consider five other individual characteristics of readers. What is one other individual characteristic listed in the chapter?
Q4) Social-media searches can provide an organization with significant information about members of their target audiences.
A)True
B)False
Q5) how do public agencies use social-media data?
Q6) for what primary purpose do private companies use social-media data?
Q7) Chapter 4 describes three categories of audience. What are they?
Page 7
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Chapter 5: Researching Your Subject
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chapter 5 suggests that you do three things when concluding an interview. What is one of them?
Q2) What is the term for demographic information about individuals who use and follow social media?
A) big data
B) analysis
C) analytics
D) mined data
Q3) which of these is considered a traditional tool for secondary research?
A) online catalog
B) tagged content
C) questionnaire
D) microblog
Q4) Chapter 5 advises researchers to look for information that is current. List two other characteristics of reliable information, according to the chapter.
Q5) You should select research methods before determining what research questions to pursue.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Writing for Your Readers
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Sample Questions
Q1) Therefore, furthermore, consequently, and next are all examples of what category of words?
Q2) Which of the following sentences illustrates the best approach to writing about people with disabilities?
A) An arthritis sufferer typically takes medications daily.
B) People with advanced cases of scleroderma should avoid cold climates.
C) A person with severe rheumatoid arthritis is likely to be confined to a wheelchair.
D) Systemic lupus is an abnormal disability for young males.
Q3) What is the phrase "Special Restricted Incoming Materials Storage Area" an example of?
Q4) Classification is an organizational pattern in which a unit is divided into its components.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify two coherence devices discussed in Chapter 6.
Q6) According to Chapter 6, what are the two types of paragraphs?
Q7) What is a euphemism?
Q8) Identify one of the four cases in which it is better to use passive voice than active voice.
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Chapter 7: Designing Print and Online Documents
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chapter 7 discusses four basic principles for designing effective print and online documents. One is contrast. What are the other three basic design principles discussed in the chapter?
Q2) In typography, what is leading?
Q3) Which two of these design principles are NOT being employed if the headings in a document are in a particular color?
A) repetition
B) alignment
C) contrast
D) proximity
Q4) margins serve four main purposes within a document. Identify two.
Q5) what can you do to make a website easy to navigate?
A) Use "Back to top" links on long pages.
B) Include a site map.
C) Use a table of contents at the top of long pages.
D) All responses are correct.
E) None of the responses are correct.
Q6) What is chunking?
Q7) What is the definition of white space?
Q8) What is the difference between a serif typeface and a sans-serif typeface?
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Chapter 8: Creating Graphics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chapter 8 discusses five characteristics that make a graphic clear and understandable. One characteristic is that the graphic meets readers' format expectations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A screen shot is a graphic showing what appears on a computer monitor.
A)True
B)False
Q3) To achieve the most effective contrast between colors, pair dark and light shades of the same color together.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following graphics would be best suited to showing logical relationships?
A) table
B) checklist
C) line drawing
D) organization chart
Q5) what is the most important characteristic of an infographic?
Q6) Where is the stub located in a table?
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Chapter 9: Writing Correspondence
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Sample Questions
Q1) You are writing a research paper on the hydrological impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on groundwater in your state. In your research, you have found that a professor at a university in another state, Dr. Thomas Henry Wright, has conducted similar research. You decide to write an inquiry letter to ask him some questions. Which salutation is most appropriate for your letter?
A) Dear Tom:
B) Dear Thomas Henry Wright:
C) Dear Dr. Wright:
D) Dear Professor:
Q2) If you are writing a letter using company stationery, which piece of information is most likely to be provided so that you do not have to type it?
A) the date
B) the inside address
C) the return address
D) the attention line
Q3) three elements are nearly always found at the top of the second and subsequent pages of a memo. One is the page number. What are the other two elements?
Q4) Provide an example of a correspondence cliché.
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Page 12
Chapter 10: Writing Job-Application Materials
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chapter 10 lists four questions you should ask before posting your résumé on an Internet job board. One question is "Who has access to your résumé?" What is one of the other questions?
Q2) Why might you want to create a plain-text version of your résumé?
Q3) Which of the following statements best displays appropriate levels of both confidence and politeness?
A) "I hope you will have some time available to consider my qualifications for this position. Please contact me at (123) 555-5555 if you would be able to set up a time."
B) "I am eager to meet with you to discuss my qualifications for this position. Please contact me at (123) 555-5555 to set up a time."
C) "I am clearly a solid candidate for this position. Call me at (123) 555-5555 to get this thing going."
D) "I hope you will be able to consider me for this position. Please contact me at (123) 555-5555 if you would be able to meet with me. Thank you for your time."
Q4) When should you use enclosure notation on a job-application letter?
Q5) Why is it important to include keywords in your LinkedIn profile?
Q6) what is an elevator pitch?
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Page 13
Chapter 11: Writing Proposals
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Sample Questions
Q1) A task schedule is almost always drawn in one of three graphical formats: table, bar chart, or network diagram.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Proposals have two kinds of deliverables. What are they?
Q3) A solicited proposal is one that you send to a customer who has not requested it.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of these types of proposals is NOT discussed in Chapter 11?
A) solicited external proposals
B) unsolicited external proposals
C) unsolicited internal proposals
D) None of the responses are correct.
Q5) proposals are not expensive to write, so companies submit unsolicited proposals often.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What does IFB stand for?
Q7) What are indirect costs?
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Chapter 12: Writing Informational Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements best describes a progress report?
A) A progress report is an initial document that helps establish a project.
B) A progress report is an intermediate document produced while a project is ongoing.
C) A progress report is a summative document produced at the conclusion of a project.
D) None of the responses are correct.
Q2) Which of the following people would be most likely to organize a progress or status report according to task? (Select all answers that apply.)
A) a salesperson responsible for selling medical devices in a two-state area
B) a project manager overseeing the implementation of new software throughout your company
C) an engineer developing a new industrial ceramic compound for a client
D) All responses are correct.
Q3) How can you ensure that readers can easily find any appendixes you create for a report?
Q4) A directive is an informational document, not a persuasive one.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Writing Recommendation Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) The essential questions answered in the introduction of a recommendation report are similar to those answered when introducing what other kind of document?
A) a proposal
B) an incident report
C) meeting minutes
D) a job-application letter
Q2) According to Chapter 13, you must establish your decision criteria before you determine your options for addressing the problem.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of these would be included in the front matter for a report?
A) the introduction
B) the glossary
C) the executive summary
D) the recommendations
Q4) What fundamental question does the recommendations section of a recommendation report answer?
Q5) If your report presents multiple recommendations, how should you consider presenting them?
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Chapter 14: Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions
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Sample Questions
Q1) You are writing a manual for a deep fryer designed for home cooks. Which statement would be appropriately set off with Note as a signal word?
A) Corn balls will be very hot when removed from the oil.
B) The fry zone is very hot when the power is on. To avoid serious burns, do not touch the fry zone while it is heated.
C) The fry basket can hold 4-6 small doughnuts at a time.
D) Do not attempt to fix the deep fryer while it is connected to a power source.
Q2) A writer wants to describe how screen printing is done. Which of the following elements is NOT likely to appear in the process description?
A) a diagram illustrating the parts of the screen-printing machine
B) a step-by-step guide to performing the process
C) a sentence definition of screen printing
D) a section heading or title indicating the nature and scope of the description
Q3) The introduction to a set of instructions should answer six questions, one of which is "Why should the reader carry out this task?" According to Chapter 14, what is one other question?
Q4) What is the function of a conventions section?
Q5) How long should an instructional video be?
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