Introduction to Technical Communication Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Technical Communication explores the fundamental principles and practices of effective communication in technical and professional contexts. Students will learn how to analyze audiences, organize and present complex information clearly, and use various communication formats such as reports, proposals, manuals, emails, and presentations. Emphasizing clarity, accuracy, and conciseness, the course also introduces students to visual communication, collaborative writing, and the ethical responsibilities of technical communicators. Through practical assignments and real-world examples, students will develop essential skills for producing accessible and persuasive technical documents for diverse audiences.
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Technical Communication 11th Edition by Mike Markel
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
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Q1) Chapter 1 lists six defining characteristics of technical communication. One characteristic is that technical communication addresses particular readers. What are three other characteristics mentioned in the chapter?
Answer: The other five characteristics of technical communication 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) Why is the ability to prioritize and respond quickly more valuable in the contemporary workplace than ever before?
Answer: This quality is more valuable than ever before because social-media activity occurs unceasingly.
Q3) For most employers, communication skills are less important than technical knowledge.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations
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Q1) Only professionals with management responsibilities have ethical responsibilities to the environment.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) You are writing the second edition of a user manual to be included with software sold to the general public. You want to reuse a portion of the introductory materials from the first edition but cannot determine who wrote that section or what the contractual conditions were. You know that your company has customarily required that freelance writers sign work-made-for-hire agreements. What should you do?
A) Rewrite the introductory materials yourself.
B) State in a footnote that the excerpt was written under a work-made-for-hire agreement.
C) Register the work with the appropriate government agency.
D) Include a disclaimer when you insert the materials from the first edition.
Answer: A
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4
Chapter 3: Writing Technical Documents
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Q1) how much time can someone expect to spend planning a writing project?
A) more than one-third of the total time spent on the writing project
B) one hour for every ten pages
C) about one-tenth of the total time spent on the writing project
D) as little as possible
Answer: A
Q2) Chapter 3 lists eight steps that are often involved in planning a document. One is generating ideas about your topic. What are two other steps listed in Chapter 3?
A) analyzing your purpose
B) proofreading
C) freewriting
D) devising a schedule and a budget
Answer: A, D
Q3) Even though cultures differ, technical documents tend to be written in a similar way no matter where you go.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Writing Collaboratively
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Q1) What is one of the disadvantages of collaboration mentioned in Chapter 4?
Q2) According to the research cited in Chapter 4, which two of the following behaviors might students from other cultures exhibit?
A) unwillingness to respond with a definite "no"
B) reluctance to initiate new tasks or perform creatively
C) unwillingness to meet at certain times
D) routinely arriving late for team meetings
Q3) Differences between the ways men and women work in teams are hard to notice.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A project manager is using a word processor to review an electronic file of a document written by a team member, and she does not understand the meaning of a term used in the document. What should the project manager do?
A) Use the comment feature to ask "Will the reader understand this term?"
B) Delete the term using the revision feature.
C) Check the change bar for an explanation.
D) Use the highlighting feature to call the writer's attention to the term.
Q5) What is one of the advantages of collaboration mentioned in Chapter 4?
Q6) What two technologies make the collaborative writing process more efficient?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose
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Q1) Chapter 5 identifies seven categories of cultural variables "on the surface." One category is political. Which of these is NOT a category of surface cultural variables?
A) economic
B) social
C) religious
D) philosophical
E) technological
Q2) Interviews are great for learning from your audience but not for learning about your audience.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The following passage would be appropriate for a document aimed at a multicultural audience:
Two companies found themselves in the financial equivalent of sudden-death overtime. The first to raise the necessary capital would be the one to survive.
A)True
B)False
Q4) how do public agencies use social-media data?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Researching Your Subject
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Q1) Print is a common medium for publishing information. Chapter 6 identifies four other publishing media. What are two other media listed in the chapter?
A) microfilm
B) microfiche
C) websites
D) social media
Q2) What is the difference between secondary research and primary research?
Q3) Which of these resources is NOT likely to appear in a library's online database?
A) proceedings from an annual academic conference
B) posts from a blog
C) articles from a magazine
D) articles from a national newspaper
Q4) one disadvantage of a questionnaire is that you cannot be sure the respondents are representative of the population you want to study.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Chapter 6 lists five characteristics to consider when evaluating print and online sources. Name two of them.
Q6) What kind of information is found in a periodical index?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Organizing Your Information
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Q1) Your supervisor has asked you to write a brief description of an abandoned silver mine that is slated for hazardous-waste cleanup. Of the organizational patterns discussed in Chapter 7, which would be most logical and effective for describing the mine?
A) classification or partition
B) general to specific
C) problem-methods-solution
D) spatial
Q2) where in your document should you put your main point if you expect that your audience will like what you have to say?
A) at the end of your document
B) after the middle of your document
C) near the middle of your document
D) early in the document
Q3) It is always unethical to compare your company's product to a similar product by another company when trying to argue that your own company's product is superior.
A)True
B)False
Q4) what is partition?
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Chapter 8: Communicating Persuasively
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Q1) A commonsense argument is usually more persuasive than numerical data.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of these statements is true?
A) Writers who appeal to an audience's sense of reason never use graphics.
B) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually do so dramatically.
C) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually do not appeal to their sense of reason as well.
D) Writers who appeal to an audience's emotions usually appeal to their sense of reason as well.
Q3) What type of argument poses only two alternatives when in fact there might be more?
Q4) Give an example of an informational constraint that you might confront in completing a project.
Q5) When used as evidence, what does an effective example do?
A) It makes concrete ideas more abstract.
B) It makes abstract ideas more concrete.
C) It makes concrete ideas more figurative.
D) It makes abstractions less didactic.
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Chapter 9: Emphasizing Important Information
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Q1) Transitional paragraphs tend to be much longer than body paragraphs.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In almost all cases, demonstrative pronouns should be followed by nouns.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following options is the best lead-in for a sentence list?
A) Our three main competitive advantages are:
B) The reasons are the following:
C) We offer advantages over the competition.
D) We offer three main advantages over the competition:
Q4) What type of sentence states, summarizes, or forecasts the main point of the paragraph?
A) a transitional sentence
B) a coherence sentence
C) a topic sentence
D) None of the responses are correct.
Q5) turning paragraphs into lists has four advantages for the writer. One is that it forces you to look at the big picture. What are two other advantages listed in the chapter?
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Chapter 10: Writing Correct and Effective Sentences
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Q1) How should you punctuate a restrictive modifier?
A) Use commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
B) Use dashes to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
C) Add no extra punctuation.
D) Precede it with a comma and the word which.
Q2) Which of the following sentences has a strong subject?
A) The firm issued a statement about the newly promoted lawyers.
B) The statement from the college about the newly promoted professors was published in the newspaper.
C) The use of fireworks in this city is strictly prohibited.
D) The challenge of pursuing higher education while using a foreign language should not be underestimated.
Q3) Which of the following sentences has a strong verb?
A) The acquisition of properties south of the factory is expected to continue.
B) Stephen is responsible for collection of our quality-assurance data.
C) Decades of deception by politicians have left the populace numb and apathetic.
D) Download the test file before you start to answer the questions.
Q4) Identify one of the four cases in which it is better to use passive voice than active voice.
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Chapter 11: Designing Print and Online Documents
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Q1) An idiom is a phrase identified by linguists as universally understandable.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a guideline for creating a readable website?
A) Use thumbnail graphics.
B) Use complex background images with fine details.
C) Choose conservative colors for body text.
D) Avoid clip-art graphics.
Q3) What is chunking?
Q4) An inappropriate choice in which of following areas has the highest potential to confuse an international audience?
A) the thickness of the paper
B) the type of binding used
C) the pictures used as icons
D) the typeface chosen for body text
Q5) Text printed in uppercase letters is easier to read than text set in a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is the design term for a straight line on a page or screen?
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Chapter 12: Creating Graphics
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Q1) A writing team has the six-month sales figures for its company's 14 sales representatives. Because managers must make comparative analyses, the graphic for these data must group representatives by region, as well as show each representative's monthly sales total. Which is the best graphic for displaying this information?
A) table
B) logic tree
C) organization chart
D) bar graph
Q2) Which of the following graphics would be best suited to showing the stages of a procedure or a process?
A) checklist
B) drawing
C) organization chart
D) flowchart
Q3) one potential drawback of photographs is that they can provide too much information.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Where is the stub located in a table?
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Chapter 13: Reviewing, Evaluating, and Testing Documents and Web Sites
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Q1) Usability testing is the process of performing experiments to determine that a product functions at a minimally acceptable level before the manufacturer devotes time, money, and other resources to creating documentation for the product.
A)True
B)False
Q2) You work for a company that makes high-volume photocopiers for use in business settings. Your team is going to test the usability of the new repair manual for the company's Series 400 photocopier system. You are helping to write the test materials. Which of the following is an effective task to ask a user of the Series 400 repair manual to complete?
A) Find "toner replacement" in the index.
B) Find the instructions for toner replacement.
C) Follow the instructions for toner replacement to replace the toner in this Series 400 copier.
D) Find every chapter that refers to "toner replacement."
Q3) A printed form is the standard way to obtain informed consent from a test participant.
A)True B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Writing Correspondence
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Q1) Twitter tweets and Facebook posts are forms of business correspondence.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Chapter 14 states two reasons language errors in correspondence are unprofessional. One is that they suggest a lack of respect for your reader and for yourself. What is the other reason?
Q3) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Clichés make your writing shorter and more efficient.
B) Clichés are a good way to write with the "you attitude."
C) Clichés give your writing a stilted tone.
D) Clichés give your writing a contemporary touch.
Q4) Chapter 14 describes two common letter formats. One is modified block. What is the other format described in the chapter?
Q5) which of the following is NOT a guideline for effective on-the-job microblogging?
A) Sound like a person.
B) Apologize when you make a mistake.
C) Regard your followers as a market for your company's products and services.
D) Learn the technology.
Q6) What is flaming?
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Writing Job-Application Materials
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Q1) Chapter 15 lists four questions you should ask before posting an electronic résumé on an Internet job board. One question is "Who has access to your résumé?" What is one of the other questions?
Q2) What are the two major types of résumés discussed in the chapter?
A) descriptive résumé
B) skills résumé
C) narrative résumé
D) chronological résumé
E) developmental résumé
Q3) doing a self-inventory is part of planning a job search.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Chapter 15 lists four paragraphs that should appear in a job-application letter. One is the introductory paragraph. What are two other paragraphs listed in the chapter?
A) education paragraph
B) professional-interests paragraph
C) references paragraph
D) concluding paragraph
E) None of the responses are correct.
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Chapter 16: Writing Proposals
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Q1) which of these is NOT a useful guideline for creating a proposal for an audience in a different culture?
A) Budget time for translation.
B) Understand that what makes an argument persuasive can differ from one culture to another.
C) Focus on costs.
D) Ask if the prospective customer will do a read-through.
Q2) To be persuasive, proposal writers must demonstrate that they understand readers' needs. what two other qualities must they demonstrate?
A) that they are able to do what they plan to do
B) that they understand how the proposal/procurement process operates within a particular field or profession
C) that they are committed to fulfilling their promises
D) that they are well financed
Q3) some readers might not consider a proposal if it does not provide an effective summary.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is the difference between formative evaluations and summative evaluations?
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Chapter 17: Writing Informational Reports
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Q1) The primary purpose of a directive is to direct the reader to additional sources of information.
A)True
B)False
Q2) 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.
Q3) field reports "explain problems, methods, results, and conclusions, but they deemphasize methods and can include recommendations." What does it mean to deemphasize methods?
A) Spend less effort describing how you did the research and more effort on what you learned from it.
B) Write fewer words describing how you did the research and more words on what you learned from it.
C) Always make sure that your methods section is not the first section.
D) None of the responses are correct.
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Chapter 18: Writing Recommendation Reports
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Q1) What fundamental question does the methods section of a recommendation report answer?
Q2) which of the following is NOT an acceptable way to present your conclusions in a recommendation report?
A) Rank all of the options.
B) Refer the reader to an appendix.
C) Present a compound conclusion.
D) Classify the options as either acceptable or unacceptable.
Q3) A feasibility report is an argument that answers three kinds of questions. One kind is questions of possibility. What is one other kind of question?
Q4) What is the purpose of providing front matter in a report?
A) to help readers understand the whole report and find the information they seek
B) to give readers answers to questions that the body of the report does not cover
C) to help readers know what sources to consult for additional information
D) All responses are correct.
Q5) In a decision matrix, which factor demonstrates a criterion's importance?
Q6) Into what two categories can criteria be classified?
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Chapter 19: Writing Lab Reports
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Q1) Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the lack of an acknowledgments section in the sample lab report in Chapter 19?
A) The writer of the report is unethical.
B) The work in the lab took so long that the writer ran out of time to include acknowledgments.
C) The writer of the report did not receive funding or extraordinary assistance to complete this report as part of a class assignment.
D) None of the options is correct.
Q2) The discussion portion of a lab report is also called an analysis.
A)True
B)False
Q3) which of these is NOT an element common to most lab reports?
A) task schedule
B) title
C) discussion
D) conclusion
Q4) What are author guidelines?
Q5) Which of the procedures you performed should you mention in the "Materials and Methods" section of your report?
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Chapter 20: Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions
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Q1) H&G Garden Supplies is revising its instruction booklet for assembling and installing its redwood garden arbor. The set contains two 6-foot trellises, two planter boxes, and a pair of adjustable arches. Which of the following should you NOT include in the back matter of the instruction booklet?
A) a troubleshooting guide
B) instructions on how to order replacement parts
C) warranty information
D) safety information
Q2) what is an effective way to conclude a description?
A) with a restatement of key points from the introduction
B) with a summary of major points and in some cases, a brief description of how the parts or process steps work together
C) with information on maintenance or troubleshooting
D) with distinguishing characteristics
Q3) many companies are uneasy about using instructional videos and rely on printed documentation instead.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the three types of descriptions discussed in Chapter 20?
Page 22
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Chapter 21: Making Oral Presentations
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Q1) Which of the following forms of delivery is the best one to use if a presenter must clearly communicate precise safety data?
A) impromptu
B) extemporaneous
C) scripted
D) memorized
Q2) One disadvantage of using handouts during a presentation is that your audience might read the handout instead of listening to you.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An effective graphic for an oral presentation has five characteristics. One is that it presents a clear, well-supported claim. What are two other characteristics mentioned in the chapter?
Q4) you do not need to announce the end of your presentation. Listeners can tell when you are ending.
A)True
B)False
Q5) In an oral presentation, what is an advance organizer?
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