Professional Writing
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Professional Writing is a practical course designed to enhance students written communication skills for the workplace. Emphasizing clarity, coherence, and audience awareness, the course covers various professional documents, including emails, memos, reports, proposals, and résumés. Students will learn to adapt their style and tone to suit specific professional contexts and purposes. Through collaborative projects, peer reviews, and real-world case studies, the course fosters effective communication strategies, ethical writing practices, and the ability to present information in a well-organized and persuasive manner.
Recommended Textbook
Business Communication Process and Product 7th Edition by Mary Ellen Guffey Dana Loewy
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16 Chapters
1840 Verified Questions
1840 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/318
Page 2
Chapter 1: Effective and Ethical Communication at Work
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/5288
Sample Questions
Q1) Downsizing, cost-cutting measures, and the tremendous influx of temporary workers in the current workplace all contribute to the reduced feelings of trust employees feel toward their employers.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following statements about workplace diversity is the most accurate?
A) Teams with diverse membership are more likely to create the products that consumers demand.
B) The number of older workers is decreasing.
C) The white non-Hispanic population of the United States continues to grow.
D) A diverse staff is less able to respond to changes in customer base in local and world markets.
Answer: A
Q3) The process of communication begins when the receiver puts a message into writing.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Professionalism: Team, Meeting, Listening, Nonverbal,
and Etiquette Skills
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/5289
Sample Questions
Q1) In Tuckman's team growth model, during the ____________________ stage of team development, individuals get to know each other and search for similarities as they attempt to bond.
Answer: forming
Q2) When following the six-step pattern for dealing with conflict, the first thing you should do is look for common ground.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Listening on the job is more challenging than listening in a college classroom.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Which of the following is not a form of nonverbal communication?
A) The appearance of a business document
B) Showing up late for a job interview
C) The adjectives used in a sales letter
D) Raising one's voice when angry or frustrated
Answer: C
To
4
Chapter 3: Intercultural Communication
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/5290
Sample Questions
Q1) Nonverbal behavior, such as using the "thumbs up" hand gesture, conveys the same meaning in all cultures.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which of the following would be the best sentence to include in an e-mail message going to someone from another culture?
A) We'd like to know whether you're available to meet next month.
B) Please get back to me ASAP to set up our meeting.
C) This agreement between our two companies should be a slam dunk.
D) We look forward to meeting with you next month.
Answer: D
Q3) Sophia is writing a business letter to a French client.What should she do as she prepares the letter?
A) Use the same writing style and tone typically used in her organization.
B) Use longer sentences and paragraphs to make her letter look more formal.
C) Add humor to her letter to make her client feel comfortable.
D) Use correct grammar and conventional punctuation.
Answer: D
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Planning Business Messages
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The third phase of the writing process involves revising, proofreading, and evaluating your message.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statements about business writing is least accurate?
A) Business writing is different from writing done in high school and college classes.
B) When writing business documents, quantity enhances quality.
C) Business writers should have a definite purpose to fulfill in each message.
D) Business writing should be focused on the reader.
Q3) Your virtual team is working on several shared documents.You want to use a communication channel that will allow all team members to add, remove, and edit digital content easily.Your best choice is
A) a wiki.
B) a blog.
C) e-mail.
D) a text message.
Q4) One of the most frustrating tasks for teams is writing shared documents.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Organizing and Writing Business Messages
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) As you move from a major point to a subpoint in an outline, you are progressing from large, abstract concepts to small, concrete ideas.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Two commonly used outline formats are alphanumeric and ____________________.
Q3) Which of the following scenarios would most likely require a scientific experiment?
A) A research firm wants to find out how many parents plan to send their children to private schools.
B) A company wants to measure reactions to the price of a new flavored water product to learn
How much consumers would be willing to pay.
C) A student wants to find out how a business leader got his start in the industry.
D) A development team has to decide which of four possible locations would be best for a new fast-food restaurant.
Q4) If you have any questions is an example of an independent clause.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Revising Business Messages
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____________________ expressions such as at this point in time and due to the fact that are wordy phrases that may be better expressed in single words.
Q2) Opening fillers, long lead-ins, compound prepositions, and redundancies all make business documents wordier.
A)True
B)False
Q3) To make your business messages more readable, you can do which of the following?
A) Add footnotes.
B) Incorporate numbered and bulleted lists.
C) Include a bibliography at the end.
D) Eliminate white space.
Q4) One way to achieve clarity is to use active-voice sentences in your messages. A)True
B)False
Q5) Conciseness is important in business writing.Business messages should make their point in the fewest possible words.Explain why conciseness is so important in business writing.Then describe three techniques you can use to make your writing concise.Give two before-and-after examples of each technique.
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Chapter 7: Electronic Messages and Digital Media
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/5294
Sample Questions
Q1) Ashley has just been hired for her first full-time position and knows that she'll have access to the Web during her workday.What should she do to appear professional on the job?
A) Avoid or minimize sending personal e-mails or texts from work.
B) Don't download free software or utilities to her company computer.
C) Be careful when blogging, tweeting, or posting on social networking sites, even when she is not working.
D) Ashley should do all of these.
Q2) Even privacy settings on social networking sites do not guarantee complete protection.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following electronic media practices could get you fired?
A) Sending sexually explicit or offensive jokes to your coworkers.
B) Posting offensive blog content.
C) Spending too much time sending and receiving personal IMs and e-mail messages.
D) All of these actions could get you fired.
Q4) In most businesses today, ____________________ is the communication channel of choice.
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Chapter 8: Positive Messages
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Richard wants to make sure that a business letter he is sending to a client is properly formatted.What should he do?
A) Use even (justified) right and left margins for a professional look.
B) Use block style or another accepted business letter format.
C) Place the letter as close to the top of the page as possible, no matter its length.
D) All of these choices
Q2) You must ask a series of questions in a routine request e-mail message.What is the best way to present these questions?
A) In a paragraph in the body of your letter
B) In a separate attached document
C) In a bulleted or numbered list in the body of your letter
D) In the closing paragraph of your letter so that they're not overlooked
Q3) Mitchell has decided to write a letter to a local company to ask about internship opportunities.What should he do first?
A) Prepare the rough draft.
B) Look up the company's address.
C) Decide how he will encourage feedback.
D) Analyze the purpose of the letter and the reader.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Negative Messages
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Readers often accept bad news better when words such as unfortunately, regret, and unable are used to present the bad news.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When writing a letter to a customer denying credit, you have four goals.Which of the following is not one of these goals?
A) Promising the customer that credit will be granted in the future
B) Retaining the customer on a cash basis
C) Avoiding language that causes hard feelings
D) Avoiding disclosures that could cause a lawsuit
Q3) Which is the most effective statement in a letter to a customer about an order for which the customer has not yet paid?
A) We cannot ship your order until we receive your payment.
B) Your order will be canceled unless we receive your payment right away.
C) As soon as we receive your payment, we'll ship your order.
D) What are you, a deadbeat?
Q4) When abusive language is spoken, it's called ____________________.
Q5) ____________________ is the ability to understand and enter into the feelings of another.
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Chapter 10: Persuasive and Sales Messages
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Using the statement The company added a wellness program, and four managers were promoted immediately afterward is most likely an example of
A) circular reasoning.
B) logical reasoning.
C) begging the question.
D) post hoc (after, thus, because).
Q2) Emotional appeals are generally appropriate when a product is inexpensive, short-lived, or nonessential.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Persuading someone to change a belief or to perform an action is less effective when done in writing than when done face to face.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An example of an emotional appeal is You can reduce your gasoline expenses by installing our fuel-efficient tires on your vehicle.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Report and Research Basics
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115 Verified Questions
115 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following constructions uses the best writing style for a formal report?
A) After checking several references, the company decided to hire the consulting firm of Anderson, Williams, and Pardee.
B) After considerable research, we have decided to order the Aptura computer from ISB for our office staff.
C) My research shows companies are recognizing the benefits of telecommuting.
D) Our findings support implementing the new tracking system at once.
Q2) Documenting data presented in a research report strengthens your argument. A)True B)False
Q3) Several types of graphics can be added to business reports to clarify data, create visual interest, and make numerical data meaningful.List five categories of graphics and explain the type of data each is used to illustrate.Then give an original example of when each could be used.
Q4) Effective report writers ____________________ an original passage by restating it in their own words and in their own style.
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Chapter 12: Informal Business Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) Annette has been asked to determine whether employees should be allowed to select the fringe benefits they want from a menu of choices.Annette should write a yardstick report.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Andrew must recommend to his reluctant boss that the company allow employees to work a compressed workweek.Andrew's justification/recommendation report on this sensitive topic should be organized directly.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The arithmetic average of a group of figures is the ____________________.
Q4) Any set of data can produce only one set of conclusions.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Whenever possible, recommendations should be specific and practical. A)True
B)False
Q6) The most widely read portions of a report are the sections devoted to conclusions and ____________________.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Proposals, Business Plans, and Formal Business Reports
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Sample Questions
Q1) Formal proposals differ from informal proposals in size and format only.
A)True
B)False
Q2) An appropriate statement to include in the letter of transmittal accompanying a formal proposal is This bid will be in effect until October 22, 2013.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following statements about formal business reports is least accurate?
A) Formal reports are similar to formal proposals in length, organization, and serious tone.
B) Formal reports are written for external audiences only.
C) Formal reports present the end product of thorough investigation and analyses.
D) Breaking a long formal report into small segments makes it easier to understand.
Q4) In addition to the six parts of informal proposals, formal proposals often contain a number of special components.List five of these special components, and describe what information would be contained in each.
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Chapter 14: Business Presentations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Our old computers are dinosaurs is an example of a(n)____________________.
Q2) The opening of an oral presentation should
A) cover a limited number of main points, say, two to four.
B) try to establish the credibility of the audience.
C) be organized using a common strategy such as chronological or geographical.
D) preview the main points of the presentation.
Q3) The conclusion of an oral presentation should accomplish three goals: summarize the main themes of the presentation, include a statement that allows you to leave the podium gracefully, and
A) preview your main points.
B) establish your credibility.
C) leave the audience with a specific and memorable take-away.
D) make the audience a promise to gain their attention.
Q4) Oral presentations must be organized logically.Several organizational strategies exist.List and explain five of these strategies.Then give an original example of when you might use each.
Q5) The most effective speakers read from notes or a manuscript. A)True B)False
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Chapter 15: The Job Search, Resumes, and Cover Letters
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Sample Questions
Q1) Position in public relations that requires creativity, time management skills, and excellent communication to create press releases, answer constituent inquiries, and represent the organization at charitable functions is an example of a career
Q2) Serious job candidates include a professional cover letter even if the résumé is submitted online, via e-mail, or by fax.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Dale has decided to prepare a video résumé.What is the best advice you can give him?
A) Remember that some recruiters are skeptical about video résumés; and some video résumés are ignored completely, so use with caution.
B) Make sure that the video résumé is professional grade.
C) Don't let a lack of judgment about what to include in the résumé lead to embarrassment.
D) All of these choices are good tips for Dale.
Q4) A(n)____________________-text résumé is an electronic résumé suitable for e-mailing or for pasting into online résumé bank submission forms.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Interviewing and Following Up
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Sample Questions
Q1) During ____________________ interviews companies save time and money by eliminating less-qualified candidates before scheduling face-to-face interviews.
Q2) After you have accepted a position, it is a good idea to follow up with a job ____________________ letter to confirm the details.
Q3) After a job interview, you should always send a(n)____________________ message, also called a follow-up message.
Q4) ____________________ interviews allow a candidate to meet with two or more interviewers on a one-on-one basis over the course of several hours or days.
Q5) For a job candidate, the job interview is an opportunity to
A) convince the employer of your potential and expand on information in your résumé. B) find out more about the job and whether it suits your career goals.
C) learn more about the company to decide whether you would fit into the company culture.
D) All of these choices.
Q6) Are you married? is an example of a(n)____________________ (or illegal)question.
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