Technical Communication
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Technical Communication is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to effectively convey complex information in professional and technical settings. The course covers fundamental principles of writing, visual design, and oral presentation, focusing on clarity, precision, and audience awareness. Students learn to create various technical documents such as manuals, reports, proposals, and digital content, utilizing industry-standard formats and technologies. Emphasis is placed on strategies for collaboration, ethical communication, and adapting messages for diverse audiences, preparing students for successful communication in scientific, technological, and business environments.
Recommended Textbook
Technical Communication with 2016 MLA Update 11th Edition by Mike Markel
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
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Q1) Which of the following is involved in creating technical communication?
A) a company secretary writing a letter to a customer
B) an electrical engineer filling out a standardized form
C) a webmaster revising a company web page
D) a manager preparing an oral presentation
E) all of the above
Answer: E
Q2) Chapter 1 lists eight measures of excellence in technical communication. For example, excellent technical communication is honest. What are three other measures of excellence?
Answer: The other seven measures of excellence are clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness.
Q3) Chapter 1 identifies common reasons for creating technical documents. Which reason in the following list is NOT mentioned in the chapter?
A) to help others carry out a task
B) to change attitudes about a technology or an issue
C) to establish common knowledge in the marketplace
D) to help others make a decision
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations
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Q1) what is the potential downside to whistle-blowing?
Answer: Whistle-blowing is likely to hurt the employee, his or her family, and other parties. Whistle-blowers can be penalized through negative performance appraisals, transfers to undesirable locations, or isolation within the company.
Q2) saying that a new line of air fresheners is "guaranteed to stave off any and every odor that comes your house's way" would be an example of what?
Answer: Exaggeration.
Q3) using social media ethically entails avoiding false endorsements. What are three other guidelines for the ethical use of social media?
Answer: Other guidelines for using social media ethically include separating personal social-media accounts from company-sponsored accounts, reading the terms of service of every service to which you post, avoiding revealing unauthorized news about your company, avoiding self-plagiarism, avoiding defamation, not streaming or quoting from others without permission, avoiding impersonating others, and avoiding trademark infringement.
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4
Chapter 3: Writing Technical Documents
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Q1) Chapter 3 lists eight steps that are often involved in planning a document. One is generating ideas about your subject. What are two other steps listed in Chapter 3?
Answer: The other seven steps are analyzing your audience; analyzing your purpose; choosing your writing tools; researching additional information; organizing and outlining your document; selecting an application, a design, and a delivery method; and devising a schedule and a budget.
Q2) When drafting a document, you come to an item that you don't understand or that requires more research. What should you do?
Answer: You should skip to the next item.
Q3) What is "invisible writing" and how is it helpful to the writing process?
Answer: Invisible writing is the practice of darkening your computer screen or turning off your monitor so that you have only a hard copy of your outline to look at as you write. This strategy can make you less tempted to revise what you have just written.
Q4) Chapter 3 describes the writing process as a series of stages. One stage is drafting.
What are the other stages discussed in Chapter 3?
Answer: The other stages are planning, revising, editing, and proofreading.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Writing Collaboratively
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Q1) the differences in behavior between two men or between two women are likely to be fewer and less pronounced than the differences between men and women in general.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of these comments about a team member's report draft is the least diplomatic?
A) I like the statistics that you provide in the introduction. I wonder if the audience will recognize these sources you consulted.
B) This introduction shows a lot of hard work. Perhaps an additional example would make your point even stronger.
C) You did not write this introduction very well. You left out a lot of important background information.
D) I know the proposal reviewers have very high standards. I think we all will benefit from improving our proofreading skills.
Q3) Videoconferencing allows two or more people in separate locations to see and hear each other simultaneously. What other two activities does videoconferencing allow participants to perform?
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Chapter 5: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose
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Q1) Why are LinkedIn profiles a particularly useful resource for learning about one's audience?
Q2) Why are graphics especially useful when communicating with people from other cultures?
Q3) 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
Q4) Chapter 5 discusses certain variables that lead to differences among cultures. Which of these statements about cultural variables is true?
A) Different organizations within the same culture can vary greatly.
B) Cultural variables line up in clear, predictable patterns.
C) Each variable represents a small number of attitudes.
D) An organization's cultural attitudes tend to be static over time.
Q5) for what primary purpose do private companies use social-media data?
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Chapter 6: Researching Your Subject
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Q1) What is the difference between secondary research and primary research?
Q2) Chapter 6 suggests that you do two things after conducting an interview. What are they?
A) Transcribe the audio recording of the interview.
B) Write down the important information from the interview.
C) Ask for a follow-up interview.
D) Send a brief thank-you note to the respondent.
Q3) 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
Q4) One stage of conducting an experiment is to establish a hypothesis. What is the next stage?
Q5) which of these is considered a traditional tool for secondary research?
A) online catalog
B) tagged content
C) questionnaire
D) microblog
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Chapter 7: Organizing Your Information
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Questions
Q1) Chapter 7 explains that one challenge in using the cause-and-effect organizational pattern is that it is very difficult to prove a causal relationship between two factors.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Classification is an organizational pattern in which a unit is divided into its components.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which organizational pattern often occurs in a comparison-and-contrast discussion?
A) meter-by-meter
B) bit-by-bit
C) whole-by-whole
D) problem-methods-solution
Q4) one benefit of using a conventional pattern to organize technical information is that the pattern serves as a template or checklist, helping you remember which information to include where. According to the chapter, what is one benefit for your readers?
Q5) A proposal routinely makes use of which organizational pattern?
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Chapter 8: Communicating Persuasively
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Q1) Which three of the following are elements of an argument?
A) claim
B) persona
C) conclusion
D) evidence
E) reasoning
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a category of constraints on your ability to be persuasive in a workplace document?
A) partitional
B) personnel
C) financial
D) political
Q3) What type of argument appeals to a person's understanding and experience of how the world works?
Q4) People who write proposals are the only technical writers who need to be concerned with persuasion.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What type of argument draws conclusions based on an insufficient number of cases?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Emphasizing Important Information
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Q1) What kind of transitional words are for example, for instance, and in other words?
A) illustration words
B) addition words
C) contrast words
D) summary words
Q2) 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:
Q3) what are the two types of paragraphs?
Q4) In almost all cases, demonstrative pronouns should be followed by nouns.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A heading eliminates the need for a transitional sentence such as "Let us now turn to the advantages of the mandatory enrollment process."
A)True
B)False
Q6) Identify two coherence devices discussed in Chapter 9.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Writing Correct and Effective Sentences
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Q1) Which type of modifier lacks an antecedent?
Q2) Identify one of the four strategies listed in Chapter 10 for avoiding ambiguous pronoun references.
Q3) Chapter 10 suggests that the passive voice is generally more appropriate than the active voice in four circumstances. One is when the agent is clear from the context, as in "Students are required to take both writing courses," in which it is clear that the college sets the requirements. Under what other circumstances is the passive voice generally more appropriate?
A) when the agent is less important than the action
B) when the agent is unknown
C) when a reference to the agent is embarrassing, dangerous, or in some other way inappropriate
D) All responses are correct.
E) None of the responses are correct.
Q4) New and important information should come at the beginning of a sentence, where readers will be sure to notice it.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is Simplified English?
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Chapter 11: Designing Print and Online Documents
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Q1) Chapter 11 identifies five goals of document design. One goal is to make a good impression on readers. What are two other goals mentioned in Chapter 11?
A) to help readers find the information they need
B) to use several different colors
C) to help readers remember the information
D) to help readers get through the document quickly
E) to prevent readers from becoming bored or distracted
Q2) What is the definition of queuing?
A) Queuing is a page-design technique in which two or three columns are distributed evenly across the page.
B) Queuing is a page-design technique in which visual patterns show levels of importance.
C) Queuing is a page-design technique in which text and graphics are arranged in a symmetrical pattern.
D) Queuing is a page-design technique in which text and graphics are arranged in a straight line, or queue.
Q3) margins serve four main purposes within a document. Identify two.
Q4) In typography, what is leading?
Q5) What is chunking?
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Chapter 12: Creating Graphics
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Q1) A screen shot is a graphic showing what appears on a computer monitor.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What does copyright law have to do with graphics?
A) Copyright determines who may modify a graphic.
B) Copyright determines who has the ability to read a graphic.
C) Copyright determines who has the right to publish or republish a graphic.
D) Copyright determines the medium of a graphic.
Q3) what is the most important characteristic of an infographic?
Q4) Why is it important to either begin graph axes at zero or mark them clearly?
Q5) 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
Q6) In a table, the stub is the right-hand column.
A)True
B)False
Q7) 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) Reviewing a document or website is the same thing as testing it.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is the most important difference between observing users in a usability evaluation and observing them in a usability test?
A) In an evaluation, the users pick the tasks they do. In a test, users are assigned tasks to do.
B) In an evaluation, the users pick the location. In a test, users must go wherever the usability team is.
C) In an evaluation, user feedback is not very important. In a test, user feedback becomes very important.
D) There is no important difference between observing users in an evaluation and observing them in a test.
Q3) Which of the following does NOT involve legal and ethical issues?
A) collecting informed consent from usability-test participants
B) managing data collected in a usability test
C) proofreading
D) managing data collected in focus groups
Q4) what is a prototype?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Writing Correspondence
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Q1) What do you call a letter in which you respond to a claim and tell the author how you plan to handle the situation described in the letter?
Q2) which of the correspondence types below is generally considered the least formal?
A) letters
B) email
C) memos
D) microblogs
Q3) 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:
Q4) Provide an example of a letter cliché.
Q5) What does the notation "cc" stand for in a letter, memo, or email?
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Chapter 15: Writing Job-Application Materials
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Q1) If you are rejected for a position, you should not write back to the employer.
A)True
B)False
Q2) what is an elevator pitch?
Q3) Chapter 15 lists six guidelines for building the foundation of your professional brand. One is to research what others have done. Name two other guidelines.
Q4) what are the four main steps in planning a job search?
Q5) The best way to find keywords for your résumé is to study the job titles for jobs you like.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Any picture of yourself that you display on your LinkedIn profile or your portfolio must be taken by a professional.
A)True
B)False
Q7) In terms of how they are organized, what are the two major types of résumés discussed in the chapter?
Q8) What are the four parts of the body of a job-application letter?
Q9) what does it mean to be a passive applicant?
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Chapter 16: Writing Proposals
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Q1) What are the main categories of resources required for completing a proposed project?
A) personnel, potential, and qualifications
B) personnel, facilities, and equipment
C) qualifications and experience
D) personnel, budget, and tangential resources
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) Indirect costs are intangible expenses such as general secretarial and clerical expenses not devoted exclusively to any one project, as well as operating expenses such as utilities and maintenance.
A)True
B)False
Q5) some readers might not consider a proposal if it does not provide an effective summary.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Writing Informational Reports
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Q1) 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.
Q2) which of the following statements is true?
A) A status report describes work on a project, whereas a progress report describes work that is not specific to a particular project
B) A progress report describes work on a project, whereas a status report describes work that is not specific to a particular project.
C) A progress report is for internal audiences, whereas a status report is for external audiences.
D) None of the responses are correct.
Q3) what is the primary purpose of a field report?
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Chapter 18: Writing Recommendation Reports
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Q1) Which of the following recommendation statements is NOT effective?
A) NerveCenter software shows excellent potential in helping us increase our productivity.
B) We should buy NerveCenter software because other companies have successfully used it to address problems similar to ours.
C) We should buy NerveCenter software to address our productivity problem.
D) We should buy new software to fix our productivity problem.
Q2) 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?
Q3) 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.
Q4) What fundamental question does the recommendations section of a recommendation report answer?
Q5) Into what two categories can criteria be classified?
Q6) In a decision matrix, which factor demonstrates a criterion's importance?
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Writing Lab Reports
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Q1) Which of the following is the least effective title for a lab report or scientific article?
A) Three-dimensional Imaging of Enzymes
B) Intensification in the Activity of Lipase Enzyme Using Ultrasonic Irradiation and Stability Studies
C) Immunoassays of Fungal Laccases for Screening of Natural Enzymes and Control of Recombinant Enzyme Production
D) Evaluation of Butyrate-induced Production of a Mannose-6-phosphorylated Therapeutic Enzyme Using Parallel Bioreactors
Q2) In the context of a lab report, what does replicability mean?
Q3) Why should a scientist or engineer avoid introducing new information in the conclusion section?
A) The results section exists so that writers can reveal information they collected.
B) It is illogical to introduce new information in a section that serves a different function.
C) It is ineffective to introduce new information in a section that serves a different function.
D) All responses are correct.
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Chapter 20: Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions
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Q1) Part of the challenge of deciding where to put a definition lies in the fact that several places are viable options.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A writer is drafting the conclusion of a lengthy process description explaining to consumers how a company's new voice-recognition product works. Which of the following elements would be least appropriate for the conclusion?
A) a brief review of the uses of voice-recognition technology
B) a sales message summarizing the benefits of the product
C) a short summary of the principal steps in the process
D) a brief discussion of the implications of the process
Q3) In what way is the definition "Booting a computer is when you turn it on" flawed?
Q4) It is important to revise, edit, and proofread instructions to ensure that readers can complete the task described safely.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the three types of descriptions discussed in Chapter 20?
Page 22
Q6) What is the function of a conventions section?
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Chapter 21: Making Oral Presentations
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Q1) you do not need to announce the end of your presentation. Listeners can tell when you are ending.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Chapter 21 describes four types of oral presentations, including impromptu presentations. What are the other three?
A) contemporaneous presentations
B) extemporaneous presentations
C) scripted presentations
D) prescriptive presentations
E) memorized presentations
Q3) one of the suggestions for introducing your presentation is to introduce yourself. What are two other suggestions from the chapter?
A) Have the audience read your title slide aloud.
B) Explain the purpose of the presentation.
C) Provide an advance organizer.
D) Tell the audience how many slides you will use.
Q4) there are four techniques for concluding a presentation. One is to look to the future. What is one other?
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