sample questions

Question 1

e-mail guidelines state that is it best to _____
a) Keep emails as brief as possible
b) Send critical messages
c) Explain your topic as completely as possible
d) Use e-mail as much as possible

Answer 1

a

Question 2

Instant messaging is often considered a _____ form of communication
a) Youth-oriented
b) Personal
c) Lazy
d) Formal business

Answer 2

b

Question 3

Parallel phrasing means that _____
a) The items in the list begin with the same part of speech
b) The items in the list are numbered
c) All the items in the list end in a period
d) The items in a list are arranged in columns

Answer 3

a

Question 4

When you will be absent from the office, you should
a) Only tell your boss
b) Use automatic out-of-office outgoing messages
c) Not tell anybody
d) Have a colleague check your emails and answer your phone

Answer 4

b

Question 5

What is the best way to organize most positive and neutral messages?

Answer 5

• Direct messages

Question 6

What is the purpose of BSS in e-mail?

Answer 6

• Don’t want the people getting message to know that it is also being sent to another

Question 7

When writing a response e-mail, you should open by ____
a) Apologize for the delay in responding
b) Explaining why you are writing to the reader
c) Introducing yourself
d) Announcing the most important facts or answers

Answer 7

d

Question 8

When writing a response e-mail, you should open by ____
a) Apologize for the delay in responding
b) Explaining why you are writing to the reader
c) Introducing yourself
d) Announcing the most important facts or answers

Answer 8

d

Question 9

A competitive document that has to establish credibility and persuade readers is called ____
a) A precis
b) A quotation
c) A proposal
d) A summary

Answer 9

c

Question 10

In a report, headings should not be _____
a) Long
b) Parallel
c) Descriptive
d) Ranked

Answer 10

a

Question 11

______ is the section of a report that presents your suggestions for solving a problem
a) Conclusion
b) Summary
c) Approach and findings
d) Suggestions

Answer 11

d

Question 12

The word ____ is an example of plane language
a) Utilize
b) Begin
c) Commence
d) Actualization

Answer 12

b

Question 13

The specialized vocabulary used by a specific groups, trades, or professions is called ____
a) Technical terms
b) Plain language
c) Slang
d) jargon

Answer 13

d

Question 14

in terms of ethical communications,
a) there is no need to be ethical if one will not be caught
b) it is limited to avoiding libelous language
c) it is relevant only to letters
d) ethical writers distinguish between fact and opinion

Question 15

the following sentence is the best example of inclusive language
a) mike is a male nurse
b) our salesmen are always happy to help
c) our managers get their own parking spaces
d) Steve is very helpful despite his accent

Answer 15

c

Question 16

In business writing, a writer should not
a) Use ambiguous language
b) Use personal pronouns
c) Use plain language
d) Use phrasal verbs

Answer 16

a

Question 17

In business writing, it is best to ____
a) Change one’s tone with a single message
b) Use all capital letters to make your writing forceful and vibrant
c) Use of the same tone for all written communications
d) Allow the purpose, audience, and channel to dictate the type of tone you use

Question 18

Which of the following reports should be written using an indirect strategy?
a. A report explaining proposed increases to the costs of health, eyecare, and dental benefits.
b. A report summarizing the results of a recent survey.
c. A report commending employees for their fine work during a very busy time and recalling the challenges they overcame.
d. A report announcing earlier dates for completion of the new parking garage and office expansion.

Answer 18

a

Question 19

For which of the following reports would you choose an informal style?
a. A short financial report that will be sent to your company’s clients.
b. A report outlining the legal and tax ramifications of a change to the company’s software products.
c. A 20-page research report for your favourite professor.
d. A short report to a co-worker summarizing a workshop that the co-worker missed because he was ill.

Answer 19

d

Question 20

Which ONE of the following is NOT an analytical report?
a. A report that compares one company’s products to others in the marketplace.
b. A report that researches two options for building expansion and recommends one.
c. A report that compares three accounting programs and recommends one.
d. A report that describes in detail the company’s new retirement policy.

Answer 20

d

Question 21

Petra is reading Jakob’s draft persuasive message. She tells Jakob that he has forgotten to analyze why his audience might resist his persuasive message. What is sheasking Jakob to do?
a. Add more coupons and lower prices.
b. Do more research so that he can add more details about the product.
c. Duct will help his readers achieve their goals.
d. Do more research so that he can add more statistics and graphs that will influence the reader

Answer 21

c

Question 22

Readers find it easier to accept negative news if the tone of the message is appropriate.What is the appropriate tone for a negative message?
a. Apologetic
b. Concise and to the point
c. Respectful and friendly
d. Subtle with excellent grammar

Answer 22

c

Question 23

Which barrier occurs when the sender and receiver each assign different symbolic meanings to their words?
a. Bypassing
b. Decoding
c. Semantic obstacle
d. Noise

Answer 23

a

Question 24

As soon as Henry is given an assignment to write a report on harassment in the workplace, he goes online to find the information he needs. What does Henry need to remember about online research?
a. The top four results from the search engine are all that you need for your research.
b. You need to use other search engines along with Google.
c. All online data needs to be evaluated for accuracy, timeliness, and close relation to the topic.
d. Google makes sure that all information is true before sending you search results

Answer 24

c

Question 25

When revising your message what should be your special concerns? a. Improving punctuation and formatting b. Improving conciseness, clarity, and readability c. Improving long lead-ins and flabby expressions d. Improving spelling and grammar

Answer 25

b

Question 26

Helen has to discuss an issue of security with one of her branch managers in another city. It is a complicated issue that may involve disciplining one of the manager’s employees. Which of the following would be the best medium for Helen to use to contact the manager? a. Telephone call b. Video conferencing c. Memo d. Instant messaging

Answer 26

b

Question 27

In what way does understanding the needs of a message’s reader influence the background research that is done? a. If you give the receiver exactly the information he or she needs to influence a decision or action, your message will be effective. b. If you dazzle the reader a lot of information, he or she will be impressed with yourresearch skills. c. If the reader is pretty knowledgeable, you can save time and skip the research. d. If the reader needs to know some information, you can always send another message later

Answer 27

a

Question 28

As Jim reviewed the daily calls to his service department, he noticed that there was an increase in numbers before the long weekend, and that Mondays were generally busier than other days of the week. What is Jim creating with his further analysis of his data? a. Correlations b. Matrices c. Grids d. Means

Answer 28

a

Question 29

Carly is revising the first paragraph of her proposal. Which of the following would be the most effective hook? a. Located in downtown Toronto, Blue Lagoon Travel has all the travel services you need. b. Business and conference travel expenses are skyrocketing. Our exclusive business plan is guaranteed to lower your costs. c. Blue Lagoon Travel has been serving satisfied Toronto customers for over thirty years. d. My name is Carly Preston, and I’m the President of Blue Lagoon Travel.

Answer 29

b

Question 30

Margot is preparing a solicited proposal in response to an RFP. What is the primary aim for his proposal? a. To produce a budget that is acceptable to the reader. b. To convince the reader that he has a problem. c. To explain how well his experienced staff can cope with the project. d. To show the reader that he fully understands the reader’s problem.

Answer 30

d

Question 31

Gerry is considering the possible effects of a negative message that he must send to hissupervisor. What phase of the 3 x 3 writing process is Gerry working on? a. Research and Organization b. Organization and Evaluating c. Composition d. Analysis, Anticipation, and Adaptation

Answer 31

d

Question 32

Which statement does NOT describe an appropriate way to draft paragraphs in a message? a. Avoid long blocks of text. b. For variety, put the topic sentence of the paragraph in the middle instead of at thebeginning. c. Separate paragraphs by white space. d. Create shorter paragraphs.

Answer 32

b

Question 33

Which one of the following strategies will help reduce the reader’s anger when reading abad news message? a. The reader is told that the issue isn’t personal; it’s just company policy. b. The reasons for the bad news are clearly and sensitively explained. c. The reader is offered the opportunity to meet with the writer.

Answer 33

b

Question 34

According to Business Communication: Process and Product, which of the following does NOT identify a negative behavior in collaborative work? a. Blocking ideas b. Withdrawing c. Setting rules

Answer 34

c

Question 35

Which of the following statements is TRUE about e-mail communication? a. E-mail is the ideal substitute for face-to-face conversations and phone calls. b. Once e-mails are deleted, they can never be retrieved. c. E-mail is very effective when explaining a complex situation. d. E-mail is effective for reaching many receivers at once with important messages

Answer 35

d

Question 36

Which ONE of the following is NOT an analytical report? a. A report that researches two options for building expansion and recommends one. b. A report that compares one company’s products to others in the marketplace. c. A report that describes in detail the company’s new retirement policy. d. A report that compares three accounting programs and recommends one

Answer 36

c

Question 37

Jim has calculated the average daily number of calls to his service centre. The number seems unusually high, but then Jim remembers that he had a 4-day sale and that there were far more customers than usual on those four days. What other measures of centraltendency might Jim find useful? a. Mode and median b. Mean and median c. Mean and mode d. Range and median

Answer 37

a

Question 38

What are the four phases of team development? a. Understanding, Analyzing, Evaluating, Solving b. Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing c. Entertaining, Participating, Challenging, Performing d. Realizing, Comprehending, Appreciating, Accomplishing

Answer 38

b

Question 39

Which of the following statements is good advice for writing e-mail messages? a. You don’t need to follow the 3 X 3 strategy because it takes too long, and e-mailsneed replies quickly. b. Subject lines are the least important part of e-mail messages. c. Only send e-mail that you would want published. d. Print all emails that you send so you have a paper trail.

Answer 39

c

Question 40

Which ONE of the following is NOT a component of the DESIRE portion of the AIDA persuasive strategy? a. Demonstrate competence. b. Never offer counterarguments. c. Use What If? scenarios. d. Show value of proposal.

Answer 40

b

Question 41

Which of the following statements is true about persuasion in today’s digital age? a. Mass interpersonal persuasion is only possible using television advertising. b. Most of us don’t recognize the persuasive techniques that are being directed at us. c. Producing persuasive messages is a skill that everyone has. d. Persuasion is only effective on a small scale.

Answer 41

b

Question 42

Which of the following is part of the Front Matter of a report? a. Letter of Transmittal b. Appendices c. Conclusion d. References

Answer 42

a

Question 43

Which of the following is the best way for you to learn whether your positive message is successful? a. Get your boss to read the message. b. Think of the reader when you are writing the message. c. Get a colleague to read the message. d. Get feedback from the reader.

Answer 43

d