BCOM test 2 review

Which of the following is true about the use of verbs in business communication? a. A sentence with a verb that can take a direct object can be written either in a direct pattern or an indirect pattern. b. When the doer of an action is unimportant to the message, the active voice is preferred as it properly de-emphasizes the doer. c. Camouflaged verbs should be used as often as possible in business communications. d. The verb "to be" should be used frequently in business letters to make the writing interesting and lively. e. The verbs in a sentence can be made more active by using the passive voice.

a. A sentence with a verb that can take a direct object can be written either in a direct pattern or an indirect pattern.

Which of the following statements is least conversational? a. Enclosed please find an estimate whose confirmation will aid the procedures of the project. b. I cannot quote the exact requirements for the project, but here are the estimates. c. I've attached a preliminary estimate of our requirements for this project. d. Here is a detailed cost analysis for the proposed project. e. Enclosed is the spreadsheet with all the elements of the project and corresponding costs.

a. Enclosed please find an estimate whose confirmation will aid the procedures of the project.

Which of the following statements is true about sentence structures? a. It is best to use simple sentence structures to reach people with lower communication abilities. b. In order to write an effective message, the use of active voice should be avoided. c. Complex sentence structures are required to convey the importance of a message. d. It is best to use complex sentence structures to reach people who are not knowledgeable about the contents of the message. e. The more words and ideas there are in a sentence, the greater the readability of a message.

a. It is best to use simple sentence structures to reach people with lower communication abilities.

Which of the following is an example of a cluttering phrase? a. It is interesting to note that numerous individuals required assistance, whereas, the remainder took a pass. b. If payment is not made by December, our collaboration will cease. c. Her handwriting was illegible, so I could not read her comments. d. The grant proposals were reviewed by the students. e. Social interaction at work is pleasant, but it should not affect the work at hand.

a. It is interesting to note that numerous individuals required assistance, whereas, the remainder took a pass.

Which of the following sentences uses gender-biased words? a. Lynette has been the chairman of the company for two years now. b. Four women and six men sat on the discussion panel. c. Shannon was hoping a doctor would give her a clearer idea about her illness. d. The geology professor taught the lesson using layperson's terms. e. Alison loves to write and dreams of becoming a famous poet.

a. Lynette has been the chairman of the company for two years now.

Which one of the following sentences avoids the use of cluttering phrases? a. Mary was unable to attend the hockey game because she had jury duty. b. This morning at 6:30 a.m., I woke up out of sleep to hear my alarm go off, but the alarm was turned off by me, and I returned back to a sleeping state. I awoke this morning at 6:30 but then turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. c. In view of the fact that it was raining, orders were given that the game be canceled. d. Some sort of identification that would show how old we were was requested of us by the man that collects tickets from people at the movie theater. e. In spite of the fact that he belongs to a rich family, he has chosen to start his carrier from scratch. that so many teenagers run away from home is that their parents don't care about them.

a. Mary was unable to attend the hockey game because she had jury duty.

Which of the following statements avoids the use of rubber stamps? a. The MP3 player you requested will arrive by Monday at the latest. b. Thank you for choosing us. c. I will be happy to clarify any queries you may have for me. d. Please feel free to contact me for any further clarifications. e. I deeply appreciate your assistance and cooperation in this matter.

a. The MP3 player you requested will arrive by Monday at the latest.

Which of the following should typically be avoided in a business letter? a. The use of words that typecast those with disabilities b. The use of gender-neutral words c. The use of the active voice d. The use of clear verb forms e. The use of concrete words

a. The use of words that typecast those with disabilities

Identify the dependent clause in the following sentence. Your coat is still on the dining table where you left it last night. a. Where you left it last night b. Your coat is still on the dining table c. Dining table d. Is still on the dining table e. Your coat

a. Where you left it last night

Which of the following arguments is true about using short words in business communication? a. Word length and word difficulty are related. b. Long words are generally more effective than short words. c. All short words are easy and all long words are hard. d. A heavy use of short words, even those that are easily understood, hinders communication. e. The use of short words should be avoided as they tend to be unfamiliar words.

a. Word length and word difficulty are related.

In which of the following will the style of communication be least formal? a. An email from an employee to a newly hired employee detailing his role and duties in his department. b. An email from an employee to her co-worker discussing her holiday plans. c. An email from an employee to his superiors proposing an upgrade of manufacturing equipment to increase the overall effectiveness of his department. d. An email from a manager to all the members of a company commending an employee's exceptional performance. e. An email from a manager to one of his subordinates rebuking his behavior with potential clients.

b. An email from an employee to her co-worker discussing her holiday plans.

Which of the following sentences is in active voice? a. With five seconds left in the game, an illegal time-out was called by one of the players. b. An unexpected tornado smashed several homes and uprooted trees in a suburb of Knoxville. c. Before the semester was over, the new nursing program had been approved by the committee. d. Later in the day, the employees were informed of their loss of benefits by the boss herself. e. Tall buildings and mountain roads were avoided by John because he had such a fear of heights.

b. An unexpected tornado smashed several homes and uprooted trees in a suburb of Knoxville.

Which of the following sentences uses concrete, specific wording? a. Will you respond to the message at the earliest? b. Could you please respond to the message by the first of January? c. Please respond to the message as early as possible. d. Please take your time to respond to the message. e. Please respond to the message soon.

b. Could you please respond to the message by the first of January?

Which of the following statements is most positively worded? a. Smoking does not help in dealing with pressure. b. Smoking is permitted only in the assigned area. c. I cannot permit you to smoke in the lobby. d. I regret to tell you that you can smoke only in the assigned area. e. It is not advisable for pregnant women to smoke.

b. Smoking is permitted only in the assigned area.

Which of the following sentences illustrates the faulty usage of idioms? a. Sally agreed to the new proposal. b. This medicine is different than the one you were using. c. We had to comply with this policy. d. The company is in search of qualified employees. e. Junk food and alcohol are equally bad for your heart.

b. This medicine is different than the one you were using.

Which of the following sentences avoids the use of dangling/misplaced modifiers? a. We saw several trees looking out our window. b. To repair a jammed chain on a bicycle, rotate the cranks backward while pulling the chain. c. At the age of four, my father decided that I should live with my grandmother in Beijing. d. We saw fire spewing from the engines on the wing, looking out the windows of the plane. e. By working as a governess, Anna's tuition at Hunter College was paid for.

b. To repair a jammed chain on a bicycle, rotate the cranks backward while pulling the chain.

Which of the following sentences has been written correctly? a. These students have a poor attendance record. I'm worried about they're performance. b. Whatever they're doing to this highway, it seems to be taking forever to finish. c. Its their car, so let them decide where we're going. d. I can't imagine why they're isn't a grocery store around here. e. The company needs to recover it's loss.

b. Whatever they're doing to this highway, it seems to be taking forever to finish.

Courtesy can be enhanced in business messages by: a. exaggerating the negative aspects of the message. b. adding a personal note for the reader. c. including phrases like "you need," "you want" and "you should." d. stating flat, obvious lines. e. assuming the tone of a sermon.

b. adding a personal note for the reader.

The quality of enabling readers to proceed easily through a message, without side trips and backward shifts, is called _____. a. subordination b. coherence c. coordination d. redundancy e. faulty parallelism

b. coherence

The you-viewpoint: a. places the writer at the center of things. b. is especially important when delivering bad-news messages. c. cannot be used in sentences containing the words "we" and "mine." d. emphasizes the writer's perspective. e. should typically be avoided in a business communication.

b. is especially important when delivering bad-news messages.

The passive voice is most likely to take precedence over the active voice when: a. one wants to make the sentence lively. b. the doer of the action is unknown. c. the doer of the action is important. d. one wants to lay emphasis on the doer of the action. e. one wants to accuse the doer of an action.

b. the doer of the action is unknown.

Which of the following sentences avoids faulty parallelisms? a. Sir John Smith, the celebrated English chemist, was an excellent literary critic as well as being a great scientist. b. In his farewell address, the general praised his soldiers for their courage and gave thanks because of their devotion. c. A company is responsible not only to its shareholders but also to its customers and employees. d. Examples of aerobic exercises are distance running, swimming, cycling, and long walks. e. We must either raise revenues or it will be necessary to reduce expenses.

c. A company is responsible not only to its shareholders but also to its customers and employees.

Which of the following transitional words will most efficiently increase the cohesiveness of the given information? There is a source of energy that produces no radioactive waste and very little pollution. The source can provide the energy that conventional sources may not be able to furnish. a. For example b. Therefore c. Moreover d. In spite of e. However

c. Moreover

Which of the following is true about paragraph structure? a. Using short paragraphs makes it troublesome for your readers to see the structure of your ideas. b. People do not prefer reading writings with frequent paragraph breaks. c. One-line paragraphs are an appropriate means of emphasizing major points in business messages. d. Readability research has suggested an average length of twenty lines or more for long papers such as reports. e. The most common paragraph arrangement ends with the topic sentence.

c. One-line paragraphs are an appropriate means of emphasizing major points in business messages.

A writer can avoid writing preachy messages by: a. including flat statements of the obvious. b. including phrases like "you need," "you want" and "you should." c. avoiding the tone of a lecture. d. assuming the tone of a sermon. e. avoiding the use of positive words.

c. avoiding the tone of a lecture.

One of the most efficient ways to avoid the use of sexist pronouns is to: a. use words derived from muscular words. b. use words derived from feminine words. c. make the reference plural. d. make the sentence active. e. avoid using neutral expressions.

c. make the reference plural.

For a message to be clear and effective: a. you should use difficult words to capture the attention of your audience. b. you should avoid the use of active verbs. c. your choice of words should be guided by the purpose of your message. d. you should use stiff words. e. your choice of words should not be dependent on your targeted audience.

c. your choice of words should be guided by the purpose of your message.

The following is a topic sentence for a descriptive paragraph. My most valuable possession is an old violin--the first instrument that I ever taught myself how to play. All the sentences below support this topic sentence with specific details for a unified descriptive paragraph except: a. "the body of the violin has been slightly damaged in shipping." b. "the wood is spoilt." c. "the strings are stretched down a long slim neck." d. "you should set aside a certain time each day for meditation." e. "it is a folk violin and is worn down by years of use."

d. "you should set aside a certain time each day for meditation."

Which of the following is true about camouflaged verbs? a. Camouflaged verbs typically reduce the number of words in a sentence. b. Camouflaged verbs do not require the passive voice. c. When a verb is camouflaged, the verb describing the action in a sentence takes the form of a conjunction. d. Camouflaged verbs are concrete in nature. d. Camouflaged verbs are abstract nouns.

d. Camouflaged verbs are abstract nouns.

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the words "fewer" and "less"? a. He has less friends compared to his sister. b. Less customers are inclined to shop online. c. Customers are buying less books. d. Fewer customers are opting for health insurance plans at present. e. Fewer the traffic, the better it is for pedestrians.

d. Fewer customers are opting for health insurance plans at present.

Select the most formally worded statement. a. Thanks for letting me know, I'll send you an updated version when time permits. b. I'll look into the problem and will try to come up with a solution that is feasible. c. FYI, I've sent the final document to the client as you had stated in your previous mail. d. I will consult with my superiors on the matter and report back to you by tomorrow. e. I'll send you the report after I've analyzed it thoroughly.

d. I will consult with my superiors on the matter and report back to you by tomorrow.

Which of the following is true about idioms? a. To grasp the attention of the reader, it is advisable to avoid using the expected word combinations in idioms. b. Idioms are used to de-emphasize the do-er of an action. c. Idioms are concerned with the appropriate combinations of words used in clichés and slang. d. Idioms are word combinations that have become standard in a language. e. When idioms sound arbitrary, you should not use the expected word combinations.

d. Idioms are word combinations that have become standard in a language.

Which of the following best exemplifies the we-viewpoint? a. You must specify the color of the product to complete the purchase order. b. Our policy ensures that your family members get all the benefits that you do. c. The package you ordered will reach you by the end of this week. d. If you do not return the item within the specified date, you will be fined. e. We will do our best to assist you with your problem.

d. If you do not return the item within the specified date, you will be fined.

Karl is furious that a package from a supplier which was supposed to contain a hundred pieces of iron rods contains only ninety two pieces. Which of the following statements should Karl use if he wants to avoid blaming the reader and maintain goodwill with his supplier? a. I have never been cheated by any supplier before. This terminates our contract. b. I believe there has been some discrepancy at the shipping end of your company. c. Please ensure you double check the contents of our packages before shipping them as we haven't received the appropriate number of iron rods in the most recent package. d. The shipment that you sent most recently has ninety two pieces of iron rods, as opposed to one hundred. e. In the recent package we received, you have sent us only ninety two pieces of iron rods.

d. The shipment that you sent most recently has ninety two pieces of iron rods, as opposed to one hundred.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the use of negative words in business messages? a. The use of negative words has no place in business communication, regardless of the circumstance. b. The use of negative words emphasizes the pleasant aspects of a message by bringing in the contrast. c. The use of negative words should be balanced out by a nearly equal number of positive words for creating an effective message. d. The use of negative words is highly destructive of goodwill in messages between acquainted parties. e. The use of negative words tends to put a reader in a positive frame of mind as it prepares a reader for the worst.

d. The use of negative words is highly destructive of goodwill in messages between acquainted parties.

Which of the following statements is most conversational? a. Kindly find attached information related to products that you have expressed interest in. b. This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for product details which will be addressed. c. In accordance to your request, I herewith attach details of those specific products. d. You will find the details of the products you had enquired about enclosed within the document. e. Enclosed please find the details of the products about which you had enquired previously.

d. You will find the details of the products you had enquired about enclosed within the document.

Important information can best be emphasized by including it: a. in the middle statement of the last paragraph. b. in a dependent clause or modifying phrases. c. in the middle statement of the middle paragraph. d. in the last statement of the last paragraph. e. in long, convoluted sentences.

d. in the last statement of the last paragraph.

Identify the independent clause in the following sentence. Daniel, while proofreading his assignment one last time found that he had made a spelling error. a. Proofreading his assignment b. One last time c. A spelling error d. Proofreading his assignment one last time e. He had made a spelling error

e. He had made a spelling error

Which of the following statements is true about managing emphasis in writing? a. Long sentences lay more emphasis on its contents than main clauses. b. The middle of a message lays more emphasis on its contents than the beginning. c. The lesser the space devoted to a topic, the more it is emphasized. d. The middle of a message lays more emphasis on its contents than the ending e. Short sentences put more emphasis on its contents than subordinated ideas.

e. Short sentences put more emphasis on its contents than subordinated ideas.

Which of the following sentences avoids the use of surplus words? a. The use of hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) has produced benefits for many women. b. The design team must also perform an analysis of the decisions that have to be made by crew members as the mission progresses. c. The presentation of the arguments by the students was convincing. d. It is possible to speculate that the reason the polymer melted was due to the fact that heat had been generated by way of internal friction within the bed. e. They rectified the software problems in their systems.

e. They rectified the software problems in their systems.

Which of the following is true about sentence unity? a. You can give unity to sentences that contain unrelated ideas by avoiding subordination of the clauses involved. b. You can give unity to sentences that contain unrelated ideas by putting the ideas in one single sentence. c. You can give unity to sentences that contain unrelated ideas by coordinating the ideas. d. Using prepositions to hold unrelated ideas together in a sentence is the most efficient way of maintaining sentence unity. e. Unrelated ideas often causes violation of unity in a sentence.

e. Unrelated ideas often causes violation of unity in a sentence.

Which of the following guidelines is most likely to enhance the effectiveness of a message? a. Avoiding the use of words that you would use in face-to-face communication with your readers. b. Using complex words to demonstrate your knowledge to your readers. c. Using stiff words to make the communication precise. d. Avoiding the use of familiar words as it reduces the credibility of your message. e. Using simple words that carry the intended meaning of your message without offending your readers' intelligence.

e. Using simple words that carry the intended meaning of your message without offending your readers' intelligence.

You can help give your documents a courteous effect by: a. refraining from using the conversational language. b. refraining from personalizing a message for a reader. c. using the we-viewpoint instead of the you-viewpoint. d. exaggerating the negative aspects of the message. e. avoiding a preachy tone.

e. avoiding a preachy tone.

Repetition of ideas in a sentence through the use of different words that mean the same thing is called _____ in sentence design. a. coordination b. independent clause c. subordination d. dependent clauses e. redundancy

e. redundancy

The _____ expresses the main idea of a paragraph, and the remaining sentences build around and support it. a. transitional sentence b.coherent sentence c. clutter sentence d. see-saw sentence e. topic sentence

e. topic sentence