Chapter 2 Application Assignment

Determine which sentence has achieved a casual, yet professional tone.

Please verify the data in the report, paying special attention to page three.

Which of the following are steps involved in the revising phase of the writing process? Check all that apply.

Proofreading Editing Evaluating

After identifying the purpose of your message, you should select the most appropriate communication channel. When determining the most effective channel for your message, which of the following should you consider? Check all that apply.

Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message Degree of formality desired Necessity of a permanent record Importance of the message Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity required

Dr. Pendelton listens to an oral status report from his research partner.

Receiver decodes message

Mr. Algazi provides the information his client has requested through a voice message.

Feedback travels to sender

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words.

Linda's expert planning skills have helped advance her career. The director of customer service was unaware that accounting had automated billing.

Technology and competition continue to accelerate the pace of business; thus, business writers switch to increasingly faster means of communication. Consider the following scenario, and determine if a faster communication channel would be more appropriate. Marjan is working on a team completing a recommendations report. She has gathered and sorted customer survey data, and now she needs to share it with the team for comments and corrections. Marjan is preparing to e-mail the data to her teammates.

Marjan should post the data on the team wiki.

Who might be the secondary audience for your message to Kailee and Matt? Check all that apply.

Matt's and Kailee's friends and family

Which one of the following selections uses a conversational but professional tone?

The conference report recommends we have fewer corporate rules.

Which of the following are appropriate questions to ask when profiling your audience? Check all that apply.

Who is my primary audience? How does my secondary audience differ from my primary audience? How must I reshape my message to make it understandable and acceptable to others to whom it might be forwarded? Will someone other than my audience see my message?

True or False: Business messages should stretch ideas to make the message appear longer.

false

The financial services department of your company offers a competitive leadership program. After screening and interviewing all applicants, the selection committee has chosen to extend an invitation to Kailee Davalos and Matt Rightson. You have been asked to invite Kailee and Matt to participate in the leadership program. Should the tone for this message be formal or informal?

formal

Everyone but John and _____ attended the meeting.

him

Each employee must submit ________ performance goals by the end of the week.

his or her

The form that _______ take may be influenced by frame of reference, culture, and background.

ideas

When ________ time to go to lunch, please e-mail me.

it's

The dog and _______ owner looked alike.

its

When you leave tonight, can you call Danny and _______.

me

Is that pen _______ or ______?

mine; his

Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

phone call

Kailee and Matt will most likely have a _______ response to the message you send.

positive

Identify the step in the revision process that corresponds with the following description. You read carefully, checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.

proofreading

Identify the problem you are trying to solve or the information you are trying to convey, and then develop a strategy to address that need.

purposeful

Identify which of the objectives of business writing is not being met in the following message. Hi Leslie. Do you think we need to order more printer paper? Do you want to meet for lunch today? I'm going to check and then let you know, unless you have time to check yourself.

purposeful

The process of translating ideas into words that will convey meaning is referred to as _______

encoding

Experts suggest that _______ of your time should be spent on the revising phase.

50 percent

Assume you just wrote the following e-mail message to a subordinate about a presentation. Hey Jim, Nice work on that presentation. I'm going to send a copy to the CEO to show off your creativity. Congratulations to you and your team. Speaking of teams, I'm sending a recommendation to Human Resources. Your leadership during the presentation really shows, and you deserve a promotion for all that hard work. A team is only as good as its leader, after all. Before sending the message, it occurs to you that your e-mail will probably be forwarded to other subordinates. What will you need to change to make the message appropriate for both a subordinate and other subordinates?

Focus on congratulating the team using each individual's name and use a more formal tone. Send news about the promotion recommendation in a separate e-mail.

Which of the following are qualities of successful business writing? Check all that apply.

Focused on the concerns of the audience Purposeful

Fred and ______ want to go to lunch after we finish this account.

I

Identify the appropriate step in the communication process. William Fairaizl left a voicemail to the job candidate, asking him meet with him at 4:00 p.m.

Sender encodes the message

We want you to come back. If you are satisfied, you'll come back, and we will continue to be profitable. Tell us about your experience, so we can be the best. Is the preceding message sender focused or audience focused?

Sender focused

The Freebird Turbocharger is being recalled. All customers who submitted warranty cards can have their installed turbochargers serviced free by authorized mechanics. If you do not have a warranty with Freebird, bring your original receipt to your local Freebird dealership and they will complete the repairs at cost. What is the primary purpose of this message?

To inform a customer about a recall

What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To retain the customer's goodwill

Choose the best revision for the following sentence. Unfortunately, we had a hard time completing the report; we deserve an extension.

We request a brief extension to complete the report.

As you first begin the composition process, which of the following questions should you ask yourself? Check all that apply.

What do I hope to achieve by sending this message? Why am I sending this message?

Which of the following selections effectively use the "you" view. Check all that apply.

Your online shopping experience at Toys4Fun should be enjoyable. Thank you for shopping at FreeLinks. Your order will ship on Saturday.

You just got back from a convention where you saw some new software that you think the information technology director could use. You can get a discount on the software for the next six weeks because you attended the convention. Unfortunately, the IT director is on vacation this week. How should you tell him about this opportunity? You should use:

an email

Identify the step in the prewriting process that corresponds with the following description. You prepare notes for a staff meeting to present potential solutions to the lingering problem. You consider several key agenda items to include.

analyzing

Select the most bias-free and grammatically correct choice to complete each sentence. Every ________ needs to build professional credibility. The office hallways are being painted; please stay out of the way of the _________.

business professional; workers

Choose the appropriate step in the drafting phase to complete the sentence. Mr. Hernandez has asked you to make a presentation on the new HR benefits package options. Last week you researched the benefits options and created an outline for your presentation. You sit down at your desk and begin to create your presentation visuals and talking points. This step in the writing process is the _____ phase.

drafting

________ plane just landed an hour ago.

their

He is the one with ______ I agree.

whom