Professional Communication Mid-Term

What strategy for developing your ideas is composed of steps and may also include illustrations that show a process from beginning to end?

Explaining a process

With what type(s) of writing should you support your ideas convincingly, acknowledge opposing points of view, and use the appropriate medium for your message?

Persuasive writing

What types of writing might not require a full - scale outline?

Relatively short items

What is the primary purpose of a first draft?

To get all the needed information down in a reasonably organized manner

Should you use the pronoun I in business writing?

Yes in certain situations

If possible, should you rely on word-processing software to help you compose you outline?

Yes, word processing enables you to format and edit your outline, and to experiment with organization and scope

All of the following are possible ways to organize your writing except: a) most to least interesting, or vice versa b) chronologically c) comparison of one item to one or more other items d) most to least important, or vice verca

a) most to least interesting, or vice versa

If you're writing for an audience who is unfamiliar with your subject, you should provide them with

accurate definitions.

The key to writing an effective description is to

accurately present details

One way to help you look at your writing objectively is to

allow for a cooling period.

A useful way to generate ideas for your writing is called

brainstorming

All of the following are legitimate ways to organize your writing except a) increasing order of importance b) general to specific c) grouping difficult information together and discussing it as a whole d) combining various patterns of organization

c) grouping difficult information together and discussing it as a whole

Start with your outline as a guide, but remember that it is not

cast in concrete

An outline that presents steps or events as they occur in time is called a

chronological outline

Even a good idea will fail to get support from the audience if the writer does not take the _____________ both inside and outside the organization.

circumstances

An outline that evaluates the relative merits of two or more items is called a

comparison outline

Immediately after you write a rough draft, ideas are so fresh in your mind that you cannot read the words, sentences, and paragraphs

objectively.

The first step in preparing to write is to determine your

purpose.

As part of the revision process, you should add new information to your writing if it will help

satisfy your audience's needs and accomplish the purpose of your writing.

Writing is coherent when

the relationship between ideas is clear to your audience.

What section of your writing should always relate to and reinforce the ideas presented in the opening and body?

The closing

Which of the following is an example of when the passive voice is useful? a) When the doer of the action is more important than the receiver b) When the doer of the action is less important than the receive c) When the doer of the action is just as important as the receiver d) None of the above. You should avoid using the passive voice in your writing.

b) When the doer of the action is less important than the receiver.

When considering your audience, you should try to answer all of the following questions except: a) Who is your audience b) Will your writing create admiration in your audience c) What do you want your audience to know, to believe, or to be able to do after reading your writing d) Does your writing acknowledge other or contrary points of view about the subject

b) Will your writing create admiration in your audience

When writing a cause_and_effect analysis, the evidence you give to support your argument should be: a) both adequate and relevant to your topic b) representative and demonstrable c) positive, not negative d) A and B only

d) A and B only

Which of the following are legitimate reasons to use formatting techniques such as headings? a) To highlight key ideas b) To introduce subtopics c) To guide your reader through your writing d) All of the above

d) All of the above

Which of the following techniques might be used to revise your writing? a) Waiting until the morning to evaluate your work b) Getting feedback from a coworker c) Proofreading for grammatical and mechanical errors d) All of the above

d) All of the above

In terms of audience, you should: a) think of your subject from your reader's perspective b) visualize your reader taking action based on your writing c) provide all the information your reader needs d) all of the above

d) all of the above

The opening statement of your writing should : a) identify your subject b) provide any necessary context for the subject c) catch the interest of your audience d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Advantages of organizing your information before you write include: a) making revision easier b) ensuring that you have sufficient facts and details to satisfy your audience's needs and achieve the purpose of your writing c) increasing audience understanding by ensuring your information is in a logical order. d) both b and c

d) both B and C

When colleagues and superiors review your outline, they can help you: a) with the scope of the information you plan to include b) find the best order for your information c) find and fix major problems d) with all of the above

d) with all of the above

An outline that breaks information about a complex subject into manageable parts, and then discusses each part separately, is called a

division outline

Your _____ is the degree of detail you decide is necessary to cover each item in your list of ideas.

scope

An outline that divides your subject into steps, then presents the steps in order in which they occur is called a

sequential outline

When writing a first draft a good way to manage your time is to ____________ within the deadline set by teachers, managers, and others.

set your own deadlines for completing sections of a draft and other tasks

The purpose statement both addresses a problem from the writer's point of view and takes ___ _________ _____ into consideration.

the audience's needs

Creating a Roman numeral outline enables you to recognize the relative importance of

topics and subtopics within your subject

The easiest way to test the soundness of your organization is to

write an outline of your rough draft.