Chapter 02: Aplia Assignment

Experts suggest that _____ of your time should be spent on the drafting phase.

25 percent

Experts suggest that _________ of your time should be spent on the prewriting phase.

25 percent

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

50 percent

You are a manufacturing and production consultant. You were recently hired to investigate the production line of a large manufacturer. You've completed the investigation and have some ideas that should help the company operate more efficiently. How should you transmit your ideas? You should use: ________

A report or proposal

Identify the step in the prewriting process that corresponds with the following description. You are writing a memo to staff members outlining the solution to a lingering problem. You consider the appropriate tone and word choice to win approval for your solution.

Adapting

You prepare notes for a staff meeting to present potential solutions to the lingering problem. You consider several key agenda items to include.

Analyzing

You are writing a memo to staff members outlining the solution to a lingering problem. Some are intimately familiar with the problem; others are not. You consider what the staff members know and how they might react to the proposed solution.

Anticipating

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

Anticipating Adapting Analyzing

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words. In the case that you attend communication workshops, as I suggested, you might find that the overall benefit that you receive relates directly to the advancement of your career. Attending communication workshops may help advance your career.

Attending communication workshops may help advance your career.

Jeanine, I want you to write the report because I'm too tired, and I want to go spend time with my family. Plus, you are a better writer than I am.

Audience oriented

Look at the problem from the perspective of the audience instead of your own.

Audience oriented

Every______ needs to build professional credibility.

Business Professional

I see that there appears to be an absolutely unfamiliar potential client requesting to converse with you in the upcoming afternoon interval. Would you prefer that I reject his request because you are already experiencing an overload of professional work demands?/

Economical

Present your ideas in a clear and concise manner.

Economical

After completing your first draft, you will check the message for clarity, conciseness, tone, and readability.

Editing

You read through your message and decide whether it achieves your purpose.

Evaluating

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

Evaluating Proofreading Editing

Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

Face-to-face meeting

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

False

True or False: In business messages, the quantity of words enhances the quality of the message.

False

Missy Sanchez sends her coworkers a thank-you note for the generous retirement gift.

Feedback travels to sender

Hey Sally, 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.

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.

Using a systematic process and practicing writing can help a business writer become better at which writing skills? Check all that apply.

Focusing on the concerns of the audience Being purposeful

Should the tone for this message be formal or informal?

Formal

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.

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

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words. Be sure that you educate yourself as to how to speak with a measured pace and articulation. Learn to speak slowly and clearly.

Learn to speak slowly and clearly.

Which communication channel would be most appropriate?

Letter

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. Linda's innate ability to create a complex work plan in a short amount of time has provided her with lucrative and plentiful career opportunities.

Linda's expert planning skills have helped advance her career.

Dear Marilyn, Thanks for lunch. I had a great time, and we accomplished a lot. Those pictures of your kids are adorable. Listen, I wanted to see if we could schedule a meeting with the big boss for Friday to go over the survey plan we made at lunch. Could you try to set something up when you both are available? I can be free any time on Thursday or Friday. Those pictures of your kids are adorable. Before sending the message, it occurs to you that your e-mail will probably be forwarded to your supervisor. What will you need to change to make the message appropriate for both a colleague and your supervisor?

Make the message more formal, remove the personal discussion, and give more specifics about the survey plan.

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 Mr. Gallegos? Check all that apply.

Mr. Gallegos's friends and family who might also be customers Your boss

You gather data on standard hiring practices for a report needed by the HR department. You notice similarities and trends that you would like to highlight. You sit down at your computer and consider how you will order and present the data most persuasively. This is the ____________ phase of the writing process.

Organizing

Choose the best revision for the following sentence. You made a data entry mistake in Column G, Row 3.

Please review and correct the data in Column G, Row 3.

You read carefully, checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.

Proofreading

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

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

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

Purposeful Concise and to the point Focused on the concerns of the audience

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.

Receiver's preference and level of technical expertise Importance of the message Degree of formality desired Necessity of a permanent record

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

Researching Organizing Drafting

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words. Although it may be related to the downturn in the economy, it appears that the product that built our reputation with the public is not selling as well as it did previously. The unfortunate decline has occurred since last May. Sales of our signature product have declined since May.

Sales of our signature product have declined since May.

John begins to draft a message to his boss.

Sender encodes 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.

Sender focused

Rehanna decides to propose a cost-saving reorganization of the company's client database.

Sender has an idea

A good writer anticipates the audience of a message. Although you can't always know exactly who the audience is, you can imagine the general characteristics of the receiver. Profiling your audience allows you to adopt the appropriate tone, language, and channel.

Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message? Who is my primary audience? What is my relationship with the audience? What position does the audience hold in my organization?

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

Thank you for your letter regarding your CRB2 home entertainment center. You are invited to take advantage of our professional development workshops.

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words. The director of customer service, who was recently promoted, was not aware of the fact that accounting had made the switch to an automated invoice generation process. The director of customer service was unaware that accounting had automated billing.

The director of customer service was unaware that accounting had automated billing.

What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To build goodwill with the customer

Why is it important to identify the purpose of your message before you start writing? Check all that apply.

To determine how to present your message

What is the primary purpose of this message?

To explain how to set up a voice mail system

What is the secondary purpose of this message?

To maintain the customer's goodwill

What is the primary purpose of this message?

To sell animation products to a customer

True or False: Conciseness and clarity are what count in business.

True

Unfortunately, we had a hard time completing the report; we deserve an extension.

Unfortunately, we had a hard time completing

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

We will be implementing new performance measures.

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

We will send your order as soon as we have confirmed the sizes you need.

We strive to make all of our customers feel satisfied with their video game purchases, so we invite you to exchange "Gods of Parnassus" for another video game from our large inventory. Although we are unable to offer refunds for opened games, we believe you will be able to choose a suitable replacement. As you may have read on the box label or in the game guide, "Gods of Parnassus" features flashing lights that may cause epileptic seizures in rare instances. You may want to check the warning labels on any future purchases to ensure a safe and enjoyable gaming experience. What is the secondary purpose of this message?

What is the primary purpose of this message?: To refuse a refund What is the secondary purpose of this message?: To rebuild the customer's goodwill

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

What position does the audience hold in my organization? What do I know about the audience's education, beliefs, culture, and attitude? Do I need to include more background information? What is my relationship with the audience?

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words. When you are preparing to complete a PO form online, include all pertinent PO information regarding your department before you select "Send." Failing to comply with this request may result in lost data and potential complications in your order. When filling out an online purchase order, complete the form fully before you click "Send." Incomplete order forms will not be processed.

When filling out an online purchase order, complete the form fully before you click "Send." Incomplete order forms will not be processed.

If you take the wrong strategic approach, you will fail.

With the correct strategic approach, you will succeed.

The office hallways are being painted; please stay out of the way of the______.

Workers

Who might be the secondary audience for your message? Check all that apply.

Your boss Retail associates at other locations

The ______ is the medium over which a message is transmitted.

channel

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

Every _______ must submit his or her time sheet at the end of the week.

employee

The ______ are well prepared in case of an emergency.

flight attendants

Each employee must register ______ vehicle with parking services.

his or her

The chair of the committee must submit ___________ vote last.

his or her

Encoding is the process of converting _____ into words and gestures.

into words and gestures.

Because we have shown exemplary work in our department, the company is giving an award to you and _______.

me

Mr. Gallegos will most likely have a _______ response to the message you send him.

negative

The retail team will likely have a _______ response to the message you send.

negative

As you review your draft you find you need more information in a key area. This action should have been done in the ___ phase of the writing process.

researching