English: True or False

There are three cases of pronouns—possessive, nominative, and objective.

True

When writing step-by-step instructions, writers should use phrases rather than complete sentences.

True

Written communication is most effective when the sender has good writing skills and the receiver has good reading skills.

True

Messages written to recipients who have little interest in receiving them should use a direct approach.

False

Nonverbal communication includes written messages.

False

One of the six Cs of effective communication is complexity.

False

The words "north," "south," "east," and "west" are capitalized when they refer merely to direction.

False

With regard to the six Cs of effective communication, consistency in fact means treating similar items the same way.

False

Writers must express a number in words rather than in numerals when the number is a significant statistic or deserves special emphasis.

False

A memo, unlike a business letter, includes no salutation.

True

The first word following a colon must be capitalized if it begins a sentence stating a formal rule.

True

The word which is a relative pronoun that refers to another word in the sentence.

True

The you-attitude involves putting your reader or listener first and being considerate of the other person.

True

To form the possessive of a compound noun, make the last word possessive.

True

In business, horizontal communication is communication with people who are at the same level as you.

True

One sure way to produce variety in written communication is to use all compound sentences.

False

Paraphrasing refers to the organization of paragraphs in a textbook.

False

Planned repetition of words is best avoided in advertisements.

False

Parallel structure expresses parallel ideas in parallel form.

True

Reflective listening involves putting your reader or listener first and being considerate of the other person.

False

To be effective, a written message should have two or more main purposes.

False

A mixed number is best expressed in spelled-out words.

False

A person's name reads "Dr. Alex Keating, Ph.D." This phrasing demonstrates the correct use of abbreviations before names.

False

A way to make writing effective is to use "this" to refer to an entire preceding thought.

False

The other communication skills assist listening in every profession.

True

Compared with telephone calls and meetings, memos are a cost-effective way to transmit messages within an organization.

True

Declarative sentences make statements, and imperative sentences order someone to act.

True

A comma splice creates a run-on sentence in which two related ideas that can stand alone grammatically are joined together by only a comma.

True

Most business letters are prepared on letterhead stationery and sent to people outside the organization. Memos are written to people inside the organization.

True

One reason listeners stop paying attention is that they hear faster than most speakers can speak.

True

One way to organize your reading notes is to make an outline.

True

Personal-business letters generally are not typed on letterhead stationery; instead, plain paper is used.

True

Single quotation marks are used for words quoted within other quoted material.

True

Some words can be adjectives or adverbs, depending on their position in the sentence.

True

A sentence reads "There firm holds the maximum market share in the industry." The typographical error, "there," would be detected by spell-checkers in word processing programs.

False

A writer's use of underlining or bold and side headings to show natural breaks in a message makes the overall organization of the message too cluttered for the readers.

False

Adjectives that tell "how many," "how much," or "in what order" are called demonstrative adjectives.

False

By adding the prefix "un" to the term "professional" its synonym can be formed.

False

Commas should be avoided after infinitive phrases, participial phrases, and prepositional phrases.

False

Correlative conjunctions join elements of unequal rank.

False

Dictionary entries use semicolons to indicate the correct places for breaking or dividing words.

False

Feedback to a message may include a written response and verbal questions, but it does not include nonverbal gestures.

False

Haptic communication is not status-driven.

False

If more than one man or more than one woman is mentioned in a sentence, place the pronoun as far as possible from the person to whom you refer.

False

If the introductory statement for a numbered list is grammatically complete, use periods after the items in the list.

False

If your e-mail message is an announcement or information that requires no response, use the word "REQUEST" in all caps as the first word in the subject line.

False

In refusing a request, you should, if possible, share with the reader some of the genuine reasons why his or her request is being rejected.

False

Indirect quotations, which are restatements of a person's exact words introduced by the word "that," are not enclosed in quotation marks.

False

Intrapersonal communication is communication that occurs between two people.

False

It is advisable to mark all e-mail messages "URGENT" as it guarantees that the recipients will respond immediately.

False

Memos can be used for the purposes of requesting, informing, and reporting, but they cannot be used for the purpose of reminding.

False

Physical distractions as barriers to communication are usually harder to prevent in a speaking or listening situation because the surroundings cannot be controlled or changed.

False

Reading is an inefficient means of gaining information because you cannot control the flow of information.

False

Using the you-attitude makes messages less courteous.

False

When adding an ending to a word with more than one syllable, the final consonant in the base word should be doubled if the vowel sound in the last syllable is long.

False

When referring to time, writers must use "9 o'clock" instead of "nine o'clock" for greater formality but less emphasis.

False

When used together, listening, speaking, reading, and writing tend to confuse most communication situations.

False

When writing to an individual whose name and gender you do not know, use a general salutation, such as Ladies and Gentlemen.

False

When replying to a request letter, one way to make sure that your responses are complete is to underline the specific points in the request letter.

True

When using consecutive adjectives in writing, no comma follows the last adjective in a series.

True

Miscommunication occurs when components of the intended message, actual message, or interpreted message are different for either the sender or the receiver.

True

Avoid using words with unpleasant sounds, and do not attempt to write business letters that sound musical or poetic.

True

Before writers begin revising the initial draft of a document, it is advisable for them to put their writing aside for a few hours or even for a day.

True

Effective writers use commas to connect thoughts and to separate elements within sentences.

True

Having preconceived thoughts and opinions when listening to a talk is an example of a listening barrier.

True

Ideally, proofreading is a team effort.

True

If you have a general idea of the meaning you want to convey, a thesaurus will give you a choice of specific words to express it.

True

In business communication, whenever you respond to a request letter, you should look for possible ways to make a sale.

True

Indirect quotations, which are restatements of a person's exact words introduced by the word "that," are not enclosed in quotation marks.

True