Week 2 - Quiz

A message must have only one clear purpose.

False - The purposes of messages often directly relate to the audiences of the messages, and many messages are designed to accomplish multiple purposes.

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the purpose for a message?

The purpose of a message should be clear to the sender before work begins on the message. -

The purpose of the message can be clarified after the message is written

False - Having a clear purpose before starting a message will help a writer set clear goals. Clear purposes are even more important for group work to ensure that everyone is working to achieve the same goals.

"With an indirect approach to a message, the idea is to avoid the news as much as is possible."

False - With an indirect approach to a message, the idea is to build up an understanding of the news, or to build some context for the news, before providing the main idea. Both direct and indirect organizations clearly present the news to the reader.

You are writing a letter to customers about a defective product they have purchased.

I want customers to return their defective padlocks to the store for a replacement. - This answer tells customers why (defective padlock) and what (return to store) for a replacement.

Which of the following statements about a primary audience is true?

The primary audience consists of those who will make decisions based on the message, and who will decide whether to comply with a request in the message. - Messages should always focus on decision makers. The primary audience consists of those who will make decisions based on the message.

You are preparing a report about new markets for your company.

We should open a new store in Hixon because many families are moving there. - Think about the what and why questions.

Which of the following techniques are NOT useful ways for a writer to make information easy to find?

repeating information multiple times - Repetition tends to make documents longer and to make information more difficult to find.

Two key components that make a message relevant are __________ .

timing and information - Proper timing and good information are necessary for any message to be relevant.