Business Communication Chapter 2

False

According to the inverted pyramid style of organizing Web pages, historical or background information concerning the point at hand should be presented first.

E. letter

A(n) _____ is primarily used to represent the writer and his or her topic rather formally to an external audience.

B. Alex should analyze his audience.

As director of the human resources department, Alex has to write an email to the employees requesting them to volunteer at the company's annual United Way fund raiser. After determining the purpose of his message, which of the following steps should Alex take next in planning his message?

E. analyze the audience

In the context of planning a message, once the goal of a communication is set, the immediate next step is to _____.

C. uses sentences that are well structured and highly organized

In the context of writing email messages, a formal style of writing _____.

E. check the mechanical and grammatical elements of your message

In the proofreading stage of the writing process, you are most likely to _____.

E. emails

In today's business world, _____ are the most widely used form of written communication.

C. In an email to a client who has requested the shipping details for a purchased product

In which of the following cases will the direct order plan of organizing information be most effective?

True

Using initialisms, such as "BTW" and "ASAP," is acceptable in casual business emails.

C. Formal style

Which of the following writing styles should be used in an email report to the client of a research organization?

False

While it is necessary to plan your message keeping your audience in mind, concentrating on the audience's interests in later stages will impede the writing process.

C. revising

Michael is in the process of writing a message. He is trying to find out whether the words he has used to describe his goals emphasize the right things and if there are better, more concise ways of structuring his sentences. In the context of the different stages involved in writing, Michael is _____ his message.

True

On the job, companies often monitor employees' computer activity to detect inappropriate or unethical behavior or disclosure of proprietary information.

False

Business writers should think of the three stages of writing as strictly chronological or separate.

False

Businesses use text messaging primarily for data reporting purposes.

True

Each person's way of developing a piece of writing for a given situation is unique.

True

Employers are just as likely to reject a candidate as they are to hire a candidate based on what is on someone's social networking site.

B. Cc

If someone other than the primary recipient is to receive a copy of the message in such a way that the primary recipient will know who else has received a copy of the message, the sender should use the _____ field.

False

If you have information that your readers will consider routine, neutral, or positive, present such information at the end of your message.

D. In an email to a supplier about the organization's plan of switching to a different supplier

In which of the following cases will the indirect order plan of organizing information be most effective?

C. A message written to a coworker, asking her about her plans for the day

In which of the following messages would it be appropriate to use informal language?

True

Information is gathered and analyzed during the planning stage of the writing process.

False

It is best to avoid the use of abbreviations when composing text messages.

D. Dear Alex Harper

Jason Smith is writing a letter to one of his prospective clients, Alex Harper, the sales manager at Perry McKay Fashion House. Having sourced Alex's contact details from a vendor, Jason is unsure of Alex's gender. How should he address Alex in his letter?

E. form

Memorandums can be distinguished from other messages primarily by their _____.

True

Memorandums tend to use casual or informal language.

False

Memos are primarily used for corresponding with people outside an organization.

True

Proofreading for mechanical and grammatical elements is the final step in the revision process

B. Determining your goals

Regarding the writing process, which of the following steps is typically included as part of the planning process?

True

Relatively inexperienced business writers should spend roughly a third of their writing time in each of the three stages of writing.

False

The "Bcc" field in an email message stands for "backup confidential copy."

D. an email to the HR manager asking her how to access the new forms for reporting vacation time

The direct order plan of organizing information will be the most effective in writing _____.

A. planning

The first step in the process of writing is _____.

False

The high-costs associated with using email are the reason why most businesses do not use it for communicating with their internal audiences.

A. is likely to evoke a negative response from your readers

The indirect order plan of organizing information in a message is best suited for messages containing information that _____.

True

The memos' function of communicating within a business has been largely replaced by email.

B. they have the effect of conversation

The similarity between casual language and informal language is that _____.

E. inverted

The style of organizing Web pages such that the most important point is presented first, followed by supporting information, and then by the historical or background information is known as the _____ pyramid style.

True

Trying to make your first draft a perfect draft can make you forget important information and slow down the writing process.

A. use a casual style of writing

When communicating with close friends, the email messages that are exchanged every day _____.

A. present information that readers consider routine in the beginning

When using the direct order plan to organize your information in a message, you should _____.

B. Conducting a survey

Which of the following constitutes formal research in the context of gathering information for a message?

D. The need to adapt messages according to the audience

Which of the following factors is common to all forms of written communication? 1

B. Text messages

Which of the following forms of communication places a strong emphasis on brevity?

B. Best Regards

Which of the following is a commonly used complimentary close in today's business letters?

E. Email does not limit the number of characters that can be used in a message.

Which of the following is an advantage of email over text messaging, instant messaging, and social media?

A. Organizing information in the order that will draw the most positive reaction from your readers

Which of the following is the best practice to be followed when writing messages?

B. The use of emoticons in an instant message is dependent on the target audience.

Which of the following is true about instant messaging in a business setting?

D. Memos generally use casual or informal language.

Which of the following is true about memos or memorandums?

D. Messages on a company's social networking site need to be brief and concise.

Which of the following is true about social media?

C. Novice business writers should spend roughly a third of their writing time in each of the three stages.

Which of the following is true about the different stages involved in the writing process?

E. The three stages involved in the process of writing are recursive and interrelated.

Which of the following is true about the process of writing?

A. At this stage, a writer checks whether he has included all the necessary information in his message.

Which of the following is true about the revision stage of the writing process?

D. In written communication, writers cannot rely on their tone of voice to make up for ambiguous wording.

Which of the following is true of written communication?

A. They should spend an equal amount of time on each of the three stages.

Which of the following is true regarding the amount of time novice business writers should ideally spend on each stage of the writing process?

C. Using long sentences instead of short ones

Which of the following must be avoided when creating an online document or a Web page?

B. Focusing on creating a perfect draft on the first attempt

Which of the following should ideally be avoided during the drafting stage of the writing process?

C. Emails can be archived and filed for easy access to a written record of correspondence.

Which of the following statements is true about emails?

B. It uses colloquialisms but more selectively than in casual writing.

Which of the following statements is true about informal writing

D. The need for brevity in text messaging has led to the creation of many abbreviations.

Which of the following statements is true about text messaging?

D. This stage involves the convergence of a writer's business goals with his writing goals.

Which of the following statements is true about the planning stage of the writing process?

C. Letters are often the most appropriate form to use when corresponding with an external party whom you do not know well.

Which of the following statements is true about the use of letters?

A. Online text uses fragments and abbreviations more frequently than print text.

Which of the following statements is true regarding print text and online text?

E. yelling

While typing a text message, Mike uses the emoticon ":-0". This emoticon indicates that Mike is _____.

D. Indirect order

William wants to communicate information to a client, but he thinks that the information runs the risk of evoking a negative response. In this context, which of the following formats should William use to organize the information in his message?

C. the sender wants to forward copies of the email without the knowledge of the primary receiver

With respect to email format, the link "Bcc" or "blind courtesy copy" is used when _____.

E. courtesy copy

With respect to the email format, Cc stands for _____.

A. editing

You examine your sentences to see if they pace the information in such a way that the reader can easily follow it, if they emphasize the right things, and if they combine pieces of information coherently at the _____ level of the revision process.

False

You should avoid the use of informal language in business email messages, especially when writing to people you know only on a business basis

A. Letters

_____ are the oldest form of business messages.