ENGL 317

According to the text, a good way to define readability would be to say that an effective piece of writing leaves a reader with many interesting unanswered questions.

False

According to the text, because workplace readers require great accuracy, they rarely skim and scan the documents they receive, dipping into the text here and there to locate and understand the main message much the way they might skim and scan a newspaper or a web page that didn't interest them much.

False

According to the text, the average worker in the U.S. spends roughly 60% of the time on the job doing some sort of writing.

False

According to the text, the writer should not seek to extensively control emphasis throughout a document so readers can find what most interests them as they read through.

False

Because bulleted lists always lower the reader's level of effort, all documents over a single paragraph in length should include them.

False

Because it's larger and slanted, italic type tends to push visually into the foreground.

False

Because the reader usually has a key question, the answer or main message should be placed toward the end of the document where readers can easily find it.

False

Business writing cliches, like other cliches, are overused expressions that have lost their originality or force. But they are useful in business writing because readers are so familiar with them.

False

Chunking and labeling should be used for longer documents—more than five pages—and is not usually appropriate for documents under five pages.

False

Document design studies show that for most running text (printed in 12-point type), a line length of about 7-7 1/2 inches is optimum.

False

Flush left (ragged right) type is a little more difficult to read than fully justified type.

False

For any document, the ending must tell the reader what the reader must do next.

False

In the direct paragraph, the topic sentence always comes after the most important supporting details.

False

Keep in mind that where information is positioned on the page helps to emphasize or de-emphasize it. Information that comes at the beginning or ending (of a sentence, paragraph, section, or document) is less emphatic than information placed in the middle.

False

Key information is greatly emphasized when it's placed directly in the middle of a lengthy paragraph.

False

Message-style headings, which usually are in the form of a complete sentence, are generally considered unnecessary because they give the reader too much information too soon.

False

Organization should be a matter of your own personal style. When you stay true to your own style, you will usually write more eloquently.

False

Readability researchers generally agree that for optimum readability writers should choose a sans-serif typeface for text type.

False

Some experts disagree that maintaining a readable sentence core and keeping the key components of the sentence core closely linked will help you write clear, concise, and emphatic sentences.

False

The rule of thumb on paragraph length is generally to limit paragraphs to around 5 to 6 typed lines.

False

The subject core is generally made up of two grammatical components: the active-voice subject and the direct object.

False

Where the topic sentence comes in relation to the supporting information is not really important in determining paragraph shape. The most important paragraph feature is its actual length.

False

While conversations are built around questions, in business writing the questions of the reader should not take precedence over the information writers might need to pass along.

False

According to the text, business writing must be like speaking in one very important way: writers must keep their eyes on their readers at all times and seek to meet reader's needsanswer the readers questionsjust as they would if face to face in a conversation.

True

According to the text, in the workplace, a simple truth about business writing is that the reader is everything.

True

According to the text, only when the HOCs are thoroughly developed and the content and organization of supporting details clear and helpful to the reader is it time to craft and polish the LOCs and not before.

True

According to the text, workplace readers are usually reading to do.

True

According to the text, writers often think writing is a matter of saying what they have to say, when it should be saying what the reader needs to hear in a way that the reader will find both useful and easy to access and navigate.

True

Answers to readers' questions should usually come before the details/explanation, a message-first style often called "direct" or "deductive."

True

Because most readers are very busy, usually put the main message up front.

True

Breaking up your document into logical units (chunking) and giving each part a message-style heading (labeling) allows busy readers to skim and yet extract the content.

True

Critics of Plain Language have charged that Plain Language is unsophisticated, anti-intellectual, and drab. Some feel it forces writers to choose clarity over accuracy. Others believe it forces writers to A dumb down @ the content.

True

Devices like executive summaries, message-style report titles, bulleted lists, graphics, and so forth are all called advance organizers because they give the reader an advance look at the document by pulling out key information.

True

Document design is the science of making it easy for the eye to perceive emphasis so the brain can comprehend quickly.

True

Effective formatting can make documents easier to read.

True

Given what's discussed in the chapter, it's accurate to say that sometimes readers may not know the right questions to ask about a particular issue or why it should be important to them, so the writer must anticipate the questions the reader should have and answer those appropriate questions.

True

Having several prepositional phrases in a sentence can be the result of poor sentence construction.

True

Idiomatic verbs, verbs linked with (what seem to be) prepositions, such as give up, fight off, look forward to, put up with, are conversational and often okay to use in business documents.

True

If readers have 3 BIG QUESTIONS about anything they read, it makes sense to structure documents around these three big questions. Therefore, the following structure would be a good model to follow for most workplace documents: Reader Question Part of Document Information to be Included What is this & why should I care? INTRODUCTION State the ISSUE and PREVIEW the main points. What's the "story?" DISCUSSION Discuss each of the main points. What's next (if anything)? ENDING Tell what will or should happen next, if anything.

True

In a memo or email, the main message can sometimes be placed right in the "subject" line. For instance, a "subject" line may include this information: SUBJECT: Your benefits will expire on Friday unless you renew your policy.

True

In business writing, all things being equal, you should prefer the words you learned first, since they are the most familiar.

True

In general, avoid using sentences much over about 35 words.

True

It's a good idea not to put the main point first if it will upset your reader. In such cases, you should explain first, then give the upsetting main point.

True

Many beginning business writers overcompensate for their lack of experience by trying to adopt an official-sounding tone.

True

Many business readers say that their biggest frustration is reading a document and not knowing what the main point is, or missing the main point, or finding the main point scattered here and there as they read along.

True

Mistakes in sentence construction, spelling, and punctuation are simply inexcusable and cannot be tolerated in the workplace.

True

Passive voice has a definite place in an effective business writing style.

True

Plain Language means presenting complex information in a clear, organized, and useful way so readers have the best possible chance of understanding it.

True

Readers find documents with headings easier to read and comprehend than documents without headings.

True

Readers usually have three macro-questions when they read: What is this and why should I care? What's the "story"? What (if anything) is next?

True

Sentence length affects emphasis. Short sentences are most emphatic. Long sentences that combine several subordinate and independent clauses are less emphatic, although they are sometimes necessary to relate an idea that has two or more parts.

True

Sentences with a grammatical subject that does not state the agent/actor are more difficult for readers to understand than basic S-V-C sentences that do name the agent in the subject.

True

The best way for writers to focus on readers is to anticipate and answer their questions in the document.

True

The federal government and many states have adopted legislation that requires Plain Language for statutes, regulations, court rules, jury instructions, consumer contracts, insurance policies, securities disclosure statements, voter materials, warranties, and many other kinds of documents.

True

The following could be an example of Plain English given the appropriate audience: A biphasic mixture model accounts for the observed tension‑ compression nonlinearity of cartilage by employing the continuum‑based Conewise Linear Elasticity model of Curnier to describe the solid phase of the mixture.

True

The introduction should present the ISSUE (explain what you're writing about and why the reader should care) and preview the main points that will be discussed.

True

The old/new contract simply states that readers expect sentences to begin with old, already-established information in the grammatical subject of the sentence and to move into new information in the predicate of the sentence.

True

The very act of writing itself tends to elevate the level of diction.

True

There are no strict grammatical guidelines for creating paragraphs (paragraphs are, above all, a reader aid).

True

Tone is attitude

True

Type size is measured in points. And there are 72 points to an inch. But not all 12-point type is the same size.

True

We will generally answer our own questions (and so miss the reader's) by habit if we don't consciously put the reader's questions first.

True

What is the key to business writing according to the text? Writers must - anticipate what information readers need (their key questions) and supply it, - serve readers and be responsive to their needs, and - be conscious of designing a reading experience for their reader.

True

When we write a paragraph of description or chronological narrative, it can be difficult to create a true direct structure.

True

When writing e-mail you may use very loose paragraphing, sometimes just a word or a short phrase, sometimes a couple of rather disjointed sentences.

True

When you turn a verb into a noun, such as the verb to audit into the noun an audit, you have "nominalized" the verb, turned it into a noun. The resulting noun is called a nominalization.

True

Writers sometimes believe their job is over when they've found a clear message and organized that message so that readers easily understand the main point. But the business writing job includes designing the layout of the document to enhance readability on the page or on the screen.

True

You could think of the topic sentence as the point sentence, because it makes the point of the paragraph.

True

Not all nominalizations create wordiness.

True

The three parts of a document—introduction, discussion, ending—correspond with the reader's three macro-questions.

True

Both direct and indirect paragraphs have their place in effective business writing, but the direct paragraph provides many advantages for the busy reader.

true