Chapter 3: Practice quiz

Which of the following sentences de-emphasizes the bad news?

Although the company cannot reimburse you for tuition costs, you may attend class during work hours.

Which of the following is not an advantage of frontloading?

Eliminates the need for researching

According to experts, what is the greatest failing of business writers?

Poor organization

Which of the following sentences does not contain a dangling or misplaced modifier?

To apply for financial aid, send in your application by January 1.

Which of the following is a compound sentence?

We know that you'll want to receive the early-bird pricing; therefore, please register for the conference by October 15.

Gina will graduate from Tulane University in July, her brother will graduate from Arizona State University in December is an example of a __________.

comma splice

Brittany is preparing a market analysis for her business plan and knows she will have to conduct formal research to gather the information she needs. To conduct formal research, she should __________.

conduct interviews and surveys or organize a focus group

Paragraphs with __________ or fewer lines look inviting and readable.

eight

Business Manager HeatherGuite expects her employees to be displeased or even hostile when she announces a new work schedule that will become effective next month. An effective organizational strategy for Heather is to __________.

explain all background information first

Phase 2 of the 3-x-3 writing process involves analyzing your purpose, anticipating your audience, and adapting your message to the audience.

false

The direct organizational strategy works well with three kinds of messages: bad news, ideas that require persuasion, and sensitive news.

false

The sentence Business messages should be accurate, concise, and written with clarity demonstrates balanced, or parallel, writing.

false

To emphasize a main idea through style, you should use underlining, italicizing, or bolding.

false

An effective paragraph __________.

focuses on a single main idea

Collecting information before composing a message is important primarily because doing so __________.

helps shape the message

To build paragraph coherence, __________.

incorporate transitional expressions that connect your ideas

Most routine writing tasks, such as composing e-mail messages or informational reports, require information that you can collect __________.

informally

Many job applicants post their résumés on company websites some post on social networking sites such as LinkedIn is an example of a __________.

run-on sentence

Business writers prefer the active voice because in active-voice sentences the __________.

subject is the doer of the action

A paragraph is unified when it develops a single main idea.

true

Business writers should strive to keep sentences to 20 words or fewer.

true

Human Resources Manager Isaac Bauer is researching case studies as he prepares an employee wellness workshop. An effective method of formal research is to search print and online journal articles.

true

Support sentences must relate to the topic sentence.

true

Well-organized messages group similar items together.

true

You should strive to use a variety of sentence types in your writing.

true