Technical Writing

Boilerplate

boilerplate is any text that can be reused (sometimes called re-purposed) in a number of different documents without much change from the original. It's copy a client often supplies that includes information about an organization's history, facilities, or capabilities.

A job applicant whose career features some gaps in employment would be well served to submit a resume that follows which of the following styles? A. Chronological format B. Functional format C. Education-based format D. A combined format

B. Functional format

Which of the following graphics is best for displaying continuous change over time? (A) Bar chart (B) Line graph (C) Schematic diagram (D) Table

B. Line Graph

An informal report that presents objective, detailed descriptions of problems for the reader's comparisons and evaluations is known as A. a recommendation report. B. a problem analysis. C. a progress report. D.an evaluation.

B. a problem anaylsis

A document that is written as an attempt to persuade the reader(s) to embrace a product, service or idea is known as A. a feasibility study. B. a proposal. C. an RFP. D. a marketing survey.

B. a proposal.

Process descriptions provide A. a sequence of steps presented in a manner that allows the reader to perform that sequence of steps. B. a sequence of steps presented in such a manner that the reader understands that sequence of steps. C. standard operating procedures (SOPs) for writing technical manuals. D. a sequence of steps presented in such a manner that the reader could illustrate those steps.

B. a sequence of steps presented in such a manner that the reader understands that sequence of steps.

The technical writer should always bear in mind that he/she A. should maintain personal integrity by writing in a manner that suits his or her own needs. B. always writes for the needs of the reader rather than his or her own needs. C. should seek to combine the needs of the reader with the wishes of the writer. D. be sensitive to the feelings of the reader even to the point of compromising clarity.

B. always writes for the needs of the reader rather than his or her own needs.

An encapsulated, usually single page, summation of a formal report written to provide decision makers with an overview of the longer version is known as A. an introduction. B. an executive summary. C. an abstract. D. a prolog.

B. an executive summary.

A technical description is best described as A. a verbal representation of something better illustrated by a graphic. B. an expanded definition that emphasizes physical details. C. an expanded definition that contains a mathematical component. D. any description of any item discussed in a technical document.

B. an expanded definition that emphasizes physical details.

When writing process descriptions, it is especially important that the writer A. be as brief as possible. B. be completely comprehensive. C. understands and meets the needs of his/her particular readership. D. write in the most non-technical manner possible.

B. be completely comprehensive.???

A document written to convince a reader to adopt a certain point of view and/or pursue a given line of action is an example of A. coercion. B. persuasion. C. inference. D. indoctrination.

B. persuasion.

A letter of transmittal is a A. preview of the contents of a formal report written to a member of the writer's own organization. B. preview of the contents of a formal report written to a recipient outside of the writer's organization. C. list of all of the recipients who are authorized to receive a copy of a formal report. D. receipt for a formal report that must be signed and returned to the initiator of the report.

B. preview of the contents of a formal report written to a recipient outside of the writer's organization.

When writing a long document, the author must be aware that many readers will not carefully read the entire instrument. A good way to increase the effectiveness of the document is to A. include a brief summary. B. write different parts to meet the needs of different readers. C. write in a compelling style that captures the interest of all readers. D. avoid writing longer documents.

B. write different parts to meet the needs of different readers.

Which of the following is a major flaw in a classification? (A) Overlap in the categories (B) Use of the same criterion throughout (C) Division into more than ten groups and subgroups (D) Categories with different numbers of subdivisions

(A) Overlap in the categories

|Ibuprofen is a powerful pain reliever and it has only recently| been made available to the public in nonprescription doses. (A) Ibuprofen is a powerful pain reliever and it has only recently (B) Ibuprofen, a powerful pain reliever, has only recently (C) Ibuprofen is a powerful analgesic that only has recently (D) Only the potent analgesic ibuprofen has recently

(B) Ibuprofen, a powerful pain reliever, has only recent

|After heating for twelve minutes, the sample| was dried. (A) After heating for twelve minutes, the sample (B) After heating the sample for twelve minutes, it (C) After it had been heated for twelve minutes, the sample (D) After twelve minutes of heating the sample, it

(C) After it had been heated for twelve minutes, the sample

Which of the following does NOT need revision to correct an error in parallel structure? (A) We found it impossible either to replicate their results or even approximate them. (B) The ideal environment for colonizing plants like ragweed is bare, windswept, and, of course, contains little groundwater. (C) The platypus is an animal with mammalian, reptilian, and avian aspects and which illustrates the difficulty of exact biological classification. (D) The proposed pertussis vaccine not only is as effective as the vaccine currently in use but also poses little or no health risk to children under two years of age.

(D) The proposed pertussis vaccine not only is as effective as the vaccine currently in use but also poses little or no health risk to children under two years of age.

Descriptive Abstract

A descriptive abstract indicates the type of information found in the work. It makes no judgments about the work, nor does it provide results or conclusions of the research. It does incorporate key words found in the text and may include the purpose, methods, and scope of the research. Essentially, the descriptive abstract describes the work being abstracted. Some people consider it an outline of the work, rather than a summary. Descriptive abstracts are usually very short—100 words or less.

It is customary to place definitions of terms in all of the following parts of a technical document EXCEPT the A. Abstract B. Introduction C. Footnotes D. Glossary

A. Abstract

When writing instructions, it is very important that the writer do which of the following? A. Know exactly for whom the instructions are being written. B. Make extensive use of graphics and illustrations. C. Provide multi-lingual safety warnings. D. Write for the least skilled reader who might possibly attempt the task.

A. Know exactly for whom the instructions are being written.

A formal written communication usually addressing only a single point written from a member of an organization to someone outside of that organization is known as A. a letter. B. a memo. C. an email. D. a report.

A. a letter.

Technical writing is defined as A. all written communications done on the job. B. all writings of a scientific nature. C. all written communications designed to inform rather than entertain. D. any written communication that is clear, concise, and brief.

A. all written communications done on the job.

Standard information that is applicable to more than one report or circumstance is known as A. boilerplate. B. armorplate. C. interchangeable data. D. commonality data.

A. boilerplate

The primary role of white space in page design is to A. draw readers' attention to important information. B. give visual balance to document pages. C. clearly separate text from graphics. D. make individual lines of text easier to read.

A. draw readers' attention to important information.

An information source that is published at regular intervals is known as a A. periodical. B. magazine. C. professional journal. D. professional abstract.

A. periodical

The feature of technical writing that allows the writer to express his or her attitude is known as A. tone. B. style. C. format. D. character.

A. tone

Of the following, which is considered to be the least formal of all written communications? A. A letter B. A memo C. An email D. A report

C. An email

Which of the following font styles would you consider to be the most appropriate for a formal report? A. Baskerville Old Face B. Algerian C. Ariel D. Book Antiqua

C. Ariel

The major difference between proposals and many other technical documents is that proposals are (A) long and formal (B) written by committees (C) overtly persuasive (D) presented orally as well as in writing

C. Overtly Persuasive

A computer search that uses AND, OR, and NOT statements to frame the relationships between words and/or phrases is known as A. a keyword search. B. a subject search. C. a Boolean search. D. an abstract search.

C. a Boolean search.

A chart that illustrates a process by stringing together a series of boxes to indicate activities is known as A. a schematic. B. a spread sheet. C. a flow chart. D. an organizational chart.

C. a flow chart.

Technical documents are organized into A. a beginning, middle, and an end. B. an introduction, an explanation, and a summary. C. an abstract, a body, and a conclusion. D. a table of contents, a report, and an index.

C. an abstract, a body, and a conclusion.

A technical drawing that shows the relationship of each part of an object by expanding the spatial juxtaposition between parts is known as A. an exterior view. B. a cross-section view. C. an exploded view. D. a cutaway view.

C. an exploded view.

Technical authors are most frequently writing for readers who A. tend to only scan the document in question. B. are as equally informed about the topic as the writer. C. are less informed about the topic than the writer. D. are skeptical of the information being presented by the writer.

C. are less informed about the topic than the writer.

Technical writers should avoid the use of the blue color 10% RS in their documents because A. the color blue invokes negative emotions in many people. B. studies have shown that about 10% of the female population experience some degree of blue color blindness. C. blue colors do not reproduce well on photocopying equipment. D. blue blends too easily with black; thus, its use does not justify the use of this color over the use of black only.

C. blue colors do not reproduce well on photocopying equipment.

Two main clauses connected by conjunctions defines a ________ sentence. A. complex B. simple C. compound D. compound-complex

C. compound

When borrowing graphics from a federal document, it is usually A. necessary to contact the Library of Congress to obtain written permission to use the graphic. B. necessary to contact the specific federal agency that published the document to obtain written permission to use the graphic. C. not necessary to seek permission to borrow graphics from a federal document, as very few of them are copyrighted. D. necessary to get written permission to borrow the graphic from the writer's congressperson.

C. not necessary to seek permission to borrow graphics from a federal document, as very few of them are copyrighted.

A job candidate who wishes to highlight employment skills but still provide limited information on his/her educational background would be well served to submit a resume that features which format? A. Chronological format B. Functional format C. Education-based format D. A combined format

D. A combined format

Writers should try to avoid using bar charts to show data that are A. illustrated by bars of nearly equal length. B. illustrated by bars that are of noticeably different lengths. C. illustrated by bars of greatly different lengths. D. Both A & C.

D. Both A & C.

One significant difference between technical language and lay language is that technical language tends to be more (A) subjective (B) sophisticated (C) abstract (D) exact

D. Exact

Which of the following organizational patterns would be appropriate to use when describing a mechanism? I. Order of assembly II. Spatial order III. Operating order (A)II only (B)III only (C)I and III only (D)I, II, and III

D. I, II, and III

Laboratory reports customarily contain all of the following sections EXCEPT (A) materials and methods (B) results (C) discussions (D) recommendations

D. Recommendations

Good news stated immediately is an important characteristic of A. a negative business letter. B. a neutral business letter. C. any business letter. D. a positive business letter.

D. a positive business letter.

An abstract that includes all of the major points of the main document is referred to as A. a descriptive abstract. B.a research abstract. C. a technical abstract. D. an informational abstract.

D. an informational abstract.

When writing a neutral letter, the author must realize that A. it will be of less interest to the reader; thus, the style can be more relaxed than positive or negative letters. B. the letter will probably be scanned rather than read. C. since the neutral letters do not carry the impact of either a positive or negative letter, they must be short. D. because the reader generally has no direct personal interest in the letter, the author must be absolutely clear as to the purpose of the communication.

D. because the reader generally has no direct personal interest in the letter, the author must be absolutely clear as to the purpose of the communication.

Writing an outline allows the technical writer to A. refine the wording of critical points. B. decide upon a personal style. C. organize critical points in preparation for writing the draft. D. do both A and C.

D. do both A and C.

The most frequently read section of a formal proposal is the A. technical section. B. managerial section. C. cost section. D. executive summary.

D. executive summary

The use of columns within a text document is a writer's device to A. make a short document appear longer and more important. B. deal with odd sized paper. C. make their document stand out from others written on the same topic. D. keep the interest of the reader by breaking up long and intimidating appearing lines.

D. keep the interest of the reader by breaking up long and intimidating appearing lines.

A major consideration for technical writers who are writing for a cultural audience different from their own is that A. the reader may not be as technologically advanced as the author. B. certain cultures lack the educational level necessary to understand technical documents. C. the writer's language does not necessarily translate well to the technical language of the reader. D. the work will not be read in the same cultural context in which it was written.

D. the work will not be read in the same cultural context in which it was written.

It is customary to place definitions of terms in what parts of a technical document

Introduction, Footnotes, Glossary

A fact or concept that is considered to be "factual, nonjudgmental information" that can be easily accessed from many sources need not be documented. This is because it is considered to be A. common knowledge. B. banal information. C. stipulated information. D. extraneous information.

NOT B. banal information and NOT A. common knowledge

When a writer compares two or more subjects, he/she is A. emphasizing the differences between or among the subjects in question. B. offering judgements on the subjects in question. C. emphasizing the similarities between or among the subjects in question. D. using allegory to define the subjects in question.

NOT B. offering judgements on the subjects in question. or A. emphasizing the differences between or among the subjects in question.

When a technical writer groups lists of items into categories, the process is known as A. classification. B. division. C. categorization. D. grouping.

NOT D. grouping and not C. categorization

Informative Abstract

The majority of abstracts are informative. While they still do not critique or evaluate a work, they do more than describe it. A good informative abstract acts as a surrogate for the work itself. That is, the writer presents and explains all the main arguments and the important results and evidence in the complete article/paper/book. An informative abstract includes the information that can be found in a descriptive abstract (purpose, methods, scope) but also includes the results and conclusions of the research and the recommendations of the author. The length varies according to discipline, but an informative abstract is rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work. In the case of a longer work, it may be much less.