Chap 3 MCQs PDF
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This document contains multiple choice questions (MCQs) on business documents, research methods, and business writing. The questions cover topics such as the types of business documents that require research, gathering information for composing a business document, and formal business research.
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Chap 3: b. Routine memos MCQs c. Long reports and complex business problems 1. Matthew must devel...
Chap 3: b. Routine memos MCQs c. Long reports and complex business problems 1. Matthew must develop a proposal for his supervisor that will describe the cost savings for an automated call center. Where should he begin? d. All of these choices would require formal research. a. Writing the proposal ANSWER: C b. Locating other proposals that he can copy TYPE: MC c. Researching the proposal 4. Which of the following is a formal research method? d. Determining an appropriate layout a. Talking with your boss ANSWER: C b. Organizing a focus group TYPE: MC c. Brainstorming 2. Before composing a business document, you shouldgather information that d. Looking in company files will answer which of these questions? ANSWER: B a. Will I have enough time to complete thorough research? TYPE: MC b. What is the receiver to do? 5. Which formal research source is best to obtain firsthand information? c. What information will be the easiest to locate? a. Internet Web sites and articles d. How will I use this information? b. Reference books ANSWER: B TYPE: MC c. Electronic databases d. Interviews 3. Formal research methods are generally requiredfor what type(s) of business document(s)? ANSWER: D a. Routine e-mail messages TYPE: MC 6. Stephanie is preparing a market analysis for her business plan. For firsthand a. firsthand information. information she should b. informal documentation. a. search manually in her local library. c. supplementary, secondary information. b. conduct interviews and surveys or organize a focus group. d. scientific experimentation. c. search the Internet for related Web sites. ANSWER: A d. review scientific experiments conducted by experts. TYPE: MC ANSWER: B TYPE: MC 9. Ahna is sending a persuasive memo to her staffasking them to participate in the new wellness program. Which of the following sources of information would be most appropriate to help Ahna shape an effective persuasive message for her staff? 7. Quality Building Materials Inc. has developeda new whole-house weather blanket and needs to determine the price point at which builders would switch to this a. Tightly controlled scientific experimentation new product. The best research method for this is a(n) b. Library research rooms a. manual search of other companies' price lists. c. Questionnaires and surveys of employees b. interview with a local builder. d. Research in company files c. Internet search of insulation values for weather blankets. ANSWER: C d. scientific experiment that presents price choices with controlled TYPE: MC variables. ANSWER: D 10. Many routine writing tasks such as composinge-mail messages or TYPE: MC informational reports require that you collect information informally by a. conducting extensive Web research. 8. As interns in human resource management, Brad and his team are administering a professionally developed employee questionnaire to collect b. conducting a scientific experiment. information on workplace violence. This type of research produces data that is considered c. looking in the files. d. searching a variety of books, journals, or magazines. a. grouping and strategizing. ANSWER: C b. brainstorming and researching. TYPE: MC c. outlining and drafting. 11. When brainstorming to generate ideas, you should d. drafting and editing. a. critique each idea as it is suggested. ANSWER: A TYPE: MC b. record ideas without judging them. c. always work alone for greater efficiency. 14. According to communication experts, what is the greatest failing of business writers? d. allow no more than five ideas to be discussed. a. Poor spelling ANSWER: B TYPE: MC b. Unclear sentence structure c. Ambiguous wording 12. You will create clear, readable messages if you d. Poor organization a. proceed free form from one idea to the next for maximum creative effect. ANSWER: D b. avoid emphasizing important ideas to allow readers to judge for TYPE: MC themselves. c. group similar items together and emphasize important ideas. 15. Organizing your ideas into an outline isespecially important when you are d. do not follow any pattern that restricts the free flow of your ideas. a. developing a complex project. ANSWER: C b. writing a routine memo. TYPE: MC c. replying quickly to an e-mail message. 13. Organizing data includes two processes. These processes are d. beginning the research phase of the writing process. ANSWER: A TYPE: MC c. Saves the reader time d. Encourages a fair hearing 16. The direct strategy would be most appropriate when ANSWER: C a. delivering bad news. TYPE: MC b. presenting ideas requiring persuasion. c. expecting the audience to be pleased, mildly interested, or neutral. 19. Which of the following message openings is the most direct opening for an e-mail message announcing a new telecommuting plan? d. revealing sensitive news. a. A number of employees have asked about telecommuting options. ANSWER: C b. Many businesses have been implementing telecommuting programs, and TYPE: MC we have studied their programs extensively. c. Rising gas prices have led many companies to allow telecommuting, and 17. Which of the following business messages would use the direct strategy? we think this might be a good idea for our company. a. A letter denying credit to a customer d. Our new telecommuting program will begin on August 1. b. A sales letter ANSWER: D c. A letter rejecting a customer's claim TYPE: MC d. An e-mail to your staff reminding them of the upcoming all-staff meeting 20. Yosevin began his memo with background information and explanations before ANSWER: D announcing a reduction in health insurance coverage. The strategy Yosevin used is TYPE: MC called a. frontloading. 18. Which of the following is an advantage of the direct strategy? b. direct. a. Minimizes a negative reaction c. passive voice. b. Respects the feelings of the reader d. indirect. ANSWER: D TYPE: MC b. Routine requests c. Informational reports 21. Which of the following is an advantage of the indirect strategy? d. Sensitive messages a. Saves the reader's time ANSWER: D b. Respects the feelings of the audience TYPE: MC c. Prevents frustration d. Sets a proper frame of mind 24. What kind of sentence contains only one independent clause? ANSWER: B a. Simple sentence TYPE: MC b. Compound sentence c. Complex sentence 22. When you expect a reader of your message to be uninterested, unwilling, displeased, or hostile, you should d. Compound-complex sentence a. put the bad news first. ANSWER: A b. begin with the main idea. TYPE: MC c. explain all background information first. 25. What kind of sentence contains two independent clauses? d. send the message via e-mail, text message, or IM. a. Simple sentence ANSWER: C b. Compound sentence TYPE: MC c. Complex sentence 23. Which of the following kinds of business messages typically use the indirect d. Compound-complex sentence strategy? ANSWER: B a. Non-sensitive memos TYPE: MC 26. What kind of sentence contains an independent clause and a dependent clause? d. Because we will be reducing employee health insurance benefits, some employees may be unhappy; however, we must make sure that they a. Simple sentence understand the reason for the change. b. Compound sentence ANSWER: C c. Complex sentence TYPE: MC d. Compound-complex sentence 29. What is the recommended maximum number of words for a sentence? ANSWER: C a. 10 TYPE: MC b. 20 27. What kind of sentence contains at least two independent clauses and a c. 25 dependent clause? d. 30 a. Simple sentence ANSWER: B b. Compound sentence TYPE: MC c. Complex sentence d. Compound-complex sentence 30. What is a sentence fragment? ANSWER: D a. Two independent clauses connected without punctuation or a conjunction TYPE: MC b. Two independent clauses connected by a comma without a conjunction c. A broken-off part of a complex sentence 28. Which of the following is a simple sentence? d. The part of a sentence containing the verb a. If health insurance costs continue to rise, employee copays may increase. ANSWER: C b. Having healthy employees decreases the cost of monthly premiums; therefore, we will be implementing a wellness program. TYPE: MC c. HMO and PPO insurance plans offer additional cost savings. 31. What is a comma splice? a. Two independent clauses run together without punctuation or a d. Having good health insurance is important to employees we need to keep conjunction that in mind. b. Two independent clauses joined by a comma without a conjunction ANSWER: B TYPE: MC c. A broken-off part of a complex sentence d. Two dependent clauses 34. How should the following be classified? ReliaCare increased insurance premiums by 28 percent for our next fiscal year, that is why we are seeking new ANSWER: B insurance bids. TYPE: MC a. Complete sentence 32. What is a run-on sentence? b. Fragment a. Two independent clauses run together without punctuation or a c. Fused or run-on sentence conjunction d. Comma splice b. Two independent clauses joined by a comma without a conjunction ANSWER: D c. A broken-off part of a complex sentence TYPE: MC d. An independent clause containing two dependent clauses 35. How should the following be classified? Liana called ReliaCare she also ANSWER: A requested a new bid for health insurance premiums. TYPE: MC a. Complete sentence 33. Which of the following contains no sentence faults? b. Fused or run-on sentence a. Which is why we are considering new health insurance options. c. Fragment b. HealthNet's coverage is extensive, and the rates are fair. d. Comma splice c. Review the list of benefits, then let me know what you think. ANSWER: B TYPE: MC 36. To emphasize an idea through mechanics, place it in c. Since we only exchange merchandise, it is impossible for you to receive a cash refund. a. boldface. d. Because of our exchange policy, you may not receive a cash refund. b. a different font style. ANSWER: A c. capital letters. TYPE: MC d. Any of these techniques would emphasize the idea. ANSWER: D 39. Active-voice sentences TYPE: MC a. direct the action of the verb toward the subject. b. place the subject of the sentence as the doer of the action. 37. To emphasize an idea through style, placeit c. generally use a to be helping verb. a. in a simple sentence. d. should always be avoided. b. in a dependent clause. ANSWER: B c. in the middle of a sentence. TYPE: MC d. Any of these techniques would emphasize the idea. ANSWER: A 40. Which of the following uses only active voice in a complete sentence? TYPE: MC a. The company's rigid return policy was criticized by a few unhappy customers. 38. Which of the following sentences is most effective in de-emphasizing the bad b. Because a few unhappy customers criticized the company's rigid return news? policy. a. Although cash refunds are not offered, you can exchange resalable c. Managers were told about the unhappy customers who criticized the merchandise. company's rigid return policy. b. Although you can exchange returned merchandise, cash refunds are not d. A few unhappy customers criticized the company's rigid return policy. available. ANSWER: D TYPE: MC b. To take advantage of the discounted pricing, place your order immediately. 41. When should passive voice be used in business writing? c. To meet customers' orders, shipments must be increased. a. When you want to de-emphasize the action or the recipient of the action d. Placing the proposal on the desk, the office was left by John. b. When you want to emphasize the doer of the action ANSWER: B c. When you want to de-emphasize negative news TYPE: MC d. Never 44. Effective paragraphs ANSWER: C a. usually present the main idea in the first sentence. TYPE: MC b. are coherent. 42. Which of the following uses parallel structure? c. include supporting sentences that expand and explain the main idea. a. Our new paralegal must be smart, efficient, and have flexibility. d. All answer choices are correct. b. The accident shattered her pelvis, dislocated her foot, and her spinal ANSWER: D column was broken in three places. TYPE: MC c. Big business demands superior forecasting, reporting, and analyzing. d. A good financial planner must be certified, competent, and must possess 45. What do most writers use as the first sentence in a paragraph? ethical standards. a. Supporting sentence ANSWER: C b. Transitional sentence TYPE: MC c. Topic sentence 43. Which of the following sentences uses modifiers correctly? d. Pivoting sentence a. Competent in computer graphics, our Web site was designed by Gloria. ANSWER: C TYPE: MC d. contain eight or fewer printed lines. 46. Paragraphs are coherent when ANSWER: D a. all sentences are written in the active voice. TYPE: MC b. each sentence includes dependent and independent clauses. 49. Writer's block can best be defined as c. ideas are linked; that is, one idea leads logically to the next. a. a block of time set aside to compose documents and projects. d. All answer choices are correct. b. the organization of research and ideas into an outline or scratch list. ANSWER: C TYPE: MC c. an inability to produce a first draft because of poor preparation. d. a neighborhood in a city or town where writers live and work together. 47. Transitional expressions such as next, first, and finally are useful to show ANSWER: C a. cause and effect. TYPE: MC b. illustration. 50. Most writers can compose their business messages more effectively if they c. comparison and contrast. a. have a quiet environment in which to concentrate. d. time association. b. turn on a TV, CD player, stereo, or other device to stimulate their ANSWER: D thinking. TYPE: MC c. maintain a normal working environment, including accepting phone calls, text messages, IMs, and occasional visitors. 48. Paragraphs should d. hold off writing until the perfect wording forms the complete message in a. focus on as many ideas as necessary. their minds. b. avoid the repetition of key or similar words. ANSWER: A TYPE: MC c. contain long, solid chunks of print. T/F 51. You can expect to write more messages on the job than ever. ANSWER: TRUE 57. Conducting scientific experiments is a method to gather formal research. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 52. Being able to write effectively is critical to promotions. ANSWER: TRUE 58. Most routine business writing tasks allow you to use informal research techniques to gather sufficient information. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 53. Research is necessary only when composing formal documents. ANSWER: FALSE 59. Looking in company files for information is a waste of time. TYPE: TF ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 54. When you fail to collect all needed research before beginning to organize and write your business document, you may end up starting over and reorganizing. ANSWER: TRUE 60. Brainstorming is an ineffective research technique. TYPE: TF ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 55. One question you should ask yourself when you collect research is What does the receiver need to know about this topic? 61. Many communication experts regard poor organization as the greatest failing of ANSWER: TRUE business writers. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 56. Jonathan is researching the financial impact of a job-sharing benefit for employees. Talking with his boss about the possible effects of offering this benefit to 62. Using a hierarchy such as an outline can help you to organize ideas and employees is an effective method of formal research. information. ANSWER: FALSE ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF TYPE: TF TYPE: TF 63. When you expect the reader to be pleased, mildly interested, or neutral, use the indirect pattern of organization. 69. A compound-complex sentence contains two complete but related thoughts. ANSWER: FALSE ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF TYPE: TF 64. Another name for the direct method is frontloading. 70. Because sentences of 20 or fewer words have the most impact, business writers ANSWER: TRUE must restrict all sentences to fewer than 20 words. TYPE: TF ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 65. One advantage of the direct method is that it saves the reader time. ANSWER: TRUE 71. Words such as although, as, because, and which often introduce dependent clauses. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 66. The indirect pattern works well with three kinds of messages: (a) bad news, (b) ideas that require persuasion, and (c) sensitive news. ANSWER: TRUE 72. A run-on-sentence results when a writer joins two independent clauses with a comma. TYPE: TF ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 67. One advantage of the indirect method is that it respects the feelings of the audience. ANSWER: TRUE 73. Mechanical techniques to emphasize important ideas include underlining, italics, boldface, font changes, all caps, dashes, tabulation, columns, and headings. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 68. The most compelling and effective messages contain one repeated sentence pattern rather than a variety of sentences. ANSWER: FALSE 74. Although mechanical means are occasionally appropriate to create emphasis, TYPE: TF more often a writer achieves emphasis stylistically. ANSWER: TRUE 80. The following sentence demonstrates parallel structure: Eric demonstrated TYPE: TF dedication, effective communication skills, and he was always punctual. ANSWER: FALSE 75. Careful writers avoid labeling main ideas because they know that readers prefer TYPE: TF to identify main ideas for themselves. ANSWER: FALSE 81. Modifiers must be close to the words they describe or limit. TYPE: TF ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 76. The following sentence effectively uses a stylistic device to de-emphasize the bad news: Although we don't have any available positions at this time, we were pleased to receive your application and will keep it on file for six months. 82. The following sentence contains a dangling or misplaced modifier: Working all night, the brief was filed with the court on time. ANSWER: TRUE ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF TYPE: TF 77. In the active voice, the subject is acted upon. In the passive voice, the subject is the doer of the action. 83. Business writers generally place the topic sentence first in the paragraph. ANSWER: FALSE ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF TYPE: TF 78. Active voice is more direct, clear, and concise. Therefore, passive voice should 84. All support sentences in a paragraph must relate to the topic sentence. never be used in business writing. ANSWER: TRUE ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF TYPE: TF 85. Pronouns can be used to promote paragraph coherence. 79. To achieve parallel construction, use similar structure to express ideas. ANSWER: TRUE ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 91. Nicola is collecting information for a business document she is writing. We call this collection process ___________________. ANSWER: research 86. Good writers should avoid repetition of words or key ideas because it shows lack of creativity. TYPE: FB ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 92. Long reports and complex business problems generally require some use of ___________________ research methods. ANSWER: formal 87. Writers can use words and phrases such as on the other hand, as opposed to, and conversely to show contrast in business messages. TYPE: FB ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 93. Looking in the files and talking with your boss are methods of ___________________ research. ANSWER: informal 88. Business writers should strive for paragraphs with eight or fewer printed lines. TYPE: FB ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 94. In the ___________________ pattern of organization, the main idea comes first, followed by details, an explanation, or evidence. 89. Communicators who have not completed their preparatory work may suffer ANSWER: direct from writer's block as they sit staring at their computer screens waiting for inspiration. TYPE: FB ANSWER: TRUE TYPE: TF 95. Persuasive and bad-news messages should usually use the ____________________ pattern. 90. Experts recommend that business writers avoid free writing, which is similar to ANSWER: indirect cramming for final exams and likely to produce similarly poor results. TYPE: FB ANSWER: FALSE TYPE: TF 96. A(n) ___________________ sentence contains an independent clause (a Gap-filling: complete thought) and a dependent clause (a thought that cannot stand by itself). ANSWER: complex TYPE: FB 97. The refund authorization was processed by our customer service representative is an example of a sentence using the ____________________ voice. ANSWER: passive TYPE: FB 98. A dangling ___________________ results when the word or phrase the modifier describes is missing from its sentence. ANSWER: modifier TYPE: FB 99. A(n) ____________________ is a group of sentences about one idea. ANSWER: paragraph TYPE: FB 100. Before and meanwhile are examples of transitional expressions that show ____________________ association. ANSWER: time TYPE: FB
