Deck 11: Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals

Question 1

Karen is aware that the introduction for a report depends on the nature and length of the report,the circumstances under which she is writing it,and her relationship with the audience.If she is trying to determine what is and what isn't covered in the report,she is ascertaining ________.

A) authorization
B) purpose
C) scope
D) background

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Sherin is responding to a request for proposal with specifications mentioned for technical support requirements.In her response,she ________.

A) needs to follow the instructions in the RFP in every detail
B) has latitude in the scope
C) has latitude in the organization of the proposal
D) can demonstrate her knowledge

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Reports and proposals can put heavy demands on the ________,so the "you" attitude is especially important with these long messages.

A) writers
B) readers
C) sources
D) organization

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Communicating with people in other cultures often calls for more formality in reports,both to respect cultural preferences and ________.

A) avoid bias
B) encourage free exchange of ideas
C) avoid misdirection
D) reduce the risk of miscommunication

Question 5

James is preparing an analytical report-specifically a troubleshooting report-using the direct approach.Such straight-forward reports generally need to ________.

A) state conclusions or recommendations in the conclusion
B) state conclusions or recommendations in the introduction
C) use the introduction of the report to provide evidence and support
D) reserve conclusions or recommendations for the body

Question 6

Every business report that Sam creates puts his credibility and career advancement on the line.In his reports he needs to present all sides of the issue fairly and equitably and include all the essential information,even if some of the information doesn't support his line of reasoning.By doing this he is making sure his content is ________.

A) accurate
B) complete
C) balanced
D) clear and logical

Question 7

Artie is aware that the content and length of the close of a report depend primarily on his choice of the direct or indirect approach.If he is using the direct approach,in the close he should ________.

A) present his conclusions or recommendations, as presented in the body
B) introduce new facts in his close, to maintain interest
C) end with a summary of key points listed in the order that they appear in the report body
D) prompt others to action and designate tasks

Question 8

A good proposal reflects ________.

A) whether the writer has a clear idea of the project being proposed.
B) upon itself to see what else is missing
C) the reader's point of view
D) what non-technical content can enhance the document

Question 9

A more formal writing style ________

A) helps keep communication clear and error-free
B) can be an immediate turn-off for an audience
C) uses the impersonal journalism style
D) needs to be interspersed with humour, to break the monotony

Question 10

Proposals should be approached the same way as ________.

A) informational reports
B) analytical reports
C) trouble shooting reports
D) persuasive messages

Question 11

Naomi is preparing a report and needs to present,analyze,and interpret the information she gathered during her investigation of the subject matter.She should include this information in the ________ of her report.

A) introduction
B) opening
C) body
D) close

Question 12

If readers suspect that your information is shaky,they'll start to view all your work with skepticism.This suspicion and the resultant lack of credibility is most likely because your report is ________.

A) inaccurate
B) incomplete
C) unbalanced
D) illogical

Question 13

The introduction puts the report in context for the reader.It establishes the ________.

A) tone
B) findings
C) details
D) opener

Question 14

Business proposals need to provide more than just attractive ideas-readers look for evidence of ________.

A) facts
B) achievable solutions
C) persuasive messages
D) path-breaking ideas

Question 15

The one last place in a report to make your message strong,clear,and compelling is the ________.

A) opening
B) body
C) close
D) opening and body

Question 16

The appendix of the report usually includes ________.

A) discussion and analyses of potential courses of action
B) facts, statistical evidence, and trends
C) procedures or steps in a process
D) additional information or less important details

Question 17

The "road map" of a report,which helps readers understand what is coming in the report and why the information is included,refers to its ________.

A) purpose
B) scope
C) body
D) organization

Question 18

Informal elements such as ________ tend to translate poorly from one culture to another.

A) monotonous writing
B) impersonal journalism
C) humour
D) attire

Question 19

Which section of a report brings all the action items together in one place?

A) Introduction
B) Opening
C) Body
D) Close

Question 20

When a writer is ascertaining the factors and historical conditions that led up to the report,he is determining the ________.

A) authorization
B) purpose
C) scope
D) background

Question 21

________ come after a body of material and summarize the information for your readers,helping them absorb details.

A) Review sections
B) Footnotes
C) Preview sections
D) Callouts

Question 22

When writing proposals be sure to write in a confident,positive,and ________ tone.

A) dramatic
B) formal
C) informal
D) professional

Question 23

Review of arguments,reader benefits,and the merits of your approach are generally included in the ________ of the proposal.

A) introduction
B) body and close
C) body
D) close

Question 24

Readers will prejudge the quality of your products,services,or capabilities by the ________ the proposal you submit.

A) presentation of
B) attention to detail in
C) scope of
D) quality of

Question 25

In a report,discussing factors beyond your control that affect report quality is called ________.

A) an excuse for poor research
B) stating the problem/purpose
C) stating the scope
D) stating limitations

Question 26

The introduction of a proposal describes the problem you intend to solve or the opportunity you want to pursue,along with your suggested solution.However,proposal introductions can vary depending on whether the proposal is internal or external,direct or indirect,and,most obviously,when it is solicited or unsolicited.Which of the following proposal introductions would strengthen the argument that a solicited proposal should be direct in order to garner interest?

A) If you are an entrepreneur based out of your garage, or a work-from-home mother, a good home office will give you the necessary edge to stay focused at your tasks. So, we at JWS Remodeling Solutions would be happy to convert your existing living room into a home office according to your specifications, in the shortest possible time.
B) JWS Remodeling Solutions would be happy to convert your existing living room area into a home office according to the specifications mentioned in your request. As part of our early bird offer, you will receive a 10 percent discount on the quoted price. We can begin work on November 23 and we'll complete the project by December 15th. That is a week faster than requested.
C) JWS Remodeling Solutions has been in the business of helping entrepreneurs create better work places for the past two years. We would be happy to convert your existing living room area into a home office, in the shortest possible time, thanks to the revolutionary technology of interlocking rivets. As a bonus, it also helps save space!
D) JWS Remodeling Solutions would be happy to convert your existing living room area into a home office. Our construction approach is unique. We provide a full staff of licensed tradespeople and schedule our projects in a manner that seamlessly links the different stages of the project.

Question 27

In ________ proposals each of the topics covered in the introduction may warrant separate subheadings and several paragraphs of discussion.

A) the introduction of
B) long, formal
C) short, formal
D) short, informal

Question 28

A work plan,which describes how you'll accomplish what must be done,states when work will begin,how it will be divided into stages,when you'll finish,and whether follow-up will be needed.This is usually included in the ________.

A) introduction of proposals
B) body of reports
C) body of proposals
D) close of reports

Question 29

Look for ways to utilize technology to ________.

A) enrich
B) create reader-friendly text
C) organize storage of boilerplate text
D) systematize

Question 30

Readers should be able to follow the structure of your document and pick up the key points of your message from the ________.

A) previews
B) subheadings
C) reviews
D) headings and subheadings

Question 31

________ introduce(s)important topics by helping readers get ready for new information.

A) The preface
B) The introduction
C) Transitions
D) Preview sections

Question 32

In the body of her proposal,Ruth is describing her organization's experience,personnel,and facilities,and relating them to readers' needs.She is also including a list of client references.This statement is known as the ________.

A) facts and evidence to support her conclusions
B) work plan
C) statement of qualifications
D) benchmarks

Question 33

Keira is aware that headings or hyperlinks often use ________ to help readers find items of interest.

A) supplements
B) key words
C) live connections
D) other documents

Question 34

In his proposal,when Richard is indicating exactly how he will accomplish the solution,he is presenting the ________.

A) organizational plan
B) statement of work
C) statement of qualifications
D) request for proposal

Question 35

In unsolicited proposals,convincing readers that a problem or an opportunity exists can be considered the ________.

A) scope
B) background or statement of the problem
C) solution
D) report organization

Question 36

In an unsolicited proposal,if you mention the "delimitations," then you are giving the ________ or the boundaries of the proposal.

A) scope
B) outline
C) solution
D) organization

Question 37

A good introduction will ________.

A) grab the reader's attention
B) transfer the RFP into an SOW
C) make sure further proposals are pre-authorized
D) be a formal obligation to your firm

Question 38

While closing a proposal,summarize key selling points and ________.

A) provide necessary additional information
B) restrict additional information to the appendix
C) benefits and restate your recommendations or conclusions
D) restate the purpose of the proposal

Question 39

Simon has to create a long formal proposal.However,he is aware that today's readers are pressed for time and need help finding what they are looking for.To help the readers' navigation needs,Simon should ________.

A) limit previews and reviews
B) create shorter paragraphs
C) make good use of heading and links
D) put additional information in the appendix

Question 40

Sandy is providing solutions in the introduction of her proposal.She has chosen to use the indirect approach.Sandy should ________.

A) briefly describe the change she proposes and highlight her key selling points
B) highlight her key selling points and their benefits to her audience
C) explain that she will be describing an effective solution to the reader's challenges
D) not provide solutions in the introduction

Question 41

Using pictures is also an effective way to communicate with ________ audiences.

A) literate
B) multilingual
C) verbally-challenged
D) demanding

Question 42

Generally speaking,in a given amount of time,well-designed images can convey much more information than ________.

A) textual messages
B) simple images
C) audio messages
D) audio-visual messages

Question 43

To help ensure that your content fits the same style as the rest of the wiki,use ________.

A) the sandbox
B) the safebox
C) page templates and other formatting options
D) common editor functions

Question 44

Amy is aware of the benefits of wikis and finds them compelling,but she is concerned that ________.

A) they do not provide the opportunity to post new or revised material without prior approval
B) the workflow is tightly controlled
C) they are not multimedia compliant
D) they require a unique approach to writing

Question 45

Video clips,animation,presentation software slides,screencasts (recordings of on-screen activity),and other media elements can enhance the communication and persuasion powers of the written word.Documents that incorporate these elements are generally referred to as ________.

A) audio media documents
B) visual media documents
C) dynamic documents
D) multimedia documents

Question 46

The ________ principle of graphic design can be either formal,in which the elements in the images are arranged symmetrically around a central point or axis,or informal,in which elements are not distributed evenly.

A) contrast
B) balance
C) emphasis
D) convention

Question 47

Using Adobe Acrobat or similar products,you can quickly convert reports and proposals to ________.

A) publisher document format
B) proposal document format
C) printable document format
D) portable document format

Question 48

Liam is appreciated for his visual literacy by his manager.Given the importance of visuals in today's business environment,it has become a key business skill.Liam is appreciated because of his ability to ________.

A) manipulate visual media
B) take pictures
C) create effective images
D) to create effective images and to correctly interpret visual messages

Question 49

Compared to offline content,the composition of online content requires unique considerations.Which of these statements strengthens this argument?

A) Mia should make sure that all her content on the company website is accurate and bias-free because today's readers are very critical of the information they receive.
B) The article on inflation was useful and well written. The important concepts in the main article were hyperlinked, so that they can be explained in detail in the subsequent links.
C) Earlier most towns had just one newspaper, but today the number of newspapers has definitely grown.
D) To create effective headings, one should use meaningful keywords and avoid the temptation to resort to clever wordplay.

Question 50

Adapting online content for a global audience is the ideal,but it is expensive.Some companies deal with this issue by ________.

A) localizing the homepage of a website but keeping the more detailed content in its original language
B) avoiding reader-oriented content
C) localizing the entire website and charging for access
D) providing more detail than may be needed

Question 51

Using ________ is a great way for teams and other groups to collaborate on writing projects,from brief articles to long reports and reference works.This method of collaboration does not require much technical expertise and provides the opportunity to post new or revised material without prior approval.

A) wikis
B) electronic documents
C) embedded files
D) multimedia

Question 52

Meredith is creating a series of related reports.To help her she has decided to use ________.

A) electronic forms
B) report-writing software
C) themes
D) templates

Question 53

Too many website owners fall into the trap of focusing on ________.

A) the reader
B) the multimedia
C) themselves
D) the inverted pyramid style

Question 54

Most online readers won't dig for buried information.If they can't find the right information quickly,they will move on to another page or site.To avoid this,online content developers should ________.

A) prevent readers from skimming to maintain an effective website
B) cover the most important information briefly at first and then gradually reveal successive layers of detail
C) avoid lists and summaries
D) present information in a concise, skimmable format

Question 55

Erin has been asked to maintain a website.Therefore,she needs to ________.

A) use the inverted pyramid style
B) maintain outdated information on the website in chronological order
C) keep adding fresh content and deleting content that is out of date or no longer relevant to the organization's target audience
D) write effective headings and links that serve for both site navigation and content skimming

Question 56

Bart is relatively new to wikis and needs to practise his writing and editing skills.He should ________.

A) write and edit content on a notepad, before loading it to the wiki
B) use the sandbox
C) use the talk page
D) use the safebox

Question 57

Proposal-writing software can automatically personalize proposals,ensure proper structure,and ________.

A) create online connections to update information automatically
B) organize storage of all your boilerplate text
C) scan RFPs to identify questions and requirements but cannot fill in potential answers from a centralized knowledge base
D) replace the need for human input

Question 58

Sara has some concerns about the report loaded by Keith.She doesn't agree with the published content and plans to revise it.Sara ________.

A) can go ahead and edit the content
B) should have a verbal discussion with her teammates and then edit the content
C) is not authorized to edit the content without Keith's approval
D) can use the wiki's discussion facility to share her concerns with other contributors

Question 59

If a team uses wikis to collaborate on a report,the editing and upgrading of information should be done by ________.

A) anyone in the organization
B) the collaborating members
C) only the manager of the team
D) professional website developers

Question 60

If you are creating a new wiki,think through your long-term purpose carefully because ________.

A) wikis cannot be created for a one-time project, like creating reports
B) modification of wikis is unrestricted, anybody can make changes
C) you need to set what rules and guidelines you will establish to guide the growth of the wiki
D) wikis don't need any security measures, since it is accessible by anyone

Question 61

A longer report usually contains a fully developed "mini" version of the report for readers who lack the time to read the entire document.This is called a(n)________.

A) complete abstract
B) brief synopsis
C) executive summary
D) report outline

Question 62

Timothy needs to present some complex concepts to company executives that involve processes and transformations in action.He tried doing this using charts and textual data,but his manager feels another medium would be more effective for his needs.Timothy should use ________.

A) line charts to show the stages of the process
B) a flowchart to explain the process
C) animation or videos to show the processes and transformations in action
D) photographs to give a realistic picture of the elements of the process

Question 63

Elements of authorization,such as when,how,and by whom the report was authorized,who wrote it,and when it was submitted generally can be part of the body of the report.

Question 64

The "you" attitude is especially important with long or complex reports because they demand a lot from readers.

Question 65

Robert has created a visually charged report and uploaded it on the company website.His manager has commended his efforts and asked him to include certain details that would help readers "decode" the visual by explaining what various colors,symbols,or other design choices mean.So Robert needs to include ________.

A) an instruction manual
B) a legend
C) a title
D) a caption

Question 66

At the end of a report,what document lists names,places,and subjects mentioned in the report,along with the pages on which they occur?

A) Table of contents
B) Index
C) Bibliography
D) Appendix

Question 67

All business reports require a formal tone due to the nature and purpose of the document.

Question 68

Carl has been asked to create an informal balance in the visual aspects of his organization's website.The aim is to make the website look dynamic and engaging.Therefore,Carl should ________.

A) depict items in contrasting colours, such as red and blue or black and white
B) emphasize similarities and make colour differences more subtle
C) make sure he follows visual unparallelism
D) not distribute elements evenly, but still see that there is a balance maintained overall

Question 69

Pamela is asked to use a data visualization tool and show the relative frequency of the 50 most-used terms in survey responses.This information is to be posted on the company website.For this Pamela should use ________.

A) linkage maps
B) clustering
C) calendar motifs
D) tag clouds

Question 70

GANTT charts are often used in project management.What kind of visual are they?

A) Bar charts
B) Pie charts
C) Tables
D) Line charts

Question 71

Most printed formal reports consist of these parts: ________.

A) prefatory, body, and supplementary
B) cover, text, and supplementary
C) cover, body, and supplementary
D) prefatory, text, and supplementary

Question 72

Moreno has created an extensive report about travel expense trends at the optical firm Eurovison.She has included the list of secondary sources that she has consulted in the supplementary part of the report.This part of the supplement is known as the ________.

A) appendix
B) source list
C) index
D) bibliography

Question 73

Nathan has been asked to create a few tables for the forthcoming team performance report that will be distributed online on the company's intranet.He knows tables are ideal when the audience needs information that would be either difficult or tedious to handle in the main text of a report.While creating tables for the online environment,he should make sure that ________.

A) it is simpler than if it were prepared for a traditional print report
B) all the extensive data is included in the relevant tables
C) the source for the data is mentioned in the appendix
D) he uses only line charts to maintain consistency

Question 74

Mark has been asked to reduce chartjunk on the company website so that it looks more organized and less cluttered.Mark should ________.

A) adapt a formal visual balance and arrange items symmetrically
B) adapt an informal visual balance and arrange items unevenly
C) remove the decorative elements that are irrelevant
D) only use 3-dimensional bar charts to maintain consistency

Question 75

If you include a synopsis or an executive summary in your report,________.

A) exclude the introduction to avoid redundancy
B) keep the introduction long
C) keep your introduction brief to avoid redundancy
D) the introduction is optional

Question 76

Some formal reports open with a plain sheet of paper that has only the title of the report on it.What is this called?

A) Cover
B) Letter of transmittal
C) Title page
D) Title fly

Question 77

To allow you to control how your document is displayed on your audience's computer,deliver the document in ________.

A) printable document format
B) PDF format
C) word processor format
D) any visual media format

Question 78

Veronica has to respond to an RFP with a proposal.In her proposal,she needs to ________.

A) follow the instructions in the RFP
B) always include the RFP in her proposal
C) just identify the RFP by name
D) only mention the tracking number

Question 79

In business reports,you should minimize your use of similes,metaphors,and particularly colourful adjectives or adverbs.

Question 80

If a report calls for follow-up action of any kind,clearly identify who is going to do what,or what should happen next.