Deck 6: Improving Readability With Style and Design

Question 1

One primary cause of overly long paragraphs is placing more than one main idea or topic in a paragraph.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Reviewing business messages minimizes the possibility of embarrassing and damaging mistakes.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

People can generally process information more quickly when writers use passive verbs.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Sentences that begin with "it is" or "there are" generally contain more words than necessary.

Question 5

When readers see long paragraphs, they often stop reading and start trying to pick out significant words and phrases from the text.

Question 6

Neither accuracy nor specificity influences your readers' perceptions of your credibility.

Question 7

Providing too much information can distract readers and weigh a business document down.

Question 8

Using a lot of prepositional phrases helps make business messages more specific.

Question 9

Long paragraphs in a business message are a sign that the text is well organized.

Question 10

The use of consistent grammatical patterns for items in lists and series makes text sound singsong and repetitive.

Question 11

If you are specific in your message, then your readers are more likely to respond to your message as you intend.

Question 12

Do not ask others for feedback when you are reviewing your business messages because too many opinions can muddle your message.

Question 13

Prepositional phrases should be used extensively in business messages as they increase clarity.

Question 14

When you write concisely by removing relevant information, your message is far easier to read.

Question 15

The use of buzzwords in business messages usually stirs positive feelings among readers.

Question 16

Documents with a lot of text and not much white space look daunting or cluttered.

Question 17

By eliminating redundancies, you can reduce the overall word count in a business message.

Question 18

Writers should typically use the active voice when they want to avoid blaming others or sounding bossy.

Question 19

The closer you match your writing style to the way your readers think and talk, the easier it is for them to process the information you present.

Question 20

One advantage of using simple, short words is that they help readers process information more quickly.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is the most specific way for a company to convey that it needs to reduce its current workforce by half?

A) The company will have to lay off a few employees.
B) The company will have to terminate a small percentage of its employees.
C) The company will have to terminate the majority of its employees.
D) The company will have to lay off about half of its employees.
E) The company will have to terminate 50 percent of its employees.

Question 22

Hugo includes the following sentence in his memo: "The increase in profits is greater than any I have seen during my career." What is the flaw in this sentence?

A) It uses obscure words.
B) It contains redundancy.
C) It uses passive voice.
D) It is not specific.
E) It uses a figure of speech.

Question 23

In the context of writing a business message, the goal of completeness specifically means that

A) your message avoids all miscalculation, misinformation, and typographical errors.
B) your message provides all the information necessary to meet the intended purpose.
C) your language is efficient, saying as much as you can in as few words as possible.
D) your layout has a lot of long paragraphs and few white spaces.
E) your word count is as low as possible without redundancies or empty phrases.

Question 24

Which of the following is most likely to negatively influence readers' perceptions of your credibility?

A) long paragraphs
B) inaccurate statements
C) generous white space
D) passive voice
E) parallel language

Question 25

In order to ensure the completeness of a business message, one should

A) be specific.
B) avoid empty phrases.
C) avoid redundancies.
D) control paragraph length.
E) use action verbs.

Question 26

Which of the following guidelines should be followed to ensure that you are creating a complete business message?

A) Use longer, more unusual words to "sound smart" and increase the credibility of your message.
B) Avoid parallel language as it can distract the readers from the main message you want to deliver.
C) Include all the information you need by eliminating as much white space as possible.
D) Plan, write, and review your message strategically to provide all relevant information, but nothing irrelevant.
E) Use the active voice to avoid blaming others or sounding too bossy.

Question 27

Neta believes it is a good idea to write business messages using generalities that will appeal to a broad readership. How is this practice likely to affect Neta's readers?

A) They may doubt her competence.
B) They will read the message carefully.
C) They will find the information they need.
D) They will be assured that she is not hiding facts.
E) They will focus on the primary message.

Question 28

One way to solve the problem of overly lengthy paragraphs is to

A) include more figures of speech.
B) focus on one idea or topic in each paragraph.
C) use passive voice instead of active.
D) start more sentences with "There is."
E) replace verbs with prepositional phrases.

Question 29

Typically, the maximum length for a paragraph in a business message is

A) 75 words.
B) 100 words.
C) 150 words.
D) 200 words.
E) 300 words.

Question 30

When business messages contain long paragraphs, readers are most likely to think the writer is

A) disorganized.
B) intelligent.
C) accurate.
D) respectful.
E) professional.

Question 31

Julio has a long paragraph that describes the two main causes of employee absenteeism and gives a suggestion to address each cause. Ideally, how many paragraphs does Julio need to cover this material?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Question 32

In the context of business messages, conciseness implies

A) removing relevant information.
B) omitting needless words.
C) omitting parallel structure.
D) removing white space.
E) removing paragraph breaks.

Question 33

Which of the following is a basic requirement for creating a complete business message?

A) being accurate
B) being concise
C) avoiding redundancy
D) avoiding buzzwords
E) using parallel language

Question 34

Julian's boss has returned a memo with the note that Julian needs to improve its accuracy. Which of the following should he try to eliminate?

A) prepositional phrases
B) parallel language
C) miscalculations
D) passive voice
E) redundancies

Question 35

Which of the following is most likely to positively influence your readers' perceptions of your credibility?

A) being wordy
B) being specific
C) using buzzwords
D) starting sentences with "There are"
E) using prepositional phrases

Question 36

The management at Lavender garment manufacturing company conducted a survey with the intention of standardizing their employees' productivity to increase company profits. Based on their findings, they set their standards and circulated the following instructions, "Every employee should manufacture as many shirts as possible." However, this failed to clearly deliver the intended message of standardization. Which of the following would correct the problem?

A) Every employee should maximize the workflow of his or her station.
B) As many shirts as possible should be made by each employee.
C) All workers and employees should manufacture as many shirts or garments as possible.
D) Every employee should manufacture a minimum of three shirts an hour.
E) Needless to say, every employee should manufacture as many shirts as possible every day.

Question 37

In the context of creating a complete business message, which of the following is true?

A) Providing too much information can distract the readers and weigh a business document down.
B) Using action verbs focuses on the goal of coordinating action in the workplace and livens up your writing.
C) Using longer, more unusual words to "sound smart" can increase the credibility of your message.
D) Using the passive voice allows for faster processing by the readers, because most people naturally think in that structure.
E) Relying on parallel language can distract the readers from the main message you want to deliver.

Question 38

Akram recently learned that his manager believes he was trying to hide the truth about his department's expenses in his last report. How can Akram revise his report to avoid giving that impression?

A) Shorten his paragraphs.
B) Avoid using buzzwords.
C) Use specific numbers and facts.
D) Avoid using unfamiliar words.
E) Decrease his use of white space.

Question 39

Which of the following is most likely to help you write concisely?

A) using longer sentences
B) avoiding redundancy
C) using more prepositional phrases
D) avoiding the active voice
E) using buzzwords

Question 40

Typically, accurate information is

A) concise.
B) exact.
C) wordy.
D) redundant.
E) general.

Question 41

Consider the following sentence: "CEO Mike Maloney regrets to announce that PharmCo will be downsizing at the end of September." Which of the following actions would improve the ease of reading?

A) Cut the prepositional phrase "at the end of September."
B) Change "at the end of September" to "at the end of the third quarter."
C) Change "PharmCo" to "PharmCo Drug and Pharmaceutical Company."
D) Change the buzzword "downsizing" to "laying off employees."
E) Change "CEO Mike Maloney" to "The CEO of PharmCo."

Question 42

To create a more natural writing style and improve the ease of reading, a writer should use

A) passive verbs.
B) parallel language.
C) the passive voice.
D) figures of speech.
E) buzzwords.

Question 43

It becomes easier for your readers to process the information you present when you

A) match your writing style to the way your readers think and talk.
B) use prepositional phrases extensively as they increase the clarity of the message.
C) choose long and obscure words to pique their curiosity.
D) avoid using parallel language, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the information provided.
E) include a lot of text in your message and very little white space.

Question 44

Consider the following statement: "Employee managers can use our motivational tools to motivate their employees to increase productivity." The best way to make this statement concise is by

A) changing the passive voice.
B) removing empty phrases.
C) replacing a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) starting with "It is" or "There are."
E) removing any redundant words.

Question 45

What impact does beginning sentences with "it is" or "there are" have on a business message?

A) The message is less precise because it is wordy and lacks a specific subject.
B) The message is less precise because it contains figurative, not literal meanings.
C) The message is more concise because those are brief phrases.
D) The message is more active because the second word is a verb.
E) The message is less natural sounding because it is not parallel.

Question 46

The use of familiar words in business messages is most likely to

A) distract attention from the message.
B) decrease the credibility of the message.
C) cause the readers' attention to wander because of boredom.
D) decrease the specificity of the message.
E) help the readers to process the information easily.

Question 47

Which statement about buzzwords is true?

A) They make text more active.
B) They are trite due to overuse.
C) They have very technical meanings.
D) They shorten the length of the message.
E) They improve a message's accuracy.

Question 48

Which of the following is most likely to improve the ease of navigation in information-rich and complex messages?

A) using headings to convey the contents of sections
B) avoiding the use of numbered or bulleted lists
C) using several different font styles in the document
D) using a new style of formatting for each section
E) avoiding the use of too much white space

Question 49

Consider the statement: "As most of you know, Mega Manufacturing had its most profitable year ever last year." One way to make this statement more concise is by

A) changing the passive voice.
B) removing empty phrases.
C) replacing a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) starting with "It is" or "There are."
E) removing any redundant words.

Question 50

Glen is writing a memo to suggest that his company hire someone to act on its behalf in a foreign market. If he wants to improve the ease of reading of his message, which term should he use to describe that person?

A) fiduciary
B) executor
C) agent
D) procurator
E) envoy

Question 51

Consider the statement: "In order to build a sustainable organization, it is important to hire employees with sustainable qualities." One way to make this statement more concise is by

A) changing the passive voice.
B) removing empty phrases.
C) replacing a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) starting with "It is" or "There are."
E) removing any redundant words.

Question 52

As a rule of thumb, for routine messages, the sentence length should be no more than

A) 8 words.
B) 15 words.
C) 20 words.
D) 25 words.
E) 30 words.

Question 53

Which statement about active voice and passive voice is true?

A) The active voice diverts attention from the doer.
B) People tend to think in a doer-action-object pattern.
C) The active voice is best when you do not want to attribute blame.
D) People tend to sound bossy when using the passive voice.
E) The passive voice places the object first.

Question 54

People reading a business message are most likely to be confused by a sentence that

A) uses action verbs rather than passive verbs.
B) uses active voice rather than passive voice.
C) has parallel structure.
D) contains redundancies to drive home the point.
E) does not mention the subject.

Question 55

To improve ease of reading when using headings in business documents

A) avoid using headings in complex messages.
B) use different font styles and formatting for different headings.
C) make sure the headings accurately convey the contents of a section.
D) use wordy prepositional phrases as headings.
E) avoid using headings in information-rich messages.

Question 56

For most written business communications, the first consideration should be to

A) present the message in a visually appealing manner.
B) get the message across in an easy-to-read manner.
C) select the facts in a persuasive manner.
D) construct the message in passive voice.
E) demonstrate how much of an expert you are.

Question 57

Which statement about ease of navigation is true?

A) You should avoid using headings in information-rich and complex messages.
B) Visual appeal should be the first consideration for all written business communications.
C) Documents with too much text and not enough white space look daunting or cluttered.
D) Readers are likely to be distracted by bullets and numberings in a document.
E) In general, you should use special formatting as much as you can so your ideas stand out.

Question 58

People are most likely to process information quickly when writers use

A) prepositional phrases.
B) action verbs.
C) the passive voice.
D) complex words.
E) long sentences.

Question 59

Which of the following statements accurately describes the use of figures of speech, such as idioms and metaphors, in business writing?

A) They should be avoided because they lack specificity.
B) They send the signal that the writer is out of touch with the audience.
C) They are an effective way to write more concisely.
D) They should be avoided because they are too I-centered.
E) They are an effective way to make a message more natural.

Question 60

Using the active voice while writing business messages

A) diverts the attention from the subject.
B) makes the writer sound less bossy.
C) allows for faster processing of the business message.
D) makes the message difficult to navigate.
E) is useful when the writer wants to avoid assigning blame.

Question 61

Discuss two ways by which you can reduce the overall word count in business messages. Give specific examples of each.

Question 62

What techniques can a business writer use to make series and lists easier for readers to comprehend?

Question 63

Which of the following choices is a component of the reviewing process?

A) audience analysis
B) identifying the primary message
C) determining the key points
D) determining the message structure
E) conducting the FAIR test

Question 64

Which of the following questions are you most likely to ask while analyzing the factual accuracy of a business message in the course of conducting the FAIR test?

A) Are there any logical errors?
B) Have you granted enough access to the message recipients to provide input?
C) Have you thought about how the message will impact various stakeholders?
D) Have you evaluated impacts on others from an ethical perspective?
E) Have you shown that you value others?

Question 65

Discuss how to proofread a business document.

Question 66

Kwame has written a memo expressing his concern that the company has opened itself up to a discrimination suit because it sponsors a men's softball team but not a women's sports team. Which of the following people should Kwame ask to give feedback about the wording of his memo before he sends it to the executive committee?

A) a colleague in the Finance Department
B) a colleague in the Legal Department
C) a colleague in the Purchasing Department
D) a colleague in the Shipping Department
E) a colleague in the Public Relations Department

Question 67

List the various components of the reviewing stage that are involved in the process of developing a business document.

Question 68

Which task are you most likely to do during the first pass of proofreading?

A) Check for grammatical errors.
B) Look for typographical mistakes.
C) Imagine how the audience will respond.
D) Check for problems with the writing style.
E) Look for issues with language mechanics.

Question 69

Which task are you most likely to do during the final pass of proofreading?

A) Check for grammatical errors.
B) Look for typographical mistakes.
C) Imagine how the audience will respond.
D) Ask yourself if you are confident in your facts.
E) See if you have made logical errors.

Question 70

Describe the significance of using white space in a business document.

Question 71

Why is it necessary to ensure that business messages are accurate?

Question 72

What is the impact of using the active voice in business messages?

Question 73

What technique will help ensure that readers can easily identify key ideas in information-rich and complex business documents? Explain the key aspects of using this technique.

Question 74

Ashley has written a report proposing that her company subsidize employees who take public transportation. One of her main supporting points is that the program would help the company's reputation because it is a green initiative. Which of the following people should Ashley ask for feedback about that part of the proposal?

A) an executive in the Finance Department
B) an executive in the Legal Department
C) an executive in the Human Resources Department
D) an executive in the Research and Development Department
E) an executive in the Public Relations Department

Question 75

Salim has written a proposal advocating that his company should implement a schedule in which employees work four 10-hour days, with half of the employees having Monday off and the other half having Friday off. He claims that productivity will increase because fewer people will take days off to go to medical appointments, which they can schedule on their off day. Which of the following people has the correct expertise to give Salim helpful feedback about his proposal?

A) a colleague in the Purchasing Department
B) a colleague in the Shipping Department
C) a colleague in the Human Resources Department
D) a colleague in the Research and Development Department
E) a colleague in the Public Relations Department

Question 76

In the context of the reviewing process, the "R" in the FAIR test stands for _____.

A) revision
B) respect
C) relevancy
D) redundancy
E) repetition

Question 77

List three ways by which you can ensure the completeness of business messages.

Question 78

Your colleague Han has just finished drafting an important business proposal. Now he has asked your advice for how to review the document. What should you tell him to do?

A) Do a grammar check and spell check.
B) Do a spell check, do the FAIR test, and proofread.
C) Do the FAIR test and get feedback.
D) Do a spell check, do a grammar check, and get feedback.
E) Do the FAIR test, proofread, and get feedback.

Question 79

Is visual appeal the most important factor for creating a good business document? Explain.

Question 80

Ginger has designed a flyer to invite employees to the annual picnic. She wants to know if it is inviting and clear. Which of the following people has the correct expertise to give Ginger helpful feedback about her flyer?

A) a colleague in the Finance Department
B) a colleague in the Shipping Department
C) a colleague in the Research and Development Department
D) a colleague on the Executive Committee
E) a colleague in the Marketing Department