Deck 4: Planning, Composing, and Revising

Question 1

Prewriting is a mandatory activity followed by all workplace writers to get ready to write the "real" document.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

To change from passive voice to active voice, you must make the agent the new subject.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following is a characteristic of good business writing?

A) uses a formal style
B) uses third-person pronouns
C) uses technical and scholarly terms
D) uses an impersonal approach
E) uses short sentences and paragraphs

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Poor writers are more likely to use writing rules flexibly.

Question 5

Brainstorming, clustering, and freewriting are techniques that help you get ideas before you begin to write.

Question 6

Good business and administrative writing is a more formal style of writing and is very different from conversation.

Question 7

As you revise, it is more important to read a document from start to finish if you have composed it in several sittings.

Question 8

Connotation is a word's literal or dictionary meaning.

Question 9

Spell checkers eliminate the hassle of proofreading a document.

Question 10

Adele, a customer executive at a travel agency, is writing a report titled "Creative Strategies to Increase Client Base." She has already gathered the information she needs and restated the information in her own words using a different format and structure from the original. She has also shared her report with a colleague and has incorporated his suggestions. Now, Adele is ensuring that her report does not have any typographical or formatting errors. Which activity of the composing process is Adele currently doing?

A) writing
B) planning
C) freewriting
D) brainstorming
E) proofreading

Question 11

Which of the following correctly differentiates between editing and revising?

A) Editing involves making major content changes in a document; revision involves no content changes.
B) Editing focuses on changes in the surface of writing; revision focuses on changes in the meaning.
C) Editing measures milestones and objectives of a report; revision assesses the feedback on the report.
D) Editing involves analyzing the needs of an audience; revision involves taking the views of an audience.
E) Editing includes getting feedback from someone else; revision involves correcting spellings and mechanical errors.

Question 12

Esmeralda has been asked by her project manager to prepare a report on the environment conservation campaign that she has been working on. Esmeralda is currently composing titles for the different sections of her report and is making brief notes about the significant achievements in her campaign. In which of the following activities in the composing process is Esmeralda primarily engaged?

A) editing
B) writing
C) brainstorming
D) proofreading
E) revising

Question 13

To make a piece of writing more sophisticated and easier to read, it is best to make sentences stand by themselves instead of combining them.

Question 14

Karen is a writer for a magazine. Whenever she is unable to come up with an idea for an article, she writes without stopping for ten minutes or so, even if the writing is irrelevant to what she needs. She repeats this process at least three times. In this scenario, Karen is relying on the process of clustering to generate ideas.

Question 15

Axel, a graduate student, needs to write a report titled "Economic Change in the European Union." He is currently researching the issue of using a common currency, choosing examples of positive and negative economic changes, and analyzing European Union regulations. In which of the following activities of the composing process is Axel most likely engaged?

A) proofreading
B) writing
C) revising
D) planning
E) editing

Question 16

Which of the following is a useful guideline to follow to manage time efficiently when writing a document?

A) Spend only 10 percent of your time revising the draft.
B) Use 50 percent of your time analyzing the audience.
C) Utilize half of your time organizing your writing.
D) Spend one-third of your time writing the document.
E) Use half of your time editing the final draft of the document.

Question 17

Joud, a training coordinator, meets with all the trainers in her organization to generate ideas about how to make their training sessions more interactive. She asks the trainers to begin by sharing all their ideas, without thinking about whether the ideas are relevant. She writes these ideas on a white board. She says that once they have generated as many ideas as they can, she will focus on the most useful ones. In which of the following activities is Joud engaged?

A) editing
B) bypassing
C) freewriting
D) brainstorming
E) proofreading

Question 18

Ming, a communications manager at an environmental organization, recently used a certain technique to develop ideas for a campaign. She jotted down the topic name at the center of a sheet of paper and drew a circle around it. She then wrote down all the ideas that came to mind and circled them too. When this was done, she used colors to highlight and separate groups of related ideas. Which of the following techniques did Ming most likely use to generate her ideas?

A) freewriting
B) automatic writing
C) brainstorming
D) clustering
E) free blogging

Question 19

One of the marketing teams of FitGear Inc., a sporting goods company, has prepared a report on the marketing strategies for its new line of ice hockey equipment. The team is now in the process of checking the report against the originally stated objectives. In addition, the team has shared the report with the other teams to obtain feedback. In which of the following activities is FitGear Inc.'s marketing team primarily engaged?

A) planning
B) proofreading
C) brainstorming
D) writing
E) revising

Question 20

Miyu is writing a report on the strategies she recommends for marketing her company's new line of shoes. In order to generate ideas, Miyu spends ten minutes jotting down all the points she can think of and then stops to underline points that may work. She continues this process two more times, at the end of which she manages to collect five good ideas to market the new line. Miyu is most likely using the technique of

A) clustering.
B) freewriting.
C) bypassing.
D) proofreading.
E) organizing.

Question 21

Which of the following guidelines should you follow while choosing a level of formality for a business document?

A) Use a formal style even if the document is for someone you have interacted with.
B) Use contractions if the document is for someone you are unfamiliar with.
C) Avoid using abbreviations in emails even if they are part of your group's culture.
D) Pay particular attention to your style of writing when conveying bad news.
E) Use personal pronouns and second-person in reports to make them more efficient.

Question 22

Which of the following accurately describes the connotation of a word?

A) two or more meanings of similar sounding words
B) a word's literal or dictionary meaning
C) emotional associations that convey an attitude
D) the repetition of sound in the first syllable of a word
E) the repetition of a consonant two times in short succession

Question 23

Which of the following examples illustrates a sentence without business jargon?

A) Please get back to us with a proposal at your earliest convenience.
B) As per your request, we have modified this proposal.
C) Please do not hesitate to ask questions about the proposal.
D) Please be advised that enclosed within this email is the proposal for the project.
E) Here is the proposal for our department's upcoming project.

Question 24

A good way to condense sentences while reviewing is to

A) eliminate words that add no meaning to the sentences.
B) avoid combining sentences.
C) put the core of your meaning into the subordinate clause.
D) keep the sentence length and sentence structure consistent.
E) keep the subject and verb of the sentences far apart.

Question 25

Which of the following sentences is in passive voice?

A) The director of marketing voted in favor of the marketing campaign.
B) The marketing campaign will run in the month of March.
C) The campaign will target 50,000 customers across New York.
D) The marketing campaign took a total of five months to develop.
E) The old clientele will be targeted by the new media.

Question 26

Which of the following sentences is in active voice?

A) The board of directors will make their decision by the end of the week.
B) The defendant was found not guilty by the jury.
C) The request from the team was approved by the project manager.
D) The second method was recommended by the supervisor.
E) The program was implemented by the training department.

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of a compound sentence?

A) Amir was awarded employee of the month.
B) Sosuke is transferring to the new office.
C) When the summer holidays are over, the house will be empty.
D) Because he has a good credit record with us, we will approve his loan.
E) Frankie was in line for a promotion, but he did not get it.

Question 28

As you write and revise, which of the following will make your writing easier to read at the sentence level?

A) Use a consistent sentence structure and length.
B) Make your writing wordy so that the same idea can be expressed in many ways.
C) Use verbs-not nouns-to carry the weight of your sentence.
D) Ensure that your document uses only passive voice.
E) Use unfamiliar words to draw the attention of readers.

Question 29

Which of the following sentences about global warming uses parallel structure?

A) Global warming can be tackled by enhancing carbon sinks and usage of cleaner technologies.
B) Policies consist of targets for reduced emissions and increasing use of renewable energy.
C) Global warming will lead to rising sea levels and melting of glaciers in the Himalayas.
D) Findings on the issue were gathered by interviewing farmers and the research of various scientists.
E) Causes of global warming can be attributed to the growing population and high levels of consumption.

Question 30

Which of the following correctly differentiates between good business writing style and traditional term paper writing style?

A) Good business writing style avoids contractions; traditional term paper writing style uses contractions.
B) Good business writing style avoids first- and second-person pronouns; traditional term paper writing style primarily uses first-person pronouns.
C) Good business writing style pays little attention to making a document friendly; traditional term paper writing style focuses on making a document friendly.
D) Good business writing style gives importance to the visual impact of a document; traditional term paper writing style pays little attention to visual impact.
E) Good business writing style uses long sentences and paragraphs; traditional term paper writing style uses short sentences and paragraphs.

Question 31

________ refer to words that indicate relationships. The examples for these include words such as "with," "in," and "under."

A) Adjectives
B) Nouns
C) Prepositions
D) Pronouns
E) Interjections

Question 32

Which of the following examples is parallel in structure?

A) To ensure that your document is clean, revise it, edit it, and proofread it.
B) There are no typographical errors or wrong grammar in the essay.
C) Moira is convinced that her professor is trying to intimidate her and ruining her love for the subject.
D) Employees at Flova Inc. receive the benefits of overtime, flextime, and taking personal days.
E) Josie interviews junior actors, senior actors, and without-experience actors.

Question 33

"Pound" means a unit of weight. This meaning represents the ________ of the word.

A) connotation
B) implication
C) syntax
D) phonetics
E) denotation

Question 34

Which of the following illustrates a simple sentence?

A) The new Bradshaw store on Hutchins Road sells recycled products.
B) The new Bradshaw store sells clothes, but it does not sell footwear.
C) The new Bradshaw store sells a range of items although the old store does not.
D) The new Bradshaw is popular even though the customer service is not great.
E) I will visit the Bradshaw store today only if my class ends early.

Question 35

Which of the following is true of passive voice in a sentence?

A) It clearly establishes responsibility.
B) It makes sentences shorter.
C) It makes writing more interesting.
D) It should be used to avoid assigning blame.
E) It can be used only in the present tense.

Question 36

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the style used for traditional term papers?

A) It is highly informal.
B) It is generally impersonal.
C) It pays particular attention to visual impact.
D) It uses short sentences.
E) It is extremely friendly.

Question 37

In which of the following situations should passive voice be used?

A) Peter wants to use the verb "delve" to describe something that a researcher is doing.
B) Mara wants to emphasize that an organization is being acted upon by protestors.
C) Diego will be writing sentences that use many large, technical words.
D) Elvira wants to use the verb "abuse" to stress how a manager has mistreated an employee.
E) Ayaz wants Margaret to be held accountable for losing a client.

Question 38

When writing business documents, it is appropriate to use a long word instead of a short word when the long word

A) is less familiar than the short word.
B) has the same connotation as the short word.
C) is more technical than the short word.
D) has several ambiguous denotations or meanings.
E) is the only word that expresses your meaning exactly.

Question 39

Which of the following accurately describes the Plain Writing Act?

A) It requires all federal agencies to use clear prose that can be easily understood by the public.
B) It governs the writing, publishing, and usage of printing presses in the country.
C) It insists that the language used in legal documents should be written more technically.
D) It requires all federal agencies to ensure that content used in any document must acknowledge its source.
E) It states that all business writing must be directed toward the welfare of the society.

Question 40

A sentence reads, "We must review the feedback that is enclosed within this email and act on the suggestions that the customer has offered us." Which of the following correctly rephrases this sentence to make it less wordy and to reduce the business jargon in contains?

A) We must review the feedback enclosed along with this email and then see whether we can act on the customer's suggestions.
B) We must review the enclosed feedback and act on the customer's suggestions.
C) We must review the feedback that is enclosed and then act on the suggestions offered by the customer.
D) We must review the feedback that has been enclosed and then act on the customer's suggestions.
E) As per the feedback enclosed herein, we must act on the customer's suggestions.

Question 41

________ refers to checking whether a document is free from typographical errors.

A) Revising
B) Brainstorming
C) Freewriting
D) Proofreading
E) Clustering

Question 42

How do writers with good writing skills differ from those with poor writing skills in composing documents?

Question 43

"Never have a sentence with more than 20 words, or a paragraph with more than 8 lines." Explain why this statement is considered a half-truth in business writing.

Question 44

Jenny is revising her term paper before submitting it to her professor for grading. She is currently asking herself whether the message uses you-attitude and positive emphasis. She is also focusing on whether her message builds goodwill. On which of the following aspects of her paper is Jenny primarily focusing?

A) content
B) clarity
C) style
D) organization
E) layout

Question 45

The process of drafting, getting feedback, revising, and getting more feedback is known as

A) framing.
B) cycling.
C) bypassing.
D) typesetting.
E) plagiarizing.

Question 46

Conor has just completed a thesis paper for his business class. While revising it, he realizes that the paper contains several instances of sexist language. Conor immediately replaces all instances of sexist language with nonsexist language. He does this because the use of sexist language diminishes the

A) design of his report.
B) clarity of his report.
C) logic of his report.
D) style and tone of his report.
E) organization and layout of his report.

Question 47

A written paragraph is said to have unity when

A) the topic sentence is placed at the end of the paragraph.
B) the document is error free.
C) the paragraph uses plenty of transitional words.
D) it discusses only one idea or topic.
E) it demonstrates a conversational style.

Question 48

Which of the following questions asked by a writer when revising a document reflects an interest in organization and layout?

A) Is the logic clear and convincing?
B) Is the message easy to read?
C) Does the message build goodwill?
D) Is the message friendly and free from sexist language?
E) Are the first and last paragraphs effective?

Question 49

Which of the following questions asked by a writer during the revision process indicates a focus on the style and tone of the message?

A) Have I said enough about the topic?
B) Is my content easy for the reader to absorb?
C) Does the message use you-attitude and positive emphasis?
D) Have I supported my main points with enough evidence?
E) Is the pattern of organization clear and helpful?

Question 50

Which of the following is true of readability formulas?

A) They attempt to measure objectively how easy something is to read.
B) They take many factors into account and are an efficient guide to good style.
C) They depend on analyzing the organization of concepts.
D) They take into account factors that influence the complexity of ideas.
E) They consider the layout and design of a document while analyzing it.

Question 51

Which of the following guidelines should be followed while editing a document?

A) The editing process should always be followed by the revision process.
B) The editing process should ensure that there is subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement.
C) Acknowledgements should be made when information comes from within the organization.
D) A spell-check should be performed instead of proofreading.
E) The editing process should be done by reading quickly to catch all of the typos.

Question 52

Do you think brainstorming, freewriting, or clustering is the most effective way to overcome writer's block? Support your answer with at least two reasons.

Question 53

Write a scenario that demonstrates the planning stage of the writing process.

Question 54

Which of the following sentences uses a transition word?

A) Seo-yun will drive to Wellington Street tomorrow morning.
B) Seo-yun will go to the mall before picking up Ben from the airport.
C) Seo-yun needs to go to the mall to buy a birthday gift for Ben.
D) Seo-yun needs to prepare casseroles for lunch tomorrow.
E) Seo-yun will go to the mall early to avoid the weekend rush.

Question 55

Which of the following is of particular significance during the editing stage of a document?

A) content and clarity
B) grammatical correctness
C) organization of content
D) style of writing
E) tone of writing

Question 56

The process of ________ refers to making changes in content, organization, and tone that will better satisfy the writer's purposes and the audience.

A) editing
B) proofreading
C) revising
D) brainstorming
E) planning

Question 57

When you edit a document, you typically need to check for

A) sentence structure.
B) clarity.
C) layout.
D) style and tone.
E) content accuracy.

Question 58

The planning, writing, revising, and editing stages of the writing process can be intermixed rather than take place in a prescribed order. Write an example that shows these stages being intermixed.

Question 59

Which of the following is an advantage of using boilerplate while writing business documents?

A) It helps writers focus on subtle differences in situations and audiences.
B) It helps to create documents with unique styles and tones.
C) It helps writers to save time and energy.
D) It helps writers use new and fresh language that does not need to be legally approved.
E) It helps writers to be creative and create customized documents.

Question 60

Which of the following accurately defines boilerplate?

A) It refers to sentences and words from old documents that you use in a new document without crediting the original writer as you should.
B) It refers to the creation of original content by a writer and the protection of this content through a copyright statement.
C) It refers to language from a previous document that a writer legitimately includes in a new document.
D) It refers to using someone else's work and passing it off as your own.
E) It refers to the test that writing must pass to ensure that it has not been plagiarized.

Question 61

What are the different connotations for the following word pairs: frugal and cheap; skinny and slender; and youthful and childish?

Question 62

Describe the two main kinds of jargon, and explain whether they should be used in business writing.

Question 63

Define active voice and passive voice and explain how they differ.

Question 64

Write a short paragraph in which you start a sentence with "and" or "but" in an effective way.

Question 65

What should you look for when you are revising a document you have written?

Question 66

Rewrite the following paragraph in a way that varies sentence length and sentence structure. "John came to work. He worked for two hours. He studied the data report. He took lunch with his manager. He talked about the report. He listened to his boss's comments. He returned to work. He wrote an analysis of the data report. He used his boss's comments for the analysis."