Q&A Hero

Q: The __________ meaning of a word is its literal, dictionary meaning, whereas the __________ meaning includes all the associations and feelings it evokes.

Q: __________ words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, carry the meaning of the sentence.

Q: __________ words express relationships and have only one unchanging meaning in any given context.

Q: Style is the way you use words to achieve a certain __________, or overall impression.

Q: To communicate credibility to your audience, you ______________ A) impress them with a long list of your accomplishments. B) are modest and deferential. C) show that you are confident and that you believe in yourself and in your message. D) use hedge words ("maybe," "perhaps") to demonstrate your knowledge that no issue is fully cut and dried.

Q: A euphemism is a word or phrase that is ______________ A) possibly offensive. B) general or abstract in meaning. C) highly technical. D) a milder term for one with negative connotations.

Q: The best approach to getting someone to buy a magazine subscription from your charity group would be to say ______________ A) "Please buy a subscription; our group really needs the money." B) "If you buy a subscription from me I'll make my quota." C) "This magazine will keep you informed on issues that affect your daily life." D) "Our group doesn't get any assistance from government agencies, so these magazine sales are our main source of funding."

Q: When you are criticizing or correcting, it is best to ______________ A) focus on what the person can do to improve. B) emphasize a person's mistakes so that he or she will not make the same mistakes again. C) be blunt and call attention to the person's failures or shortcomings. D) make the person an example for everyone else to learn from.

Q: It is best not to use the "you" attitude if ______________ A) you know your audience well. B) your organization prefers a more formal style. C) you are filling your audience's informational needs. D) you are preparing a persuasive message.

Q: Which of the following statements best reflects the "you" attitude? A) "You failed to enclose a cheque for $25." B) "We need a cheque from you for $25 so that we can send the merchandise by May 15." C) "We will send you the merchandise as soon as we receive your cheque for $25." D) "You will have your merchandise by July 15 if you send us your cheque for $25 today."

Q: People are more likely to react positively to your message when ______________________ A) you keep your language formal and businesslike. B) you use "Urgent" in your subject line. C) they have confidence in you. D) you use humour.

Q: Words such as "nevertheless," "however," "but," and "therefore" ______________ A) are called pointer words. B) introduce modifiers. C) occur only in complex sentences. D) are useful for making transitions.

Q: A typical paragraph contains the three basic elements of ______________ A) a topic sentence, related sentences, and transitional elements. B) simple, compound, and complex sentences. C) the main idea, supporting ideas, and evidence. D) a problem, discussion, and a solution.

Q: Short sentences are best for ______________ A) emphasizing important information. B) grouping or combining ideas. C) showing relationships among ideas. D) summarizing or previewing information.

Q: Using the passive voice makes sense when ______________ A) you want to be diplomatic in pointing out a problem or error. B) you want your sentence to be easier to understand. C) you need to make your sentences shorter. D) you want to emphasize the subject.

Q: To downplay a dependent clause in a complex sentence, you ______________ A) place it at the beginning of the sentence. B) place it at the end of the sentence. C) bury it in the middle of the sentence. D) set it off with a semicolon.

Q: A complex sentence is one characterized by ______________ A) two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. B) a single subject and a single predicate plus any modifying phrases. C) two or more independent clauses along with all modifying phrases. D) an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses related to it.

Q: Which of the following is a compound sentence? A) "David is a good worker, and he deserves a raise." B) "Because David is a good worker, he deserves a raise." C) "David, a good worker, deserves a raise." D) "Having been a good worker, David will no doubt receive a raise."

Q: Which of the following words are the most abstract? A) kiss, rose, house B) red, sharp, piercing C) kick, sniff, tickle D) love, beauty, innocence

Q: The connotative meaning of a word is ______________ A) its dictionary meaning. B) its literal meaning. C) all the associations and feelings the word evokes. D) its objective meaning.

Q: Bias-free language __________________ A) avoids using the word bias. B) avoids sexist language. C) avoids referring to Aboriginal people. D) avoids discussing any minority groups.

Q: Which of the following is a content word? A) around B) she C) jump D) the

Q: Which of the following are functional words? A) into, and, the B) bath, baby, rattle C) give, shake, wash D) nice, wet, quickly

Q: Plain English is a style of writing ______________ A) used only for casual correspondence. B) designed to make technical materials more understandable to the audience. C) aimed primarily at readers for whom English is a second language. D) inappropriate for business communication.

Q: Which of the following is not an example of pompous language? A) "as per your letter" B) "please be advised that" C) "please let us know" D) "under separate cover"

Q: You can adopt the "you" attitude ________________________ A) by replacing certain pronouns with better pronouns. B) by replacing terms that refer to yourself and your company with terms that refer to your audience. C) by stating what you want and expecting the audience to go along with it. D) By recognizing one audience member's achievements.

Q: Which of the following sentences contains the strongest and most effective wording? A) "Given the parameters of the situation, the most propitious choice would be to make adjustments in certain budget areas." B) "We need to cut the operating budget by 12 percent or profits will plummet." C) "Someone's going to need to do some budget cutting around here or heads will roll." D) "Perusal of budgetary figures reveals that a 12 percent reduction in operations is called for if we are to stave off a negative impact on profits."

Q: If you use too many simple sentences, you won"t be able to express the relationships among your ideas properly, and your writing will sound choppy and abrupt. A) True B) False

Q: A software feature called auto completion completes the remainder of your message. A) True B) False

Q: In general, you need to use more tact and diplomacy in oral communication than in written communication. A) True B) False

Q: Being too modest can reduce your credibility with your audience. A) True B) False

Q: Your audience's belief in your competence and integrity is not important; it's the content of your message that counts. A) True B) False

Q: Avoid using euphemisms because they are inherently dishonest. A) True B) False

Q: When someone makes a mistake, you should avoid dwelling on his or her failure and instead focus on how the person can improve. A) True B) False

Q: The "you" attitude should be avoided when you are assigning blame for a problem. A) True B) False

Q: When developing paragraphs, stick to one method within each paragraph and throughout a document. A) True B) False

Q: Coherence within and between paragraphs is achieved through the use of transitional words and phrases. A) True B) False

Q: In business writing, the topic sentence of each paragraph is usually implied rather than explicit. A) True B) False

Q: Using the passive voice de-emphasizes the subject. A) True B) False

Q: Good business messages contain few compound or complex sentences. A) True B) False

Q: A compound sentence is one that contains one main thought (independent clause) and one or more subordinate thoughts (dependent clauses). A) True B) False

Q: Abstract words should be completely avoided in business writing. A) True B) False

Q: Abstract words are direct, vivid, clear, and exact. A) True B) False

Q: In business communication you must be careful to use words that are low in connotative meaning. A) True B) False

Q: Connotative meanings are the literal or dictionary meanings of words. A) True B) False

Q: Conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and pronouns are all content words. A) True B) False

Q: Choosing the most effective words for a message is usually more difficult than merely choosing correct words. A) True B) False

Q: Plain English is a style of writing used primarily for communicating to those for whom English is a second language. A) True B) False

Q: Bragging about your company's accomplishments can be offensive to readers. A) True B) False

Q: Enlivening business messages with humor will always please your readers, especially if they don't know you very well. A) True B) False

Q: Good business letters use language that is as formal as possible and use proven terminology such as "please be advised that" and "we are in receipt of." A) True B) False

Q: When preparing your first draft, you are not concerned about style or tone. A) True B) False

Q: Your company's interests and reputation take precedence over your personal communication style. How does this affect the way you communicate with your audience? What must you consider?

Q: Briefly describe at least four word processing capabilities that can help business writers shape their writing.

Q: What are five ways to develop a paragraph?

Q: Explain what it means to choose "words that communicate," then list four techniques for selecting the best words when writing business messages.

Q: List three situations in which the passive voice can help you demonstrate the "you" attitude.

Q: Describe five things you can do to overcome writer's block.

Q: Discuss three ways to establish your credibility with your audience.

Q: List four things you should avoid if you want to achieve a conversational tone in business messages.

Q: Briefly explain the difference between tone and style in business writing.

Q: List at least three characteristics that can help establish credibility with your audience.

Q: List at least two types of biased language and explain how to avoid each type.

Q: Define bias-free language.

Q: You are scheduled to discuss a negative performance evaluation with one of your employees. How can you use the "you" attitude during your conversation?

Q: List three strategies for improving your audience sensitivity.

Q: Coherence is achieved through the use of ___________ that show the relationship between paragraphs and among sentences within paragraphs.

Q: When you communicate with people outside your organization, you need to be sure to project the right __________ for your company.

Q: __________ lets you personalize form letters by inserting names and addresses from a database.

Q: To avoid embarrassing blunders in language related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability, use __________ language.

Q: If your audience is unfamiliar with you, you need to devote the initial part of your message to establishing ___________.

Q: Instead of using harsh, unpleasant terms, use mild words, or __________.

Q: __________ language avoids words or phrases that unfairly and even unethically categorize or stigmatize people in ways related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.

Q: Most paragraphs consist of a(n) ___________ sentence, support sentences, and transitional elements.

Q: A(n) __________ is a cluster of sentences related to the same general topic.

Q: A sentence is __________ when the subject follows the verb and the object precedes it.

Q: A(n) __________ sentence expresses one main thought and one or more subordinate thoughts related to it.

Q: To keep your audience interested, vary the type of detail you include. Describe three types of detail.

Q: Discuss three factors to consider when choosing media.

Q: Briefly describe at least three disadvantages of electronic media.