Q&A Hero

Q: "Viral marketing" is A) the unethical practice of marketing products through computer viruses. B) advertising products and services related to the health-care industry. C) the spread of enthusiasm for a product in much the same way that biological viruses are spread from person to person. D) none of the above.

Q: If a customer uses the comment feature to criticize your business blog, A) you should respond promptly and honestly. B) ignore it unless the critic is incorrect. C) post it, and follow with a blog entry to show your audience that it will not be tolerated. D) do none of the above.

Q: If you do not have a constant supply of new information to post on a business blog, A) your audience will appreciate not having to process information that changes constantly. B) repost old material so your audience will not lose interest. C) you should create a traditional website instead. D) keep readers interested by adding daily comments on current events.

Q: Many businesses now use blogs to A) keep project teams up to date. B) replace email in many cases. C) inform employees and customers about new products and how to use them D) do all of the above.

Q: In the middle of an important meeting, you receive an unsolicited IM from a company informing you of their great rates on vacations in Hawaii. This is an example of A) spam. B) a computer virus. C) spim. D) viral marketing.

Q: Advantages of using IM rather than email include its A) ability to completely eliminate the equivalent of "junk mail." B) availability on cell phones but not computers. C) ability to hold real-time text conversations. D) all of the above.

Q: For years email has been the primary communication medium at your company. However, many of your employees now use IM daily for personal messages, and they've come to you asking your approval to begin using it to communicate with clients and vendors. Your greatest concern is likely to be A) incompatibility between your company's IM system and those your vendors and clients use. B) the need for users to learn complicated software that may take years to learn. C) the ability to use it only on expensive, highly specialized devices. D) the high cost.

Q: Which of the following is an example of an effective subject line for an email requesting information about the August inventory for bananas? A) Information needed B) Banana inventories C) Banana information needed D) Please send August banana inventory

Q: To make everyday email more readable, you should do all of the following except: A) write the subject line and first line of your message all in caps. B) keep your message simple and easy to understand. C) pay attention to grammar, spelling, and usage. D) observe email etiquette.

Q: Email A) should follow the convention of other business writing in formal situations. B) should never be longer than one screen. C) does not need to be proofread. D) is the best medium for internal messages, regardless of their content.

Q: Because many email programs display the first few words or lines of incoming messages, you should A) be vague in your first sentence, to entice the reader to open the message. B) leave several blank lines at the beginning of each message. C) treat the first sentence of the message as an extension of your subject line. D) use phrases such as "MUST READ" in your first sentence.

Q: Which of the following is the best example of an effective email subject line? A) Website redesign is on schedule B) Status Report C) Employee Parking D) Read This!

Q: The subject line of an email message A) is rarely read by the recipient. B) helps recipients decide whether or not to read the message. C) should describe only the general topic of the message. D) does all of the above.

Q: Email messages A) generally require less care than other messages, since email is temporary and easily deleted. B) should be written with the assumption that they will be stored forever. C) should always be less formal in business than messages in other media. D) none of the above.

Q: Email etiquette requires that writers do all of the following except A) make sure every email they send is absolutely necessary. B) respect the chain of command. C) be careful to keep their emotions in check when composing messages. D) mark all emails as "urgent" to make sure they are read.

Q: One important element of basic email etiquette is to A) respect the chain of command. B) use bullets and lists. C) include headings on all emails. D) capture your readers' attention.

Q: Overusing the "cc" function when sending email A) is no longer a big deal since very few people pay attention to these messages. B) is a violation of email hygiene. C) can waste a great deal of time by generating more reply messages than necessary. D) is a good way to protect yourself in a hostile work environment.

Q: Email hygiene refers to A) the absence of slang and informal language in email messages. B) a nationwide movement to do away with information overload. C) all the efforts companies make to keep email clean and safe. D) refraining from using foul language in email.

Q: Thanks to Facebook, you've recently connected with an old friend who lives in another state. She emails you frequently at work, often sharing racially charged jokes that you find offensive. Concerned about what would happen if your boss or coworkers saw her emails, you should A) loosen up, since no one at your company has the right to read your email. B) politely ask her to stop sending the jokes, and tell your boss about the problem and how you have addressed it. C) simply delete her email messages from your computer so no one will ever know about them. D) do none of the above.

Q: When it comes to monitoring incoming and outgoing email, A) only a few companies make the effort. B) only about 15 percent of U.S. employers do it. C) most employers view monitoring email as an invasion of employee privacy. D) many employers monitor email, either with software, security staff, or both.

Q: You have decided to post a video on YouTube explaining how to use one of your company's new products. To be most effective, the video should be no more than ________ minutes long. A) 1 B) 5 C) 25 D) 60

Q: One of your sales representatives has begun using social networks to aggressively promote a new product line. The best response would likely be to A) encourage him to continue. B) discourage him from using blatant "salespeak" since it is likely to alienate the audience. C) enact a policy forbidding employees from using social networks on company time. D) do nothing.

Q: When creating content for social media, A) to reach a wide audience, you should write as informally as possible. B) treat every message as a sales pitch. C) write catchy headlines that play on words. D) don't hide from criticism: take the opportunity to correct misinformation.

Q: Using "teasers" in electronic media as a way to pull readers or listeners into a story or other document is A) unethical and should always be avoided. B) appropriate only when large purchases are not involved. C) acceptable, as long as the payoff is valuable and legitimate. D) never appropriate for microblogging sites.

Q: Despite your numerous emails and voicemail messages, a normally dependable vendor has not responded to your important question. Which of the following would be a sensible next step? A) Consider sending a printed message. B) Send more email messages, but flag them as "high-priority" or "urgent." C) Send multiple copies of the same email message. D) Use IM to bombard the vendor until he responds.

Q: When it comes to writing messages in today's business environment, A) printed letters are obsolete. B) printed letters are still best for some forms of communication. C) email has completely replaced printed memos for all internal communication. D) printed letters are used primarily for negative messages.

Q: Which of the following is not true of instant messaging? A) It allows a rapid response to urgent messages. B) It is less susceptible to security and privacy problems. C) It costs more than phone calls or email. D) It is widely utilized in business.

Q: Compared to email, instant messaging (IM) A) is slower and more complicated to use. B) has not caught on in the business community. C) is much faster, but more costly as well. D) offers greater speed and is less susceptible to privacy problems.

Q: Email can be used for external communication A) regularly, although it is replaced in many cases by other tools. B) only for formal documents that you need to keep a record of. C) in response to letters your customers have sent. D) only if a superior approves the message.

Q: Which of the following statements is true? A) Despite their popularity for personal use, social networking technologies are not very useful in business. B) Social networking technology is so complex that only high-tech companies take advantage of it. C) Social networking capabilities have led to a fundamental change in business communication. D) The use of social networks is declining.

Q: Describe four important issues to consider when distributing business messages.

Q: Explain the importance and process of proofreading. Why does it matter and what should you look for?

Q: Describe at least three software tools that can help you revise and polish a document.

Q: Explain why editing for conciseness is important, then list the four steps it involves.

Q: Explain at least three of the steps involved in editing documents for clarity.

Q: Rewrite the following sentence to eliminate redundancies: "The engineers collaborated together in order to produce the uniquely original final outcomes of their research."

Q: Rewrite the following sentence to eliminate the unnecessary phrases: "In view of the fact that the customer service department is closed, we do not have the capability of offering refunds until such a time as they reopen."

Q: Briefly describe two strategies for clarifying sentence structure.

Q: Rewrite the following sentence to avoid camouflaged verbs: "The customer will ultimately make a determination about whether or not a purchase will occur."

Q: Rewrite the following sentence to improve clarity and avoid the long noun sequence: "The financial estimates and accounting consulting firm will be closed next week."

Q: Briefly explain the difference between descriptive headings and informative headings.

Q: What three functions do effective headings serve in business documents? Explain each one.

Q: Briefly describe at least three advantages of using lists in business documents.

Q: Conclusions should accomplish what two tasks?

Q: Briefly explain what the opening of a document should accomplish.

Q: Every document requires ________ to ensure that it contains no errors in grammar, usage, and punctuation.

Q: A(n) ________ document can contain any combination of text, graphics, photographs, audio, animation, video, and interactivity.

Q: ________ typefaces have small crosslines at the ends of each letter stroke and are best for text.

Q: Typeface or ________ refers to the physical design of letters, numbers, and other text characters.

Q: ________ ________ provides visual contrast for your readers and gives them a resting point.

Q: An electronic ________ gives you alternative words and helps you find synonyms.

Q: A(n) ________ ________ compares your document with an electronic dictionary, highlights unrecognized words, and suggests correct spelling.

Q: Word combinations that are needlessly repetitive are called ________.

Q: ________ verbs are those that have been changed into nouns or adjectives.

Q: A modifier is said to be ________ when it has no real connection to the subject of the sentence.

Q: With ________ construction, two or more similar ideas are expressed with the same grammatical pattern.

Q: A(n) ________ sentence uses words such as may and seems to avoid stating a judgment or fact directly.

Q: ________ headings identify a topic but do little more; ________ headings guide readers to think in certain ways about a topic.

Q: An effective alternative to using conventional sentences is to set off important ideas in a(n) ________a series of words, names, or other items.

Q: Using a ________ formula will give you a rough idea of how educated your audience must be to read and comprehend your message.

Q: To draw attention to important points or terms italic type is more effective than boldface.

Q: Using many different fonts in the same document will make it more appealing to your audience.

Q: One advantage of justified type is that it makes a message look more personalized and less like a form letter.

Q: To make your message more interesting and accessible, you should use as many design elements and decorative touches as possible.

Q: Because the first thing that readers will notice about your message is its appearance, you should pay special attention to design and page layout.

Q: Today's powerful grammar checkers can easily determine whether your document states your message correctly and communicates it clearly.

Q: Using a spell checker guarantees that your documents will be free of spelling errors.

Q: The sentence, "We see reasons to expand" is a more effective sentence than "There are reasons to expand."

Q: "Three AM in the morning" is an example of a redundancy.

Q: Short words are generally more vivid and easier to read than long words.

Q: Words that do not affect the meaning of a sentence are usually unnecessary and contribute to sentence clutter.

Q: If you regularly edit for conciseness and clarity, you'll likely find that audiences are more likely to read your documents.

Q: To increase the sophistication of your message, make liberal use of references such as "the latter," "the former," "the aforementioned," and "as mentioned above."

Q: The subject and predicate of a sentence should be kept as close together as possible.

Q: "The qualification of the runner in the race took one hour" is an example of a sentence with a camouflaged verb.

Q: A dangling modifier is a modifier that has no connection to the subject of the sentence.

Q: To avoid legal problems in your business messages, you should use as many hedging words (such as may or seems) as possible.

Q: One way to make your messages clearer is to break up overly long sentences into shorter sentences.

Q: Readers can get a more out of a document just by reading its descriptive headings than by reading its informative headings.

Q: An example of an informative heading would be "Redesigning to Cut Material Costs."