CAOT32; Quiz Study Guide ch 6-10 – Flashcards
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The best way to evaluate your finished written message is by
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receiving feedback.
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To make your business messages concise, you should avoid which of the following?
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To make your business documents concise, you should avoid all of these, flabby expressions, unnecessary introductory words, redundancies, and empty words.
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Carla was promoted to a position that will require extensive writing. What is the best writing advice you can give her?
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When you finish a first draft, put the document aside and return to it after a break for revision. or When you finish a first draft, plan for a cooling-off period before revising it.
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Which of the following statements about numbered and bulleted lists is most accurate?
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Use numbered lists for items that represent a sequence or reflect a numbering system. Use bullets to highlight items that don't necessarily show a chronology.
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Which of the following sentences avoids use of trite business phrases?
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We have received your loan application. This sentence does not contain any trite business phrases.
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When proofreading a document, be concerned with
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When proofreading a document, be concerned with spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, names, and numbers.
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What is an advantage of concise business messages?
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All of these are advantages of concise business messages,easier to read, save reading time, easier to understand.
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Which of the following is an example of an effective, businesslike expression?
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"Pursuant to your request," "In accordance with your wishes," and "With reference to" are all examples of trite business phrases.
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The sentence I am writing this e-mail message to let you know that we have received your application for the receptionist position
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This sentence contains a long lead-in: "I am writing this e-mail message to let you know that." Removing the long lead-in improves the sentence: "We have received your application for the receptionist position."
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Justin is writing a proposal to submit to his company's board of directors. He should spend the most time in the ____ phase to make sure that his document is clear and correct.
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revising Justin will most likely spend the most time during the third phase of the writing process, which is the revising phase. During Phase 3 Justin will focus on editing, proofreading, and evaluating his message.
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Lorie will be communicating with her new colleagues using text messages and wants to make sure that she is following proper etiquette. What is the best advice you can give her?
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Identify yourself by name when texting a new colleague who doesn't have your number. Identify yourself by name when texting a new colleague who doesn't have your number.
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How do organizations use wikis?
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Organizations use wikis for all these purposes; sharing information, collecting information, and facilitating feedback; in addition, organizations use wikis to create a highly interactive environment for project information for easy access and user input.
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Michelle has just been appointed to a virtual team that will use a wiki to keep in touch, and she wants to be a valuable team participant and contributor to the wiki. What is the best advice you can give her?
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Verify all facts before posting them to the wiki. Michelle should verify all facts before posting them to the wiki. When borrowing information, Michelle should also cite her sources to avoid plagiarism.
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Aimee has discovered a production problem that will cause this month's shipments to be a few days late. Because her Brazilian customers will need to know about this problem right away, Aimee should
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send an e-mail message. Sending an e-mail message is the quickest way for Aimee to reach her customers in another part of the world.
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How do organizations use podcasts?
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Organizations use podcasts for all of these purposes. Organizations use podcasts for all these purposes: broadcasting radio and TV shows, allowing students access to a variety of content, sending audio and video messages to customers, and training employees.
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Alonzo has just been assigned to create a blog to use for market research and viral marketing. What advice would you give him?
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Alonzo should scrutinize the blogosphere for buzz and for positive or negative postings about his organization and its products.
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Rowena must read and reply to several e-mail messages. What is the best tip she can follow to make sure that she handles her e-mail professionally?
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Change the subject line if the subject changes. Rowena should change the subject line if the subject changes.
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What tool allows businesspeople to monitor many news sources in one convenient spot?
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Really simple syndication, RSS for short, is a time-saver, allowing users to monitor many news sources in one convenient spot.
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Which of the following is the most effective closing for an e-mail message?
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"Please send your time sheet to me by August 31 so that we can process your paycheck" is the most effective closing because it avoids overused expressions and gives an end date.
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Which of the following statements is most accurate?
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Web 2.0 is a new user-centered virtual environment made up of tools such as Twitter, podcasts, blogs, and wikis.
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A disgruntled client has begun leaving negative comments about your firm on its Facebook page. What should you do first?
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When a negative comment is made, first determine whether the comment violates your established social media comment policy.
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Instruction messages should be written
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Like most requests and responses, instruction messages follow a straightforward, direct approach.
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Messages explaining instructions will be most readable if you
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Messages explaining instructions will be most readable if you do all of these: divide the instructions into steps listed in the order in which they are to be performed, arrange the steps vertically with numbers, and begin each step with an action verb using the imperative mood.
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Daniel is writing an e-mail message asking for information and wants to show appreciation to his reader in the closing. Which of the following statements best shows his appreciation?
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I appreciate this information because it will allow me to make an effective decision about which plan to choose. This ending is effective because it shows how the information will help Daniel.
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What is the most accurate statement about writing skills and social media?
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In the glaring light of social media, writing skills—or the lack of them—are amplified mercilessly and can sink careers.
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Allison is in Phase 1 of the writing process and is trying to decide how she can save her reader's time by making her message easier to comprehend at a glance. What can she do?
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To save her reader's time by making her message easier to comprehend at a glance, Allison can do all of these: use bullets, asterisks, lists, headings, and white space.
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Which of the following is the best opening for an adjustment message?
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The opening of a positive adjustment message should approve the customer's claim immediately.
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William has decided to write a letter to a local law firm to ask about summer internship opportunities. What should he do first?
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Before writing the letter, William should analyze the purpose of the letter and his audience.
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Of the following questions, what one should you ask yourself first as you begin to prepare a message?
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When you begin to prepare a message, the first thing you should ask yourself is, "Do I really need to write this e-mail, memo, or letter?"
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What should you do in the closing of an instruction message?
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In the closing of a message issuing instructions, try to tie following the instructions to benefits to the organization or individual.
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Byron has ended a sales message with the sentence Book your vacation by May 15 to receive a seventh night free. What technique is he using to motivate action?
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Byron is setting a deadline to motivate action.
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To start your home water delivery service immediately, call us at 1-800-555-1111 is an example of
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"To start your home water delivery service immediately, call us at 1-800-555-1111" is an example of motivating action.
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The manager of a bookstore plans to use e-mail to send an online sales message announcing a special sale. What is the best advice to make this e-marketing campaign successful?
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Focus on one or two central selling points only.
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In persuading the owner of your company to allow you to telecommute, which of the following illustrates an indirect benefit to the reader?
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Doing something that will protect the environment is an example of an indirect benefit.
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Which of the following sentences best motivates action in a persuasive message?
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The ethics training we provide will help your employees effectively resolve workplace-related ethical dilemmas. Please call me by August 1 so that your training sessions can begin by August 15. These two sentences would effectively motivate action.
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Which of the following is the most accurate statement about the AIDA strategy?
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In a persuasive message, facts, figures, expert opinions, examples, specific details, and direct and indirect benefits can be used to build interest.
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Andrew, the head of his company's accounting department, is writing a persuasive message to encourage his staff to cut operating costs. What should he do to generate cooperation and buy-in?
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Andrew should be clear about his objective. He should also ask his employees for their ideas for cutting costs and then incorporate those ideas as a way to create buy-in.
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Messages flowing downward such as information about procedures, equipment, or customer service generally use
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Messages flowing downward such as information about procedures, equipment, or customer service generally use the direct strategy, with the purpose immediately stated.
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A strong motivator that encourages ethical behavior in business is the desire to
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Maintaining one's reputation and credibility is a strong motivator for demonstrating ethical behavior. Once lost, a good name or reputation is difficult to regain.
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When promoting products and writing sales letters, which of the following is legal?
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It is legal to include puffery in sales messages because such promotional claims are not taken seriously by reasonable consumers.
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How can one become a better business writer?
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A person should do all of these;use a systematic process, study models, and practice⎯to become a better business writer.
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Which of the following sentences uses conversational, middle-level diction?
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Hello! You will not believe what I just learned. Drop by my office before you leave today to discuss it. These sentences use conversational, middle-level diction, which is preferred for most business writing.
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Victoria is writing an e-mail message to her colleagues to encourage them to take part in a charitable fund-raiser. Her primary purpose is to
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persuade. The primary purpose of an e-mail message encouraging employees to take part in a charitable fund-raiser would be to persuade.
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Which of the following is the best wording to avoid racial, ethnic, age, and disability bias?
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AARP membership is open to anyone age 50 or over. This sentence contains the best wording because it does not show any bias.
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Alex is having trouble concentrating on a report he is reading because his smartphone keeps ringing and his colleagues keep sending him text messages. What kind of communication barrier is this?
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Digital interruptions Knowledge workers such as Alex are increasingly distracted by multitasking, digital and information overload, conflicting demands, and constant digital availability. These are examples of digital interruptions.
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When employees at Coors translated its slogan "Turn It Loose" into Spanish, they didn't realize it would translate to "suffer from diarrhea." To avoid similar problems, the sender of a message must
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During the encoding process, the sender must select appropriate words or symbols that will not be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the receiver.
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While reading an e-mail message from her boss, Melissa is distracted by numerous typographical and spelling errors. These errors that detract from the message and make it difficult to read are called
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Anything that interrupts the transmission of a message in the communication process is called noise. Channel noise may range from a weak Internet signal to sloppy formatting and typos in e-mail messages.
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You are in charge of preparing a sales brochure and must profile your audience. What question should you ask to profile your primary audience?
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When profiling your primary audience, you should ask all these questions. What do I know about this person's education, beliefs, culture, and attitudes? How much does this person know about the subject? Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my message?
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You want to use precise, vigorous words to give your readers more information and keep them interested. Which of the following sentences has the best wording?
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"The March balance sheet reports a 10 percent decrease in expenses for the first quarter of the fiscal year" has the best wording because it uses precise, vigorous words.
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Which of the following takes place during the first phase of the 3-x-3 writing process?
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Analyzing the audience and your purpose for writing occurs during the first phase.
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Brooke is working on a business proposal for a prospective client. What is the primary question Brooke should ask as she gathers information for her project?
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To avoid frustration and inaccurate messages, Brooke should gather information that answers this primary question: What does the client need to know about this topic?
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Peter is writing an e-mail message to his staff about an upcoming training session, and he is sure they'll be pleased with the news. Peter should use the
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Because Peter expects his audience to be pleased with his message, he should use the direct pattern.
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Which of the following is a run-on sentence?
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"Many companies use Facebook to connect with customers some even use Twitter" is a run-on sentence because it joins two complete thoughts without the needed punctuation or conjunction. The other sentences are grammatically correct.
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When should the active voice be used?
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For most business writing
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Which of the following is an example of using a formal research method?
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Amy conducts a Web search to find information about a competitor's products. Searching the Web is a formal research method.
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You can build paragraph coherence by incorporating which of the following techniques?
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You can use all of these techniques, using pronouns, using transitional expressions, and dovetailing sentences, to build paragraph coherence.
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Which sentence best emphasizes the attorney?
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The attorney delivered the closing arguments.
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Elizabeth wants to avoid monotony and add spark to her business messages. What should she do?
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To avoid monotony and to add spark to her writing, Elizabeth should use a variety of sentence types.
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Which of the following statements about paragraphs is most accurate?
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A paragraph is a group of sentences about one idea.
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Which of the following should be organized in an indirect pattern?
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An e-mail message to employees telling them that overtime will be eliminated should be organized in an indirect pattern because employees might be displeased.
