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Excellence in Business Communication, 12e (Thill/Bovee)
Chapter 13 Completing Reports and Proposals
1) The four tasks involved in completing business reports and proposals include all of the
following except
A) distributing.
B) revising.
C) producing.
D) illustrating.
E) proofreading.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
2) The revision process for business reports is essentially the same as it is for other messages but
A) often requires far less effort.
B) often takes much less time.
C) often takes considerably more time.
D) often can be accomplished entirely by common word processing software.
E) is only rarely required.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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3) As you’re revising the content of an online report,
A) avoid the use of headings and subheadings.
B) include extraneous details; then let your audience sort them out.
C) scatter essential elements throughout the text of the report.
D) strip out all information that doesn’t directly meet audience needs.
E) expand topics through the use of links.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
4) The revision process for formal reports and proposals includes all of the following except
A) profiling the audience.
B) evaluating overall organization.
C) adding headings and subheadings.
D) making sure the content responds to audience needs.
E) striving for writing that is clear, concise, and compelling.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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5) Formal reports include an extra measure of polish and professionalism and often include
________ that are not used in informal reports.
A) varied sentence length
B) headings and subheadings
C) transitions
D) lists and bullets
E) packaging elements
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
6) When revising reports and proposals, present your data in a way that
A) requires the reader to read the entire report or proposal.
B) incorporates a variety of styles.
C) incorporates bullets and lists.
D) meets your audience’s needs.
E) limits the use of transitions.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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7) In a report designed to organize a new task force, the close should
A) identify the report’s authors.
B) include an analysis of the data you’ve presented.
C) list the action that you would like readers to take.
D) discuss why the report was written.
E) describe how tasks will be broken down.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
8) The prefatory parts of a report should
A) help readers decide whether and how they need to read the report.
B) be prepared and written before the text of the report.
C) include an introduction to the report.
D) not require any revision once they are written.
E) be placed at the end of the report.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
9) Which of the following is not included in the prefatory parts of a formal report?
A) cover
B) letter of authorization
C) introduction
D) table of contents
E) title page
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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10) You should include a title fly with business reports when you want to
A) give the name of the company for which the report has been prepared.
B) add a touch of formality to the report.
C) protect the report from dirt and careless handling.
D) provide a page for the reader to make notes on.
E) make it easier for readers to get straight to the text of your report.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
11) Information such as the report title, the writer’s name, and the submission date are usually
found
A) on the title page.
B) on the title fly page.
C) on the cover.
D) in the letter of transmittal.
E) in the letter of authorization.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
12) A letter of ________ is a specialized cover letter that introduces your report to the audience.
A) authorization
B) acceptance
C) transmittal
D) introduction
E) appreciation
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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13) The letter of transmittal
A) may follow the direct or indirect plan.
B) has a more formal style than the report itself.
C) is usually included as an appendix.
D) should be written in an informal tone.
E) is never written as a memo.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
14) The letter of transmittal should
A) discuss how information in the report was gathered.
B) be different for every person receiving the report.
C) minimize controversial issues in the report.
D) introduce the report to the audience.
E) do nothing more than thank readers for their interest in your report.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
15) For printed reports, the letter of transmittal is most often positioned
A) right before the table of contents.
B) just after the table of contents.
C) in between the introduction and first chapter of the report.
D) on the outside of the report cover, usually fastened with a paper clip or staple.
E) at the beginning of the introduction.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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16) The letter of authorization and the letter of acceptance are used to
A) identify who worked on the report.
B) make sure everyone is clear about the report’s intent.
C) introduce the report to the audience.
D) acknowledge the audiences concerns.
E) explain how the report addresses issues for the audience.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
17) One of the headings in your report is, “Unexpected Price Increases.” In the table of contents,
the heading should
A) be worded exactly the same way.
B) not be included.
C) be paraphrased.
D) be in boldface type.
E) be in all caps.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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18) In a complex formal report, it is often helpful to include
A) a table of contents that lists every heading in the report plus titles of illustrations and tables.
B) two tables of contents: a high-level table that shows only major headings, followed by a
detailed table that includes all headings and subheadings.
C) everything but prefatory parts in the table of contents.
D) everything but supplementary parts in the table of contents.
E) asterisks beside the titles of all key parts in the table of contents.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
19) To help ensure accuracy, the table of contents for a formal report should be prepared
A) before the text is written.
B) as you are drafting the text.
C) as you prepare the list of references.
D) along with the footnotes or endnotes.
E) after the report is complete, thoroughly edited, and proofed.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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20) If you will create a PDF file of a business report for electronic distribution, each entry in the
table of contents should be
A) italicized.
B) in boldface type.
C) in all caps.
D) a clickable link that takes readers to the appropriate place in the report.
E) underlined.
AACSB: Information technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
21) The synopsis of a formal report is
A) a concise overview of the report’s most important points.
B) a short summary containing subheadings and visual aids.
C) usually anywhere from two to five pages.
D) never more than five lines in length.
E) never longer than a single sentence.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
22) The term ________ is another name for a synopsis in a technical or professional report.
A) abstract
B) thesis
C) prospectus
D) quick view
E) outline
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
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23) An informative synopsis
A) simply tells what the report is about.
B) presents the main points of the report in the same order as the text.
C) omits the findings of the report.
D) is preferable if your report is organized using the indirect approach.
E) provides moderately greater detail than the table of contents.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports
24) A descriptive synopsis
A) tells what the report is about in moderately greater detail than the table of contents.
B) includes the actual findings of the report.
C) presents the main points of the report in the order they appear in the text.
D) replaces the table of contents.
E) is preferable if your report is organized using the direct approach.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Apply the writing process when writing business reports