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Excellence in Business Communication, 12e (Thill/Bovee)
Chapter 4 Planning Business Messages
1) The three primary steps involved in preparing a business message are
A) planning, writing, and completing.
B) informing, persuading, and collaborating.
C) defining the purpose, the main idea, and the topic.
D) satisfying the audience’s informational, motivational, and practical needs.
E) outlining, presenting, and following up
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
2) Which one of the following is an element of the completing phase of the three-step writing
process?
A) organizing the information
B) interpreting the research
C) proofreading the message
D) selecting the right medium
E) identifying audience
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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3) Which of the following are elements in the writing phase of the three-step writing process?
A) gathering information
B) adapting to the audience
C) selecting the right medium
D) organizing the information
E) analyzing the situation
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
4) Planning is essential when writing business messages because it
A) helps you provide the right information to the right people in the right format.
B) makes the writing process faster and less stressful.
C) can save you from embarrassing blunders that could hurt your company or your career.
D) helps you deliver concise, compelling information that your audience wants and needs.
E) all of the above
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
5) In order to optimize your writing time, reserve about ________ of that time for revising,
producing, proofreading, and distributing your message.
A) 15 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 30 percent
E) 50 percent
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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6) Inexperienced communicators may be tempted to
A) spend too long planning important messages.
B) overestimate the time it takes to complete business messages.
C) dive directly into writing the message without taking sufficient time to plan.
D) waste too much time revising and editing messages.
E) seek excessive input from colleagues when creating messages.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
7) The goal of the three-step writing process is to help a writer develop messages that are
A) using a variety of mediums.
B) organized based on a direct approach.
C) sensitive.
D) well planned.
E) effective and efficient.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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8) During the planning phase of the writing process,
A) adapt your ideas to the audience’s needs.
B) determine scope.
C) choose strong, meaningful words.
D) evaluate content.
E) outline coherent paragraphs.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
9) Completing the business message includes
A) producing the message, including design and layout decisions.
B) adapting the message to the audience with appropriate writing style.
C) composing the message, including strong words and effective sentences.
D) developing coherent paragraphs.
E) selecting the right medium to deliver the message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
10) How does careful planning of a business message save time?
A) Planning allows the writer to incorporate a wide variety of ideas.
B) Planning allows writers to dive directly into the writing process.
C) Planning reduces rework.
D) Planning allows the writer to produce work that showcases professional qualifications.
E) Planning focuses on one specific goal.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
5
11) When allocating your time among the three stages of the writing process, you should use
about a fourth of the time for planning, half the time for writing, and a quarter of the time for
completing.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
12) When developing a business message, the message should be adapted to your specific
audience after planning the message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
13) What are the four tasks involved in planning business messages?
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
14) Explain each phase of the three-step writing process.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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15) Which of the following is a general category common to business communication?
A) to inform
B) to entertain
C) to negotiate
D) to dictate
E) to punish
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
16) An example of a specific purpose for a business message would be
A) to impart information to the audience.
B) to inform employees about the new vacation policy.
C) to persuade readers to take action.
D) to obtain audience participation and collaboration.
E) to make a specific point.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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17) Most messages should not be sent unless they will
A) bring about a change.
B) increase your chances of being promoted.
C) please your boss.
D) end on a positive note.
E) promote self-interests.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
18) In most cases, a message should be deferred or canceled if
A) your news is bad.
B) someone else wants to deliver it.
C) your audience is highly receptive.
D) the time is wrong.
E) you have important information to share, but it could get you into trouble.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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19) The primary audience for your message should always include
A) all who receive it.
B) the key decision makers in the audience.
C) those people with the highest status.
D) those people who represent the opinions and attitudes of the majority.
E) those people who might see a copy of the message at some point in the future.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
20) In general, for internal communication, the higher up your message goes, the
A) more details people want to see.
B) fewer details people want to see.
C) less likely you are to run into ethical problems.
D) more likely you are to run into ethical problems.
E) more ambiguous you should be.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
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21) Messages should contain more supporting detail and background information when
A) you expect a favorable response.
B) you and your audience do not share the same general background.
C) you and your audience share the same general background.
D) you are concerned about possible legal action.
E) you are attempting to shift blame.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
22) Forecasting your audience’s reaction to your message is
A) impossible—there’s no way to know what it will be.
B) vital, because potential audience reaction affects message organization.
C) helpful only for internal communication.
D) helpful only for external communication.
E) designed based upon each receiver’s potential response.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
10
23) You’re writing a proposal to give permission to some employees at your company to
telecommute. You know management will be skeptical, so you should
A) be as straightforward as possible about stating your conclusions and recommendations.
B) avoid stating your conclusions and recommendations.
C) use less evidence in support of your points.
D) build your case carefully, stating clear reasons for each conclusion you draw and
recommendation you make.
E) be aggressive in making your case, saying that many good employees will leave if the
company fails to adopt your proposal.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages
24) When determining what you hope to accomplish with a message, you must consider the
A) tone.
B) general purpose.
C) word choice.
D) audience.
E) specific purpose.
purpose and profile your audience before writing a message.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Plan and prepare business messages