11
23) In business messages, using terms such as “if,” “hope,” and “trust” is
A) usually a bad idea since it takes away from the writer’s credibility.
B) a good way to show your modesty.
C) common courtesy.
D) acceptable for very formal contexts.
E) a way to display a “you” attitude.
vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
24) To build, maintain, or repair your credibility, emphasize
A) why the audience should agree with and welcome your message.
B) become emotionally invested in your message.
C) explain to the audience why the message is important to them.
D) impressive communication skills.
E) sincerity by pointing out specific qualities that warrant praise.
vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
12
25) Audience responses to your messages depend heavily on your ________, a measure of your
believability based on how reliable you are and how much trust you evoke in others.
A) persona
B) savoir-faire
C) credibility
D) audience awareness
E) performance
vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
26) You can build credibility by letting your audience know that you believe in yourself and your
message.
vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
27) List at least three personal characteristics that can help establish credibility with your
audience.
vital aspects of building strong relationships with your audience.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
13
28) The acronyms and shortcuts used in texting and IM are
A) incompatible with professional business writing.
B) your ticket to the inside track in today’s multinational corporations.
C) a great way to show coworkers and managers that you’re tech–savvy.
D) commonly used to communicate with top management.
E) best used with customers and suppliers.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
29) Why should writers avoid phrases such as, “attached please find” and “we are in receipt of”?
A) They are rude.
B) They are too intimate.
C) They are stale and pompous.
D) They involve preaching and bragging.
E) They are too conversational.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
30) Most business communication should aim for a ________ tone.
A) formal
B) colloquial
C) conversational
D) confrontational
E) passive
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
14
31) Using humor in business messages is
A) an effective way to build strong relationships with international clients you are not familiar
with.
B) usually not effective, and is always inappropriate for formal and intercultural messages.
C) appropriate for external messages, but never for internal.
D) expected in virtually every profession.
E) a method to support the use of the “you” attitude.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
32) Plain language is a style of writing
A) used only for casual correspondence.
B) designed to make complex materials more understandable to the audience.
C) aimed primarily at readers for whom English is a second language.
D) inappropriate for business communication.
E) used in industry to describe products and technical issues, but never in professional settings.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
15
33) 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 decrease.
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.
E) Having dissected the latest budget figures, it is clear to me that we have a real need to re-
examine our priorities and revamp the budget along the lines I have suggested herein.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
34) Identify the voice in the following sentence: “Based on negative client feedback, the
marketing department abandoned the campaign.”
A) active
B) passive
C) vocative
D) state of being
E) conversational
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
16
35) 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.
E) you are unsure what action the subject of the sentence will take.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
36) Using the active voice is helpful when you
A) want to be diplomatic in pointing out a problem or error.
B) want to point out what’s being done, without giving credit or assigning blame.
C) want to make your writing more direct, livelier, and easier to read.
D) need to avoid personal pronouns in order to create an objective tone.
E) are unsure what action the subject of your sentence will take.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
17
37) The term ________ refers to the overall impression of your messages.
A) tone
B) climate
C) style
D) dialect
E) medium
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
38) A sentence is in the active voice when
A) the subject receives the action performed by the object.
B) both the subject and the object receive the action.
C) the subject performs the action and the object receives it.
D) neither the subject nor the object receives the action.
E) the object performs the action and the subject receives it.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
18
39) In workplace writing, doing all of the following except ________ will help you achieve a
tone that is conversational yet still businesslike.
A) using text messaging acronyms throughout the message
B) being careful about the use of humor in the message
C) being careful about the level of intimacy in the message
D) avoiding stale and pompous language in the message
E) avoiding preaching and bragging
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Reflection
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
40) A conversational tone is not appropriate for most business messages.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
41) What is the difference between tone and style in business writing?
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
19
42) List at least three guidelines to follow if you want to achieve a conversational tone in
business messages.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
43) Briefly explain the difference between the active voice and the passive voice. Include an
example of each one.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
44) List three situations in which the passive voice can help you demonstrate the “you” attitude.
of using plain language, and define active and passive voice.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
20
45) If your workplace writing contains grammar errors and word choice mistakes, your readers
will
A) be understanding if they are an internal audience member.
B) question your professionalism.
C) expect some grammatical errors since everyone is busy.
D) probably not notice thanks to spelling and grammar checking features of word processing
software.
E) be surprised that autocorrect features of word processing software did not catch them.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages
46) 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.
E) lacking in the ability to be interpreted based on circumstance.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Compose and shape business messages