Test Item File for Excellence in Business Communication, Fourth Canadian Edition
Chapter 5
1) When preparing your first draft, you are not concerned about style or tone.
A) True
B) False
2) Good business letters use language that is as formal as possible and use proven
terminology such as “please be advised that” and “we are in receipt of.”
A) True
B) False
3) Enlivening business messages with humour will always please your readers, especially
if they don’t know you very well.
A) True
B) False
4) Bragging about your company’s accomplishments can be offensive to readers.
A) True
B) False
5) Plain English is a style of writing used primarily for communicating to those for whom
English is a second language.
A) True
B) False
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6) Choosing the most effective words for a message is usually more difficult than merely
choosing correct words.
A) True
B) False
7) Conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and pronouns are all content words.
A) True
B) False
8) Connotative meanings are the literal or dictionary meanings of words.
A) True
B) False
9) In business communication you must be careful to use words that are low in
connotative meaning.
A) True
B) False
10) Abstract words are direct, vivid, clear, and exact.
A) True
B) False
11) Abstract words should be completely avoided in business writing.
A) True
B) False
12) A compound sentence is one that contains one main thought (independent clause) and
one or more subordinate thoughts (dependent clauses).
A) True
B) False
13) Good business messages contain few compound or complex sentences.
A) True
B) False
14) Using the passive voice de-emphasizes the subject.
A) True
B) False
15) In business writing, the topic sentence of each paragraph is usually implied rather
than explicit.
A) True
B) False
16) Coherence within and between paragraphs is achieved through the use of transitional
words and phrases.
A) True
B) False
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17) When developing paragraphs, stick to one method within each paragraph and
throughout a document.
A) True
B) False
18) The “you” attitude should be avoided when you are assigning blame for a problem.
A) True
B) False
19) When someone makes a mistake, you should avoid dwelling on his or her failure and
instead focus on how the person can improve.
A) True
B) False
20) Avoid using euphemisms because they are inherently dishonest.
A) True
B) False
21) Your audience’s belief in your competence and integrity is not important; it’s the
content of your message that counts.
A) True
B) False
22) Being too modest can reduce your credibility with your audience.
A) True
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B) False
23) In general, you need to use more tact and diplomacy in oral communication than in
written communication.
A) True
B) False
24) A software feature called autocompletion completes the remainder of your message.
A) True
B) False
25) If you use too many simple sentences, you won’t be able to express the relationships
among your ideas properly, and your writing will sound choppy and abrupt.
A) True
B) False
26) 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 plummet.”
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.”
27) You can adopt the “you” attitude ________________________
A) by replacing certain pronouns with better pronouns.
B) by replacing terms that refer to yourself and your company with terms that refer to
your audience.
C) by stating what you want and expecting the audience to go along with it.
D) By recognizing one audience member’s achievements.
28) Which of the following is not an example of pompous language?
A) “as per your letter”
B) “please be advised that”
C) “please let us know”
D) “under separate cover”
29) Plain English is a style of writing ______________
A) used only for casual correspondence.
B) designed to make technical materials more understandable to the audience.
C) aimed primarily at readers for whom English is a second language.
D) inappropriate for business communication.
30) Which of the following are functional words?
A) into, and, the
B) bath, baby, rattle
C) give, shake, wash
D) nice, wet, quickly
31) Which of the following is a content word?
A) around
B) she
C) jump
D) the
32) Bias-free language __________________
A) avoids using the word bias.
B) avoids sexist language.
C) avoids referring to Aboriginal people.
D) avoids discussing any minority groups.
33) 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.
34) Which of the following words are the most abstract?
A) kiss, rose, house
B) red, sharp, piercing
C) kick, sniff, tickle
D) love, beauty, innocence
35) Which of the following is a compound sentence?
A) “David is a good worker, and he deserves a raise.”
B) “Because David is a good worker, he deserves a raise.”
C) “David, a good worker, deserves a raise.”
D) “Having been a good worker, David will no doubt receive a raise.”
36) A complex sentence is one characterized by ______________
A) two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
B) a single subject and a single predicate plus any modifying phrases.
C) two or more independent clauses along with all modifying phrases.
D) an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses related to it.
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37) To downplay a dependent clause in a complex sentence, you ______________
A) place it at the beginning of the sentence.
B) place it at the end of the sentence.
C) bury it in the middle of the sentence.
D) set it off with a semicolon.
38) 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.
39) Short sentences are best for ______________
A) emphasizing important information.
B) grouping or combining ideas.
C) showing relationships among ideas.
D) summarizing or previewing information.
40) A typical paragraph contains the three basic elements of ______________
A) a topic sentence, related sentences, and transitional elements.
B) simple, compound, and complex sentences.
C) the main idea, supporting ideas, and evidence.
D) a problem, discussion, and a solution.
41) Words such as “nevertheless,” “however,” “but,” and “therefore” ______________
A) are called pointer words.
B) introduce modifiers.
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C) occur only in complex sentences.
D) are useful for making transitions.
42) People are more likely to react positively to your message when
______________________
A) you keep your language formal and businesslike.
B) you use “Urgent” in your subject line.
C) they have confidence in you.
D) you use humour.
43) Which of the following statements best reflects the “you” attitude?
A) “You failed to enclose a cheque for $25.”
B) “We need a cheque from you for $25 so that we can send the merchandise by May
15.”
C) “We will send you the merchandise as soon as we receive your cheque for $25.”
D) “You will have your merchandise by July 15 if you send us your cheque for $25
today.”
44) It is best not to use the “you” attitude if ______________
A) you know your audience well.
B) your organization prefers a more formal style.
C) you are filling your audience’s informational needs.
D) you are preparing a persuasive message.
45) When you are criticizing or correcting, it is best to ______________
A) focus on what the person can do to improve.
B) emphasize a person’s mistakes so that he or she will not make the same mistakes
again.
C) be blunt and call attention to the person’s failures or shortcomings.
D) make the person an example for everyone else to learn from.
46) The best approach to getting someone to buy a magazine subscription from your
charity group would be to say ______________
A) “Please buy a subscription; our group really needs the money.”
B) “If you buy a subscription from me I’ll make my quota.”
C) “This magazine will keep you informed on issues that affect your daily life.”
D) “Our group doesn’t get any assistance from government agencies, so these magazine
sales are our main source of funding.”
47) A euphemism is a word or phrase that is ______________
A) possibly offensive.
B) general or abstract in meaning.
C) highly technical.
D) a milder term for one with negative connotations.
48) To communicate credibility to your audience, you ______________
A) impress them with a long list of your accomplishments.
B) are modest and deferential.
C) show that you are confident and that you believe in yourself and in your message.
D) use hedge words (“maybe,” “perhaps”) to demonstrate your knowledge that no issue is
fully cut and dried.
49) Style is the way you use words to achieve a certain __________, or overall
impression.
50) __________ words express relationships and have only one unchanging meaning in
any given context.
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51) __________ words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, carry the meaning
of the sentence.
52) The __________ meaning of a word is its literal, dictionary meaning, whereas the
__________ meaning includes all the associations and feelings it evokes.
53) A(n) __________ word expresses a concept or quality, not a tangible object.
54) A(n) ___________ sentence expresses two or more independent but related thoughts
of equal importance.
55) A(n) __________ sentence expresses one main thought and one or more subordinate
thoughts related to it.
56) A sentence is __________ when the subject follows the verb and the object precedes
it.
57) A(n) __________ is a cluster of sentences related to the same general topic.
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58) Most paragraphs consist of a(n) ___________ sentence, support sentences, and
transitional elements.
59) __________ language avoids words or phrases that unfairly and even unethically
categorize or stigmatize people in ways related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or
disability.
60) Instead of using harsh, unpleasant terms, use mild words, or __________.
61) If your audience is unfamiliar with you, you need to devote the initial part of your
message to establishing ___________.
62) To avoid embarrassing blunders in language related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or
disability, use __________ language.
63) __________ lets you personalize form letters by inserting names and addresses from
a database.
64) When you communicate with people outside your organization, you need to be sure
to project the right __________ for your company.
65) Coherence is achieved through the use of ___________ that show the relationship
between paragraphs and among sentences within paragraphs.
66) List three strategies for improving your audience sensitivity.
67) You are scheduled to discuss a negative performance evaluation with one of your
employees. How can you use the “you” attitude during your conversation?
68) Define bias-free language.
69) List at least two types of biased language and explain how to avoid each type.
70) List at least three characteristics that can help establish credibility with your
audience.
71) Briefly explain the difference between tone and style in business writing.
72) List four things you should avoid if you want to achieve a conversational tone in
business messages.
73) Discuss three ways to establish your credibility with your audience.
74) Describe five things you can do to overcome writer’s block.
75) List three situations in which the passive voice can help you demonstrate the “you”
attitude.
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76) Explain what it means to choose “words that communicate,” then list four techniques
for selecting the best words when writing business messages.
77) What are five ways to develop a paragraph?
78) Briefly describe at least four word processing capabilities that can help business
writers shape their writing.
79) Your company’s interests and reputation take precedence over your personal
communication style. How does this affect the way you communicate with your
audience? What must you consider?
