45) Enlivening business messages with humor will always please your readers, especially if they
don’t know you very well.
46) Plain language is a style of writing used primarily for communicating to those who do not
have a college degree.
47) “The evaluator noted several shortcomings” is written in the active voice.
48) You should strive to use the passive voice as much as possible in business writing.
49) When composing a draft, you should never skip to another section of the document until
you’ve finished the current one.
50) The rules of grammar and usage do not change over time.
51) The denotative meaning of a word is its dictionary definition.
52) Connotative meanings are the literal or dictionary meanings of words.
53) In business communication, it is best to use words that are low in connotative meaning.
54) Honor and progress are concrete words.
55) Abstract words are direct and can be easily visualized.
56) Abstract words should be completely avoided in business writing.
57) Clichés are a valuable tool in business writing, as readers find such words and phrases to be
comfortable and familiar.
58) The amount of jargon you use in a message should reflect your audience’s level of familiarity
with your topic.
59) A compound sentence is one that contains one main thought (independent clause) and one or
more subordinate thoughts (dependent clauses).
60) “Our clients have become more knowledgeable, and we need to accommodate them” is a
complex sentence.
61) “The startup costs on this project increased considerably” is a simple sentence.
62) “If we can’t meet the deadline, our losses will be significant” is a compound sentence.
63) Skilled business writers avoid complex sentences altogether.
64) To emphasize a dependent clause, it is better to place it at the end of a sentence rather than in
the middle.
65) A properly constructed paragraph should deal with more than one topic.
66) Coherence between thoughts is achieved through the use of transitional words and phrases.
67) When developing paragraphs, you should use only one method within each paragraph and
throughout a document.
68) If you are preparing a form letter, file merge enables you to personalize each letter by
automatically inserting names and addresses from the database.
69) Autocompletion software is essentially the same thing as autocorrection software.
70) Templates and style sheets can both help to ensure a consistent look for all company
documents.
71) Using the ________ attitude allows you to establish empathy with your audience.
72) In messages that need to deal with difficult negative situations, it is best to emphasize the
________ aspects of your topic.
73) Replacing harsh, unpleasant terms with milder words, or ________, can avoid negative
connotations for your audience.
74) To avoid embarrassing blunders in language related to gender, race, ethnicity, age, or
disability, use ________ language.
75) Terms such as “handicapped employees” are examples of ________ bias.
76) If your audience is unfamiliar with you, you need to devote the initial part of your message
to establishing ________ a measure of your believability based on how reliable you are and
how much trust you evoke in others.
77) Style is the way you use words to achieve a certain ________, or overall impression.
78) ________ ________ is a way of presenting information in a simple, unadorned style so that
your audience can easily grasp your meaning.
79) A sentence is in the ________ voice when the subject performs the action and the object
receives the action.
80) The ________ meaning of a word is its literal, dictionary meaning, whereas the ________
meaning includes all the associations and feelings it evokes.
81) ________ words express a concept or quality, not a tangible object.
82) ________ sentences express two or more independent but related thoughts of equal
importance.
83) ________ sentences express one main thought and one or more subordinate thoughts related
to it.
84) A(n) ________ is a cluster of sentences related to the same general topic.
85) A standard block of text used in various documents without being changed is called
________.
86) List three strategies to become more sensitive to your audience’s needs.
87) You are scheduled to discuss a negative performance evaluation with one of the employees
you supervise. How can you emphasize the positive during your conversation?
88) Define bias-free language.
89) List at least two types of biased language and explain how to avoid each type.
90) List at least three personal characteristics that can help establish credibility with your
audience.
91) Briefly explain the difference between tone and style in business writing.
92) List at least three guidelines to follow if you want to achieve a conversational tone in
business messages.
93) Briefly explain the difference between the active voice and the passive voice. Include an
example of each one.
94) How is the denotative meaning of a word different from its connotative meaning?
95) Give the definition of a complex sentence, then provide an example of one.
96) Explain what it means to “emphasize the positive” in business messages, and describe at least
three techniques for doing so.
97) List three situations in which the passive voice can help you demonstrate the “you” attitude.
98) Explain what it means to choose “words that communicate well,” then list four techniques for
selecting the best words when writing business messages.
99) What are the five most common techniques for developing paragraphs?
100) Briefly describe at least four software capabilities that can help business writers shape their
writing.