According to Chapter 19, what is the process of peer review?
A) Professionals evaluate inconsistent data to achieve a breakthrough in understanding.
B) Qualified professionals test the replicability of an experiment before publishing an
article about it.
C) Qualified professionals in the field review and comment on an article before it is
published in a professional or academic journal.
D) A third party reviews the qualifications of the people in a laboratory before
recommending that others use its services.
Which of the organizational patterns below depends on relationships that can be
difficult to prove?
A) cause and effect
B) comparison and contrast
C) general to specific
D) spatial
Which of the options below is NOT one that Chapter 3 lists as a reason a writer should
think during the planning stage about which is the best writing tool available?
A) because there has been a rapid increase in the number of composition tools available
to writers
B) because certain composition tools are designed for those working in particular
locations and devices
C) because certain composition tools contain advanced editing technologies that cut
down on the need to proofread
D) because certain composition tools are designed for those writing collaboratively
Which of these organizational patterns does NOT benefit from the use of ‘signposts” in
your document?
A) more important to less important
B) comparison and contrast
C) general to specific
D) chronological
Usability testing is the process of performing experiments to determine that a product
functions at a minimally acceptable level before the manufacturer devotes time, money,
and other resources to creating documentation for the product.
A) True
B) False
If a graphic is on the Internet, you may assume that you are free to republish it.
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 17, you should be “clear, comprehensive, objective, and
diplomatic” when writing meeting minutes. Which two of these ideal goals have the
greatest potential to conflict with each other?
A) clarity and comprehensiveness
B) comprehensiveness and objectivity
C) objectivity and diplomacy
D) comprehensiveness and diplomacy
According to Chapter 16, which of these is NOT a subject of a goods and services
proposal?
A) offering to provide 150 computers to a state agency
B) offering to install new landscaping around a government building
C) asking for resources to study how a new pesticide affects lettuce and cabbage crops
D) asking for a contract to provide cleaning and janitorial services to a government
building for one year
A descriptive abstract states the topics covered in the lab report but doesn’t present
important results or conclusions.
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 6, in which phase of the writing process is it best to conduct
research?
A) editing
B) revising
C) proofreading
D) planning
Subjects and verbs must agree in tense.
A) True
B) False
What is the purpose of providing back matter in a report?
A) to provide information that elaborates on details in the body of the report
B) to help readers know where to go for additional information
C) to give readers answers to questions that the body of the report does not cover
D) All responses are correct.
Which of these would be included in the front matter for a report?
A) the introduction
B) the glossary
C) the executive summary
D) the recommendations
Which of the following statements about lab reports is NOT correct?
A) A lab report is a carefully crafted argument meant to persuade an audience to accept
your findings and conclusions.
B) Supporting evidence is often presented with a combination of graphics and text.
C) The most effective way to write a lab report is to write it in sequence, beginning with
the introduction.
D) In organizing the discussion of your data, you should begin by presenting the most
important findings.
How can a writer avoid creating chartjunk?
A) by separating clip art from charts and graphs
B) by choosing two-dimensional charts and graphs over three-dimensional ones
C) by placing charts on pages separate from graphs
D) None of the responses are correct.
If you are asked a question you do not understand during a question-and-answer
session, you should first ask for clarification, then respond to the question, and then ask
if you have answered the question adequately.
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 21, an effective 20-minute presentation could take 13 hours to
prepare.
A) True
B) False
Which aspects of typography affect the white space of a document?
A) line length, sentence length, and word length
B) leading, color, and sentence length
C) line spacing, line length, and justification
D) line spacing, headings, and footers
You are writing a recommendation report about how to improve the quality of your
hotel’s customer service. You believe that an online system called Star Service will
make your hotel’s customer service better. Employees log onto Star Service for 15
minutes every two weeks to watch videos and answer quiz questions. Where should you
mention your recommendation to purchase access to Star Service?
A) in the executive summary
B) in an appendix
C) in the back matter
D) None of the responses are correct.
Why is it important to be honest in an informational report when you have to share bad
news?
A) Failure to be honest in the short term could lead to more problems in the long term.
B) Being honest is the ethical thing to do.
C) Sponsors or supervisors of a project have a right to know what is going on.
D) All responses are correct.
The air-conditioning system of Marcus Department Store has not been adequately
cooling the store’s first-floor office pod. At this point, the problem is not serious
because three large shade trees overhang this portion of the building and ceiling fans
provide air circulation. Although slumping sales prohibit any large expenditures at this
time, the store’s owner still wants to find out the reasons for the cooling failure.
Consequently, his staff should conduct a study that would provide which of the
following?
A) a proposal
B) an informational report
C) a recommendation report
D) an incident report
According to Chapter 17, field reports “explain problems, methods, results, and
conclusions, but they deemphasize methods and can include recommendations.” What
does it mean to deemphasize methods?
A) Spend less effort describing how you did the research and more effort on what you
learned from it.
B) Write fewer words describing how you did the research and more words on what you
learned from it.
C) Always make sure that your methods section is not the first section.
D) None of the responses are correct.
What does it mean to say that a report you are writing contains several logical fallacies?
A) The reasoning used in your report is supported by several effective examples.
B) The reasoning used in your report is logical and trustworthy.
C) The reasoning used in your report is illogical and untrustworthy.
D) The reasoning used in your report follows an effective pattern used in other good
arguments.
You are writing a proposal to restructure your department’s organizational chart. Your
manager was a member of the committee that originally set up the department’s current
structure. Which purpose statement would be best for a proposal to your manager?
A) The purpose of this proposal is to show how we can reorganize our department to
improve our efficiency while keeping intact the values that have allowed us to succeed
to this point.
B) The purpose of this proposal is to show how to solve all of our productivity
problems and remove all the barriers to effective communication.
C) The purpose of this proposal is to show why it’s time for “out with the old and in
with the new.”
D) The purpose of this proposal is to explain why we have no choice but to scrap our
ineffective organizational structure.
An estimated 50 percent of Internet users are nonnative speakers of English.
A) True
B) False
A writer is creating a table that has 22 rows and 6 columns of data, all of which must
appear on one page. To prevent readers from misinterpreting the data, which of the
following techniques should the writer apply to the table?
A) drawing a horizontal rule after each row of data
B) using thick grid lines to help readers distinguish information in adjoining cells
C) grouping rows together in a logical order to help readers make comparisons
D) italicizing column heads
You are writing a report about technical methods used for desalination of seawater.
Which of these resources is least likely to provide the technical information you need?
A) a website for professional water-treatment engineers
B) a book about industrial desalination
C) a discussion board about ecology
D) a blog by a leading expert in desalination
According to Chapter 11, what can you do to make a website easy to navigate?
A) Use “Back to top” links on long pages.
B) Include a site map.
C) Use a table of contents at the top of long pages.
D) All responses are correct.
E) None of the responses are correct.
According to Chapter 18, you must establish your decision criteria before you
determine your options for addressing the problem.
A) True
B) False
Which of the following is a run-on sentence?
A) The adventurer walked for days and days, for weeks on end, for what seemed like an
eternity; he found himself in a state of perpetual exhaustion.
B) He is a little bit sour, she is a little bit sweet, and I am a little bit stale.
C) I left the room when he yelled at me.
D) Vote for Pedro he will represent you well.
The following passage violates which of the basic principles for effective sentences
listed below? (Choose all that apply.)
The site marks the beginning of a first-year riparian forest buffer. Monitoring
equipment was located essentially where this stream joined Cook Creek at the end of
the forest riparian buffer. Monitoring data indicated improved water quality within the
tributary. It is our opinion that this could be the result of the riparian forest buffer being
created.
A) Avoid euphemisms.
B) Avoid unnecessarily fancy words.
C) Avoid wordy phrases.
D) Avoid filler.
Formative evaluations are intended to assess the quality of a completed project.
A) True
B) False
A writer who is researching a state agency’s transition from paper-based reports to
paperless electronic reports has scheduled an interview with a senior writer at the
agency. Which of the following interview questions is likely to be most effective?
A) How do you think electronic reports will change your job?
B) What is the future of paper?
C) Do you think paperless reports are worth the effort to learn the new software?
D) Why do you write reports?
Which of the following actions is unethical?
A) submission of relevant data
B) emphasis of relevant data
C) omission of uncited sources
D) omission of relevant data
According to Chapter 21, which statement about oral presentations is correct?
A) The audience and purpose are basically the same for any presentation you give.
B) The audience for an oral presentation will be receptive to your message; otherwise,
they will not attend.
C) You can always find a way to fit all of your ideas into the allotted time.
D) Some presentations call for both informing and persuading the audience.
Chapter 21 describes four types of oral presentations, including impromptu
presentations. What are two of the other three?
Chapter 6 suggests that you do three things when concluding an interview. What is one
of them?
Chapter 2 lists four areas of law relevant to ethical issues in technical communication.
One is copyright law. What are two others?
According to Chapter 17, what is the primary purpose of a directive?
According to Chapter 11, margins serve four main purposes within a document. Identify
two.
What is the function of a conventions section?
What type of argument states that a claim is valid because many people think it is or act
as if it is?
What are author guidelines?
Maintaining eye contact is one way to use your body effectively. What is another
technique discussed in the chapter?
Chapter 5 describes three categories of audience. What are they?
Chapter 6 lists five characteristics to consider when evaluating print and online sources.
Name two of them.