The first paragraph of an application essay should be a summary of the essay to provide
a context for what is to come.
It is recommended to triple-check numbers, headings, the first and last paragraphs, and
the reader’s name.
Conventions are constant and remain unchanged over time.
A purpose of paraphrasing is to be sure that one has heard the critic accurately.
In the writing process, editing and revising have the same connotation.
“You will be entitled to an all expense paid trip to London if you achieve the quarterly
target of 150 accounts” is an example of an intrinsic motivator.
Using a persuasive problem-solving message allows one to disarm opposition by
showing all the reasons in favor of one’s position before giving the audience a chance to
say no.
It is a good idea, when planning to write a report, to talk to your readers to determine
how much detail and formality they want.
You should impress the reader by presenting your knowledge of the company as though
it were news to him.
It is a good idea to combine graphs with different scales so that readers can make valid
comparisons.
A writer should talk about an audience’s feelings because it helps bond better with them.
While writing the budget section of a proposal, it is important to clearly justify costs
that may seem to benefit oneself instead of the sponsor.
In an oral presentation, one should provide an overview of the points one will make in
order to offer the audience explicit clues of the structure of the presentation.
When you submit an e-mail letter with your rsum, it is advised to include your name at
the beginning of the message and as part of the subject line.
While delivering negative messages to clients, one should make inconspicuous refusals
so that it does not offend the reader.
When one does not know someone well, it is good to use first names to attempt to build
a professional relationship.
In order to solve a problem, it is essential to develop several solutions and measure
them against the audience and purposes.
Gestures such as swaying on one’s feet work well for an oral presentation and help one
build on his/her natural gestures.
In order to make a home page easy to use, one should provide navigation bars
horizontally in the middle of the screen.
The purpose statement appears in your proposal, but not in your final report.
The best way to present information to an audience is to place it in the order in which
one becomes aware of the information.
Blogs allow users within an organization to build stronger relationships by chatting
online and adding each other to their friend’s list.
A message meets the five criteria of a good business communication irrespective of the
audience, the purpose of the message, and the situation.
In a persuasive presentation, one should start with the strongest point or best reaction.
Entry-level jobs in contrast with senior-level jobs do not require skills in reasoning,
mathematics, and communicating.
A complex visual requires relatively little discussion since all the information is
contained in the graphics.
The political environment of an organization can impact an audience’s reaction to a
message.
Frederick Herzberg’s study of professional employees found that the things people liked
about their jobs were all intrinsic motivators such as pride in achievement, and
enjoyment of work and responsibility.
It is important to name an objection if the objection is false and based on
misinformation.
It is best to avoid using startling statements or questions in openers to an oral
presentation.
When one faces a major objection from an audience, it is good to try finding a win-win
solution because people will be much more readily persuaded if they see benefits for
themselves.
Characteristics of popular corporate cultures include flexible work arrangements, profit
sharing, and wellness programs.
According to the Myers-Briggs typology, judging type of people prefer to live in a
flexible, spontaneous way, and enjoy possibilities.
Jason Jacob is writing a proposal on providing funds for weaving wheels in townships
of Myanmar. He is writing the proposal as part of the “Empowering Women Campaign”
of his organization. Which of the following questions should be addressed in the
audience section of the proposal?
A. Why does the opportunity of providing spinning wheels need to be explored?
B. Is there a history on the usage of spinning wheels in Myanmar?
C. Can 100 wheels be provided to Myanmar’s villages by the end of the financial year?
D. Who in the organization will serve as a gatekeeper?
E. Is necessary information provided to the audience?
Jordan, the sales manager of a local car rental service, wants to write a report describing
the decrease in the number of customer complaints. He is trying to decide between
using a bar chart or a line graph to supplement his discussion in the report. Which of the
guidelines for visual design is he following?
A. Use color and decoration with restraint.
B. Follow the conventions for designing typical visuals.
C. Choose the right visual for the story.
D. Check the quality of the data.
E. Be accurate and ethical.
Which of the following approaches help make visuals accurate?
A. Truncate scales on graphs to highlight the information of interest to the reader.
B. Use three-dimensional graphs to be able to include more data.
C. Alter the images so that they more closely relate to the message you wish to send.
D. Differentiate between actual and estimated or projected values.
E. Combine graphs with different scales.
The _____ pattern of organizing data is inefficient when there is a need to deemphasize
drawbacks of a proposed solution.
A. compare/contrast
B. pro-and-con
C. problem-solution
D. elimination of alternatives
E. SWOT analysis
Helen Bradley who works at an advertising firm in Manhattan is popular among her
colleagues because of her strong interpersonal skills. Strong listening skills help her
perform tasks well and share a good working relationship with employees. Which of the
following does Bradley most likely do to be a good listener?
A. Use me-attitude which helps her to be portrayed as a confident person
B. Paraphrase the speaker’s words to make her understanding accurate
C. Avoid writing down points which indicate she did not understand key points
D. Ignore instructions which may seem unnecessary or irrelevant
E. Avoid being aware of her own emotions which may cloud listening skills
Nora Gomez is travelling to Paraguay for a business meeting. At the meeting, she will
be required to give a presentation for the approval of a new project. She understands
that it is crucial for her to know a little about the country’s culture before she leaves for
the meeting. On speaking with a colleague from the office at Paraguay, she gathers that
the company has a low-context culture. Which of the following should Gomez do which
will help her have a successful business meeting?
A. Ensure that she projects most information and points explicitly to all participants
B. Avoid giving importance to the context of a message or points at the presentation
C. Put forward points politely instead of being confrontational with members
D. Give a lot of importance to building relationships with members at the meeting
E. Be careful about what she says orally because oral statements are considered binding
Which of the following negative messages are the most difficult to write?
A. Product recalls
B. Pamphlets
C. Sales letters
D. Press releases
E. Brochures
Which of the following is NOT a part of nonverbal communication?
A. Personal space
B. Gesture
C. Body language
D. Touch
E. Writing
Which of the following does business communication use to eliminate sexist generic
pronouns?
A. Singulars
B. First-person I
C. Pronoun pairs
D. Marital status
E. Third person
A conservative writing style that creates a professional image includes ______.
A. clichs
B. contractions
C. slang
D. complete sentences
E. sentence fragments
Which of the following is a feature of a guided discussion?
A. The speaker speaks as an expert who knows all the answers.
B. The speaker talks and shares information without any interruption.
C. The audience is uninvolved while the speaker delivers data.
D. The speaker serves as a facilitator to help the audience tap its knowledge.
If a company needs to change and knows what needs to be done, but needs help doing
it, a proposal helps in:
A. Accessing whether change is a good idea or not
B. Providing a plan for achieving desired changes
C. Providing insight on positive and negative impacts
D. Implementing the plan to bring about the change
E. Suggesting alternate outcomes if it decides not to change
Rebecca, who works as a human resource executive, received a letter from her manager
to organize an interactive program for some of the employees of the organization.
Rebecca needs to call her manager to find out the objective of the program, when it
needs to be organized, and which employees need to attend the program. Which of the
following is the letter characterized by?
A. It allows the reader to act on it instantly.
B. It is incomplete in form.
C. It answers all queries that the reader has.
D. It saves the reader’s time.
You have one full year to go before you graduate and begin interviewing. Which of the
following is the most important step for you to take right row?
A. Select course projects and paper topics that will help you prepare for a job.
B. Attend job seminars and job fairs.
C. Join extracurricular organizations on campus and in the community.
D. Get a job or co-op or internship in your field of interest.
E. Check out the services of your college placement and advising offices.
Kelly Brooks recently wrote a report on marketing their revamped line of footwear.
However, on completion when she read through the report, she realized that she wrote
some parts of the report in passive voice. Which of the following sentences should
Brooks change in the report in order to convert it into an active voice?
A. The director of marketing is in favor of the marketing campaign.
B. The marketing campaign will run in the month of March.
C. The campaign will target 50,000 customers across New York.
D. The marketing campaign took a total of five months to develop.
E. The old clientele will be targeted by the new media.
John Moreno is a technical writer who is working on a training manual to help new
users learn the company’s data management system. Employees will use the manual in
training seminars taught by the company’s trainers. The manual will also serve as an
on-the-job reference. The trainers and system analysts who designed the computer
system will need to offer their comments on Moreno’s draft. What kind of an audience
will the trainers be classified as?
A. Watchdog
B. Gatekeeper
C. Primary
D. Secondary
E. Auxiliary
Monica Hunter is an executive assistant at a campaigning organization and needs to
organize an important project meeting in the upcoming week. Though she has made all
arrangements much ahead of time, the project manager needs to travel out of town on
the day of the scheduled meeting. She needs to find a way to still organize the meeting
with active participation of all members including the project manager. Which of the
following communication hardware would help Hunter arrange this meeting?
A. Smartphone
B. MP3 player
C. Videoconference
D. Portable media player
E. iPod
Which of the following is a feature of a good work schedule for a proposal?
A. It provides idealistic time-frames for challenging activities.
B. It avoids time for unexpected snags and delays.
C. It shows that one may be unable to complete work within deadline.
D. It provides realistic estimates for each activity.
E. It avoids using a chart to maintain schedule details.
A(n) _____ evaluates two or more alternatives before recommending one among them
and usually consist of the decision to be made, alternatives, and explanation of the
criteria.
A. Recommendation report
B. Information report
C. Closure report
D. Credit report
E. Match report
My Sunny Balcony is a popular garden store which sells products to customize home
gardens. The store recently made a sale of two garden chairs to Mr. Thompson, a
regular customer of the store. The store now needs to inform him that the chairs have
been delivered to his home address. Which of the following should the store say to best
demonstrate you-attitude?
A. “Your order at My Sunny Balcony has been processed and the delivery has been
made at 1500 hours."
B. “The product you purchased at My Sunny Balcony has just been delivered to the
address you provided."
C. “The garden chairs you ordered were delivered at your home address at 1500
hours."
D. “We have delivered your item sharp at 1500 hours at your home on Miller’s
Road."
E. “Our delivery team has confirmed that your product reached your home address at
1500 hours."
Which of the following points should be kept in mind while writing performance
appraisals?
A. They should be ambiguous to avoid offending employees.
B. They should be infrequent which prevents wasting project time.
C. They should use stock phrases during criticisms.
D. They should protect the organization and motivate the employee.
When you want the audience to be able to identify exact values, use a:
A. pie chart.
B. table.
C. line graph.
D. bar chart.
E. dot chart.
Erica Mason was talking to Erin Porter, a team member, about the problems she is
facing with a client who is rude, demanding, and obnoxious. She says, “Mr. Lewis
yesterday banged the phone down on my face while I was still talking. Today, when I
called to give him quotes on a travel package he requested for, he said that I should not
call him and waste his precious time if I cannot offer him a 30% discount.” Porter in her
response, instead of acknowledging Mason’s problem, said something which made her
feel she did not understand her problem. Which of the following did Porter most likely
say?
A. “Maybe you should try talking to him more politely. I am sure he will come around
if you are just a little more patient with him."
B. “You should one day observe Kylie Taylor deal with her clients. She is just brilliant!
"
C. “The problem is you are too emotional. You should not take such clients so
seriously!"
D. “Is there anything you want me to do to help you with the package?"
E. “The client I handled was even more difficult to deal with but I think I handled him
well."
Which of the following is a feature of good document design?
A. Using at least three different fonts to separate different ideas
B. Using as many words with capital letters as possible to emphasize data
C. Using white space to separate and emphasize important points
D. Placing important data on the top right quadrant of a page
E. Avoid using headings to group points because it confuses the reader
Which of the following styles of writing should be followed to create a business
document?
A. It should make the message as friendly and personal as possible.
B. It should use complex words if it is being addressed to strangers.
C. It should place positive information at the end of the document.
D. It should focus more on what is impossible so that it can tackle the problem.
E. Use me-attitude to show that one is confident about the document.
Explain how written communication helps in communicating a message more easily
than oral communication and vice versa.
Detailed financial information about a particular company can be found in:
A. the Wall Street Journal.
B. a directory for the industry.
C. the company’s annual report.
D. the company’s recruiting brochure.
A _____ is a statement of company rules, guidelines, and instructions with a purpose to
inform, build image, and goodwill.
A. policy and procedure bulletin
B. 10 K report
C. quarterly report
D. transmittal
E. monthly and annual report
Which of the following is true of text messaging?
A. It can be used with discretion because it does not leave a paper trail.
B. It generally takes a long amount of time to be answered or replied to.
C. It is appropriate for communicating socially but has no place in business.
D. It is apt for short messages since they are less intrusive than phone calls.
E. It is ideal for critical issues in a business which involve negotiations.
Which of the following should always stand as separate categories, even if you have
only one item under each head?
A. Honors and Awards
B. Education and Experience
C. Name and Contact Information
D. Campus Activities and Community Service
E. Activities and Achievements
Which of the following are used by companies to monitor their employees?
A. Global position systems
B. Typosquatting
C. Phishing
D. Brandjacking
E. Cybersquatting
Compare and contrast between open and closed questions.
Discuss with the help of an example why calculating figures conservatively is
recommended in preparing budgets for a proposal.
What is the importance of conventions in design?
When is it useful to use visuals in a written document?
What should you do in both solicited and prospecting job letters?
Explain the 1-2-3 pattern of organizing information with the help of an example.
Why are intrinsic motivators more effective than extrinsic motivators if one wants to
bring about long-term change?
Discuss the trend of work-life balance in business communication.
How and when should you start preparing yourself for job hunting?
How is full justification different from ragged right margins? When should full
justification be used?
How can poor communication lead to legal problems in an organization?
What are some points to keep in mind while stating a reason for a negative message?
Discuss with an example, the problem-solution pattern of organizing information.
A lending institution requires a small business owner to submit a business plan as part
of his loan application. In that, he must describe his business, his marketing plan, his
management and personnel, and his financial projections. What graphics might this
small business owner include in the document to supplement the written information?
(p. 457)-Ryan Daniels recently attended an interview where he was asked to sit in an
uncomfortable chair while answering questions. During the interview, he was fired
rapid questions by the interviewer which probed every weak spot in his record. What
kind of an interview did Daniels most likely attend? What are some guidelines that need
to be followed in such interviews?
How should negative information be presented in a message?
What are some key guidelines to follow while writing a claim?
Is beginning a sentence with words “and”, “but”, or “also” recommended?
