67) Which of the following is true about sending goodwill messages?
A) If you are already friendly with the reader, a personal tone is appropriate when sending
congratulations.
B) A hand-written note of appreciation is inappropriate in today’s electronic media environment.
C) Send congratulations for personal events only if you know the reader well.
D) In a letter of appreciation, do not specifically mention the person or persons you want to
praise, as that can demoralize the others.
E) Goodwill messages must always serve an immediate business purpose.
68) When writing condolences, you should ________.
A) avoid recounting humorous anecdotes
B) dwell on the details of the loss
C) quote poetic passages and use formal phrases
D) open with a simple expression of sympathy
E) refer to death with euphemisms such as “passed away” or “departed”
69) When writing condolences, you should ________.
A) avoid recounting humorous anecdotes
B) dwell on the details of the loss
C) ensure that the message is short, simple, and sincere
D) never rely on reputation to write about the special qualities of the deceased
E) offer life advice to help the reader through the event
70) Which of the following is a guideline for writing condolence messages?
A) Use formal or poetic phrases.
B) Do not recount humorous anecdotes.
C) Consider mentioning special attributes or resources of the bereaved person.
D) Offer life advice to help the reader face the event.
E) Express shock and dismay through lines such as “He/she was too young to die.”
71) With routine requests, open with buffer statements that gradually build up to the main idea,
which is introduced in the body of the message.
72) When using the body of your message to explain multiple requests, start with the most
important request.
73) Routine requests do not need to be explained or justified as readers will comply, even if the
reason for the request is unclear.
74) To express goodwill in routine requests, close your message by thanking the reader “in
advance” for cooperating.
75) Requests for recommendations and references are routine, so you can open your message by
clearly stating why the recommendation is required.
76) When requesting an immediate recommendation, do not mention a deadline because it will
come across as discourteous.
77) While writing messages making a claim or requesting adjustments, open with a clear and
calm statement of the problem along with your request.
78) Readers receiving routine replies and positive messages are generally not expecting it, so use
the indirect approach by placing the main idea in the body of the message.
79) If your routine message is mixed and must convey mildly disappointing information, put the
negative portion of your message in a negative context to avoid confusing the reader.
80) The close of routine replies and positive messages should leave things on a neutral or
positive note.
81) When responding to a claim when your company is at fault, you should take or assign
personal responsibility for setting matters straight.
82) To grant a claim when the customer is at fault, discourage future mistakes without insulting
the customer.
83) Regardless of who is at fault, you must make it a point to apologize when granting a
customer’s claim.
84) When responding to a claim where a third party is at fault, you should clearly assign the
blame to the third party and ask the customer to follow up the claim with the third party.
85) To avoid lawsuits, you should omit all negative information from your letters of
recommendation.
86) If you decide to write a letter of recommendation or respond to a request for information
about a job candidate, your goal is to convince readers that the person being recommended has
the characteristics necessary for the job, project assignment, or other objective the person is
seeking.
87) Since informative messages are not solicited by the reader, state the purpose of the message
only in the body of the message.
88) The content of a news release follows the customary pattern for a positive message: good
news followed by details and a positive close.
89) You may send congratulations for personal events, even if you don’t know the reader well.
90) When sending condolence messages, open with your personal sense of loss followed by
some life advice for the reader.
91) Outline an effective strategy for writing routine business requests.
92) You need a printed letter of recommendation from a professor in your college, and you are
not sure if the professor will remember you because more than five years have passed since you
graduated. How will you go about drafting your request in this case? Draft a message, filling in
the required details from your imagination.
93) What are the points to be kept in mind when developing a message asking for a
recommendation?
94) You have not received a shipment of books that you had ordered from Serengeti, an online
book store. The shipment tracker on the website shows that the books have been returned to the
company as the address provided was not found. However, the address you provided was correct
and you have in the past received several shipments from Serengeti at the same address. Your
account has already been debited for the value of the shipment. Draft a message to Serengeti,
making a claim and requesting an adjustment.
95) Outline an effective strategy for writing routine replies and positive messages.
96) How should you respond to a customer’s claim when your company is at fault?
97) You are Manager, Customer Services, at Famous Watches. You have received a complaint
from a customer stating that his watch has stopped working ever since the time he wore it when
he went diving. This particular model, though water resistant, cannot be worn when underwater.
This information is clearly given—with graphics—on the reverse of the watch, in the user
manual enclosed with the product, and on the packaging. However, in order to build goodwill,
the company decides to provide free service and parts to repair the watch. Draft an email to the
98) What are the guidelines for creating informative messages?
99) Describe the advantages social media releases have over traditional news releases.
100) Offer a few suggestions for writing condolence messages.