Print is a typical medium for publishing information. However, Chapter 6 identifies
three other media. List them.
A technical writer wants to create a graphic showing the proportion of hurricanes that
have hit each of the Gulf Coast states between 1900 and 2005. The graphic will be
included in a safety brochure to be distributed to the public by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. Which graphic best displays these data?
A)
B)
C)
D)
You are writing a manual for a deep fryer designed for home cooks. Which statement
would be appropriately set off with Note as a signal word?
A) Corn balls will be very hot when removed from the oil.
B) The fry zone is very hot when the power is on. To avoid serious burns, do not touch
the fry zone while it is heated.
C) The fry basket can hold 4″6 small doughnuts at a time.
D) Do not attempt to fix the deep fryer while it is connected to a power source.
You may find that your network of associates, both inside and outside your
organization, can help you through sticking points in many of the phases of a writing
project.
A) True
B) False
Of the options below, which is the most effective way to organize a discussion
highlighting the most important events in your company’s 31-year history?
A) partition
B) comparison and contrast
C) spatial
D) chronological
The following passage would be appropriate for a document aimed at a multicultural
audience:
Two companies found themselves in the financial equivalent of sudden-death overtime.
The first to raise the necessary capital would be the one to survive.
A) True
B) False
A writer is commenting on a first draft of a technical report written by another team
member. Which of the following comments is most appropriate?
A) “You’ve really improved your editing skills, Brian. Your writing would be less
confusing if you used more active voice. Similarly, your report would be even better if
you used some bulleted lists to break up some of your longer paragraphs.”
B) “Section 3 does a great job of making a case for the importance of our usability
testing. Perhaps we should also include a graph showing a decrease in customer-service
calls since we started testing. We may also want to add a section on user feedback.”
C) “I’m working on several different projects right now. I’ve been able to proof the
document. However, I leave it to you to check its organization. Also, I feel you didn’t
sell me on the benefits of usability testing.”
D) “Use Arial Bold for all headings. Change on-line to online. Delete section 4. Add a
map of the site in section 2. Otherwise, you are on the right track. Good work, Kathy.”
According to Chapter 21, what is one disadvantage of using the free version of the Prezi
presentation tool?
A) Your presentations will be in a public space, so you must be careful about the
information you put in them.
B) You must connect to the Internet to show your presentations.
C) You must connect to the Internet to make changes to your presentations.
D) All responses are correct.
Scientific research does not entail persuasive writing; providing the facts from an
experiment is sufficient.
A) True
B) False
Analyzing the speaking situation as you prepare an oral presentation calls for which of
the following steps?
A) analyzing how much your audience already knows about the subject
B) determining your purpose in making the presentation
C) analyzing the audience’s attitudes toward your subject
D) determining how much information you can present in your allotted time
E) All responses are correct.
In considering your audience’s education, you should focus primarily on the types of
academic degrees readers have earned.
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 7, where in your document should you put your main point if you
expect that your audience will like what you have to say?
A) at the end of your document
B) after the middle of your document
C) near the middle of your document
D) early in the document
What are the three main principles of usability testing? (Select the three that apply.)
A) Usability testing permeates product development.
B) Usability testing involves studying real users as they use a product.
C) Usability testing replaces quality assurance testing.
D) Usability testing involves setting measurable goals and determining whether a
product meets them.
E) Usability testing is essential for every document.
According to Chapter 6, conducting an experiment involves four stages. One is
reporting the data. What are the other three? (Select the three that apply.)
A) duplicating the experiment
B) testing the hypothesis
C) establishing a hypothesis
D) selecting suitable test subjects
E) analyzing the data
Which type of graphic does NOT use metaphor to convey information?
A) flowchart
B) photograph
C) diagram
D) organization chart
Which of the following is a guideline for creating effective links in online documents?
A) Trust readers to know what the linked page will contain.
B) Structure your sentences as if there were no links in the text.
C) Use custom colors for linked text.
D) Make links bold, italic, and underlined for emphasis.
The primary purpose of a directive is to direct the reader to additional sources of
information.
A) True
B) False
Text printed in uppercase letters is easier to read than text set in a mix of uppercase and
lowercase letters.
A) True
B) False
A writer for a company headquartered in Texas is designing a 100-page report, the text
of which will be single-spaced to reduce printing costs. If she wants the report to be as
easy to read as possible, which of the following should the writer NOT do?
A) Place the top-level headings along the left margin and indent each subsequent level
by several spaces.
B) Use full justification.
C) Use a heading at each significant change of topic.
D) Use chunking to separate paragraphs.
All of the participants in a video conference must be in dedicated conference rooms
with sophisticated cameras and microphones.
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 16, the introduction to a proposal must answer seven questions,
one of which is “What is the problem or opportunity?” What is another question the
introduction must answer?
A) What are your qualifications to carry out the proposed project?
B) How much will the proposed project cost?
C) What are your sources of information?
D) What methods will you use to carry out the proposed project?
E) What quality-control measures will you use to ensure that the proposed project
results in a suitable deliverable?
The following two headings indicate which type of organizational pattern?
Two Tasks You Must Complete Today
Other Tasks That Need Your Attention
A) more important to less important
B) general to specific
C) whole-by-whole comparison
D) problem-methods-solution
What kind of transition would be most helpful to readers of these two sentences? “Mr.
Polk accomplished each objective he had for his term of office. He did not seek a
second term.”
A) comparison
B) addition
C) illustration
D) cause-effect
Which of the following sentences illustrates the best approach to writing about people
with disabilities?
A) An arthritis sufferer typically takes medications daily.
B) People with advanced cases of scleroderma should avoid cold climates.
C) A person with severe rheumatoid arthritis is likely to be confined to a wheelchair.
D) Systemic lupus is an abnormal disability for young males.
A heading eliminates the need for a transitional sentence such as “Let us now turn to the
advantages of the mandatory enrollment process.”
A) True
B) False
According to Chapter 16, proposals are usually written by a single writer.
A) True
B) False
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A) Progress reports are similar to, but not identical to, status reports.
B) Correctly written meeting minutes record everything that occurs at the meeting.
C) Field reports may conclude with suggestions for future action.
D) Incident reports are appropriate for describing accidents that occur in the workplace.
Which of the changes listed below would make the following paragraph more coherent?
As an undergraduate student, you can satisfy the university writing requirement and
meet an important graduation requirement by scoring a 4 or 5 on either of the advanced
placement English exams (Language & Composition or Literature & Composition).
You can also meet this requirement by receiving transfer credit for an approved
college-level writing or writing-intensive course you have taken elsewhere and in which
you have received a grade of B or higher. Finally, you can meet this requirement by
taking and receiving a passing grade in a writing course at this university. The
following two courses, for example, are dedicated primarily to the development of
writing skills and can be used to meet the writing requirement: English 205 (Technical
Communication) or English 200 (Rhetoric and Writing). If you have any further
questions, please call Professor Lee Klein, Director of Writing Programs, in the
Department of English at (518) 555-8122.
A) Insert transitional words and phrases.
B) Turn the paragraph into a list.
C) Begin with a topic sentence.
D) Use demonstrative pronouns.
Chapter 5 identifies seven categories of cultural variables “on the surface.” One
category is political. Which of these is NOT a category of surface cultural variables?
A) economic
B) social
C) religious
D) philosophical
E) technological
Which type of modifier is NOT identified in Chapter 10 as a problem?
A) an adjectival modifier
B) a squinting modifier
C) a dangling modifier
D) a misplaced modifier
Which design principle is especially important when creating accessing aids for your
document?
A) repetition
B) alignment
C) proximity
D) contraction
You have been sent by your employer, Madison Construction Company, to a regional
conference dealing with ways to improve communication between management and
workers in the field. Which of the following would NOT be an acceptable way to
submit an informational report on your trip?
A) discussing the trip in your next status report
B) issuing a directive
C) writing a one-page trip-report memo
D) filling out the company’s standardized trip form
What is “invisible writing” and how is it helpful to the writing process?
According to Chapter 13, what does it mean to evaluate a draft?
What fundamental question does the methods section of a recommendation report
answer?
You are a technical writer for a company that makes electrical control devices such as
thermostats. You have just finished writing a draft of a document to be used by
electricians who install your company’s devices and by homeowners who purchase
them. Now your supervisor has decided that the company should publish one document
for electricians and a separate one for homeowners. What is the name of the process
you will engage in when you look at your document to determine how to change it in
light of the decision to make two separate documents?
According to Chapter 12, graphics are important in technical communication because
they can help you communicate information that is difficult to communicate in words.
What is another reason graphics are important?
Give an example of an informational constraint that you might confront in completing a
project.
In what way is the definition “Booting a computer is when you turn it on” flawed?
Which type of modifier lacks an antecedent?
Chapter 8 discusses the three elements of an argument. One is the claim. What are the
other two?
Videoconferencing allows two or more people in separate locations to see and hear each
other simultaneously. What other two activities does videoconferencing allow
participants to perform?
Chapter 12 provides seven guidelines for creating effective infographics. One is “Don’t
go on forever.” Name two other guidelines mentioned in the chapter.
Proposals have two kinds of deliverables. What are they?
Chapter 7 notes that using headings liberally is one way to display the organization of
your document prominently. What is another way?
What does the symbol stand for, and what rights does it grant a company?
What is the design term for a straight line on a page or screen?
What is atechnical communicator?
According to Chapter 15, what does it mean to be a passive applicant?