Which of the following is a way for you to check positive emphasis?
A. Recognize that it should not be so overdone that it has become insincere.
B. Remember that it is appropriate in all circumstances.
C. Remember that it is always realistic.
D. Recognize that it should not demonstrate any kind of restraint.
E. Remember that it should contain hidden negatives instead of negative words.
Answer:
Wang has just delivered a presentation to a funding agency, on the exploitation of
forests to extract palm oil. The director of the organization has a question regarding the
industry figures of the palm oil industry. Wang does not know the answer. Which of the
following statements should Wang make that will best help him handle the question?
A. “The palm oil industry is large and estimating the exact figures is quite difficult.”
B. “I am not sure of the industry figures of the palm oil industry, but I will check and
get back to you.”
C. “You will find it interesting to know that these figures will not affect our campaign
in any way.”
D. “The palm oil industry is an extensive one, but you could check the website of the
forest department for details.”
E. “This is a good question. You could refer to the handouts distributed.”
Answer:
_____ allow you to compare either several aspects of each item or several items over
time.
A. Grouped bar charts
B. Segmented bars
C. Subdivided bars
D. Stacked bars
E. Histograms
Answer:
Which of the following correctly differentiates between editing and revising?
A. Editing involves making major content changes in a document; revision involves no
content changes.
B. Editing focuses on changes in the surface of writing; revision focuses on changes in
the meaning.
C. Editing measures milestones and objectives of a report; revision assesses the
feedback on the report.
D. Editing involves analyzing the needs of an audience; revision involves taking the
views of an audience.
E. Editing includes getting feedback from someone else; revision involves correcting
spellings and mechanical errors.
Answer:
Which of the following would be classified as an informative message?
A. Denying an increase in credit limit by a bank to a customer
B. Informing a student that an application to the college has been rejected
C. Distributing the minutes of a meeting to all members of the meeting
D. Informing an employer of one’s resignation from a job
E. Announcing to a customer that the payment date for a policy has lapsed
Answer:
Which of the following is an example of psychological description?
A. “Imagine relaxing on your recliner and the aroma of Ramirez Dark Roast coffee
rising from your cup.”
B. “Buy our Ramirez Dark Roast coffee today to enjoy a 30% Christmas discount.”
C. “A cup of Ramirez Dark Roast coffee is all you need to get you through the day.”
D. “Get one free packet of Ramirez Dark Roast coffee when you buy two 200 gram
packets.”
E. “Our Ramirez Dark Roast coffee is carefully handpicked from our coffee plantations
in Sao Paulo, Brazil.”
Answer:
When you want an audience to be able to identify exact values in a set of data, you
should use a:
A. pie chart.
B. table.
C. line graph.
D. bar chart.
E. map.
Answer:
Esteban is a sales manager. He is in charge of welcoming a new batch of sales
executives to his organization and introducing them to the sales team. He is meeting the
new batch for the first time. When he introduces the batch to the sales team, they think
he is being sexist. Which of the following did Esteban most likely say?
A. Please welcome Joe Boston, Brian Ellis, and Melissa West.
B. Please welcome Mr. Boston, Mr. Ellis, and Ms. West.
C. Please welcome Mr. Boston, Mr. Ellis, and Mrs. West.
D. Please welcome Joe, Brian, and Melissa.
E. Please welcome our new sales executives to the team.
Answer:
Cesario is an employee at a web design company. His current project is about designing
an online shopping site for a client. For the content, Cesario chose the Verdana and
Calibri fonts and emboldened the details regarding terms and conditions and
membership fees. In addition, he also used the color blue to emphasize details on
discounts offered and gift vouchers available. According to Charles Kostelnick’s four
levels of design, which of the following levels of design did Cesario use for this
project?
A. Extra-level
B. Intra-level
C. Outer-level
D. Inter-level
E. Supra-level
Answer:
In analyzing members of groups, which of the following features of an individual is
most useful in psychographic profiling?
A. The age of the individual
B. The values and beliefs of the individual
C. The annual savings made by the individual
D. The sex of the individual
E. The annual tax paid by the individual
Answer:
Which of the following is a cultural contrast in oral communication between the United
States and Japan?
A. People in the United States tend to wait for an invitation to speak, while the
Japanese tend to take the initiative to open a conversation.
B. People in the United States tend to directly state disagreements, while the Japanese
tend to communicate it through silence.
C. People in the United States do not interrupt often, while the Japanese tend to
interrupt a lot.
D. Japanese focus on the mouth, so smiles are important, while Americans often focus
on the eyes.
E. People in the United States tend to speak softly, while the Japanese are typically
loud and lively.
Answer:
Salma is preparing a report titled, “The Rate of Urban Development in Various
Districts.” After analyzing the data collected, she prepares a draft of the table of
contents. Which of the following is she most likely to include in the appendix of her
report?
A. Analysis of causes and possible solutions
B. Information that directly relates to the discussion in the body
C. Information that is essential for the proof of the report
D. Supporting data that will be carefully looked over by specialists
E. Crucial statistics on development rates in different cities
Answer:
Salma is writing a proposal to the Wildlife Foundation for a project titled, “Protecting
the endangered snow leopard.” The project aims at providing a safe habitat for the
animal. Which of the following is most likely to be a primary goal of her proposal?
A. To analyze if the snow leopard can still be protected
B. To review the feasibility of the project and the possible outcome
C. To analyze the costs and resources required for the project
D. To monitor the current statistic figures of the species
E. To get the project accepted by the Wildlife Foundation
Answer:
Natalia who works for Trends, a fashion business, needs to give a presentation to her
superiors about the marketing plan for the newly launched Vogue line of clothing. Once
she receives an approval for it, she will be sharing details of the launch with
distributors, clients, and fashion businesses with which they have tie-ups. In addition,
she will also be presenting the plan to the press to spread word about the new clothing
line. Who among the following would be included in Natalia’s internal audience?
A. Other fashion businesses
B. Clients
C. Superiors
D. Distributors
E. Press
Answer:
Jetline Airways regularly e-mails its customers with quarterly statements of their earned
frequent flier miles. Now, to save money, the company is going to stop mailing
statements and ask customers to look up the information on the airline’s website. Which
of the following illustrates the best way to recast the situation as a positive message?
A. This is your last Preferred Passenger paper statement.
B. Next month onwards, we will be unable to mail you frequent flier miles earned.
C. New, convenient online statements will replace this quarterly mailing.
D. Please check our website every time you need details about frequent flier miles
earned.
E. If you need updates about frequent flier miles earned, refer to our website.
Answer:
Which of the following is a difference between the excluding alternatives and the
problem-causes-solution patterns of organizing the body of a presentation?
A. The problem-causes-solution pattern presents only those solutions that might work;
the excluding alternatives pattern presents both solutions that might work and those that
might not.
B. The problem-causes-solution pattern may be necessary when the audience will find
your solution hard to accept; the excluding alternatives pattern works best when the
audience will find your solution easy to accept.
C. The problem-causes-solution pattern begins by explaining symptoms of a problem;
the excluding alternatives pattern begins by explaining many obvious solutions.
D. The problem-causes-solution pattern ends the discussion with a solution; the
excluding alternatives pattern ends the discussion with multiple solutions.
E. The problem-causes-solution pattern explains the symptoms of a problem; the
excluding alternatives pattern does not.
Answer:
Which of the following is a typical characteristic of a formal work culture?
A. Casual attire
B. Decentralization
C. Individual offices
D. Self-managed teams
E. Individually empowered workers
Answer:
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. Avoiding the use of headings to group points because it confuses the reader
Answer:
Which of the following correctly differentiates between good business writing style and
traditional term paper writing style?
A. Good business writing style uses no contractions; traditional term paper writing
style uses contractions.
B. Good business writing style uses no first and second-person pronouns; traditional
term paper writing style primarily uses first-person pronouns.
C. Good business writing style makes no effort to make a document friendly;
traditional term paper writing style focuses on making a document friendly.
D. Good business writing style gives importance to the visual impact of a document;
traditional term paper writing style does not pay particular attention to visual impact.
E. Good business writing style uses long sentences and paragraphs; traditional term
paper writing style uses short sentences and paragraphs.
Answer:
Claudia Walsh is the human resource head for an automobile company. She suggests to
the higher management that the firm should adopt pay-cuts over downsizing to tackle
the regressive economy. However, Claudia is well aware that the decision to reduce
salary will be opposed by the employees. What should Claudia not do when delivering
such messages?
A. Deliver parts of the message later, if possible
B. Introduce the message orally rather than in a written form to help build consensus
C. Limit her statement to the smallest possible area
D. Start her message on areas that the employees and the HR team disagree with
E. Show that her solution is the best solution currently available, even though it isn’t
perfect
Answer:
Which of the following is a likely result of communicating honest reasons for a
company’s layoffs?
A. It is unlikely to protect the company from legal liabilities.
B. It is less likely to cause employees to sue the company.
C. It may make it more difficult to save jobs.
D. It makes layoff notices necessary.
E. It will permanently help the bottom line.
Answer:
When you want the audience to compare items or see a distribution or correlation, use
a:
A. pie chart.
B. map.
C. drawing.
D. bar chart.
E. table.
Answer:
Yosef, a branch manager of a travel company in Florida, needs to prepare a report on
the challenges faced by the accounts, marketing, and reservation departments of his
branch. In the report, he also needs to include different ways of resolving the issues
faced by each department. Which of the following patterns of organizing data would
best help Yosef present his report?
A. A functional pattern
B. A chronological pattern
C. A spatial pattern
D. A pro-and-con pattern
E. A geographic pattern
Answer:
Which of the following is a characteristic of good business writing style?
A. It is not conversational.
B. It avoids the use of first-person pronouns.
C. It uses technical and scholarly terms.
D. It is impersonal in nature.
E. It uses short sentences and paragraphs.
Answer:
Will, an environmental activist, needs to prepare a report to identify the forest areas of
different states in his country. The report will help him in the first stage of the “Heritage
Forest Campaign” that aims to preserve protected forest areas. Which of the following
measures is likely to ensure that the source of data is up-to-date?
A. Assessing objectivity of the source
B. Identifying the authors
C. Evaluating authenticity of data
D. Checking currency of information
E. Checking for bias of the source
Answer:
Discourse-based interviews:
A. use information written by the interviewee to frame new questions to ask.
B. are formal interviews based on written questions that the interviewee sees
beforehand.
C. are interviews that are always taped, so the interviewer can concentrate on the
interview and not have to take notes.
D. strive to get the interviewee’s spontaneous reaction to using a new product.
E. ask users to voice their thoughts as they use a document or product.
Answer:
Michelle is preparing for an interview with a travel agency. She has done substantial
research on the company and is currently preparing a short speech about why she is
right for the job of communications manager. Which of the following is Michelle most
likely preparing?
A. Vision statement
B. Elevator speech
C. Mission statement
D. Commencement speech
E. Maiden speech
Answer:
To make data displays more accurate and ethical, you should:
A. not differentiate between actual and estimated values.
B. include breaks in the bars while using truncated scales.
C. combine graphs with different scales.
D. use more three-dimensional graphs.
E. use more perspective graphs.
Answer:
_____ skills consistently rank first among the qualities that employers look for in
college graduates.
A. Technical
B. Communication
C. Mathematical
D. Abstract reasoning
E. Mechanical
Answer:
Which of the following best helps build emotional appeal?
A. Statistics
B. Graphs
C. Numbers
D. Stories
E. Tables
Answer:
Which of the following is a negative word with a negative connotation?
A. Eliminate
B. Understand
C. Questions
D. Always
E. Possible
Answer:
Juana, a sales manager, has to present a sales report to the directors of the company at
the end of every financial year. For her upcoming presentation, which of the following
statements should Juana use to help the audience recall the background on the
company’s growth presented in her last report?
A. As you may remember, the company had a 25 percent increase in sales last year.
B. Does anyone remember the sales figures of last year?
C. You may not be able to recall this, but the company’s sales rose by 25 percent last
year.
D. The company’s sales rose by a significant 25 percent last year.
E. For those who cannot remember, the company’s sales increased by 25 percent last
year.
Answer:
Jenex Inc. is a software development company that offers its employees perks including
on-site day care for their children, three-week paid vacation twice a year, and on-site
laundry pickup and delivery. These offerings are most representative of Jenex Inc.’s
_____.
A. big data
B. ethical code
C. globalization
D. corporate culture
E. intercultural competence
Answer:
Which of the following is the best way to begin a negative message to a customer to
make it more likely that the customer will read the letter?
A. Turning the negative message into a persuasive one
B. Presenting the negative information in a positive way
C. Using a buffer and then presenting the bad news
D. Putting the bad news first, while pairing it with an alternative
E. Presenting only alternatives without mentioning the bad news
Answer:
Which of the following is the primary purpose of a persuasive message?
A. To build a good image of the communicator’s organization
B. To have the audience act or change beliefs
C. To overcome any objections that might delay action
D. To build a good image of the communicator
E. To eliminate future communication on the same subject
Answer: