A summary abstract is used to present the most useful information in the least amount
of space.
In order to make writing easier to read, it is good to use familiar words or words that are
a part of almost everyone’s vocabulary.
If you have very little to say about yourself in terms of experience and education, it is
acceptable to fill only part of one page of your rsum.
It is appropriate for an applicant to call the employer after sending a solicited letter, but
an applicant should wait to be called after a sending a prospecting letter.
It is important to list all purposes of a message, including major and minor ones.
Phone calls are a better choice than face-to-face visits when a business requires
negotiation or a dialogue.
While praising or congratulating people in a message, it is important to make the praise
sound sincere by offering specifics.
While communicating about people with disabilities or diseases, positive emphasis
takes precedence over you-attitude.
While composing drafts, one should carefully label and date drafts so that everyone is
working on the most current version.
Teams are least effective when they explicitly adopt ground rules because they tend to
hinder work processes.
It is best to post your rsum on as many Web sites as possible to get the maximum
exposure to different employers.
You should not include study abroad experience on a rsum if you did not earn college
credit for it.
When saving space is a priority, it is better to cut down on white space instead of
omitting text.
While using positive emphasis, it is important to check that content is appropriate,
sincere, and realistic.
Poor writing may need to be rewritten and frequently cycled to other people for help.
According to anthropologist Edward Hall, everything is explicitly conveyed in
high-context cultures.
Wikis are an online form of content knowledge management used by companies to
advertise products for consumers.
If there are massive amounts of information to be presented in a report, it should be
classified into categories of ten or more, which makes them easy to understand.
While receiving feedback on a message, it is important not just to know if a message
succeeded or failed but also knowing the reason behind it.
Secondary research retrieves information that someone else gathered; it includes library
research and online searches.
Communication channels are identical in speed, accuracy of transmission, and the
ability to create goodwill.
Nonverbal language has explicit meaning and can never be misinterpreted.
LinkedIn is a site that allows you to include useful information beyond your rsum.
It is important to use every possible highlighting and decorative device to make a
document more attractive and easier to read.
Electronic mail systems are a more formal mode of communication than presentations.
360-degree feedback is a form of employee-development assessment in which a team
member receives feedback from everyone who is in touch with his/her work.
If you are sending your rsum in the text of an e-mail, start all lines at the right margin.
There is no need to have a rsum once you are employed.
Elevator speeches are impromptu and do not need carefully selected details for them to
be convincing.
In contrast to verbal languages and cultures which differ from country to country, body
language is universal in all countries.
Business communications are influenced by environments which are shaped by national
culture, corporate culture, individual behaviors, and widespread trends.
Which of the following best defines boilerplate?
A. It refers to sentences and words from old documents that a writer uses in a new
document without crediting the writer.
B. It refers to original content being created by a writer and copyrighting the
information to protect it against plagiarism.
C. It refers to using the language from a previous document that a writer legitimately
adds in a new document.
D. It refers to using someone else’s work and passing it off as one’s own online or in any
public document.
E. It refers to the denial of access to a piece of writing because it has strict plagiarism
rules.
Which of the following should be undertaken while organizing information which
creates goodwill?
A. Presenting information that interests the audience in the middle of a paragraph
B. Arranging information which meets all of the writer or speaker’s needs
C. Using headings and lists so readers can find key points quickly
D. Avoid anticipating an audience’s questions because it distracts from key points
E. Prevent showing data that the audience did not ask for as important
Kelly Hughes is writing a report on a campaign on child rights that she has worked on.
She is currently working on a certain section of the report which involves writing the
objective of the project, summarizing its results, its recommendations, and thanking
people for the help she has had. Which section of the report is Hughes working on?
A. Memo of transmittal
B. Title Page
C. Background or history
D. Executive Summary
E. List of illustrations
Which of the following is true of behavioral economies?
A. It uses insights solely from economics and mathematics.
B. It shows that people always behave rationally.
C. It finds that people behave in a predictable manner.
D. It indicates that people invariably act in their best interests.
E. It is a branch of differential psychology.
_____ interviews focus on the future and place interviewees in scenarios similar to
those one will face on the job and test problem-solving skills, as well as one’s ability to
handle problems.
A. Situational
B. Behavioral
C. Topgrading
D. Reference
E. Focused
Networking would include:
A. responding to a classified advertisement for a job opening in the local newspaper.
B. searching for a position on various job listings, such as CareerBuilder.com, on the
Web.
C. calling a company after seeing a “Now Hiring” sign on its premises.
D. talking to an acquaintance that you see repeatedly when you work out at the gym.
E. applying for an opening listed on the company’s page on Facebook.
While designing a document, which of the following should one undertake to make a
web page useful for visually impaired viewers?
A. Provide navigation bars vertically on the top of a screen
B. Use alternative text or “ALT tag” for web pages
C. Label hypertext links “Click here” so that users can navigate easily
D. Provide links that do not change color when visited
E. Place an off button if a document has music or sound effects
Hazel Boyd recently attended an interview for which she was asked to arrive at 0900
hours at the office. However, she was made to wait an hour before she was called in for
the interview. When she entered the room, the interviewer did not acknowledge her
presence and silently took notes. Boyd later came to know that this was a part of the
interview and helped them judge whether she was right for the position. Which of the
following interviews did Boyd most likely undergo?
A. Behavioral interview
B. Group interview
C. Stress interview
D. Topgrading interview
E. Reference interview
Sally recently gave a presentation at a media house on a possible tie-up for an
environmental campaign. Her audience found her presentation professional and
well-prepared. Which of the following did Sally most likely do?
A. Speak in a monotone which helped retain the attention of the audience
B. Made eye contact with only a few important audience members
C. Referred to notes frequently which prevented her from skipping points
D. Appeared professional by standing with feet joined together
E. Used varied tone, stress, pitch, while talking to the audience
Which of the following shows proper punctuation when presenting degrees on a rsum?
A. B S in Marketing
B. B S. in Marketing
C. B.S in Marketing
D. BS. in Marketing
E. BS in Marketing
Which of the following is true of conventions?
A. They remain constant over long periods of time.
B. They are practices one encounters infrequently.
C. They apply to a general audience and context.
D. They can be best learnt by reading annual reports.
E. They are widely accepted practices.
Ann Dunn works as a campaign manager at a Marine Conservation Organization. For
the past five years, she has been working on “Protection of the Olive Ridley Turtles
Campaign.” The campaign has over the years, gained a lot of support from the public
resulting in a huge number of volunteers for the campaign. Recently, due to lack of
budget, the campaign was temporarily closed. Dunn now needs to write to the
volunteers with this update. Which of the following buffer statement that uses a fact
should Dunn employ before presenting the negative news?
A. “I am sorry to inform you but work on the Olive Ridley Turtles campaign is closed
for now."
B. “Due to the negative response from the wildlife department, work on the campaign is
temporarily closed."
C. “The Olive Ridley Turtles campaign is over for this year and we will start again in
2012."
D. “Thank you for working with us for the Olive Ridley Turtles’ fight for life."
Which of the following questions does the feasibility section of a proposal discuss?
A. Is there a background to the problem discussed?
B. Who in the organization will serve as a gatekeeper?
C. Why does a problem need to be solved or explored?
D. Can a solution be found in the allotted time?
E. What problem or opportunity exists in a situation?
Dennis Mitchell needs to write a report on “Causes of Land Degradation in Ireland.” He
is currently working on a stage where he is scrutinizing the issue of degradation,
choosing instances to portray highly degraded farmland areas, and analyzing
governmental regulations on farming laws. Which of the following is Mitchell most
likely to be doing?
A. Proofreading
B. Writing
C. Revising
D. Planning
E. Editing
A memo of congratulations is written to:
A. clients who have been with a company for over 10 years.
B. employees who have won awards or been promoted.
C. company partners when a project is successful.
D. external allies for a well implemented campaign.
E. suppliers who have been loyal to a company.
Which of the following is a characteristic of a monochronic culture?
A. People focus more on relationships instead of on undertaking tasks according to
schedule.
B. People multitask several activities at a time to complete work according to schedule.
C. People prefer their time unstructured instead of structuring work along time frames.
D. People are more focused on establishing good working relations with colleagues and
peers.
E. People schedule work according to clock time and undertake one task at a time.
Which of the following should be undertaken while creating disciplinary notices?
A. Present them directly to prevent reducing importance of the notice
B. Present them by starting and ending with a positive statement
C. Minimize severity of an issue with the help of buffers
D. Use generalizations and inferences for all statements made
E. Avoid citing quantifiable observations of the employee’s behavior
Every year in the month of April, Rowland and Co. files a report to the Securities and
Exchange Commission of U.S.A. The report consists of details of their audited financial
statements, executive compensation, and equities. Which of the following is the
company filing?
A. Annual report
B. Quarterly Report
C. Claims adjustment
D. 10-K report
E. Quotation
Ethan Hill who works for Small Steps, a child rights organization, is writing a proposal
as part of the Literacy Campaign he is working on. The proposal is written for a
top-notch multinational company to provide funds for the purchase of computers for
underprivileged school children in Taiwan. Which of the following dictions should Hill
be using in his proposal?
A. “The campaign has massive potential to tackle illiteracy in Chung-li city of
Taiwan."
B. “The campaign will transform the current education system in Chung-li city."
C. “The campaign will help educate children of 20 schools in Chung-li city."
D. “We feel that the campaign will educate children of 20 schools in Chung-li
city."
E. “I believe the campaign has huge capacity to transform the education system of
Taiwan."
Martin Ortiz is an engineering student at The Hamilton University and needs to attend a
campus interview in the next week. Which of the following should he do to ensure his
attire for the interview is appropriate?
A. Follow the dress code of the campus career center while deciding his attire
B. Deviate from the standard dress code and wear something which stands out
C. Use a good after shave cologne which shows good personal hygiene
D. Wear comfortable sandals because he may have to walk to the campus center
E. Wear a light brown business suit which will be the most conservative choice
April Reyes works for Gordon Bank and has been given a sales target of 50 accounts
for the month of September. She shares her problem with Linda Davis and says, “I do
not know how I can achieve a target of 50 accounts when I have been doing only 30 a
month for the last two years. This is just asking for the impossible!” What appropriate
active response should Davis give which will help Reyes feel better?
A. “You are worrying about nothing! I am sure if you work in on weekends, you will be
able to achieve the 50 mark."
B. “A target of 50 is still better. Josh Lucas from the South Branch has a target of 65!
"
C. “Why don’t you put down a plan on paper and figure out how best you can achieve
the target?"
D. “You are saying that the target of 50 accounts is unrealistic because so far you have
done 30 accounts."
E. “You should have seen this coming. The new sales manager announced a higher
target next month if you remember."
Which of the following factors influence an audience’s reaction to a negative message?
A. Does the organization treat people well?
B. What is the company’s revenue in the current year?
C. How large is the company’s workforce?
D. Is the company a part of the fortune 500?
E. What is the financial history of the company?
Which of the following best describes persona in a message?
A. The character who allegedly writes the letter to make a message interesting
B. The description of a product or service with vivid sensory details
C. The description which helps an audience imagine enjoying a product’s benefits
D. The use of wordiness to make a document appealing to an audience
E. The use of a story to help an audience connect emotionally to a message
_____ is a form of qualitative research where a small group of people are convened to
provide a more detailed look into some area of interest.
A. An ethnic group
B. A questionnaire
C. A focus group
D. Sampling
E. An online research community
Which of the following is true of values, beliefs, and practices in business
communication?
A. Response to people and situations are always unaffected by beliefs and practices.
B. Business communication is free from the impact of religion and its values.
C. Everyday practices remain the same in all cultures and are not subject to any change.
D. Communication is crucial in today’s world because cultural practices change rapidly.
E. People within a certain culture have identical values and follow the same practices.
Tiffany Miles, who works as a human resource executive, recently recruited members
for the communication team of their organization. She has noticed that all of the new
employees were born after the year 1964 and distinctly differ from the rest of the age
group of the company. Which of the following would best help Miles handle them and
avoid dissatisfaction of employees?
A. Ensure they put in long hours at office and have an annual evaluation
B. Offer a formal, hierarchical work structure with basic decorum
C. Provide clearly defined roles for them to excel in
D. Motivate them by explaining them what they gain from a task
E. Inspire them to work by emphasizing on duty toward the company
Which of the following is true of personal space?
A. It refers to the distance people want between themselves and other people.
B. It refers to the difference between one’s thoughts and actions.
C. It refers to the distance between people in intimate interchanges.
D. It states that people within a culture always want the same personal space.
Raymond Wells needs to welcome the new sales executives at his organization and
introduce them to the rest of the team. He does not know them well and are meeting
them for the first time. When he introduces them to the team, his introduction sounds
sexist. Which of the following did Wells 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. Melissa."
D. “Please welcome Joe, Brian, and Melissa."
E. “Please welcome our new sales executives to the team."
Which of the following is true of readability formulas?
A. They attempt to measure objectively how easy something is to read.
B. They take many factors into account and are an efficient guide to good style.
C. They avoid depending on analyzing word length and sentence length.
D. They take into account factors that influence the complexity of ideas.
E. They consider the layout and design of a document while analyzing it.
When you want the audience to compare a segment to another segment of the whole,
use a:
A. pie chart.
B. table.
C. drawing.
D. bar chart.
E. line graph.
Amber is a climate change campaigner and is working on a global warming campaign.
She is currently working on the second stage of the project for which she needs to
discuss marketing strategies with Carrie, the communications manager. She understands
that her interaction with Carrie will involve long discussions on pros and cons of
different strategies. She is also aware that the process is complicated and she needs to
efficiently understand Carrie’s views on implementing different modes of
communication. Which of the following is most likely to be the ideal mode of
communication for Amber?
A. Phone
B. Text message
C. Instant message
D. E-mail
E. Face-to-face
Carlos Diaz works in the collections section of a bank’s loan department, and is very
efficient at writing professional, effective letters to customers whose accounts are
overdue. The human resources department asks to use copies of some of his letters in a
training course for new employees to show good examples of written documents. Under
which of the following categories would these new employees be classified?
A. Primary audience
B. Gatekeepers
C. Watchdog audience
D. Secondary audience
E. Auxiliary audience
Explain the different methods of conducting research interviews.
What are the five steps that create a positive emphasis in a message?
Enlist the five basic steps in writing any report.
Debora Reyes has recently joined a new company as a communications executive and
has been told by a colleague that the organization has a high-context culture. How
would this piece of information help Reyes in communicating better with her peers and
superiors?
How should you organize a solicited job letter?
What does the qualifications/resources/facilities section of a proposal cover?
How can one develop a common ground in persuasive messages?
What are the key elements to ensure that a positive message is sincere and appropriate?
List some of the tips for using and documenting sources in a research paper.
What are some things one should avoid saying in order to prevent blocking
communication?
What are RFPs and what guidelines should be followed when responding to one?
State the five advantages that oral messages have over written messages.
Lesley Jameson works for “Stop!” a boutique for clothing, and has been asked by her
manager to write a report on “Growth of Stop! in the last 5 Years.” What does Jameson
need to do which will create white space in her document and make it easier to read?
What are some of the benefits of improving communication?
How can you demonstrate knowledge of the company in a job letter?
When are phone calls a good choice to convey a message?