Critical Thinking Questions
1. Identify and explain the steps in the writing process. (LO1)
See pages 22 – 28 in the text.
2. Think about a writing project that you recently completed. Using the terminology in
this chapter, describe the process that you used. How might using different strategies have
made the project more pleasant and productive? What helpful strategies did you use, if
any, that were not mentioned in this chapter? (LO1)
Evaluate each student’s answer in terms of its use of terminology and its detail.
3. Think about a letter you received or wrote recently, and explain why it was
appropriate to use a letter in this situation. (LO2)
Most students will think of a letter they received from or wrote to an external audience
(insurance company, sales letter, etc.), but some may cite formal letters from internal parties (for
4. Will hard-copy letters and memos diminish in importance given the prevalence of
email in the workplace? Become obsolete? Vanish? (LO3)
Of course, no one really knows the answer. Letters and memos may diminish in importance, but
they won’t vanish, because they meet a need for formal internal and external correspondence that
5. Discuss the reasons for social networking’s phenomenal growth. Do you use social
media for business purposes? If so, how? Describe what works well and what does not.
(LO6)
Social networking has advantages over other forms of communication. It is fast, convenient,
time-saving, efficient, and effective. What will be interesting is to see how parameters are
6. Why should business writers be concerned about grammar and spelling in their email
communication, even with audiences they know? (LO4)
7. Some authorities say that shortcuts in text messaging and instant messaging will lead
to users’ inability to spell properly in more formal contexts. Do you agree? (LO5)
There are credible arguments for both sides of this issue. One argument is that text and IM-speak
8. Letters, memorandums, and email messages can differ more than in their physical
make up. Explain and discuss. (LO2–LO4)
As letters are the oldest message form, their formats have developed over centuries of use. Thus
9. Discuss and justify the wide range of formality used in memos and email messages.
(LO3, LO4)
Both email messages and memorandums serve the communication needs of business, and these
needs exist at all levels of the organization. Internal messages are sent to the highest levels of
What factors might determine whether or not instant messaging would be an appropriate
medium to use in a given situation? (LO5)