BA 1500 Chapter 6

By eliminating redundancies, you can reduce the overall word count in a business message.

true

Jerry’s supervisor has asked him to revise a memo because his paragraphs are too long. How long should Jerry’s paragraphs be, on average, in his revision?

40-80 words

One way to make a business message easier to read is to

use short sentences.

Which statement about buzzwords is true?

They are trite due to overuse.

For most written business communications, the first consideration should be to

get the message across in an easy-to-read manner.

Why is active voice generally preferable for business messages?

It emphasizes the business orientation of action.

Which of the following statements about navigational design will help improve the ease of reading?

Avoid formatting features that distract readers from the main message.

Providing too much information can distract readers and weigh a business document down.

true

Which of the following is one of the advantages of using the FAIR test to review business documents?

It helps ensure that there are no logical errors in the message.

Consider the following sentence: "CEO Mike Maloney regrets to announce that PharmCo will be downsizing at the end of September." Which of the following actions would improve the ease of reading?

Change the buzzword "downsizing" to "laying off employees."

Which of the following guidelines should be followed to ensure that you are creating a complete business message?

Plan, write, and review your message strategically to provide all relevant information, but nothing irrelevant.

In his memo, Ellis explains three functions of the new software he is recommending. What can Ellis do to make this information easier to process and remember?

employ parallel language

Which of the following is most likely to positively influence your readers’ perceptions of your credibility?

being specific

To ensure the completeness of a business message, a writer should

be specific.

One primary cause of overly long paragraphs is placing more than one main idea or topic in a paragraph.

true

Dale has written a proposal for a new initiative. Which of the following will help him evaluate how his message will impact stakeholders?

applying the FAIR test

To ensure the completeness of a business message, be sure to

be specific.

The use of familiar words in business messages is most likely to

help the readers to process the information easily.

To improve ease of reading when using headings in business documents,

make sure the headings accurately convey the contents of a section.

A survey of recruiters found that the most sought after characteristic of writing is

being accurate.

It becomes easier for your readers to process the information you present when you

match your writing style to the way your readers think and talk.

In order to be accurate, a business message must be

exact.

A business message is complete if it

provides all the information necessary to meet the intended purpose.

While conducting the FAIR test, which of the following questions will help you analyze the impact of your business message?

Have you thought about how the message will affect stakeholders?

When writers use long paragraphs in business messages, it

shows disrespect for the reader’s time.

In order to be concise, you must sometimes leave out relevant information.

false

People can generally process information more quickly when writers use passive verbs.

false

Emma’s boss has reviewed her proposal. He tells Emma that she needs to make it more accurate. Which of the following should she try to eliminate?

miscalculations

Improving ease of reading with natural style requires that the writer

use short and familiar words.

The less specific you are while writing your business messages, the greater the possibility that your readers will

scan and skim your message.

Which statement about ease of navigation is true?

Documents with too much text and not enough white space look daunting or cluttered.

When business messages contain long paragraphs, readers are most likely to think the writer is

disorganized.

Documents with a lot of text and not much white space look daunting or cluttered.

true

Consider the statement: "In order to build a sustainable organization, it is important to hire employees with sustainable qualities." One way to make this statement more concise is to

replace a prepositional phrase with a verb.

Using the active voice while writing business messages

allows for faster processing of the business message.

People are most likely to process the information in a message quickly when writers

clearly identify the subject or doer.

Hugo includes the following sentence in his memo: "The increase in profits is greater than any I have seen during my career." What is the flaw in this sentence?

It is not specific.

Being concise means

omitting needless words.

One advantage of using simple, short words is that they help readers process information more quickly.

true

Anwar’s colleague tells him that some of his coworkers believe he has misleading them about his team’s expenses. They believe that his reports have concealed the truth. What should Anwar do in his next report to avoid giving his coworkers that impression?

He should include specific details and dollar amounts.

Consider the statement: "As most of you know, Mega Manufacturing had its most profitable year ever last year." One way to make this statement more concise is to

remove empty phrases.

Writers should typically use the active voice when they want to avoid blaming others or sounding bossy.

false

When readers see long paragraphs, they often stop reading and start trying to pick out significant words and phrases from the text.

true

If you are specific in your message, then your readers are more likely to believe you are credible.

true

People reading a business message are most likely to be confused by a sentence that

does not mention the subject.

Andre, the floor manager of a packing plant, is under pressure from his boss to increase productivity. He circulates a memo telling all of his workers that they need to increase the number of units packed each hour. After a month, production has not changed significantly. What went wrong in his communication?

His message did not set a clear and specific production target.

Which guideline for navigational design is most likely to improve the ease of reading for business messages?

Use white space appropriately.

One way to solve the problem of overly lengthy paragraphs is to

focus on one idea or topic in each paragraph.

The more specific you are, the more likely your readers are to become impatient and begin skimming your message.

false

The more you use special formatting, such as italics or underlining, the more likely you are to communicate your emphasis to your reader.

false

Sentences that begin with "it is" or "there are" generally contain more words than necessary.

true

Which of the following choices is a component of the reviewing process?

conducting the FAIR test

The primary purpose of the FAIR test is to make sure that business communications are

ethical.

In order for your colleagues to act immediately on your business message, the message needs to be

complete.

Prepositional phrases should be used in business messages to increase clarity.

false

Which statement about active voice and passive voice is true?

People tend to think in a doer-action-object pattern.

The use of buzzwords in business messages usually stirs positive feelings among readers.

false

The use of uncommon words in a business message is most likely to

make it more difficult for readers to interpret the message.

Which task are you most likely to do during the first pass of proofreading?

Imagine how the audience will respond.

A paragraph should rarely exceed 150 words.

true

Which of the following statements is the most specific way for a company to convey that it needs to reduce its current workforce by half?

The company will have to terminate 50 percent of its employees.

Which of the following is most likely to help you write concisely?

avoiding redundancy

Your colleague Li has just finished drafting an important business proposal. Now he has asked you for advice on how to review the document. What should you tell him to do?

Do the FAIR test, proofread, and get feedback.

The three steps of the review process for business messages are conducting the FAIR test, proofreading, and

feedback.

In the context of creating a complete business message, which of the following is true?

Providing too much information can distract the readers and weigh a business document down.

To keep their writing natural and engaging, business writers should avoid

out-of-place words.

Consider the following statement: "Employee managers can use our motivational tools to motivate their employees to increase productivity." The best way to make this statement concise is to

remove redundant words.

What impact does beginning sentences with "it is" or "there are" have on a business message?

The message is less precise because it is wordy and lacks a specific subject.

Reviewing business messages minimizes the possibility of embarrassing and damaging mistakes.

true

Which of the following is most likely to have a negative impact on your readers’ perceptions of your credibility?

being vague

The "F" in the FAIR test stands for

Facts

To create a more natural writing style and improve the ease of reading, a writer should use

parallel language.

You are applying the FAIR test to a business message. Which of the following questions are you most likely to ask while analyzing its factual accuracy?

Are there any logical errors?

Glen is writing a memo to suggest that his company hire someone to act on its behalf in a foreign market. If he wants to improve the ease of reading of his message, which term should he use to describe that person?

agent

Long paragraphs in a business message are a sign that the text is well organized.

false

The "R" in the FAIR test stands for

respect

Julio has a long paragraph that describes the two main causes of employee absenteeism and gives a suggestion to address each cause. Ideally, how many paragraphs does Julio need to cover this material?

four

Which of the following is most likely to improve the ease of navigation in information-rich and complex messages?

using headings to convey the contents of sections

Raj tends to generalize in his writing because he believes that makes his writing easy for most people to understand. What is the likely effect of his generalizations on his readers?

They may doubt his competence on the subject he is writing about.

Chun has designed a flyer to invite employees to a workshop about time management. She wants to know if it is inviting and clear. Which of the following colleagues could provide the best feedback?

a colleague in the Marketing Department

The "A" in the FAIR test stands for

access.

Documents with a lot of text and not much white space

make business texts look cluttered.

Which of the following steps typically belongs to the reviewing process?

proofreading the document

Which of the following statements accurately describes the use of figures of speech, such as idioms and metaphors, in business writing?

They should be avoided because they lack specificity.

The typical paragraph length for a business message is

40-80 words.

Writers of business messages should avoid sentences that begin with "it is" or "there are" because they

contain more words than necessary.

For business documents, which of the following guidelines about headings helps improve the ease of reading?

Use headings for complex messages.

Which of the following is most likely to negatively influence readers’ perceptions of your credibility?

inaccurate statements

The closer you match your writing style to the way your readers think and talk, the easier it is for them to process the information you present.

true

Which task are you most likely to do during the final pass of proofreading?

Look for typographical mistakes.

Salim has written a proposal advocating that his company should implement a schedule in which employees work four 10-hour days, with half of the employees having Monday off and the other half having Friday off. He claims that productivity will increase because fewer people will take days off to go to medical appointments, which they can schedule on their off day. Which of the following people has the correct expertise to give Salim helpful feedback about his proposal?

a colleague in the Human Resources Department

Which of the following is an example of a buzzword?

"think outside the box"

As a rule of thumb, for routine messages, the sentence length should be no more than

15 words.

The FAIR test helps business writers to make sure their communications are ethical.

true

People are most likely to process information quickly when writers use

action verbs.