Deck 6: An Overview of the Technical Writing Process

Question 1

The Walkerton Inquiry concluded that responsibility for Walkerton's water deadly contamination in May 2000 rests with

A)the Walkerton water manager who failed to report that the water was unsafe.
B)unethical behaviour at various levels of the Ontario government, from the Walkerton water manager all the way up to the Premier and his cabinet.
C)the Walkerton water manager and maintenance foreman, who had routinely falsified water reports for years.
D)no identifiable officials or workers.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following guidelines for ethical communication is considered "practical"?

A)Always give complete, candid feedback and criticism in feasibility reports.
B)Express your personal opinion, never your company's official line.
C)In reports, give the audience everything it needs to know.
D)In reports, give the audience everything it needs to know, but only if the knowledge does not compromise your organization's objectives.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Groupthink occurs when group members

A)vote on important decisions.
B)rely on each other to interpret data.
C)succumb to group pressure and do not critically examine issues.
D)make joint decisions and recommendations.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Clear critical thinking can help workers write and act ethically, because

A)it sharpens one's ability to see others' errors.
B)it helps avoid the fallacy of realism.
C)it helps avoid the fallacy of absolutism.
D)it makes workers slow down and think about their statements.

Question 5

Whistle blowing is defined as

A)keeping your own behaviour "clean as a whistle."
B)ceasing your own unethical behaviour when someone points it out.
C)telling your employer or an external watchdog about unethical acts you have observed.
D)whistling with amazement when unethical behaviour is exposed.

Question 6

The law

A)usually provides adequate guidelines for ethical actions.
B)occasionally provides adequate guidelines for ethical actions.
C)never provides adequate guidelines for ethical actions.
D)provides guidelines only in cases of libel and plagiarism.

Question 7

Legal guidelines for writers include

A)laws against libelous statements.
B)copyright laws.
C)laws protecting software.
D)all of the above.

Question 8

By definition, ethical communication

A)is always effective in achieving its informative and persuasive goals.
B)may be effective in achieving its informative and persuasive goals.
C)cannot be totally effective in achieving its informative and persuasive goals.
D)is all that matters and a message's persuasive component is irrelevant.

Question 9

Ethical employees should always owe their greatest loyalty to

A)themselves.
B)clients and customers.
C)their company.
D)their co-workers.

Question 10

When an employee learns about his or her company's ethical violations, whistle blowing

A)is the only course of action that the employee should consider.
B)is an employee's safest course of action.
C)should be considered carefully by the employee, whose career may be in jeopardy.
D)should never be considered because it always endangers the employee's career.

Question 11

Technical communicators face hard ethical choices in

A)knowing whether their evasions or untruths will be discovered.
B)choosing how much information to honestly reveal.
C)setting their fees for services rendered.
D)choosing the technical level of their vocabulary.

Question 12

Documents that may be read outside the workplace are primarily responsible for

A)conveying the company's perspective.
B)conveying the client's perspective and favoured results.
C)honestly reporting all pertinent facts and interpretations.
D)phrasing the facts so that the public doesn't grasp the document's full implications.

Question 13

Workplace writing is legally regulated by

A)libel laws that censure negative reports about illegal or unethical practices.
B)copyright laws for written documents and software.
C)disclosure laws that require a certain level of detail in technical reports.
D)laws that regulate the kind of phrasing allowed in reports and manuals.

Question 14

The following is not a good criterion for making ethical judgments

A)obligations to ourselves, our clients, our company, and the community.
B)ideals or standards of accepted behaviour.
C)consequences of our actions for those who may be affected.
D)financial implications for our company.

Question 15

The following exemplifies unethical behaviour:

A)you carefully describe your work experience on your résumé.
B)you fail to report test data that reveals potential equipment failure.
C)in a reference letter, you praise a friend's work ethic.
D)in a report, you use strong phrasing to present your recommendations.

Question 16

Proprietary information includes any document that

A)can be considered the exclusive property of the company in which it originated.
B)deals with titles, deeds, and other documents that identify property ownership.
C)uses "proper" or socially acceptable phrasing to report controversial findings.
D)is printed but not published online.

Question 17

Which of the following situations most likely contains the potential for unethical communication?

A)A company presents warranted claims about its technological developments.
B)A drug commercial shows images of happy, smiling people while listing the drug's possible side effects.
C)A nuclear power plant reports potential leaks in its fuel supply.
D)The favourable report of a product's clinical trials is delayed until confirmatory testing is completed.

Question 18

Pressure to engage in or comply with company-sanctioned unethical behaviour could come from

A)a desire to engage in politically correct behaviour.
B)misunderstanding about what constitutes unethical behaviour.
C)a highly developed sense of social responsibility.
D)loyalty to the company and its culture.

Question 19

People act ethically, and "do the right thing," often because

A)they subscribe to the moral, "treat others as you would have them treat you."
B)they're individualists who will not be bullied.
C)they consider how their behaviour will affect their own well-being.
D)it's usually the easiest route to follow.