Deck 16: Revising Sentences and Paragraphs

Question 1

In the first round of revision, you'll add, expand, modify, and perhaps delete sentences and paragraphs.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In the third round of revision, you'll add, expand, modify and perhaps delete sentences and paragraphs.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Revision is a waste of time; instead, plan on getting it right the first time you write.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Begin the editing process before revision.

Question 5

Part of the revision process is deciding which words and ideas to keep and which to cut.

Question 6

Good business writing style uses complex words and phrases to establish authority.

Question 7

Good business writing sounds like a person talking with another person.

Question 8

Good business style allows for some individual variation in expression.

Question 9

Conversational style generally uses more contractions than good business style.

Question 10

Use a friendly style to someone you've talked with.

Question 11

Good business writing uses short, simple words and short sentences and paragraphs.

Question 12

Avoid contractions when writing to people you do not know.

Question 13

Many generalizations about style are half-truths and must be applied selectively, if at all.

Question 14

Using the right tone in a message is not difficult because the social distance between people has remained stable for the past 50 years.

Question 15

Norms of politeness can differ from organization to organization.

Question 16

Any sentence pattern will become boring if it is repeated sentence after sentence.

Question 17

Different organizations may legitimately have different ideas about what constitutes good style.

Question 18

A verb is active if the grammatical subject of the sentence does the action the verb describes.

Question 19

Writing is wordy if the same idea can be expressed in fewer words.

Question 20

Compound sentences have at least three main clauses connected by a conjunction.

Question 21

Complex sentences have one main and one subordinate close and are good for showing logical relationships.

Question 22

Even a 10-word sentence can be wordy if there are unnecessary words.

Question 23

A paragraph has unity when it focuses on only one idea or topic.

Question 24

Using the same style in business communication as you would in a college term paper is a good idea because doing so will show you to be intelligent and educated.

Question 25

Traditional term paper style favors shorter sentences and paragraphs than good business writing style.

Question 26

While good business writing style uses standard edited English, traditional term paper style wants a more formal style of grammar.

Question 27

As you are a recent hire, telling your boss "Get together with me later this week to discuss the upcoming project"is a good idea because the statement shows your assertiveness and leadership skills.

Question 28

Verbs can be changed from active to passive by making the direct object the new subject of the sentence.

Question 29

One of the strategies to tighten writing is to put the meaning of your sentence into the adjectives and adverbs.

Question 30

In addition to saving words, combining sentences focuses the reader's attention on key points in the sentence.

Question 31

Readable prose rarely mixes sentence lengths and varies structure because business readers expect parallel form.

Question 32

A series of long, abstract words doesn't make writing more interesting, more forceful, or more professional.

Question 33

Chunking, while useful in the drafting stage, almost never produces better sentences in the final document.

Question 34

Words or ideas that share the same logical role in a sentence must also be in the same grammatical form.

Question 35

There are sentence fragments in your company's brochure, which aims to get customers excited about purchasing the automobile accessories that you sell. Are these fragments acceptable?

A) No, because standard edited English regards sentence fragments as errors.
B) No, because the flow of language will be adversely affected by the sentence fragments.
C) Yes, because sentence fragments may mimic the effect of speech in the brochure.
D) Yes, because few of your customers will realize that the sentence fragments are errors.
E) None of the above.

Question 36

You are told "Never use I"while writing a business message. Is this good advice?

A) No, because there is no grammatical rule that states you cannot use I in a message.
B) No, because I is absolutely necessary when using third-person point of view.
C) Yes, because you-attitude forbids the use of I in a message.
D) Yes, because I is redundant-your reader need only look at the signature block to realize that you are the author of what's on the page.
E) None of the above.

Question 37

Which of the following sentences does NOT contain a passive verb?

A) Your recommendation has been reviewed.
B) It is recommended that we break ground for the new addition before fall.
C) We are scheduled to break ground this summer.
D) The new addition will be overseen by the Facilities Management department.
E) All of the above contain passive verbs.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage to using a passive verb?

A) Passive verbs can make a sentence longer.
B) Passive verbs can make a sentence shorter.
C) Passive verbs can obscure who or what is doing the action.
D) Passive verbs can sound boring.
E) None of the above.

Question 39

In the draft of your report, you notice several passages that sound wordy. Which of the following is a good strategy to make your writing more concise?

A) Cut gerunds in favor of passive verb constructions.
B) Put the meaning of your sentence in the prepositions.
C) Break longer sentences apart and make shorter sentences.
D) Eliminate words that say nothing.
E) Ask your boss to help you to revise.

Question 40

Which of the following, if any, is the best replacement for "past experience"?

A) "Experience."
B) "Past."
C) "Future experience."
D) The original wording is acceptable.
E) None of these are acceptable.

Question 41

Which of the following, if any, is the BEST replacement for "at present"?

A) The original wording is acceptable.
B) "At the present moment."
C) "Currently."
D) "Now."
E) None of these are acceptable.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a good reason to use long sentences?

A) To reduce repetition.
B) To present long, complex data.
C) To avoid a series of choppy sentences.
D) To show how ideas are related to each other.
E) All of the above are good reasons.

Question 43

You notice the last paragraph of your letter draft just sounds boring. It reads: "Our licensure efforts should produce good results. These results will help carry us into the next phase of development. That phase should carry us into a profitable future."What is the MOST likely reason the paragraph sounds unexciting?

A) It talks about licensure issues, which like insurance, always bores readers.
B) It uses the same pattern and about the same length for each sentence.
C) It uses rather tedious verbs-more descriptive ones like "spawn," "rocket," and "blast" would be better.
D) The subjects are too far from the verbs.
E) None of the above.

Question 44

"We could use some more pens, pencils, those clips for paper, and some tape"should be revised for

A) You-attitude.
B) Businessese.
C) Parallel Structure.
D) Wordiness.
E) None of the above.

Question 45

To increase unity in a paragraph, use a

A) Thesis Statement.
B) Topic Sentence.
C) Story.
D) All of the above.
E) A and B only.

Question 46

Should you use a passive verb in the following? "The order was damaged during shipment."

A) No, because passives make the sentence longer
B) No, because passives make writing boring and pompous
C) Yes, to avoid assigning blame
D) Yes, as long as "order" did not appear in the previous sentence
E) There is no passive verb in the sentence.

Question 47

Which of the following would be the BEST revision of these sentences? "Our present receivables are in line with last year's. However, they exceed the budget. The reason they exceed the budget is that our goal for receivable investment was very conservative."

A) "Receivables are in line with last year's. They exceed the budget. Our goal for receivable investment was very conservative."
B) "The receivable investment was very conservative."
C) "Our present receivables are in line with last year's because they exceed the budget."
D) "Our present receivables are in line with last year's, but they exceed the budget because our goal for receivable investment was very conservative."
E) None of these are acceptable.

Question 48

Which of the following, if any, is the BEST replacement for "seems to be of importance"?

A) "imports to be."
B) "seems important."
C) "seems of importance."
D) The original wording is acceptable.
E) None of these are acceptable.

Question 49

Explain what "good style"is.

Question 50

List the six techniques that you can use to make your writing easy to read.

Question 51

Explain what to do if your boss has a different sense of writing style than you do.

Question 52

Writing is ________ if the same idea can be expressed in fewer words.

Question 53

A verb is ________ if the grammatical subject of the sentence does the action the verb describes. A verb is ________ if the subject is acted upon.

Question 54

An ________ is the form of the verb which is precede by to.

Question 55

Good business style allows for _________ _________.