Deck 6: Improving Readability With Style and Design

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Being specific also affects the judgments your readers make about your credibility.Specific statements lead your readers to believe you know what you are talking about (competence),that you are not hiding anything (character),and that you want your readers to be informed (caring).

Question 2

A paragraph should rarely exceed 150 words.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Rarely should a paragraph exceed 150 words.Typically,paragraphs should contain 40 to 80 words.For routine messages,paragraphs as short as 20 to 30 words are common and appropriate.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Before they even begin to read,readers form impressions about ease of reading by looking at paragraph length.When they see long paragraphs,they often enter skim mode-searching for certain words and ideas rather than reading.

Question 4

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

Question 5

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

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

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

Question 10

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

Question 11

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.

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

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

Question 16

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

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

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

Question 21

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

A) being accurate.
B) being concise.
C) avoiding redundancy.
D) avoiding buzzwords.
E) using parallel language.

Question 22

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?

A) The company will have to lay off a few employees.
B) The company will have to terminate a small percentage of its employees.
C) The company will have to terminate the majority of its employees.
D) The company will have to lay off about half of its employees.
E) The company will have to terminate 50 percent of its employees.

Question 23

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?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Question 24

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?

A) prepositional phrases
B) parallel language
C) miscalculations
D) passive voice
E) redundancies

Question 25

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

A) be specific.
B) avoid empty phrases.
C) avoid redundancies.
D) control paragraph length.
E) use action verbs.

Question 26

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

A) Use longer,more unusual words to "sound smart" and increase the credibility of your message.
B) Avoid parallel language as it can distract the readers from the main message you want to deliver.
C) Include all the information you need by eliminating as much white space as possible.
D) Plan,write,and review your message strategically to provide all relevant information,but nothing irrelevant.
E) Use the active voice to avoid blaming others or sounding too bossy.

Question 27

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?

A) He did not explain the pressure he was under.
B) His message was not concise enough.
C) He used a memo instead of a more formal document.
D) His message did not set a clear and specific production target.
E) His message was not friendly enough.

Question 28

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?

A) He should shorten his paragraphs and increase white space.
B) He should avoid using buzzwords that tend to annoy readers.
C) He should include specific details and dollar amounts.
D) He should avoid using unfamiliar words that may alienate readers.
E) He should include a personal note at the front of his report.

Question 29

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

A) long paragraphs
B) inaccurate statements
C) generous white space
D) passive voice
E) nonparallel language

Question 30

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

A) include more figures of speech.
B) focus on one idea or topic in each paragraph.
C) use passive voice instead of active.
D) start more sentences with "There is."
E) replace verbs with prepositional phrases.

Question 31

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?

A) They may doubt his competence on the subject he is writing about.
B) They are more likely to read the message carefully.
C) They will be pleased that they can find the information they need quickly.
D) They will be assured that Raj is not hiding unpleasant facts.
E) They will focus their attention on Raj's primary message.

Question 32

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

A) being wordy
B) being specific
C) using buzzwords
D) starting sentences with "There are"
E) using prepositional phrases

Question 33

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

A) Providing too much information can distract the readers and weigh a business document down.
B) Using action verbs focuses on the goal of coordinating action in the workplace and livens up your writing.
C) Using longer,more unusual words to "sound smart" can increase the credibility of your message.
D) Using the passive voice allows for faster processing by the readers,because most people naturally think in that structure.
E) Relying on parallel language can distract the readers from the main message you want to deliver.

Question 34

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

A) using longer sentences
B) avoiding redundancy
C) using more prepositional phrases
D) avoiding the active voice
E) using buzzwords

Question 35

The typical paragraph length for a business message is

A) 10-20 words.
B) 40-80 words.
C) 150-200 words.
D) 300-400 words.
E) 500-850 words.

Question 36

Being concise means

A) removing relevant information.
B) omitting needless words.
C) omitting parallel structure.
D) removing white space.
E) removing paragraph breaks.

Question 37

A business message is complete if it

A) avoids all miscalculation,misinformation,and typographical errors.
B) provides all the information necessary to meet the intended purpose.
C) uses efficient language that says as much as possible in a few words.
D) maximizes paragraph length and minimizes white space.
E) keeps the word count as low as possible without redundancies or empty phrases.

Question 38

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

A) disorganized.
B) intelligent.
C) accurate.
D) respectful.
E) professional.

Question 39

In order to be accurate,a business message must be

A) concise.
B) exact.
C) short.
D) redundant.
E) general.

Question 40

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?

A) It uses obscure words.
B) It contains redundancy.
C) It uses passive voice.
D) It is not specific.
E) It uses a figure of speech.

Question 41

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

A) passive verbs.
B) parallel language.
C) the passive voice.
D) figures of speech.
E) buzzwords.

Question 42

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

A) distract attention from the message.
B) decrease the credibility of the message.
C) cause the readers' attention to wander because of boredom.
D) decrease the specificity of the message.
E) help the readers to process the information easily.

Question 43

Which statement about buzzwords is true?

A) They make text more active.
B) They are trite due to overuse.
C) They have very technical meanings.
D) They shorten the length of the message.
E) They improve a message's accuracy.

Question 44

Which statement about ease of navigation is true?

A) You should avoid using headings in information-rich and complex messages.
B) Visual appeal should be the first consideration for all written business communications.
C) Documents with too much text and not enough white space look daunting or cluttered.
D) Readers are likely to be distracted by bullets and numberings in a document.
E) In general,you should use special formatting as much as you can so your ideas stand out.

Question 45

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

A) They should be avoided because they lack specificity.
B) They send the signal that the writer is out of touch with the audience.
C) They are an effective way to write more concisely.
D) They should be avoided because they are too I-centered.
E) They are an effective way to make a message more natural.

Question 46

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

A) match your writing style to the way your readers think and talk.
B) use prepositional phrases extensively as they increase the clarity of the message.
C) choose long and obscure words to pique their curiosity.
D) avoid using parallel language,which makes it difficult to distinguish between the information provided.
E) include a lot of text in your message and very little white space.

Question 47

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

A) eliminate the passive voice.
B) remove empty phrases.
C) replace a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) start with "It is" or "There are."
E) remove redundant words.

Question 48

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?

A) Cut the prepositional phrase "at the end of September."
B) Change "at the end of September" to "at the end of the third quarter."
C) Change "PharmCo" to "PharmCo Drug and Pharmaceutical Company."
D) Change the buzzword "downsizing" to "laying off employees."
E) Change "CEO Mike Maloney" to "The CEO of PharmCo."

Question 49

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

A) eliminate the passive voice.
B) remove empty phrases.
C) replace a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) start with "It is" or "There are."
E) remove redundant words.

Question 50

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

A) uses action verbs rather than passive verbs.
B) uses active voice rather than passive voice.
C) has parallel structure.
D) contains redundancies to drive home the point.
E) does not mention the subject.

Question 51

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

A) avoid using headings in complex messages.
B) use different font styles and formatting for different headings.
C) make sure the headings accurately convey the contents of a section.
D) use wordy prepositional phrases as headings.
E) avoid using headings in information-rich messages.

Question 52

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

A) eliminate the passive voice.
B) remove empty phrases.
C) replace a prepositional phrase with a verb.
D) start with "It is" or "There are."
E) remove redundant words.

Question 53

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?

A) fiduciary
B) executor
C) agent
D) procurator
E) envoy

Question 54

Which statement about active voice and passive voice is true?

A) The active voice diverts attention from the doer.
B) People tend to think in a doer-action-object pattern.
C) The active voice is best when you do not want to attribute blame.
D) People tend to sound bossy when using the passive voice.
E) The passive voice places the object first.

Question 55

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

A) The message is less precise because it is wordy and lacks a specific subject.
B) The message is less precise because it contains figurative,not literal,meanings.
C) The message is more concise because those are brief phrases.
D) The message is more active because the second word is a verb.
E) The message is less natural sounding because it is not parallel.

Question 56

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

A) 8 words.
B) 15 words.
C) 20 words.
D) 25 words.
E) 30 words.

Question 57

Using the active voice while writing business messages

A) diverts the attention from the subject.
B) makes the writer sound less bossy.
C) allows for faster processing of the business message.
D) makes the message difficult to navigate.
E) is useful when the writer wants to avoid assigning blame.

Question 58

People are most likely to process information quickly when writers use

A) prepositional phrases.
B) action verbs.
C) the passive voice.
D) complex words.
E) long sentences.

Question 59

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

A) present the message in a visually appealing manner.
B) get the message across in an easy-to-read manner.
C) select the facts in a persuasive manner.
D) construct the message in passive voice.
E) demonstrate how much of an expert you are.

Question 60

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

A) using headings to convey the contents of sections
B) avoiding the use of numbered or bulleted lists
C) using several different font styles in the document
D) using a new style of formatting for each section
E) avoiding the use of too much white space

Question 61

What techniques can a business writer use to make series and lists easier for readers to comprehend?

Question 62

What is the purpose of including headings in a business communication,and how can you make sure they achieve this purpose?

Question 63

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

A) audience analysis
B) identifying the primary message
C) determining the key points
D) determining the message structure
E) conducting the FAIR test

Question 64

List three ways of ensuring the completeness of business messages.

Question 65

Is visual appeal the most important factor for creating a good business document? Explain.

Question 66

What is the impact of using the active voice in business messages?

Question 67

The "R" in the FAIR test stands for

A) revision.
B) respect.
C) relevancy.
D) redundancy.
E) repetition.

Question 68

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

A) doing a first pass of proofreading
B) applying the FAIR test
C) doing a second pass of proofreading
D) consulting the design department
E) using the AIM planning process

Question 69

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) a colleague in the Purchasing Department
B) a colleague in the Shipping Department
C) a colleague in the Human Resources Department
D) a colleague in the Research and Development Department
E) a colleague in the Public Relations Department

Question 70

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?

A) Do a grammar check and spell check.
B) Do a spell check,do the FAIR test,and proofread.
C) Do the FAIR test and get feedback.
D) Do a spell check,do a grammar check,and get feedback.
E) Do the FAIR test,proofread,and get feedback.

Question 71

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

A) concise.
B) accessible.
C) error-free.
D) understandable.
E) ethical.

Question 72

Why is it necessary to ensure that business messages are accurate?

Question 73

Discuss two ways of reducing the overall word count in business messages.Give specific examples of each.

Question 74

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

A) Check for grammatical errors.
B) Look for typographical mistakes.
C) Imagine how the audience will respond.
D) Check for problems with the writing style.
E) Look for issues with language mechanics.

Question 75

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) a colleague in the Human Resources Department
B) a colleague in the Shipping Department
C) a colleague in the Legal Department
D) a colleague on the Executive Committee
E) a colleague in the Marketing Department

Question 76

Describe the three components of the review process for business communications.

Question 77

Describe the significance of using white space in a business document.

Question 78

Discuss how to proofread a business document.

Question 79

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

A) Check for adequate white space.
B) Look for typographical mistakes.
C) Imagine how the audience will respond.
D) Ask yourself if you are confident in your facts.
E) See if you have made logical errors.

Question 80

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?

A) Are there any logical errors?
B) Have you allowed message recipients to provide input?
C) Have you considered how the message will impact stakeholders?
D) Have you evaluated impacts on others from an ethical perspective?
E) Have you demonstrated that you value others?