Deck 5: Planning, Composing, and Revising

Question 1

In the writing process,editing and revising have the same connotation.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: The revising process may involve evaluating one's work and measuring it against goals and the requirements of the situation and audience. On the other hand, the editing process involves checking the draft to see that it satisfies the requirements of Standard English and proofreading the final copy to see that it is free from typographical errors.

Question 2

The planning process involves getting feedback,evaluating one's work,and writing a formal draft.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: The planning process involves analyzing the problem, defining purposes, and analyzing the audience. It may also involve brainstorming information to include in the document, gathering information, and choosing a pattern of organization.

Question 3

Every task in the composing process involves brainstorming,planning,getting feedback,organizing,revising,and evaluating.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: The composing process can include many activities such as planning, brainstorming, gathering, organizing, writing, evaluating, getting feedback, revising, editing, and proofreading. The activities do not have to come in this order and not every task demands performing all activities.

Question 4

Abbreviations are inappropriate in e-mail messages even if they are part of the group's culture.

Question 5

It is best to spend at least 75% of one's time writing a document in order to get the best results.

Question 6

Good writers are likely to use rules flexibly and break big tasks into small ones.

Question 7

It is good to use the word "you" while writing formal documents and in situations when the audience is not known because it helps address the audience better.

Question 8

Pre-writing is a mandatory activity followed by all writers to get ready to write the main document.

Question 9

Though technical jargon should be used as much as possible,a job application letter is one of the few occasions that one should avoid using them.

Question 10

Bypassing occurs when two people use the same word or phrase to mean,or denote,different things.

Question 11

A way to become a better writer is to think about the writing process and consciously adopt the processes of good writers.

Question 12

Using the word "but" tells the reader that one is shifting points and that the point which follows not only contrasts with but also is more important than the preceding ideas.

Question 13

In order to make writing easier to read,it is good to use familiar words or words that are a part of almost everyone's vocabulary.

Question 14

While using big words,one should ensure that they are used correctly because they otherwise may just distance one from the audience and increase the risk of miscommunication.

Question 15

"Writing as we talk" can create awkward,repetitive,and badly organized prose if one's speech is not exceptionally fluent.

Question 16

The revising process involves brainstorming information to include in the document.

Question 17

While writing about things that one has done,said or seen,phrases like "this writer" should be used and the word "I" should be avoided because it may seem egocentric.

Question 18

In order to change from passive voice to active voice,one needs to make the agent the new subject.

Question 19

Brainstorming,clustering,and free writing are ways of getting ideas before one begins to write.

Question 20

Good business and administrative writing is similar to conversation and less formal than the style of writing that was used in college essays and term papers.

Question 21

Which of the following is a difference between editing and revising processes?

A) The editing process involves major changes in a document in contrast with revision.
B) The editing process focuses on the surface of writing, unlike revision.
C) The editing process measures milestones and objectives of a report unlike revision.
D) The editing process involves analyzing needs of audiences in contrast with revision.
E) The editing process comprises of gathering additional information as opposed to revision.

Question 22

Spell-checkers eliminate the hassle of proofreading a document manually.

Question 23

Writing is considered wordy if it lacks sufficient words to express a particular point or issue.

Question 24

In order to make a piece of writing easier to read,it is best to make long sentences stand by themselves instead of combining them.

Question 25

Michelle Hill needs to write a report on "Strategies to Market Chic's New Summer Line of Clothing." In order to get ideas for the report,she starts jotting down all the points she can think of in a few minutes and then stops and picks up points that may work.She continues the process two more times at the end of which she manages to collect five good ideas to market the product.Which of the following techniques did Hill use?

A) Clustering
B) Freewriting
C) Automatic writing
D) Psychography
E) Asemic writing

Question 26

Dennis Mitchell needs to write a report on "Causes of Land Degradation in Ireland." He is currently working on a stage where he is scrutinizing the issue of degradation,choosing instances to portray highly degraded farmland areas,and analyzing governmental regulations on farming laws.Which of the following is Mitchell most likely to be doing?

A) Proofreading
B) Writing
C) Revising
D) Planning
E) Editing

Question 27

While writing to a new audience or solving a particularly difficult problem,it is best to do a light revision of the document.

Question 28

The marketing team of Amor,a fashion house,needs to prepare a report on the marketing strategies for their new line of winter clothing.The team has now started working on ensuring that the objectives of the marketing campaign meet the high-end needs of their audience.In addition,they are working on receiving opinions on the report from members outside the team who can look at it from a fresh perspective.Which of the following is Amor's marketing team working on?

A) Revising
B) Proofreading
C) Brainstorming
D) Writing
E) Planning

Question 29

Patricia Moore has been asked by her project manager to prepare a report on the "Protection of the Green Sea Turtle" campaign that she has been working on.She has just started composing titles for the different sections of her report,and is jotting down important milestones of the campaign.Which of the following process is Moore working on?

A) Editing
B) Writing
C) Brainstorming
D) Proofreading
E) Revising

Question 30

It is better to use readability formulas instead of testing one's draft with an audience.

Question 31

Which of the following is a standard guideline to follow in order to manage time efficiently while writing a document?

A) Spending only 10 percent of one's time revising the draft
B) Using 50 percent of one's time analyzing an audience
C) Utilizing half of one's time organizing what one has to say
D) Spending one third of one's time writing a document
E) Using half of one's time editing a late draft to remove errors

Question 32

Which of the following are good writers most likely to do?

A) Stick to one basic strategy that works for them
B) Start editing before a draft is complete
C) Realize that the first draft can be revised
D) Avoid breaking big jobs into small chunks
E) Use and follow rules rigidly

Question 33

The revision process should always be undertaken after the editing process.

Question 34

The _____ technique involves thinking of ideas without judging them and consciously generating several ideas.

A) brainstorming
B) automatic writing
C) psychography
D) mirror writing
E) asemic writing

Question 35

Errors such as sentence fragments and run-on sentences disturb most educated readers and should be best avoided.

Question 36

It is recommended to use second-person pronouns such as "you" rather than third-person pronouns in order to give a piece of writing more impact.

Question 37

It is recommended to triple-check numbers,headings,the first and last paragraphs,and the reader's name.

Question 38

Betty Miller,a relationship manager at a travel house,is writing a report on "Creative Strategies to Increase Clientele Base." She has completed gathering information and compiling it and is currently ensuring that her report does not have any typographical errors and spelling mistakes.Which of the following is Miller working on?

A) Editing
B) Planning
C) Evaluating
D) Brainstorming
E) Writing

Question 39

Amy Scott,a communications manager at an environmental organization,recently used a certain technique to develop ideas for the "Action against Global warming Campaign." With the help of this technique,she jotted down her topic at the centre of a sheet and drew a circle around it.She wrote down strategies such as new media,radio,and print media in red,drawing circles around them.In addition,she circled the points of support from the public on the issue,governmental regulation on use of fossil fuels,and support of allies in blue.Which of the following techniques did Scott use?

A) Freewriting
B) Automatic writing
C) Brainstorming
D) Clustering
E) Free blogging

Question 40

The use of passive voice is desirable when it needs to emphasize the object receiving the action,instead of the agent.

Question 41

Johanna Cooper recently wrote a report for her manager for which she received a response saying,"The report had all the information I needed but the document was wordy." She now needs to edit the report and send it back with necessary corrections.Which of the following sentences in her report should Cooper edit or replace?

A) Lack of education is a reason for low economic development in Ghana.
B) Low economic development results in poverty and malnutrition.
C) Poverty can be tackled by community development in rural areas.
D) Poverty and low economic growth are directly proportional.
E) A good education system in every country can tackle and resolve many major problems of the world.

Question 42

The process of _____ refers to making changes in content,organization,and tone that will better satisfy one's purposes and audience.

A) editing
B) proofreading
C) revising
D) brainstorming
E) planning

Question 43

Which of the following sentences uses a transition word?

A) Sally will drive to Wellington Street tomorrow morning.
B) Sally will go to the mall before picking up Ben from the airport.
C) Sally needs to go to the mall to pick a birthday gift for Ben.
D) Sally needs to prepare casseroles for lunch tomorrow.
E) Sally will go to the mall early to avoid the weekend rush.

Question 44

_____ refer to words that indicate relationships and comprise of words such as "with","in",and "under".

A) Adjectives
B) Nouns
C) Prepositions
D) Pronouns
E) Interjections

Question 45

Which of the following represents a connotation?

A) Emotional associations that convey an attitude
B) A word's literal or dictionary meaning
C) Two or more meanings of similar sounding words
D) Repetition of sound in the first syllable of a word
E) Repetition of a consonant two times in short succession

Question 46

In which of the following situations should a passive voice be used?

A) When an agent in a sentence needs to be emphasized
B) When the object performing the action should be emphasized
C) When documents have big, complicated words
D) When an agent is omitted or deleted from a sentence
E) When a person needs to be made accountable for an action

Question 47

Which of the following is a difference between good business style and traditional term paper style of writing?

A) A good business style uses no contractions unlike traditional term paper style of writing.
B) A good business style uses no first and second-person pronouns like the traditional term paper style does.
C) A good business style makes no effort to make a document personal like the traditional term paper style does.
D) A good business style gives importance to visual impact of document unlike the traditional term paper style.
E) A good business style uses a more formal standard English than the term paper style of writing.

Question 48

The process of drafting,getting feedback,revising,and getting more feedback is known as _____.

A) framing
B) cycling
C) kerning
D) typesetting
E) typefacing

Question 49

Kelly Brooks recently wrote a report on marketing their revamped line of footwear.However,on completion when she read through the report,she realized that she wrote some parts of the report in passive voice.Which of the following sentences should Brooks change in the report in order to convert it into an active voice?

A) The director of marketing is in favor of the marketing campaign.
B) The marketing campaign will run in the month of March.
C) The campaign will target 50,000 customers across New York.
D) The marketing campaign took a total of five months to develop.
E) The old clientele will be targeted by the new media.

Question 50

Which of the following is an example of a simple sentence?

A) The new Bradshaw store on Hutchins Road sells recycled products.
B) The new Bradshaw store sells clothes but is yet to introduce footwear.
C) The new Bradshaw store sells a range of items though the old store does not.
D) The new Bradshaw is popular even though the customer service is not great.
E) I will visit the Bradshaw store today only if my class ends early.

Question 51

_____ refers to checking if a document is free from typographical errors.

A) Revising
B) Brainstorming
C) Freewriting
D) Proofreading
E) Clustering

Question 52

Which of the following should be undertaken to make a piece of writing easier to read?

A) Using a constant sentence structure and length
B) Using wordiness to add substance to a document
C) Using verbs to carry the weight of a sentence
D) Ensuring that a document only uses a passive voice
E) Using unfamiliar words to draw the attention of readers

Question 53

Which of the following is a characteristic of good business style writing?

A) It is more formal than a conversation.
B) It avoids use of first-person pronouns.
C) It uses technical and scholarly terms.
D) It is impersonal in nature.
E) It uses short sentences and paragraphs.

Question 54

It is appropriate to use a longer word in contrast to a shorter word if:

A) it is less familiar or lesser known than the shorter word
B) it sounds more technical or abstract than the shorter word
C) it is more scholarly than the shorter word
D) it has several ambiguous denotations or meanings
E) it is the only word that exactly expresses a meaning

Question 55

Which of the following guidelines need to be followed while choosing a level of formality for a document?

A) Using a formal style even if the document is for someone the writer has interacted with
B) Using contractions if the document is for someone the writer is not familiar with
C) Avoid using abbreviations in e-mails if they are part of a group's culture
D) Paying particular attention to one's style of writing when conveying bad news
E) Using personal pronouns and second-person in reports to make it more efficient

Question 56

Rachel Howard recently wrote a report on "The Impact of Global Warming" for the climate change campaign that she is working on.When she submitted the report to her manager,she received an overall positive response but the feedback also said,"It needs to follow a parallel structure." Which of the following does Howard need to change which will meet the parallel structure requirements of her manager?

A) Global warming can be tackled by enhancing carbon sinks and usage of cleaner technologies.
B) Policies comprise of targets for reduced emissions and increased use of renewable energy.
C) Global warming will lead to rising sea levels and melting of glaciers in the Himalayas.
D) Findings on the issue were gathered by interviewing farmers, and researching reports.
E) Causes of global warming can be attributed to the growing population and increasing level of consumption.

Question 57

Which of the following best defines boilerplate?

A) It refers to sentences and words from old documents that a writer uses in a new document without crediting the writer.
B) It refers to original content being created by a writer and copyrighting the information to protect it against plagiarism.
C) It refers to using the language from a previous document that a writer legitimately adds in a new document.
D) It refers to using someone else's work and passing it off as one's own online or in any public document.
E) It refers to the denial of access to a piece of writing because it has strict plagiarism rules.

Question 58

Which of the following is true of readability formulas?

A) They attempt to measure objectively how easy something is to read.
B) They take many factors into account and are an efficient guide to good style.
C) They avoid depending on analyzing word length and sentence length.
D) They take into account factors that influence the complexity of ideas.
E) They consider the layout and design of a document while analyzing it.

Question 59

Which of the following guidelines should be followed while editing a document?

A) The editing process should always be followed by revision of the document.
B) The proofreading process should be undertaken before the revision process.
C) Acknowledgements should be made when information is external to an organization.
D) A spell-check instead of proofreading manually is more efficient to identify errors.
E) It is important to proofreading one's own document instead of swapping it with another.

Question 60

The _____ became law in 2010 and requires all federal agencies to use clear prose that the public can readily understand.

A) Plain Writing Act
B) Printing Presses and Publications Act
C) Community Whistleblower Protection Act
D) Lobbying and Disclosure Act
E) Welfare Reform Act

Question 61

List the guidelines that need to be followed for sentence length and structure.

Question 62

What is a topic sentence? How does it strengthen a piece of writing?

Question 63

Oliver Green works for You!,a fashion house in California and needs to submit a report on ways to market a new line of eco-friendly wear to his marketing manager.What standard guidelines should he follow which will help him manage his time better while preparing the report?

Question 64

What are the key points to be kept in mind while choosing a level of formality for a document?

Question 65

Explain the importance of receiving feedback.

Question 66

Identify key processes that good writers tend to use.

Question 67

What are some points to remember when one proofreads a document?

Question 68

What activities does the planning process involve?

Question 69

Why is the statement,"Never have a sentence with more than 20 words,or a paragraph with more than 8 lines" considered a half truth? Explain.

Question 70

Is beginning a sentence with words "and","but",or "also" recommended? Explain.

Question 71

What are the two main kinds of jargon? Should their use in business writing be moderated? Explain.

Question 72

David Wright wrote the following report for his project manager on the work that he has undertaken in the past week.
"For the flood report in Fukushima,I organized a total of three interviews on 5^th,6^th,and 7^th of January.I managed to question a tea plant manager,a fisherman,and a farmer.The key point or element from the interview that I found was that there have been huge losses incurred by all three people due to floods.I also found out that the government is undertaking relief efforts comprising $250000 which will offer all those affected with financial aid.This will help them sustain during this time." However,when Wright read through the completed document,he realized that it was wordy and unnecessarily lengthy.Edit Wright's document to make it concise but ensure that it contains the same essential information.

Question 73

Define an active voice and a passive voice.How are they different from one another?

Question 74

How does revising differ from the editing process?

Question 75

What are simple,compound,and complex sentences? Explain.