Deck 4: Objectives in Technical Communication

Question 1

Which of the following contains no passive-voice structures?

A)The dog was shot by an irate neighbor.
B)How old will Steve be on his next birthday?
C)We couldn't see the sky because the shades had been closed and the curtains had been drawn by whomever was in the room last.
D)While the room was being cleaned by the maid, we waited outside.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Limiting the number of words in each sentence to not more than generally makes the writing more readable.

A)20 words
B)17 words
C)12 words
D)30 words

Answer 2

A

Question 3

You can always avoid multisyllabic words in technical communication.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Answering reporter's questions helps determine which details to include.

Question 5

The text lists six methods of improving conciseness. Which of the following is not one of them?

A)Limit paragraph length.
B)Use the gestation approach.
C)Use the meat cleaver method of revision.
D)Limit prepositional phrases.

Question 6

The text lists five proofreading tips. Two of them are

A)reading it aloud and omitting redundancies.
B)reading one line at a time and using emphatic words.
C)reading it aloud and printing out a copy.
D)letting someone else read it and avoiding shun words.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 7

In a story mentioned in the text, the importance of proofreading in writing was highlighted by

A)courses given at Fortune 500 companies for proofreading.
B)professional communicators rating grammar as more important and teachers rating mechanics as more important.
C)teachers rating it as more important than professional communicators.
D)a misplaced decimal and a misplaced comma.

Question 8

Using acronyms in technical writing is

A)sometimes acceptable.
B)never acceptable.
C)always acceptable.
D)unavoidable.

Question 9

The ultimate goal of good technical communication is clarity.

Question 10

Which of the following should be avoided in written communication?

A)short words
B)camouflaged words
C)technical terms
D)active verbs

Question 11

Robert Gunning's Fog Index is a mathematical method for determining whether a paragraph is difficult or easy to read.

Question 12

Sentences may be wordy because you have

A)been redundant.
B)used shun words.
C)used expletives.
D)All of these answers are correct.
E)A and B only

Question 13

In addition to using obscure and unclear words, other obstacles to readers are created when a technical communicator uses

A)jargon.
B)acronyms.
C)abbreviations.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 14

Four important goals of effective technical communication are clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and organization.

Question 15

Which of the following is a passive-voice sentence?

A)The deal will be closed tomorrow.
B)The salesman will probably close the deal tomorrow.
C)He will close the deal tomorrow.
D)Truthfully, I hope he closes the deal tomorrow.

Question 16

Words like obtain, cognizant, subsequent, and initial are examples of obscure words.

Question 17

Shun words almost always

A)are unnecessarily wordy.
B)end in "tion."
C)end in "sion."
D)All of these answers are correct.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 18

Examples of camouflaged words are

A)make revisions and have a meeting.
B)at a later moment and arrive at an agreement.
C)with the exception of and consider the implementation of.
D)thanking you in advance and came to the conclusion.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 19

Technological advancements have made modern communication more wordy.

Question 20

To achieve clarity in a sentence, it should have

A)quantifiable details.
B)specific information.
C)broad and general descriptions.
D)All of these answers are correct.
E)A and B are correct.

Question 21

Which of the following groups of words is an example of wordiness in writing?

A)With the exception of the orange juice, we purchased everything on the list.
B)Enclosed please find two back issues of Scientific American magazine, as requested.
C)We arrived at a decision after only 90 minutes.
D)We collaborated together on the project.

Question 22

How will the shrinking size of technology impact the role of technical communicators and others who write in the world of work in the future? What kinds of equipment fall into this category? Since this is an issue facing professionals in the next decade, be creative and specific with your approach to this challenge.

Question 23

According to the text, only 31 percent of college graduates could read long and "complex English textbooks and draw complicated inferences" from the material. As a technical communicator, what would you do to make reading such material easier?