Deck 5: Crafting Effective Sentences and Paragraphs

Question 1

The following sentence uses subordination:
"The customer's question was insightful, and I had trouble answering it."

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A cluttering phrase can be replaced by shorter wording without affecting the meaning of the sentence in which it appears.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Redundancies usually increase the effectiveness of business messages.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The use of specialized language can signal to other specialists that you are qualified to communicate on their level.

Question 5

To communicate clearly, you must use words that your readers are familiar with.

Question 6

This sentence uses a cliché:
"The project uses state-of-the-art technologies."

Question 7

Transitional devices are limited to repeating key words and ideas and using transitional words.

Question 8

Overuse of the verb "to be" and passive voice can sap the energy from your sentences.

Question 9

When the verb describing the action in a sentence takes the form of a noun, the verb is called a camouflaged verb.

Question 10

The following sentence contains surplus words:
"Jesse made a good impression on everyone he came in contact with during the interview."

Question 11

It is mandatory for every paragraph in a business report to have a topic sentence.

Question 12

Wording defined as "communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it" is known as

A) plain language.
B) demonstrated language.
C) tailored language.
D) simplified words.
E) considered words.

Question 13

The following sentence has a dangling/misplaced modifier:
"Believing home prices would fall, people were asked not to invest in real estate."

Question 14

You should never use difficult words.

Question 15

If there is any question about whether readers will understand what a set of initials stands for, you should spell out the words and follow them with the initials.

Question 16

This example illustrates faulty parallelism:
"Jake is good at creating and delivering presentations."

Question 17

This sentence uses abstract language:
"A sizeable portion of our revenue comes from one product."

Question 18

It is acceptable to begin a paragraph by discussing one topic and then switch to a new topic midway through as long as the topics are closely related.

Question 19

This sentence uses a slang word:
"We take pride in our work."

Question 20

The word "complement" refers to words of praise.

Question 21

Which of the following will most likely enhance the readability of your message?

A) using complex sentence structures
B) using see-saw sentences
C) using cluttering phrases
D) using mixed constructions
E) using short sentences

Question 22

Clichésshould be used sparingly because they

A) signal to other specialists that you are qualified to communicate on their level.
B) create problems in cross-cultural communication.
C) represent unpopular concepts.
D) are short in length.
E) are familiar to most people.

Question 23

Which of the following sentences is in active voice?

A) Our products are manufactured in China.
B) The company's network was attacked by hackers on Friday.
C) She presented her proposal to the committee yesterday.
D) A lot of clients were lost by her carelessness.
E) Their lack of response has been worrisome.

Question 24

Which of the following sentences uses all words appropriately?

A) The company's decision to pass him over for a promotion deeply effected him.
B) Please advice me on this matter.
C) This issue needs farther deliberation.
D) The management's decision had a far-reaching effect.
E) The company has less customers this year than it did the previous year.

Question 25

Which of the following sentences uses a camouflaged verb?

A) Scott responded to client voicemails after his meeting with Joe.
B) Kimiko helped Jan with her presentation.
C) Esai had several conversations with his client.
D) The company had little choice but to make the merger with the competition.
E) The company collected information about potential prospects from a third party.

Question 26

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the word "farther"?

A) The product needs farther testing.
B) I can't argue any farther.
C) How much farther do you intend to take this matter?
D) How much farther is the conference room from here?
E) I wish the committee had discussed this farther.

Question 27

Which of the following statements about initials and acronyms is true?

A) You should only use initials and acronyms in your business documents if you know your readers are familiar with them already.
B) Acronyms may be used in business documents, but initials should be avoided.
C) It may be necessary to define initials and acronyms for readers.
D) Initials and acronyms should be listed in an appendix at the end of the document.
E) Initials and acronyms should not be used in business documents.

Question 28

Which of the following sentences provides the best example of the use of specific words?

A) She is a better fit for the new role.
B) She works for a great organization.
C) Please call me back soon.
D) Our product is better than that of our competitors.
E) Please meet me in the boardroom at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Question 29

Which of the following sentences provides the best example of the use of abstract words?

A) His office is on the fifth floor.
B) A significant portion of the time, she is able to close the deal without a hitch.
C) Her building project will be approved, provided she reduces her budget by $10,000.
D) Her meeting is on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
E) It takes her an hour to get to work every morning.

Question 30

Which of the following sentences uses an idiom correctly?

A) He was reprimanded for speaking out of turn.
B) Last quarter's circumstances were different than this quarter's circumstances.
C) He was asked to comply to the office norms.
D) Jay is our office's authority about employment law.
E) He finally made of as a web developer.

Question 31

A camouflaged verb is one that is forced to take the form of

A) an adverb.
B) a noun.
C) an adjective.
D) a conjunction.
E) a preposition.

Question 32

Which of the following sentences is the best example of the use of familiar words?

A) We are buying new computers this week.
B) We have a platonic relationship.
C) Karen was livid with anger because Rob was late for the meeting.
D) Please try to expedite the process.
E) He wore an immaculate suit to the office.

Question 33

Which of the following is true about clichés?

A) All business people like business clichés.
B) The heavy use of clichésin formal cross-cultural communication is advised because it helps in breaking cultural barriers.
C) Business clichéscan sometimes increase your credibility with other business people.
D) Clichésdo not run the risk of sounding dated.
E) Clichéscatch on because they represent unpopular concepts.

Question 34

Which of the following sentences provides the best example of the use of concrete words?

A) Whitney's sales last quarter were poor.
B) Whitney's sales numbers last quarter were not very good.
C) Whitney's sales last quarter were fairly disastrous.
D) Whitney's sales were abysmal last quarter.
E) Whitney only sold 20 percent of her quota last quarter.

Question 35

Which of the following sentences uses an incorrect two-word expression?

A) He knew the names of all of his employees from heart.
B) It's hard to believe that we lost our jobs.
C) She built this company from scratch.
D) The salesperson made the deal more enticing by offering a huge discount.
E) When I bought my car, the dealer offered free auto maintenance for a year.

Question 36

A word may have several ______, or social and emotional associations.

A) denotations
B) connotations
C) acronyms
D) idioms
E) dummy subjects

Question 37

Which of the following sentences uses technical words?

A) The new business plan wasn't considered feasible.
B) We will deliver the goods by Friday.
C) We regret to inform you that the conference room is not available.
D) It is advisable to invest in an annuity.
E) Several employees attended the meeting.

Question 38

For writing to be clear and effective, you should

A) avoid using familiar words.
B) avoid using active verbs.
C) avoid using stiff words.
D) use complex words to exhibit your knowledge to your readers.
E) use passive voice instead of active voice.

Question 39

Which of the following sentences does not use slang or a cliché?

A) The company spent a fortune developing this cutting-edge technology.
B) This hotel has world-class amenities.
C) Are you for real?
D) Moving forward, please ensure you direct all customer queries to me.
E) They decided to schedule the meeting at an earlier date.

Question 40

Which of the following is a concrete word?

A) book
B) interest
C) cater
D) deception
E) quality

Question 41

Which of the following sentences uses a redundant word?

A) Her lie about her former coworker was a false assertion.
B) We can finish the report now.
C) Please sign this check.
D) We'll meet again tomorrow at noon.
E) This report is longer than the previous one.

Question 42

Which of the following is true of paragraphs in business documents?

A) The concluding paragraph is often only one or two sentences long.
B) Most paragraphs are at least five sentences long.
C) Frequent paragraph breaks are unattractive to business people.
D) Body paragraphs are used to prepare the reader for what is coming.
E) Paragraphs are rarely more than two lines long.

Question 43

Which of the following is true of incomplete constructions?

A) They fail to fulfill reader expectations.
B) They lack a main clause.
C) They do not use closing punctuation.
D) They lack coordination or subordination.
E) They can be fixed by adding a dependent clause.

Question 44

Which of the following sentences contains unnecessary repetition?

A) Even though it seems unlikely, she really is likable.
B) Every week, my boss requires us to attend weekly forecast meetings.
C) After the client rejected our first proposal, we suggested a second option.
D) Although we tried our hardest, we couldn't meet the deadline.
E) Our team has a meeting this morning and another this afternoon.

Question 45

When a writer mixes two different types of sentences into a single sentence, it is known as

A) mixed construction.
B) incomplete construction.
C) dangling modification.
D) faulty parallelism.
E) subordination.

Question 46

Lack of unity in sentences is usually caused by ______ or excessive detail.

A) unrelated ideas
B) the use of active verbs
C) active voice
D) the elimination of two-word verbs
E) the elimination of cluttering phrases

Question 47

Which of the following statements about sentence length is true?

A) Long sentences generally convey emphasis more effectively than short ones.
B) To create proper emphasis, a sentence must be long enough to contain supporting information.
C) Short sentences generally create more emphasis than long sentences.
D) Length has no bearing on the emphasis a sentence carries.
E) Extended sentences are better for calling attention to their contents.

Question 48

A main clause

A) expresses the central point of a sentence.
B) is dependent on an independent clause.
C) requires a coordinating word to be an independent clause.
D) always conveys the same idea, no matter how a sentence is structured.
E) cannot be combined with a dependent clause.

Question 49

Which of the following sentences avoids the use of excess words?

A) The customer returned the phone back to the seller.
B) We should plan in advance for the future.
C) At the present time, we are conducting two surveys.
D) I would like to learn more about your project.
E) This chapter discusses the basic fundamentals of clear writing.

Question 50

Which of the following sentences is an example of an incomplete construction?

A) As far as budgeting, Vinny can be relied on to save the company money.
B) The majority of the jury voted against the defendant.
C) A number of students were absent for the test.
D) The committee is meeting today to decide on a salary increase for the employees.
E) Neither of them likes to cook.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about managing emphasis in a sentence is true?

A) Short sentences carry less emphasis than long, involved ones.
B) Beginnings and endings of business messages are particularly good places for using long sentences to emphasize your content.
C) A long closing should be used in business messages to ensure that the reader is left with an important final thought.
D) If a sentence contains two ideas that are equally important, the ideas should be joined with "and" to give them equal emphasis.
E) If a sentence contains two ideas that are equally important, one idea should be subordinated to the other.

Question 52

Which of the following sentences uses a cluttering phrase?

A) Can you file these papers after lunch?
B) The reason why Marcy missed the meeting was because she was sick.
C) I will redo the budget in the morning.
D) Could you mail those packets after the meeting tomorrow morning?
E) Please call me as soon as the client gives you the paperwork.

Question 53

Which of the following sentences has a dangling/misplaced modifier?

A) I was asked to report to work just two weeks after returning home from the hospital.
B) Noticing Stan was still out to lunch, Nori was asked to answer the phones.
C) I was informed about the unavailability of the auditorium a little too late.
D) He has the reputation of being a quick study.
E) He has little patience for people who, in his opinion, are "slowpokes."

Question 54

A phrase that can be replaced by a shorter wording without changing the meaning of the sentence where it appears is ______ phrase.

A) an abstract
B) a concrete
C) a cluttering
D) an unnecessary
E) an economical

Question 55

Which of the following sentences is an example of a mixed construction?

A) Gary and Joan were both asked to attend "sensitivity" training.
B) Alex was ill with a fever, so he asked his manager if he could be excused from work.
C) Laura is busy preparing for tomorrow's big presentation.
D) Because my boss refuses to negotiate with clients resulted in us losing the deal.
E) She was asked to reduce the planned operating expenses in order for her budget to be approved.

Question 56

Which of the following sentences avoids the use of cluttering phrases?

A) This account was created for the purpose of contacting the client.
B) We are talking about something in the neighborhood of $40 million for donations.
C) With reference to the article written yesterday, there was a huge outcry demanding its retraction.
D) They agreed to abide by the rules in accordance with the treaty.
E) Please fill out the forms and provide all relevant documents to speed up the application process.

Question 57

Which of the following examples illustrates coordination of ideas?

A) Marcus, who is a hard worker, always turns in thoroughly researched projects.
B) Marcus, who always turns in thoroughly researched projects, is a hard worker.
C) Marcus is a hard worker, and he always turns in thoroughly researched projects.
D) Although Marcus doesn't like working in groups, he always turns in thoroughly researched projects.
E) Marcus always turns in thoroughly researched projects, although he dislikes working in groups.

Question 58

Given below is a list of rules to be followed while designing a logo. Which of the following items is not parallel with the other items?

A) create a balanced design
B) avoid commonly used fonts
C) take risks
D) keeping it simple
E) spend time on preliminary work

Question 59

Words that add nothing to sentence meaning and that can often simply be eliminated are referred to as ______ words.

A) surplus
B) concrete
C) abstract
D) economical
E) limiting

Question 60

Which of the following is an example of a sentence in which one idea is subordinated to the other?

A) The company saw a huge increase in quarterly profits, and it invested large amounts of money in research and development.
B) The company saw a huge increase in quarterly profits, yet it did not invest in research and development.
C) The company did not invest in research and development.
D) Although the company invested large amounts of money in research and development, it did not see an increase in quarterly profits.
E) The company has yet to generate sufficient profits to invest in research and development.

Question 61

Briefly explain the difference between concrete and abstract words and give at least two examples of each.

Question 62

Which of the following is true about topic sentences?

A) The most common paragraph arrangement is to begin with the topic sentence.
B) The most common paragraph arrangement is to end with the topic sentence.
C) The most common paragraph arrangement has the topic sentence in the middle of the paragraph.
D) Every paragraph must include a topic sentence.
E) The topic sentence builds around and supports the main sentence.

Question 63

Choose the transitional word that best fits the following sentence: "Alice's grades have to be high; _____, she will not get the scholarship."

A) otherwise
B) however
C) moreover
D) therefore
E) likewise

Question 64

Choose the transitional word that best fits the following example: "Thom spent most of his working remotely and rarely spoke to his co-workers; _____, they did not immediately recognize his voice when he chimed in his opinion at the meeting."

A) otherwise
B) however
C) moreover
D) therefore
E) likewise

Question 65

Briefly explain what a says/does chart is for and how to create one.

Question 66

What are the three major transitional devices that make paragraphs coherent?

Question 67

Which of the following is true about paragraph design?

A) Paragraphs should usually be at least ten sentences long.
B) Most paragraphs feature a topic sentence.
C) One-line paragraphs fail to emphasize major points in business messages.
D) The most common paragraph arrangement puts the supporting material first, followed by the topic sentence.
E) The opening and closing paragraphs each need at least three sentences.

Question 68

What is a topic sentence?

Question 69

Which of the following pieces of advice will help you use paragraphing to your best advantage?

A) Ensure that the different bits of information within each paragraph are logically related to each other.
B) Keep paragraphs long to make them appear sophisticated and business-like.
C) Avoid using topic sentences.
D) Limit the use of transitional words to keep paragraphs concise and professional.
E) Ensure every paragraph introduces one new topic or idea.

Question 70

Briefly explain what a cluttering phrase is and give three examples of cluttering phrases and possible substitutions.

Question 71

Paragraphs in a business document should have ______, meaning they stick to developing a single topic or idea.

A) unity
B) subordination
C) a topic sentence
D) parallelism
E) coordination

Question 72

The various techniques that are needed to tie the information together in a paragraph are known as _____ devices.

A) roundabout
B) transitional
C) stringy
D) see-saw
E) surplus