Deck 1: Introduction to Technical Communication

Question 1

The "virtual office" refers to

A)an online computer game that trains people in business communication skills.
B)an online office that replaces an actual physical office for a firm whose employees either work from home or are constantly travelling on business.
C)an arrangement by which employees work out of various locations, but maintain contact with people at one or more central offices.
D)an office that is in the process of being equipped with electronic communication devices such as computer intranets and a videoconferencing room.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Efficient documents include the following feature

A)they're organized to guide readers and emphasize important points.
B)they include visuals that clarify concepts.
C)their supplements help readers to choose only what's pertinent to those readers.
D)a, b, and c are all features of efficient documents

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A "virtual assistant" is defined as someone who

A)volunteers as an office assistant in order to gain experience.
B)uses an avatar to perform office tasks.
C)works from his or her home, on contract for one or more firms.
D)exists only as a computer-generated figure that answers questions and finds data.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Workplace readers read

A)most documents quickly, from beginning to end.
B)most documents slowly and carefully, from beginning to end.
C)only the parts of a document they need to be informed to make a decision.
D)only the parts they find interesting.

Question 5

The problem with inefficient documents is that

A)they drain a reader's energy and interest.
B)they make it difficult for a company to attain ISO 9000 status.
C)they are too easily understood.
D)they cost too much to produce.

Question 6

According to Chapter 1 of Technical Communication, what percentage of North American technical and business writing is inefficient?

A)more than 20 percent
B)more than 40 percent
C)more than 60 percent
D)more than 80 percent

Question 7

The initialism VoIP refers to

A)variable operating internet principles.
B)voice over internet protocol.
C)video on internet players.
D)video on internet protocol.

Question 8

A virtual private network connects

A)home-based workers to an office intranet that's not monitored by people outside that intranet.
B)workers to other workers within an office intranet that's not monitored by a supervisor.
C)workers to a central secure server where workers can store files that no one else can open.
D)workers to their iPhone or android device.

Question 9

E-learning is a rapidly growing industry because

A)e-learning is cost effective
B)more and more people are turning to portable devices
C)changing work roles require constant knowledge and skill development
D)a, b, and c are all true

Question 10

Technical documents address

A)the reader's need to be engaged and entertained.
B)only the technical aspects of a topic, not the background or recommended actions.
C)the reader's need to be informed.
D)the writer's desire for self-expression.

Question 11

These days, technical communicators

A)increasingly specialize in different formats and types of content
B)are becoming generalists who require design skills and multimedia, not just writing
C)spending more time on video than on print formats
D)are limited to research and writing of reports, manual, and proposals

Question 12

In Chapter 1 of Technical Communication, the "global context challenge" refers to

A)the challenge faced by North American firms competing against cheap labour costs in other parts of the world.
B)the challenge of team members with diverse backgrounds producing information for diverse audiences around the world.
C)the challenge of producing products and services that will appeal to people in various cultures.
D)the challenge of keeping up with a company's global expansion.

Question 13

The Basex research firm has found that, on average, email, phone, and text interruptions

A)consume 8 percent of a worker's day.
B)consume 18 percent of a worker's day.
C)consume 28 percent of a worker's day.
D)consume 38 percent of a worker's day.

Question 14

As defined in Chapter 1 of Technical Communication, inefficient documents can result from

A)headings that direct the readers to specific parts of a document.
B)including supplements such as appendices of tables and graphs.
C)excessive jargon or vague technical expressions that readers can't understand.
D)placing photographs, graphs, or tables in the main text of the document.

Question 15

Technical documents focus on

A)the writer's need for self-expression.
B)logical explanations of the presented data.
C)the document's appearance, especially its professional format and graphics.
D)the reader's information needs and decision-making challenges.

Question 16

"Big Data" is defined as

A)the avalanche of data and data sources now available because of new technology
B)data that's difficult to comprehend
C)the most important pieces of information to consider when making decisions
D)data that involves very large numbers

Question 17

Videoconferencing provides

A)a video-based equivalent of an internet chat room, where participants share video files.
B)live online meetings where participants can see and hear each other in real time.
C)telephone conference calls during which participants can access video clips stored on an internet site.
D)all the meeting participants with smartphone access to video clips.

Question 18

Which of the following is not used to create structured documents?

A)Adobe Ideapi
B)FrameMaker
C)MS Word
D)Autotag

Question 19

Currently, technical communicators

A)never get involved in developing products for their employers or clients
B)occasionally participate in product development
C)are involved only in writing user guides for products
D)increasingly are involved in the planning, design, test, sales, and service phases of the product development process

Question 20

In Chapter 1, "structured documents" are defined as documents that use

A)defined organizational patterns for each type of document
B)a minimum of three levels of topic headings
C)embedded coding or markup to provide structural meaning to a defined organizational structure
D)standard headings such as "Introduction," "Discussion," and "Conclusion"

Question 21

According to the global research firm IDC, annual sales of smartphones worldwide

A)have decreased since 2015 because of widespread use of tablets.
B)have held steady since 2013.
C)will reach over two billion by 2019.
D)had reached 700 million by 2015.

Question 22

Successful project managers

A)control every aspect of a project's development.
B)tell individual participants in a project only what each participant needs to know in order to complete his or her particular tasks.
C)use only Gantt charts to plan and track components of a project.
D)solicit and listen carefully to the information and opinions provided by clients, project team members, and subcontractors.

Question 23

According to a study of Microsoft workers, how many minutes on average does it take a worker to return to "serious mental tasks" after being interrupted by a text or email?

A)1 minute
B)5 minutes
C)15 minutes
D)30 minutes

Question 24

Big Data can be successfully analyzed by

A)any worker who has special knowledge of the field of data being examined.
B)experts who understand how to process and see patterns of meaning in large fields of data.
C)librarians who can navigate databases.
D)any outside observer who has no preconceived ideas about the collected data.

Question 25

Which of the following is not included in the list of challenges faced by technical writers?

A)the information challenge
B)the persuasion challenge
C)the management challenge
D)the ethics challenge