BA 1500 Chapter 6

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

Jerry's supervisor has asked him to revise a memo because his paragraphs are too long. How long should Jerry's paragraphs be, on average, in his revision?

One way to make a business message easier to read is to

Which statement about buzzwords is true?

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

Why is active voice generally preferable for business messages?

Which of the following statements about navigational design will help improve the ease of reading?

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

Which of the following is one of the advantages of using the FAIR test to review business documents?

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?

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

In his memo, Ellis explains three functions of the new software he is recommending. What can Ellis do to make this information easier to process and remember?

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

To ensure the completeness of a business message, a writer should

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In order to be accurate, a business message must be

A business message is complete if it

While conducting the FAIR test, which of the following questions will help you analyze the impact of your business message?

When writers use long paragraphs in business messages, it

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

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

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?

Improving ease of reading with natural style requires that the writer

The less specific you are while writing your business messages, the greater the possibility that your readers will

Which statement about ease of navigation is true?

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

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

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

Using the active voice while writing business messages

People are most likely to process the information in a message quickly when writers

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?

Being concise means

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

Which guideline for navigational design is most likely to improve the ease of reading for business messages?

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

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

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

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

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

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

In order for your colleagues to act immediately on your business message, the message needs to be

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

Which statement about active voice and passive voice is true?

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

The use of uncommon words in a business message is most likely to

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

A paragraph should rarely exceed 150 words.

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?

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

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?

The three steps of the review process for business messages are conducting the FAIR test, proofreading, and

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

To keep their writing natural and engaging, business writers should avoid

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

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

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

Which of the following is most likely to have a negative impact on your readers' perceptions of your credibility?

The "F" in the FAIR test stands for

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

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?

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?

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

The "R" in the FAIR test stands for

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?

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

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?

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?

The "A" in the FAIR test stands for

Documents with a lot of text and not much white space

Which of the following steps typically belongs to the reviewing process?

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

The typical paragraph length for a business message is

Writers of business messages should avoid sentences that begin with "it is" or "there are" because they

For business documents, which of the following guidelines about headings helps improve the ease of reading?

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

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.

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

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?

Which of the following is an example of a buzzword?

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

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

People are most likely to process information quickly when writers use