Ch1 – Verified Test Bank | Why Technical People Needn’T Fear

Chapter 1

Why Technical People Needn’t Fear Writing

Multiple Choice Questions

• 1. Writing in the technical workplace is important because ________.
     1. paper trails prove due diligence
     2. work teams are often dispersed
     3. every project requires documentation
     4. all of the above
  2. Poor communication ________.
     1. is costly
     2. can cause even well-engineered projects to fail
     3. wastes time
     4. all of the above
  3. Which of the following is NOT true about the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2006?
     1. Email warnings of the impending problem were ignored.
     2. Email warnings contained an inappropriate tone and/or unclear message.
     3. A technical glitch prevented intended recipients from receiving email warnings.
     4. Eleven workers died.
  4. Which of the following attributes is most important when learning how to write technically?
     1. a knack for wordplay
     2. the ability to follow rules, guidelines, and principles
     3. knowledge of modern literature and poetry
     4. creativity and imagination
  5. Technical professionals spend ________ per cent of their time communicating in writing on the job.
     1. less than 5
     2. 10– 15
     3. 20–40
     4. more than 40
  6. Which of the following is a key attribute of good technical writing?
     1. conciseness
     2. standardization
     3. translatability
     4. complexity
  7. Which of the following is the best location to state your main idea in an email?
     1. first paragraph
     2. middle paragraph
     3. concluding paragraph
     4. It doesn’t matter, so long as it is in bold or underlined.
  8. Common categories of audiences of technical writing do NOT include ________.
     1. decision makers
     2. experts
     3. general readers
     4. watch makers
  9. General readers of a report may ________.
     1. influence decisions even when they don’t have decision-making power
     2. carry out the actions described in the document
     3. require detailed technical information
     4. need technical terms to be defined
  10. Which of the following is true about agents?
      1. They don’t have a lot of time, so they require brief summaries.
      2. They appreciate a clear explanation of why changes are necessary.
      3. They have a thorough understanding of the technical details of your report.
      4. They require frequent graphics and illustrations.

• 1. On the subject of brainstorming, the textbook recommends ________.
     1. avoiding brainstorming when writing in highly technical fields
     2. creating an outline before brainstorming
     3. brainstorming with your audience and purpose in mind
     4. disregarding audience and purpose so as to be able to find all ideas
  2. Organizing content means putting information into the following sequence: ________.
     1. Context, summary, details, next step
     2. Details, content, summary, next step
     3. Summary, context, details, next step
     4. Introduction, details, next step, closing summary
  3. An email or letter is like ________.
     1. a one-time thing
     2. a two-dimensional drawing
     3. a three-pronged approach
     4. a one-way conversation
  4. The purpose of a document ________.
     1. can be implied
     2. is communicated by document type (e.g., email, report, essay)
     3. need not be stated when there is a clear title
     4. belongs in the opening statement
  5. Generally, correspondence and reports require ________.
     1. data
     2. conflict
     3. clear solutions to problems
     4. follow-up
  6. The “conversation with the reader” refers to ________.
     1. an essay-style of writing more suited to topics in the humanities
     2. a good way to think of technical documents, especially emails and letters
     3. a poor way to think of technical documents, especially emails and letters
     4. something that can take place only after the reader has read the writer’s report
  7. The “conversation with the reader” requires a qualification, namely that ________.
     1. the reader isn’t able to ask any qualifying questions
     2. the reader and writer must be in contact via email or share instant-messaging software
     3. the reader and writer adhere to professionalism in their conversation
     4. the writer needn’t provide all the details because a face-to-face conversation will eventually take place
  8. Which of the following statements about writing in technical fields is FALSE?
     1. Correspondence and reports require follow-up.
     2. You write because something has to get done.
     3. Writing is an integral part of getting things done.
     4. Urge readers to grant requests—but never stipulate deadlines.
  9. Which of the following statements about summaries is FALSE?
     1. Readers may safely read only the summary, not the full document.
     2. One should think of the summary as not being part of the report at all.
     3. A summary should be the same length as the introduction.
     4. A summary should be one-tenth the length of the total report.
  10. When writing your first draft, which of the following should you NOT do?
      1. Imagine that you are sitting across the desk from your reader.
      2. Write unselfconsciously, with no fear of judgement.
      3. Think of it as a one-way conversation.
      4. Pay careful attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
  11. When revising a draft, a writer should revise in stages. These stages, in the correct order, are ________.
      1. substantive editing (content and sequence), copy editing (tone and style), proofreading (grammar and mechanics)
      2. copy editing (tone and style), substantive editing (content and sequence), proofreading (grammar and mechanics)
      3. proofreading (grammar and mechanics), substantive editing (content and sequence), copy editing (tone and style)
      4. The editing stages—substantive editing, copy editing, and proofreading—are discrete; however, their order does not matter.
  12. Readers who will be directed to carry out actions described in a document are considered ________.
      1. employees
      2. technicians
      3. agents
      4. staff
  13. In technical writing with multiple audiences, the needs of ________ should be considered most strongly.
      1. technical experts
      2. citizens
      3. decision makers
      4. stakeholders
  14. Which of the following elements is most useful to decision-makers?
      1. appendices
      2. clear instructions and procedures
      3. summaries
      4. graphics and illustrations
  15. It is best to write your first draft ________.
      1. without stopping
      2. whenever you have time
      3. without a plan
      4. one sentence at a time

True or False Questions

1. Communication in the technical workplace almost always requires writing.
2. Technical writing should be regarded as a skill—not as a gift.
3. Technical people are poorly positioned to learn to write well.
4. Few projects in the technical workplace require documentation.
5. Writing creates a paper trail that negates due diligence.
6. The tone of emails is often incorrectly perceived.
7. The absence of communicative body language is something a writer must overcome.
8. What makes technical and business writing effective also makes literary writing effective.
9. Ignored emails can be linked to serious catastrophes.
10. Technical writers should develop the habit of thinking like a reader.
11. Attributes of good technical writing include complexity.
12. A writer should begin revising a document by editing for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
13. A writer should think of the summary as an integral or essential part of the document.
14. Good correspondence and reports should not require follow-up.
15. Emails are primarily a tool of convenience and a writer should not spend much time fussing over the organization and formatting of emails.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does it mean to write concisely? Why is writing concisely so important in technical writing?
2. Define accessibility as it pertains to technical writing. Describe one way to achieve accessibility when writing technical documents.
3. What is the very first step in the writing process? Why is this step important?
4. Define the meaning of audience as it pertains to technical writing. Why is it important to consider your audience before you begin to write?
5. Write a brief summary comparing the different requirements of decision makers, experts, agents, and general readers.
6. Draw a diagram illustrating the standard document organization as a conversation or story. Why do you think this particular structure is effective at getting the message across?
7. What does it mean to think of correspondence as a “one-way conversation”? Why is this a helpful way of approaching a technical writing task?
8. Describe the parallels between writing a technical report and writing a story.
9. Why is it important to write your first draft in one pass, without stopping?
10. What does “mechanics” refer to in relation to writing? Why is this element important?

Long Answer Questions

• • • 1. Describe a situation—at school, at work, or at home—in which some form of written communication was misunderstood. What were the consequences of this miscommunication? Next, identify the cause of the miscommunication. How would you revise the piece of writing to make it more effective?
      2. Describe the similarities and differences between written correspondence and having a face-to-face conversation.
      3. Recall a situation in which you read a technical document that you had difficulty understanding. What category of reader were you? Describe point by point, what was ineffective about this written document and what could have been done differently to make it more effective.