Test Bank For Strategies for Technical Communication in the Workplace Fourth Edition Laura J. Gurak, University of Minnesota John M. Lannon, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Prepared by Lee Scholder, Capella University iii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. Technical Communication: Global, Collaborative, and Digital 1 CHAPTER 2. The Research Process in Technical Communication 5 CHAPTER 3. Providing Audiences with Usable Information 9 CHAPTER 4. Recognizing Ethical Issues in Technical Communication 13 CHAPTER 5. Structuring Information for Your Readers 16 CHAPTER 6. Writing with a Readable Style 20 CHAPTER 7. Using Audience-Centered Visuals 24 CHAPTER 8. Designing User-Friendly Documents 27 CHAPTER 9. Résumés and Other Employment Materials 31 CHAPTER 10. Memos and Letters 35 CHAPTER 11. Definitions 39 CHAPTER 12. Descriptions 43 CHAPTER 13. Instructions and Procedures 47 CHAPTER 14. Summaries 51 CHAPTER 15. Informal Reports 55 CHAPTER 16. Formal Reports 59 CHAPTER 17. Proposals 63 CHAPTER 18. Email 67 CHAPTER 19. Blogs, Wikis, and Web Pages 71 CHAPTER 20. Social Media 75 CHAPTER 21. Oral Presentations and Video Conferencing 79 1 CHAPTER 1. Technical Communication: Global, Collaborative, and Digital True/False Questions 1. Technical communication helps us interact with technology in our daily lives. 2. An effective way to manage team conflicts is to listen passively. 3. Technical documents are typically written by teams. 4. All documents are at least partly persuasive. 5. Technical communication does not include digital media such as blogs, apps, and wikis. 6. A collaborative document should be written in a style that emphasizes the different voices of the individual writers. 7. The definition of technical communication is any communication that provides complex information for technical experts; it is not intended for broader audiences. 8. Paying attention to “face saving” is key to working across cultures. Fill-in-the-blank Questions 9. The oldest form of virtual collaboration, multiple callers meet by telephone. takes place when 10. involves making a document more precise and readable at the word and sentence level. 11. To outline a work schedule, team member responsibilities, and other components of a project, fill out a . 12. The three purposes of technical documents are to , , and . 2 Multiple-Choice Questions 13. Technical communication seeks to (a) anticipate and answer questions. (b) help people perform a task. (c) persuade people to do something. (d) b and c. (e) All of these answers are correct. 14. Effective technical documents (a) use obfuscation. (b) avoid combining text, visuals, and sound. (c) are easy to navigate. (d) a and c. (e) None of these answers are correct. 15. Which of the following statements is most accurate? (a) Technical communication helps us interact with technology in our daily lives. (b) Technical communication helps advance workplace goals. (c) Technical communication helps specialists solve complex problems. (d) b and c (e) All of these answers are correct. 16. Sources of conflict in collaborative groups include (a) interpersonal differences. (b) cultural differences. (c) gender differences. (d) All of these answers are correct. (e) b and c. 17. Choose which strategy below helps support running successful meetings. (a) Allow the conversation to stray as the group desires. (b) Set an agenda with specific time limits for items of discussion. (c) Don’t waste the group’s time by summarizing minutes from the last meeting. (d) Highlight points of disagreement. (e) Avoid appointing roles; instead, let the roles spontaneously evolve. 3 18. Which statement below is most accurate? (a) Blogs are not a useful medium for collaboration. (b) An intranet is an external company Web site. (c) Instant messaging is an easy means of holding real-time team meetings. (d) E-mail is the preferred way to address conflict. (e) None of these answers are correct. 19. When communicating with someone from another culture, (a) use humor on first contact to break the ice. (b) use humor only in email correspondence. (c) use humor only in face-to-face contact. (d) always use humor to facilitate strong interpersonal connections. (e) avoid humor. 20. Which of the following statements about organizing a team project is least accurate? (a) Work without a manager; allow all team members to take charge. (b) Compose a purpose statement. (c) Develop a file-naming system for documents. (d) Decide on a specific meeting schedule. (e) All of these answers are correct. 4 ANSWER KEY True/False 1. T 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. F 6. F 7. F 8. T Fill-in-the-blank 9. teleconferencing 10. editing 11. project planning form 12. inform, instruct, persuade Multiple-Choice 13. e 14. c 15. e 16. d 17. b 18. c 19. e 20. a 5 CHAPTER 2. The Research Process in Technical Communication True/False Questions 1. Reviews or commentaries about a source are not helpful in determining the credibility of the course. . 2. Sources known as “gray literature” is available only through libraries. 3. Google Scholar can be a helpful tool for searching for credible, reliable secondary sources. 4. Commercial sites should never be used as reliable sources of information since they are inherently biased. 5. Social media may provide some credible secondary source content. 6. Questionnaires use closed-ended questions, not open-ended questions. 7. Loaded questions are effective tactics for in-depth informational interviews. 8. Hard-copy sources are easier to preserve and keep secure than Web-based sources. 9. Key words and search phrases should be as general as possible. Fill-in-the-blank Questions 10. Dissertations and medical pamphlets are examples of literature. 11. Conducting source. 12. A content. research means getting information directly from the is a community encyclopedia that allows users to edit the 13. A large, identifiable group of people is called a representatives of that group are called a population, while . 14. An assumption. is a controlled form of observation designed to verify an 6 Multiple-Choice Questions 15. Reference works include all of the following except (a) encyclopedias. (b) indexes. (c) abstracts. (d) conference papers. (e) almanacs. 16. Thinking critically about research depends on all of the following except (a) finding a definite answer. (b) looking at the research from many viewpoints. (c) achieving sufficient depth. (d) asking the right questions. (e) evaluating the reliability and completeness of sources. 17. When doing research, do all of the following except (a) combine Google searches with library searches. (b) use your own subjective interpretations. (c) add your own finding to existing findings whenever possible. (d) carefully track each source you are using. (e) consider a balance of views. 18. When conducting informational interviews, you should (a) put words in the respondent’s mouth. (b) avoid providing questions in advance to create a more spontaneous and authentic reaction. (c) use open-ended questions instead of closed-ended questions. (d) always record them. (e) get the most sensitive questions out of the way from the start. 19. When creating a survey, (a) phrase questions precisely. (b) use loaded questions. (c) keep it simple and brief. (d) a and b. (e) a and c. 7 20. Web-based sources (a) are always very reliable. (b) can often be found in a hard-copy equivalent. (c) are inefficient to research. (d) are more current than hard-copy sources. (e) All of these answers are correct. 21. Which of these statements about Web-based research is most accurate? (a) The more design elements on a site, the more reliable the information. (b) Since Web sites are always accessible, you do not need to save any of the material you find on them. (c) Web sites with the domains .gov and .edu will most likely not contain reliable information. (d) Social media sites should be discounted as credible sources. (e) Web-based research is usually sufficient to meet your research needs, since it is so massive in its scope. 8 ANSWER KEY True/False 1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T 6. F 7. F 8. T 9. F Fill-in-the-blank 10. gray 11. primary 12. wiki 13. target, sample 14. experiment Multiple-Choice 15. d 16. a 17. b 18. c 19. e 20. d 21. c 9 CHAPTER 3. Providing Audiences with Usable Information True/False Questions 1. Distributing a document as a PDF available online is generally better than distributing it as a print document. 2. A task analysis only applies when creating instructions or procedures. 3. Effective technical documents can be created without first performing an audience analysis. 4. The primary purpose of a document should affect the document’s overall shape and content. 5. A claim is a statement of the point you are trying to prove. 6. Most audiences are passive recipients of information. 7. The general target audience and the specific target audience may have different needs. 8. Across cultures, readers prefer a direct, plain language approach to communication. Fill-in-the-blank Questions 9. In addition to content, organization, style, and design, ask usability testers about the , considerations of a document. , and 10. A measure of how well a document meets the audience’s information needs is called its . 11. An is an outline that begins with a document’s purpose statement and then details all of the important usability considerations. 10 Multiple-Choice Questions 12. When writing for an online audience (a) you should not explicitly describe the intended audience, as everyone will assume that it is for the general audience. (b) readers are generally more passive recipients of information. (c) you can provide links to information written for people with different levels of expertise. (d) a and c. (e) all of the above. 13. An information plan (a) can be written as long as you know the audience. (b) avoids confusing the reader by leaving out potential problems. (c) is always less than three pages long.. (d) describes the appropriate format for the needs of the audience. (e) c and d. 14. “General readers” (a) do not exist, so do not try writing to them. (b) want high levels of detail to fully understand the message. (c) want explanations to accompany facts. (d) want you to show them how smart you are. (e) prefer to know the theoretical basis of the topic at hand. 15. To connect with your audience, the optimal strategy is the (a) power connection. (b) rational connection. (c) relationship connection. (d) b and c. (e) power connection and the rational connection. 16. Effective strategies for persuasion include all of the following except (a) standing firm when your message is rejected. (b) allowing for give-and-take. (c) asking for what your audience will consider reasonable. (d) recognizing constraints. (e) identifying your specific goal. 11 17. No matter their purpose in using a document, readers must be able to (a) locate information easily. (b) understand information immediately. (c) use the information safely and successfully. (d) a, b, and c. (e) a and b. 18. To prepare a usable document, consider the (a) budget. (b) setting. (c) length. (d) a and b. (e) a, b, and c. 19. A claim can be a statement that (a) acknowledges facts to set the stage for persuasive appeal. (b) interprets facts. (c) asks for direct action. (d) a, b, and c. (e) b and c. 20. When proofreading a document, (a) be alert for the problem areas in your own writing. (b) always rely on autocorrect. (c) read through it just one time. (d) never use hard copy. (e) a and d. 12 ANSWER KEY True/False 1. F 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. F 7. T 8. F Fill-in-the-blank 9. ethical, cultural, and legal 10. usability 11. information plan Multiple-Choice 12. c 13. d 14. c 15. d 16. a 17. d 18. e 19. d 20. a 13 CHAPTER 4. Recognizing Ethical Issues in Technical Communication True/False Questions 1. Distorting images may help you create a more persuasive document, but doing so is unethical. 2. Professions generally have their own guidelines for ethical behavior. 3. Include sufficient detail in a document to ensure that readers understand the facts. 4. Decisions may be unethical, but they will rarely cause harm to anyone. 5. Ethical questions often revolve around topics related to technology. 6. A document prepared for an international audience should include visuals that are simple and honest. 7. Web sites that ask customers for personal information need not link to a privacy policy explaining how the information will be used. 8. Withholding important information is not an ethical violation. Fill-in-the-blank Questions 9. __________ pressures can influence ethical values. 10. own. occurs when a person claims the work of another as his or her 11. A offers guidelines for avoiding ethical abuses within a specific organization or company. Multiple-Choice Questions 12. Acceptable practices in technical communication include (a) plagiarizing the work of others. (b) exaggerating claims. (c) downplaying information. (d) b and c. (e) None of these answers are correct.