COMS 2302 EXAM 1 UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. When is choosing the right medium for your message important? Why is it important?
Answer:
Important because it can help deliver the message with the appropriate richness, formality, limitation,
urgency, cost, and audience preferences.
Question:
2. The importance of forecasting your audience's probable reaction to your message
Answer:
Helps determine how should the writer proceed with conclusion and providing evidence
Question:
3. In general, traditional business messages rely on what type of medium? And why is this the case?
Answer:
Rely primarily on text, with occasional support from graphics such as charts, graphs, or diagrams to help
illustrate points discussed in the text.
Question:
4. What percentage of time should be allocated to each of the 3 steps involved in preparing a business
message?
Answer:
Planning 50% Writing 25% Completing 25%
Question:
5. The primary audience for your message consists of who?
Answer:
Key decision-makers in the audience.
Question:
6. The best way to deliver negative news.
Answer:
Never hide it but look for the positive points that will foster a good relationship with your audience.
Question:
7. What is the best tone for most business messages?
Answer:
Conversational tone is used for most business communications.
Question:
8. The characteristics and importance of the "You" attitude.
, Answer:
It's a matter of demonstrating genuine interest in your readers and concern for their needs. On the simplest
level, you can adopt the "you" attitude by replacing terms such as I, me, mine, we, us, and ours with you
and yours:
As you practice using the "you" attitude, its important consider the attitudes of other cultures and the
policies of your organization.
Question:
9. The characteristics and importance of good etiquette.
Answer:
Good etiquette not only indicates respect for your audience but also helps foster a more successful
environment for communication by minimizing negative emotional reaction.
Question:
10. What is a euphemism?
Answer:
Words or phrases that express a thought in milder terms—that convey your meaning without carrying
negative or unpleasant connotations.
Question:
11. When to use and when not to use humor in business messages
Answer:
Humor can be an effective tool to inject interest into dry subjects or to take the sting out of negative news.
Avoid humor in formal messages and when you're communicating across cultural boundaries.
Question:
12. Regarding readability, what are the 4 important principles/design elements?
Answer:
- Consistency
- Balance
- Detail
- Restraint
Question:
13. What portions of a message usually have the greatest impact on your readers?
Answer:
Beginning and the end of your message.
Question:
14. Skilled business writers use sentences that are how long and why is this important?
Answer:
Mixed
Short sentences can be processed quickly and are easier for nonnative speakers and translators to interpret.
Medium-length sentences are useful for showing the relationships among ideas.
Long sentences are often the best for conveying complex ideas, listing multiple related points, or
summarizing or previewing information.
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. When is choosing the right medium for your message important? Why is it important?
Answer:
Important because it can help deliver the message with the appropriate richness, formality, limitation,
urgency, cost, and audience preferences.
Question:
2. The importance of forecasting your audience's probable reaction to your message
Answer:
Helps determine how should the writer proceed with conclusion and providing evidence
Question:
3. In general, traditional business messages rely on what type of medium? And why is this the case?
Answer:
Rely primarily on text, with occasional support from graphics such as charts, graphs, or diagrams to help
illustrate points discussed in the text.
Question:
4. What percentage of time should be allocated to each of the 3 steps involved in preparing a business
message?
Answer:
Planning 50% Writing 25% Completing 25%
Question:
5. The primary audience for your message consists of who?
Answer:
Key decision-makers in the audience.
Question:
6. The best way to deliver negative news.
Answer:
Never hide it but look for the positive points that will foster a good relationship with your audience.
Question:
7. What is the best tone for most business messages?
Answer:
Conversational tone is used for most business communications.
Question:
8. The characteristics and importance of the "You" attitude.
, Answer:
It's a matter of demonstrating genuine interest in your readers and concern for their needs. On the simplest
level, you can adopt the "you" attitude by replacing terms such as I, me, mine, we, us, and ours with you
and yours:
As you practice using the "you" attitude, its important consider the attitudes of other cultures and the
policies of your organization.
Question:
9. The characteristics and importance of good etiquette.
Answer:
Good etiquette not only indicates respect for your audience but also helps foster a more successful
environment for communication by minimizing negative emotional reaction.
Question:
10. What is a euphemism?
Answer:
Words or phrases that express a thought in milder terms—that convey your meaning without carrying
negative or unpleasant connotations.
Question:
11. When to use and when not to use humor in business messages
Answer:
Humor can be an effective tool to inject interest into dry subjects or to take the sting out of negative news.
Avoid humor in formal messages and when you're communicating across cultural boundaries.
Question:
12. Regarding readability, what are the 4 important principles/design elements?
Answer:
- Consistency
- Balance
- Detail
- Restraint
Question:
13. What portions of a message usually have the greatest impact on your readers?
Answer:
Beginning and the end of your message.
Question:
14. Skilled business writers use sentences that are how long and why is this important?
Answer:
Mixed
Short sentences can be processed quickly and are easier for nonnative speakers and translators to interpret.
Medium-length sentences are useful for showing the relationships among ideas.
Long sentences are often the best for conveying complex ideas, listing multiple related points, or
summarizing or previewing information.
