Technical Communication Study Guide
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Course Introduction
Technical Communication focuses on the principles and practices of effectively conveying complex information in professional and technical settings. The course covers key topics such as audience analysis, clarity and conciseness, document design, and the ethical considerations in communication. Students learn to produce and critique technical documents, including reports, manuals, proposals, and presentations, while developing skills in digital tools and visual communication. Emphasis is placed on tailoring information for specific audiences and purposes, preparing students to communicate technical content clearly and persuasively in real-world contexts.
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Technical Communication with 2016 MLA Update 11th Edition by Mike Markel
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
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Q1) Which of these is a measure of excellence in technical communication?
A) accuracy
B) terseness
C) plainness
D) celerity
Answer: A
Q2) Most technical documents are produced by professional technical communicators working alone.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Which of these is a quality shown by a successful workplace communicator?
A) keeping new information about your field to yourself
B) prioritizing your own needs
C) displaying emotional intelligence
D) sharing proprietary information openly
Answer: C
Q4) As used in Chapter 1, what does correctness mean?
Answer: Correctness refers to a document's adherence to conventions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, mechanics, and usage.
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Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations
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Q1) ethicists such as Manuel Velasquez (2011) argue that whistle-blowing is justified if three conditions are satisfied. One condition is that there is strong evidence that the organization is doing something that is hurting or will hurt other parties. What are the other two conditions?
A) The employee has made a serious but unsuccessful attempt to resolve the problem through internal channels.
B) Whistle-blowing is reasonably certain to prevent or stop the wrongdoing.
C) The employee has suffered personal harm as a result of the wrongdoing, such as the loss of a promotion, a substantial decrease in salary, or physical injury.
D) The wrongdoing involves members of a minority group or affects individuals granted specific rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Answer: A, B
Q2) What does the symbol ® stand for, and what rights does it grant a company?
Answer: The symbol indicates a word, phrase, name, or symbol that the company has registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The company can use the ® symbol after the product name, thus alerting others to its status as a registered trademark.
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Chapter 3: Writing Technical Documents
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Q1) Even though cultures differ, technical documents tend to be written in a similar way no matter where you go.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) One disadvantage of using the Styles feature of a word processor is that you cannot create new styles.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Chapter 3 lists eight steps that are often involved in planning a document. One is generating ideas about your subject. What are two other steps listed in Chapter 3?
Answer: The other seven steps are analyzing your audience; analyzing your purpose; choosing your writing tools; researching additional information; organizing and outlining your document; selecting an application, a design, and a delivery method; and devising a schedule and a budget.
Q4) What are the two major ways to revise a document?
Answer: Studying the draft by yourself and seeking help from others
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Chapter 4: Writing Collaboratively
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Q1) Chapter 4 offers six suggestions for participating in a videoconference. Which of these is NOT a suggestion from the chapter?
A) Practice using the videoconferencing system.
B) Dress as you would for a face-to-face meeting.
C) Arrange for technical support for all participants.
D) Speak louder than usual.
Q2) In what way does collaboration allow an organization to grow?
Q3) Which of these guidelines will help you listen effectively?
A) Write down everything the speaker says.
B) Ask questions to clarify what the speaker said.
C) Keep your eyes down and avoid distracting the speaker.
D) Allow your mind to wander and trust that you will be able to refocus.
Q4) All of the participants in a video conference must be in dedicated conference rooms with sophisticated cameras and microphones.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Chapter 4 discusses three features of word-processing software that are particularly useful in collaboration. Name one feature.
Q6) What is one of the disadvantages of collaboration mentioned in Chapter 4?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose
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Q1) The point of learning about your audience is to use that information to tailor a document to fit the audience's needs.
A)True
B)False
Q2) You are writing a proposal to restructure your department's organizational chart. Your manager was a member of the committee that originally set up the department's current structure. Which purpose statement would be best for a proposal to your manager?
A) The purpose of this proposal is to show how we can reorganize our department to improve our efficiency while keeping intact the values that have allowed us to succeed to this point.
B) The purpose of this proposal is to show how to solve all of our productivity problems and remove all the barriers to effective communication.
C) The purpose of this proposal is to show why it's time for "out with the old and in with the new."
D) The purpose of this proposal is to explain why we have no choice but to scrap our ineffective organizational structure.
Q3) how do public agencies use social-media data?
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Chapter 6: Researching Your Subject
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Q1) The tags that people use to categorize information they find on websites must be one-word descriptors without spaces or punctuation (such as "dallaszoo").
A)True
B)False
Q2) Secondary research is the process of creating technical information yourself, as opposed to collecting information that other people have discovered or created.
A)True
B)False
Q3) "How will China's rapid industrial development affect the global energy market over the next decade?" is more likely to be a workplace research question than an academic research question.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When obtaining information on products and services from websites, discussion boards, and blogs, it is important not to assume that vendors' claims are accurate.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Organizing Your Information
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Q1) long, complex arguments can most often be organized according to one pattern.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Of the options listed below, which is the most effective way to organize a document explaining which of three different trucks your company ought to buy for its fleet?
A) classification
B) comparison and contrast
C) spatial
D) chronological
Q3) It is often helpful to combine bases of classification or partition simultaneously when using that pattern to write a passage.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Your supervisor has asked you to write a completion report about a project you completed to improve the employee onboarding program at your company. Of the organizational patterns discussed in Chapter 7, which would be most logical and effective for describing the project?
Q5) what is partition?
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Chapter 8: Communicating Persuasively
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Q1) An argument using an appeal to pity is focused on what element?
A) logic
B) emotion
C) memory
D) the speaker or writer
Q2) Which statement best exemplifies a modest persona?
A) "I think the Hughes Security system will give us most of the features we are looking for."
B) "I know the Hughes Security system will give us the features we are looking for."
C) "I researched all the options, and I am positive that the Hughes Security system is the only reasonable option."
D) "The president of Hughes Security is a personal friend, and I know they can't possibly let us down."
Q3) What type of argument states that a claim is valid because many people think it is or act as if it is?
Q4) Effective graphic design is an element of the tone of a document's argument.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Emphasizing Important Information
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Q1) What kind of transitional words are for example, for instance, and in other words?
A) illustration words
B) addition words
C) contrast words
D) summary words
Q2) Which pair of sentences shows the most effective transition from the first sentence to the second?
A) Demand for kettle chips is down by 15 percent. As a result, we have laid off 12 production workers.
B) The vendor assured us that the replacement parts would be delivered in time for the product release. The parts were delivered nearly two weeks after the product release.
C) The furniture-replacement project was originally expected to cost us $450,000. Unfortunately, the final cost was $300,000.
D) Brazilian people love soccer. My friend Silvino has played soccer all his life.
Q3) For example, for instance, in other words, and to illustrate fall into which category of transitional words and phrases?
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Chapter 10: Writing Correct and Effective Sentences
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Q1) How should you punctuate a restrictive modifier?
A) Use commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
B) Use dashes to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
C) Add no extra punctuation.
D) Precede it with a comma and the word which.
Q2) Which of the following sentences has a strong verb?
A) The acquisition of properties south of the factory is expected to continue.
B) Stephen is responsible for collection of our quality-assurance data.
C) Decades of deception by politicians have left the populace numb and apathetic.
D) Download the test file before you start to answer the questions.
Q3) In which of the following sentences is qualifying information emphasized?
A) The schedule could fall apart if anyone is absent for several days.
B) Shellie will get promoted if she improves her performance rating.
C) If the new administrator gets her way, all of the adjunct instructors will get raises.
D) I will finish my homework if I can stop watching television.
Q4) What two guidelines will help you to avoid causing confusion when using clusters of adjectives?
Q5) What is the past perfect tense used to describe?
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Chapter 11: Designing Print and Online Documents
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Q1) Helvetica Regular, Helvetica Light, Helvetica Italic, and Helvetica Bold all belong to what group?
A) a typeface
B) a type family
C) a type case
D) a type setting
Q2) margins serve four main purposes within a document. Identify two.
Q3) An idiom is a phrase identified by linguists as universally understandable.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which principle states that the human eye is drawn to-and that the brain interprets-differences in appearance between two items?
Q5) An inappropriate choice in which of following areas has the highest potential to confuse an international audience?
A) the thickness of the paper
B) the type of binding used
C) the pictures used as icons
D) the typeface chosen for body text
Q6) What is queuing?
13
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Chapter 12: Creating Graphics
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Q1) A writing team has the six-month sales figures for its company's 14 sales representatives. Because managers must make comparative analyses, the graphic for these data must group representatives by region, as well as show each representative's monthly sales total. Which is the best graphic for displaying this information?
A) table
B) logic tree
C) organization chart
D) bar graph
Q2) Chapter 12 discusses five characteristics that make a graphic clear and understandable. One characteristic is that the graphic meets readers' format expectations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) one potential drawback of photographs is that they can provide too much information.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Where is the stub located in a table?
Q5) what is the most important characteristic of an infographic?
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Chapter 13: Reviewing, Evaluating, and Testing Documents and Web Sites
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Q1) The purpose of debriefing after a usability test is to thank the participant for giving you information.
A)True
B)False
Q2) One principle of usability testing is that it permeates product development. What does that mean?
A) Designers and managers know that if a product fails the usability test given right before product launch, they will not be paid.
B) Once a product is permanently on the market, you no longer need to test it.
C) Conduct testing on prototypes, then conduct evaluations on final drafts.
D) You conduct testing in all stages of a product's development, not only at the end.
Q3) The first phase of usability testing is preparing for the test. What is the final phase?
A) conducting the test
B) interpreting and reporting data from the test
C) telling participants which parts of the test they got wrong
D) thanking participants for their time
Q4) what is a prototype?
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Chapter 14: Writing Correspondence
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Q1) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Clichés make your writing shorter and more efficient.
B) Clichés are a good way to write with the "you attitude."
C) Clichés give your writing a stilted tone.
D) Clichés give your writing a contemporary touch.
Q2) Which of the following can be an unintended consequence of posting an informal social-media message?
A) trading multiple public insults after starting an online "flame war"
B) embarrassing the company
C) making a hasty, bold statement about your company that later turns out to be untrue
D) All responses are correct.
Q3) What does it mean to "link generously" when posting to a microblog at work?
A) Post links to websites and articles that are relevant to a subject you are discussing online.
B) Post links to as many online articles about your company as possible.
C) Post links for opportunities to give to charities.
D) Post links to a competitor's website after each link to your own company's information.
Q4) What does the notation "cc" stand for in a letter, memo, or email?
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Chapter 15: Writing Job-Application Materials
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Q1) what are the four main steps in planning a job search?
Q2) Chapter 15 describes a plain-text résumé. Which two of the following are forms of a plain-text résumé?
A) a résumé created in PowerPoint and submitted on disk
B) an ASCII résumé
C) a résumé posted to a Usenet newsgroup
D) a résumé posted on an Internet discussion board
E) a text résumé
Q3) Chapter 15 lists four ways to look for a job. One is through a job board on the Internet. Name two of the other ways to look for a job.
Q4) Chapter 15 lists four paragraphs that should appear in a job-application letter. One is the introductory paragraph. What are two other paragraphs listed in the chapter?
A) education paragraph
B) professional-interests paragraph
C) references paragraph
D) concluding paragraph
E) None of the responses are correct.
Q5) what should you do after interviewing for a job?
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Chapter 16: Writing Proposals
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Q1) Hardy Grocery Store has published an RFP for the construction of a two-story warehouse addition to its main store. The warehouse must be built on 5,000 square feet of adjacent property, but it must have up to 9,000 square feet of storage space and have loading platforms for both North and East Street entrances. R&F Architects has responded with a proposal acknowledging the grocery's property restrictions and space requirements. R&F's proposal includes a sketch of the warehouse they propose to build, with multiple entrances to the exterior as well as entrances to the existing building. The proposal has a chart showing the phases of the project, including the completion date, and a section describing R&F's staff and similar past projects. The proposal ends with a bid. What should R&F add to the proposal to better compete with other organizations bidding on the project?
A) a description of its quality-control measures
B) a listing of the research methods to be used
C) a description of the problem or opportunity
D) a clearer focus on the readers' needs in an internal proposal
Q2) A solicited proposal is one that you send to a customer who has not requested it.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Writing Informational Reports
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Q1) Identify three of the issues you should be sure to address in a field report?
Q2) which of the following is NOT a typical informational report?
A) an incident report about the response of your company's security team to an unauthorized visitor on your property
B) a proposal to study why a piece of your company's machinery failed at a customer's site
C) a directive about where employees should park while a construction crew will be blocking some parking spaces
D) meeting minutes recording decisions reached during a committee meeting
Q3) what does an incident report describe?
Q4) When you are recording meeting minutes and an argument arises, you should record both the argument and its outcome in order to ensure comprehensiveness.
A)True
B)False
Q5) It is appropriate to use a defensive tone in an informational report if something has not happened according to plan.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Writing Recommendation Reports
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Q1) The back matter section of a recommendation report serves two primary purposes. Identify one.
Q2) Which of these would be included in the front matter for a report?
A) the introduction
B) the glossary
C) the executive summary
D) the recommendations
Q3) What is the difference between the conclusions section and the recommendations section of a report?
A) The two sections are interchangeable.
B) Conclusions explain what the collected data mean, whereas recommendations list specific actions to take.
C) Recommendations explain what the collected data mean, whereas conclusions list specific actions to take.
D) Conclusions are directed toward your internal audience, whereas recommendations are directed toward your external audience.
Q4) What fundamental question does the conclusions section of a recommendation report answer?
Q5) Into what two categories can criteria be classified?
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Chapter 19: Writing Lab Reports
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Q1) Which of the following statements about lab reports is NOT correct?
A) A lab report is a carefully crafted argument meant to persuade an audience to accept your findings and conclusions.
B) Supporting evidence is often presented with a combination of graphics and text.
C) The most effective way to write a lab report is to write it in sequence, beginning with the introduction.
D) In organizing the discussion of your data, you should begin by presenting the most important findings.
Q2) Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the lack of an acknowledgments section in the sample lab report in Chapter 19?
A) The writer of the report is unethical.
B) The work in the lab took so long that the writer ran out of time to include acknowledgments.
C) The writer of the report did not receive funding or extraordinary assistance to complete this report as part of a class assignment.
D) None of the options is correct.
Q3) Ideally, what will the title and abstract of a report help readers do?
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Chapter 20: Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions
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Q1) What technique is used in the definition "RADAR originally stood for 'radio detection and ranging,' but these days it is rarely used as an acronym and instead appears as the noun radar"?
Q2) Read the following instruction steps for creating an automated index of web files. Then indicate which instruction steps are NOT CORRECTLY written.
1) Open Windows Explorer to c:\ program files\autoindex\ .
2) Copy the folders containing your web files to the folder named "indexer." If autoindex does not contain an indexer folder, you must reinstall the software. See the installation booklet.
3) Type the appropriate path, for instance, c:\ program files\autoindex\ indexer\ indexer.exe webfolder1, webfolder2, etc.
4) Indexer now has a folder called IndexSearch. The executable file, index.exe, may be run to view the searchable index of your web files.
A) step 1
B) steps 2 and 3
C) steps 3 and 4
D) steps 2 and 4
Q3) What is the function of a conventions section?
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Chapter 21: Making Oral Presentations
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Q1) memorable language brings to mind things that people can see, touch, or easily imagine.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which statement accurately describes PowerPoint and Prezi, the presentation-slide programs mentioned in Chapter 21?
A) Prezi is organized as a network or web, while PowerPoint is linear.
B) PowerPoint is organized as a network or web, while Prezi is linear.
C) Both PowerPoint and Prezi allow you to arrange your images in a web with seamless transitions.
D) Both Prezi and PowerPoint require you to arrange graphics linearly.
Q3) Usually, your audience is more aware of your nervousness than you are.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Inexperienced speakers encounter problems with five aspects of vocalizing. One aspect is volume. Name two other aspects of vocalizing that can be a source of problems.
Q5) there are four techniques for concluding a presentation. One is to look to the future. What is one other?
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