Chapter-4

Test Knowledge:
1. What are the major steps in the writing process?

Answer: The major steps in the writing process are planning, writing, and
completing message.

Step 1: Planning business messages: To plan any message, first analyze the situation
by defining purpose and developing a profile of audience. Then gather information that will
meet audience’s needs. Next select the right medium (oral, written, visual, or electronic) to
deliver message. Then organize the information by defining your main idea, limiting your
scope, selecting the direct or indirect approach, and outlining your content.

Step 2: Writing business messages: After planning message, adapt to audience with
sensitivity, relationship skills, and an appropriate writing style. Then one will be ready to
compose message by choosing italic words, creating effective sentences, and
developing coherent paragraphs.

Step 3: Completing business messages: After writing first draft, revise message by
evaluating the content, reviewing readability, and editing and rewriting until message comes
across concisely and clearly, with correct grammar, proper punctuation, and effective format.
Next produce your message, Put it into the form that audience will receive and review all
design and layout decisions for an attractive professional appearance. Proofread the final
product to ensure high quality and then distribute message.

2. What are the benefits of planning messages carefully, particularly longer & more
complex messages?

Answer: The benefits of planning messages carefully, particularly longer & more complex
messages are-

 Able to analyze the Situation

 Gathering Information & Organizing them
 Help to prepare effective messages
3. What two types of purposes do all business messages have?

Answer: Two types of purposes that all business messages have-

 General purpose: General purpose may be to inform, to persuade, or to

collaborate.
  Specific purpose: Specific purpose is what is hoped to accomplish with message
and what audience should do or think after receiving message.
4. What do you need to know in order to develop an audience profile?

Answer: in order to develop an audience profile one need to-

 Identify primary audience

 Determine audience size and geographic distribution
 Determine audience composition
5. What is the value of free writing & other discovery techniques?

Answer: If one is stuck for ideas one can use some discovery techniques to help generate
ideas and uncover possible avenues to research. Try free writing or sketching ideas instead
of writing them. The best discovery option in some cases might not be
writing at all, but rather sketching.
6. What three factors determine media richness?

Answer: Three factors that determine media richness are-

 convey a message through more than one informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal)

 facilitate feedback,

 Establish personal focus.

7. What are the main advantages of oral, written, visual & electronic media?

Answer: Advantages of oral media-

•Provide opportunity for immediate feedback

•Promote interaction
•Involve rich nonverbal cues (both physical gestures and vocal inflection)
•Allow to express the emotions behind the message

Advantages of written media-

•Allow to plan and control your message

•Reach geographically dispersed audiences
•Offer a permanent, verifiable record
•Minimize the distortion that can result with oral and some forms of electronic
messages
•Can be used to avoid immediate interactions
•Can help control the emotional aspects
 Advantages of visual media-

•Can convey complex ideas and relationships quickly

•Often less intimidating than long blocks of text, particularly for nonnative
readers
•Can reduce the burden on the audience to figure out how the pieces of a message
or concept fit together

Advantages of electronic media-

•Deliver messages quickly

•Reach geographically dispersed audiences
•Can offer the persuasive power of multimedia formats
•Enable audience interaction through social media features
•Can increase accessibility and openness within an organization and between an
organization and its external stakeholders

8. How does the topic of message differ from its main idea?

Answer: The topic is the overall subject; the main idea is a specific statement about the
topic. For example, if believe that the current system of using paper forms for filing
employee insurance claims is expensive and slow, you might craft a message in which the
topic is employee insurance claims and the main idea is that a new web-based system would
reduce costs for the company and reduce reimbursement delays for employees.

9. Why is it important to limit the scope of a message?

Answer: The scope of message is the range of information present to support main idea. The
length of some business messages has a preset limit because having fewer, stronger points is
a better approach than using many, weaker points. It will help the audience to understand
better.

10. What three elements do you need to consider when choosing between the direct &
indirect approaches?

Answer: The three elements that one need to consider when choosing between the direct &
indirect approaches are-

 routine and positive messages

 negative messages

 persuasive messages