CHAPTER 4: PLANNING BUSINESS MESSAGES

Exercise I: Match these terms with their definitions.

Terms Definitions

1. secondary audience A. a richer medium than a written report or proposal.

2. online collaboration B. familiar words that readers will understand without

tools difficulty.

C. an especially important technique for short

3. “you” view documents, such as memos, letters, and information
briefs.

4. A face-to-face D. this emphasizes second-person pronouns instead of

conversation first-person pronouns.

5. Phase 3 of the writing E. purposeful, persuasive, audience oriented, and

process economical

F. give receivers more information and keep them

6. tone
interested

7. Characteristics of G. revising, proofreading, and evaluating

business writing

H. which is conveyed largely by the words in a message,

8. Collaborative writing affects how a receiver feels upon reading or hearing a
message.

I. mailing lists, discussion boards, groupware, wikis

9. plain language which are useful when team members are not physically
in the same location.

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 10. precise, vigorous J. someone else to whom the recipient of an e-mail you
words send forwards it

WRITE YOUR ANSWER:

1 ______ 2 ______ 3 ______ 4 ______ 5 ______

6 ______ 7 ______ 8 ______ 9 ______ 10 ______

Exercise II: Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false statements.

1. The steps in the 3-x-3 writing process must be followed in order.

2. One consideration to make in selecting the channel for a message is the necessity of a
permanent record.

3. You can start lowering your energy expenses immediately is an example of an

audience-focused sentence.

4. Cassandra is trying to decide whether to call her boss or to send an e-mail message.
Cassandra is in the first phase of the writing process.

5. Profiling the audience means anticipating how both primary and secondary audiences
will react to a message.

6. The following sentence effectively applies the “you” view: I have decided to allow you
to take Friday  off.

7. A letter is an effective channel for an internal written message requiring formality or

sensitivity.

8. Business communicators should generally spend the most time on the prewriting phase
of the 3-x-3 writing process.

9. Anticipating whether the receiver's response to message may be neutral, positive, or

negative can help in determining your organizational strategy.  

10. The following sentence represents good business writing: A proficient attorney
always defends his client.

WRITE YOUR ANSWER:

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1 ______ 2 ______ 3 ______ 4 ______ 5 ______

6 ______ 7 ______ 8 ______ 9 ______ 10 ______

CORRECT THE FALSE STATEMENTS

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise III: Complete the following sentences with a suitable word or phrase.

1. The primary purposes of most business messages are to inform and to ________ .

2. The best business writing is purposeful, economical, and audience - ________.

3. The primary purpose of messages that explain procedures, announce meetings, answer
questions, and transmit findings is to ________.

4. Business writers should spend most of their time ________ , which is the third phase of
the writing process.

5. During the analyzing part of the prewriting phase, you must first determine the
________ of your message.

6. You will be pleased to know that your application has been approved, which
emphasizes second-person pronouns, is an example of the ________.

7. They hired a female doctor to administer flu shots is an example of a sentence that
shows ________.

8. A letter is the best communication channel to deliver ___________ information.

9. Victoria is writing an e-mail message to her colleagues to encourage them to take part
in a charitable fund-raiser. Her primary purpose is to ________.

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10. Business communicators should anticipate both _________ and __________
audiences.

Exercise IV: Circle the best answer.

1. Omar is writing an e-mail message about a new delivery service. In anticipating

and profiling the audience, he should ________.

A. call or e-mail all members of his audience to learn more about them

B. realize that he can't write a good message unless he knows exactly who the readers will
be

C.  try to get a general idea of who his audience is

D. ask a competing company about its audience

2. Because of budget cutbacks, you must lay off your receptionist. What is
the best way for you to deliver this message?

A. Send her an e-mail message B. Send her a brief text message

C. Leave her a voice mail message D. Meet with her in a face-to-face

conversation

3. So that your needs can better be met in the future, please complete the online
survey about your recent flight with Southwest Airlines is an example of ________.

A. identifying the message’s purpose B. spotlight audience benefits

C. emphasizing sender benefits D. analyzing the task

4. Francis is starting his first full-time job after graduating from college, and he
knows that his written messages will help him develop his professional brand. What is
the best advice you can give him?

A. Avoid sending text messages on the job because doing so will make him look
unprofessional.

B. Strive for an informal, conversational tone in most business messages.

C. Use texting-style abbreviations such as BTW and slang in his professional messages to

be concise and to show that he's up-to-date with technology.

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D. Use high-level diction in most business messages.

5. Which of the following sentences uses conversational, middle-level diction?

A. If we stay positive, we'll win the contract.

B. If we just hang in there, we'll snag the contract.

C. We've got this contract in the bag.

D. If we persevere and remain steadfast, we will secure the contract.

6. You want your writing to sound positive and courteous. Which of the following
sentences has the best choice of wording?

A. You claim that your order arrived with two damaged items.

B. Please give us your feedback about your online ordering experience.

C. We cannot process your order until we receive your credit card number.

D. Turn in your sales figures by Monday.

7. Which sentence best illustrates the "you" view?

A. Our walking tours include free admission to all museums.

B. We are happy to send you our current calendar of walking tours.

C. We look forward to having you join us on one of our exciting walking tours.

D. To help you plan, you will receive your complete walking tour itinerary one month
before your trip.

8. Mary is responding to Jim's portion of a team document. Which of the

following approaches would be most constructive in suggesting that he make a change?  

A. You should revise Section 2 as we discussed.

B. You obviously need more information in Section 2.

C. To improve Section 2, you might consider obtaining more information from Colleen.

D. Do you really think this will work?

9. Which of the following is the best wording to avoid racial, ethnic, age, and

disability bias?

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A. AARP membership is open to anyone age 50 or over.

B. Hsiao-Nan Yi, a Chinese American, was elected board president.

C. James O'Keefe, 56, will deliver the keynote address at the awards banquet.

D. Our new receptionist is confined to a wheelchair.

10. Which of the following statements about business writing is most accurate?

A. Business writing is similar to academic writing.

B. Business writers should have a definite purpose to fulfill in each message.

C. When writing business documents, business communicators should recognize that

quantity enhances quality.

D. Business writing should be focused on the writer's needs.

11. As a technical support rep, Michael is responding to a customer's question sent

to him via e-mail. What should Michael's first task be?

A. Determine the purpose of the message he will send as a response.

B. Print the customer’s message

C. Start composing his reply

D. Conduct any necessary research

12. Sofia is an event planner and is responding to an e-mail request from a client.
What should Sofia do during the second phase of the writing process?

A. Check the format of the message

B. Proofread for spelling and grammar errors in the message

C. Determine the best organizational pattern for her reply message to the client

D. Analyze the situation and anticipate how her client will respond to her message

13. Which of the following statements about the 3-x-3 writing process
is most accurate?

A. The steps of the writing process must always be followed in order.

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B. The 3-x-3 writing process is useful only for longer, more complex documents.

C. The writer decides whether a document achieves its purpose in the first phase of the
writing process.

D. Experienced writers usually spend the most time on the third phase of the writing
process.

14. Which of the following statements about anticipating and profiling your
audience is most accurate?

A. If you don't actually know your readers, it is impossible to picture what they are like.

B. You will adjust your tone, style, and content to accommodate the expectations and
needs of your audience.

C. Because postings to sites like Facebook and Twitter are so brief and informal, there is
no need to anticipate your audience.

D. You should profile your primary audience only.

15. Determining whether a message will be transmitted by e-mail or delivered in

person is part of ________.

A. selecting an appropriate communication channel for the message

B. selecting the appropriate audience for the message

C. using the correct tone for the message

D. adapting a message to the audience

EXERCISE V: CLASSIFY THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS INTO FOUR

GROUPS A/B/C/D

GROUPS

A. Phase 1 of the Writing Process

B. Phase 2 of the Writing Process

C. Phase 3 of the Writing process

D. Team writing

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 STATEMENTS

1. Members of effective teams are usually eager to implement their recommendations

because they are more invested.

2. Robert is gathering data for a business proposal he is writing.

3. Cassandra is trying to decide whether to call her boss or to send an e-mail message.

4. This is especially important for documents that require the expertise or consensus of
many people.

5. The writer analyzes the audience and the purpose for writing.

6. The writer conducts research to gather the data he/she needs to provide facts

7. Catherine proofreads the brochure carefully for correct spelling, grammar, and
punctuation errors.

8. The writer edits to make sure the message is clear, conversational, concise, and
readable.

9. Documents and presentations made in this method are not standard in most
organizations because collaboration has many advantages.

10. The writer determines the best organizational pattern for a reply message to the client.

11. The writer profiles the audience of the message.

12. The writer analyzes the situation and anticipates how the client will respond to the
message.

13. The writer checks the format of the message.

14. Margaret edits, proofreads, and evaluates the proposal she is writing to solicit
business from a potential client.

15. The writer decides how to organize the brochure to make it most persuasive to
customers.

16. The writer decides on the purpose of the message.

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17. Writers use a Wiki, a Google doc or the track changes function in MS Word to
complete their tasks in this.

18. The writer composes the first draft of the proposal at the computer.

19. This is necessary for projects that are big, have short deadlines and require the
expertise or concensus of many people.

20. The writer evaluates whether the message will achieve its purpose

EXERCISE VI: Identify errors & revise messages.

1. We cannot process your order until we receive your credit card number.

2. Turn in your sales figures by Monday.

3. Every flight attendant must submit her security clearance card before boarding.

4. All managers and their wives are invited to Friday's cocktail party.

5. Please substantiate that the new color scheme doesn't obfuscate the overall message.

6. Your presence at Friday's meeting is compulsory.

7. Please get back to me as soon as possible.

8. Lot C is off-limits to students until August 25.

9. You need to make a decision by the end of the day

10. You neglected to provide your account information

EXERCISE VII. Compose a message.

1. When profiling your audience, what types of questions should you ask about your
primary audience? What types of questions should you ask about your secondary
audience? List three of each.

Asking about your primary audience

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Asking about your secondary audience

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____________________________________________________

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2. Discuss five of the writing techniques recommended for adapting a message to your
audience and provide an example of each.

________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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EXERCISE VIII. Share your experience.

Share with the class one situation in which you encounter miscommunication. Explain
why this happened and how this can be overcome.

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