COMMUNICATION SKILLS

QUIZ # 2
SURNAME, FIRST NAME: ______________________
GROUP NAME/NUMBER: ______________________
SECTION: ______

Instructions:

Use an MS Word. Use Calibri Font, size 12, with 1.15 spacing.
Save file with the following naming convention:
“Quiz2_<Surname>_<FirstName>_<Section>”
Ex.: Quiz2_Ang_Charisse_C99
Use the same naming convention in the Subject line of your email.
Send to Charisse.ang@dlsu.edu.ph until 11:59pm of October 17, 2019.
Late submissions will receive minus 10 points out of 100 points.

Answer all the essay questions within 15 sentences with 16 to 22 words each. On top of the
properly defined concepts required for each question, you will accumulate points based on
your logic, substance, structure, unity and coherence. Avoid having dangling expressions. Each
identified dangling expression and grammatical error shall constitute a minus point.

1. Explain the Writing Process and identify each of its steps while adapting the Direct
Organizational Plan structure for your paragraph. Exemplify the use of all variations of
sentences. Underline each of the identified steps in the Writing Process within your
paragraph.

Answer:
The writing process is a series of actions that individuals take in the course of
creating a text that fulfills these individuals’ purposes as well as the expectations of the
readers. It is one of the major concepts in the teaching of writing. According to the class’
discussion, the reporters gave the audience five (5) steps in the writing process namely:
Audience Analysis, Planning, Drafting, Revising, and Proofreading.

Audience Analysis identifies who the writer’s target audience is and what the writer’s
relationship is with the audience. In this step, the writer must identify his primary and
secondary audience to be able to satisfy their needs. The writer must establish his
credibility by assuming a professional tone as well as providing enough data support his
 claims on his paper. The writer must think how the paper would affect the audience and
the best way of doing this is by keeping the messages short and straightforward.

Planning teaches us that what matters is not how well-crafted the message is or how
well it was formatted but what matters is whether the writer has achieved his
communication objective. The writer’s objective must be clear, it should state what the
writer expects the reader to do as a result of the writer’s portrayed message. In class we
have discussed two techniques on planning which was Brainstorming and Mind-
Mapping.

Drafting teaches the writer to compose a preliminary version of his message. This step
teaches the writer that the most important thing is not perfection but to let ideas flow
as quickly as possible.

Revising is the step where the writer modifies the message to further improve it. The
writer must always remember that the content must match its purpose, the purpose
must be clear to the audience to avoid confusion. The writer must be sensitive to the
readers’ reactions, the writer must always place necessary information only, and lastly
the message must be composed in a logical order.

Proofreading is the last step of the Writing Process, it is the final quality control check
for the message made by the writer. As the writer revises, he may be able to move,
delete, or duplicate text. Writers must make sure that the messages written makes
sense.

2. Discuss the Principles of Writing Style using Indirect Organizational Plan. Write and
underline at least three (3) sentences in active voices, and another three (3) in passive
voices. Italicize the passive sentences.

Answer:
There are four (4) elements composed in the Principle of Writing Style and those
are: Words, Sentences, Paragraphs, and Tones. There were some guidelines for writing
clearly and was discussed in class. First, the writer writes accurately and has achieved its
paper’s completeness. Second, the writer writes familiar words so the audience would
be able to understand. Third, the writer uses specific and concrete language. Fourth, the
use of dangling expressions is avoided by the writer. Fifth, clichés, slang, and
unnecessary jargon are shunned by the writer. For the message to be clear and concise,
redundancy and wordy expressions are avoided by the writer.
 Writers must use a variety of sentence types such as simple sentences, compound
sentences, and complex sentences. The use of active and passive voice must be
appropriately used by the writer. The writer must also be mindful of the tone, structure,
and length of his composed messages.

3. Discuss the top 2 choices of communication medium that your group thinks of for your
final output. Compare and contrast these two. Build your argument and discuss your
reasons why your group chose your communication medium. Foresee a possible
negative comment on why you shouldn’t have used your chosen communication then
frame a neutral response for this possible query. Apply a Direct organizational approach.
Use at least 5 types of Common Transitional Expressions then underline these transition
words.

Answer:
From what I recall from our group discussion, one of the most interesting ideas
came from doing a brochure or a blog. Let us first describe a brochure and a blog for us
to be able to compare and contrast these two. Ultimately the group chose the blog to
be the business’ communication platform.

A brochure is an informative paper document for advertising, which can be folded into a
template, pamphlet or leaflet. Brochures are promotional documents, primarily used to
introduce a company, organization, products or services and inform potential customers
or members of the public of the benefits. The main purpose of a brochure is to extend
the reader's knowledge on one specific topic in which the brochure centers around. A
good brochure can help capture the attention of potential customers and it is cost-
effective and pocket-friendly than product advertisements on magazines and
newspapers. What’s more, brochures can be kept for future reference rather than
disposed of after one read-through.

A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying

information in the reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first. It is a
platform where a writer or even a group of writers share their views on an individual
subject. There are many reasons for starting a personal blog and only a handful of
strong ones for business blogging. Blogging for business, projects, or anything else that
might bring you money has a very straightforward purpose – to rank your website
higher in Google SERPs, a.k.a. increase your visibility. As a business, you rely on
consumers to keep buying your products and services. As a new business, you rely on
blogging to help you get to these consumers and grab their attention. Without blogging,
your website would remain invisible, whereas running a blog makes you searchable and
competitive.

Consequently, the main purpose of a blog is to connect you to the relevant audience.

Another one is to boost your traffic and send quality leads to your website. The more
frequent and better your blog posts are, the higher the chances for your website to get
discovered and visited by your target audience. Which means, a blog is an effective lead
generation tool. Add a great call to action (CTA), and it will convert your website traffic
into high-quality leads. But a blog also allows you to showcase your authority and build
a brand. When you use your niche knowledge for creating informative and engaging
posts, it builds trust with your audience. Great blogging makes your business looks more
credible, which is especially important if your brand is still young and fairly unknown. It
ensures presence and authority at the same time.

The group decided to choose the blog over the brochure as a result of the data gathered
by the group, the blog would be more effective in communicating to our targeted
audience. One of the reasons why the group chose a blog is because they have become
a popular means of communication in today’s society. In addition, these blogs are a new
form of public speech which gives a forum to the average person to express their ideas,
opinions, and concerns to a wide array of audiences. There has certainly been a rapid
evolution and growth in blogs to meet the needs of a wide variety of discourse
communities. Another reason as to why the group chose a blog because it provides an
active platform for conversation between writers and readers. A good website made by
the group may be able to attract potential customers for the group’s proposed business.
A blog would be able to help the group’s proposed business by creating a two-way
interaction with the blogs readers. The group believes that a blog would be able to help
the business build its relationship with its customers.

Negative comment: Blogs can be time consuming. Finding time to write regular updates
can become a chore.

Answer: The group’s business is a service type business and because of this members of
the said group would only be updating our target audience if there is a promo, accident,
to inform, and etc. unlike regular blogs that have to be updated on a daily basis, the
business blog would only be updated when certain situations occur. Due to this reason,
the blog is a communication tool for us to reach our customers’ needs and concerns.
4. Read the article retrievable from this link: https://business.inquirer.net/281206/globe-
business-leadership-innovation-forum-challenges-philippine-enterprises-to-create-a-
positive-societal-impact

Aligned with Globe Business’ recent forum with the theme “Catalyst: Ignite Your
Influence”, imagine you will have to give a persuasive speech to different stakeholders
of your hypothetical organization. Briefly describe your hypothetical company and
conduct an Audience Analysis for each type of stakeholder provided below (A, B and C).
Do this by answering at least three (3) questions from your book when you are
conducting an Audience Analysis.

(A) Subordinating employees

(B) Colleagues
(C) Superiors / Boss / Employers

As you write your speech for each audience, remember that your objective is to
persuade each type of these audiences to become stewards of positive societal change.
Employ at least one method of persuasion for each type of audience. Make sure you
don’t use one method twice for different types of audiences. Finally, to strengthen your
persuasive speech, apply the concept of “You” attitude.