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Pr eview
experience. In fact, the art and sci-
ence of writing is developed, mainly,
by the process of writing. The more
you write, the better you’ll become at
it. Also, the more you work at specific kinds of business and
technical writing, such as memos, letters, e-mails, and
reports, the better you’ll become at crafting those kinds of
documents.
In this study unit, Using Words Well, you’ll learn the mean-
ing of style as it applies to writing in the world of business
and industry. You’ll also discover the elements of the writing
process and learn the crucial importance of knowing your
audience.
The main part of this study unit deals with words—the parts
of speech and how to use them correctly. You’ll spend some
time learning the guidelines for choosing just the right word
and avoiding the mistakes with words that are commonly
misused.
Here are some of the topics you’ll study in future units:
• Developing sentences and paragraphs
• Conducting research
For now, let’s get started with the basics presented in this
study unit.
iii
When you complete this study unit, you’ll be able to
• Outline the basics of the writing process and explain the
ABC method of organizing material for a document
• Explain the importance of knowing your audience and
identify different kinds of audiences
• Identify the parts of speech in a sentence
• Use pronouns correctly
• Select the correct verb form for the subject of a sentence
• Choose proper and effective words for writing your
documents
iv Preview
Contents
THE ART OF WRITING 1
Business and Technical Writing: The Difference 1
The Importance of Good Writing 2
A Note about Your Course 3
The Meaning of Style 4
The Writing Process 5
The ABCs of Writing 8
Knowing Your Audience 9
Voice and Tone 12
SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 53
EXAMINATION 59
v
Using Words Well
1
The Importance of Good Writing
No matter what your career plans are, no matter what type
of business or industry you plan to work in, your ability to
communicate through the written word will be a key part of
your success. You may be a top-notch accountant, an expert
computer programmer, or an experienced electrical engineer.
However, all the knowledge you have in your particular field
will be of little value if you’re unable to communicate it to
others.
Consider this example. Suppose you’re working as a supervisor
Evaluating a person’s
of a production department. You have an idea for improving
communication skills
is usually part of an productivity. When you present it to your boss, he says, “Put
employee’s annual it in writing.” Your idea may be great, but if you can’t get it
performance review. down on paper in a clear manner, your idea may never be
implemented.
Or suppose you’ve hired three new employees to work in your
department. As part of their training, you want to develop a
short pamphlet that includes specific instructions for per-
forming their job. To do this, you must be able to write in a
clear, direct manner so that the new employees—people who
are unfamiliar with your company—will understand. This
type of writing is part of technical writing.
People in business today understand the importance of
good communication skills. Perhaps you’ve noticed position
announcements and want ads that require good communica-
tion skills in applicants (Figure 1). The communication skills
referred to or implied in those notices often refer to literate,
skillful, and effective written communication skills. So there’s
your challenge. In this age of information, you have an
opportunity to move one step forward—one step closer to
the writing skills that will make you an asset to your organi-
zation and to the society served by that organization.
FIGURE 1—If you take the time to scan the want ads in your local paper, you’ll
probably discover that many include communication skills as an important qualifi-
cation. The information in this figure consists of direct quotations from actual
want ads. As you can see, such skills are important to careers in a variety of
occupations.
FIGURE 3—Good writers follow a three-step process for their work: prewriting, writing, and revision.
2. What is the difference between style in literature and style in business and technical
writing?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4. Rewrite the following sentences so they take the reader’s point of view.
a. The specified document has been located and will be faxed later today.
________________________________________________________________________
b. The shipment left here on Friday, and it should arrive by Tuesday.
________________________________________________________________________
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to a specific person or thing. They’re
grouped according to the person doing the speaking (Figure 7).
• A speaker (or writer) should use first-person pronouns to
refer to himself or herself.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns point out something being referred
to. This, that, these, and those are demonstrative pronouns.
Reflexive Pronouns
Sometimes the suffix –self or –selves is added to a personal
pronoun to indicate that the action of the sentence is
directed back to the performer of the action. Such pronouns
are called reflexive pronouns.
Examples: If you make a real effort to learn these concepts,
you may surprise yourself.
He beat himself at his own game.
In both of these examples, the action is directed back to the
subject.
Intensive Pronouns
Intensive pronouns take the same form as reflexive pronouns,
but they’re used differently. Intensive pronouns are used to
emphasize the doer of the action.
Examples: As we were talking about her, Linda herself
walked through the door.
If you want a job done right, you should do it yourself.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns connect two related parts of a sentence
when one part can’t be a sentence on its own. The words
who, whom, which, and that are relative pronouns.
Examples: The supervisor will tell us who submitted the
winning proposal.
The Roswell Building, which was constructed last year,
has structural flaws.
The shingles that fell from the roof were loosened by the
wind.
In each case, the relative pronouns (who, which, and that)
relate one part of the sentence to another part.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns name classes or groups of persons or
things. They include such words as all, another, any, anybody,
anyone, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything,
few, many, more, much, neither, nobody, none, no one, several,
some, somebody, someone, and such.
Examples: All of our sales representatives are highly
qualified.
Some of the supervisors were trained through distance
education courses.
None of the recent graduates is unemployed.
Verbs
A sentence must express a complete thought. Therefore, the
nouns or pronouns in any sentence must be either the
source of some action or the object of some action. That
action is expressed by some form of a verb. A verb is a word
that expresses an action or a state of being. In verbs like
cook, sing, run, and talk, the action is obvious. Other verbs,
such as live, hear, smell, want, think, and consider, express
actions that are perceived or sensed. Finally, some verbs sim-
ply suggest a state of being, such as is, am, are, was, seem,
become, grow, and remain (Figure 8).
FIGURE 8—A verb can express action (A), a perceived action (B), or a state of being (C).
Examples: The dog raced down the stairs. (The action verb
is raced.)
He wondered when his friend would arrive. (Wondered is
a verb in which the action is sensed.)
She is president of the Rotary Club. (The verb is suggests
a state of being.)
Many times, sentences contain more than one verb.
Examples: I think while I run.
She tested the equipment and found it to be faulty.
Some verb forms indicate when an action occurs. Study the
following examples. Notice that in some cases, verbs like is,
are, were, has, had, will, and have are added to indicate the
time of the action. These are called helping verbs.
Examples: Jim is running the race. (Action in the present)
Jim has run his race. (Action in the past)
Jim had run his race. (Action in the past)
Jim will run his race. (Action in the future)
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes, or modifies, a noun.
It usually precedes the noun it modifies and answers the
question which one, what kind, or how many.
Examples: last child in line (Last answers the question
which one.)
The tall tree (Tall answers the question what kind.)
Four boys (Four answers the question how many.)
Descriptive words can give your writing clarity. They present
to your audience a clearer picture of what you’re trying to
say. For example, consider how adjectives alter the following
sentences (Figure 9).
FIGURE 9—Adjectives can add clarity to your writing, which in turn helps your reader to understand your meaning.
Adverbs
Like adjectives, adverbs modify other words. Adverbs, how-
ever, modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs. They answer Many words that end
the question how, when, where, or how much. in –ly are adverbs.
Examples: He writes effectively. (Effectively is an adverb that
modifies the verb writes. It tells how he writes.)
She submitted the report yesterday. (Yesterday is an
adverb that modifies the verb submitted. It tells when
she submitted the report.)
Our office has been moved upstairs. (Upstairs is an
adverb that modifies the verb has been moved. It tells
where the office has been moved.)
The fencer’s hand moves very rapidly. (Very is an adverb
that modifies the adverb rapidly. It tells how or how
much.)
The extremely clever student solved the problem first.
(Extremely is an adverb that modifies the adjective clever.
It tells how or how much.)
Prepositions
A preposition clarifies or expresses a relationship between a
word in a sentence and a noun or pronoun (the object of the
preposition). It usually indicates a time (when) or space
(where) relationship.
Examples of time relationship: We will work until noon.
After lunch, she will begin plans for the upcoming
meeting.
Examples of space relationship: He ran across the street.
The Apple Deli stands beside the Beaner Bakery.
The English language has many prepositions. Some of the
more common ones are listed for you in Figure 10.
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word used to connect two parts of a
sentence. It can connect words, phrases, or even complete
sentences. There are several different kinds of conjunctions:
coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, subordi-
nating conjunctions, and conjunctive adverbs.
Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions link parts of a sentence that are
equal in importance—for example, subjects, verbs, preposi-
tional phrases, or sentences.
Examples: Nancy and Rick graduated in the same year. (The
conjunction and joins the subjects, Nancy and Rick.)
We planned the agenda and headed for the meeting. (The
conjunction and joins the verbs, planned and headed.)
You can get there through Pennsylvania or through
Connecticut. (The conjunction or joins two prepositional
phrases, through Pennsylvania and through Connecticut.)
We want to include a bibliography in the report, but that
might make it too long. (The conjunction but joins two
independent but related ideas.)
Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect and show the
relationship between two complete thoughts.
Two thoughts: The proposal was accepted. We’ll have to
work through the holiday.
With subordinating conjunction: Because the proposal
was accepted, we’ll have to work through the holiday.
Two thoughts: Installing the software requires experience.
Its use does not.
With subordinating conjunction: Installing the software
requires experience, although its use does not.
Notice how the words because and although connect the two
sample sentences and show how they’re related.
Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs connect two groups of words that could
stand on their own as individual sentences.
Two sentences: The new model is more fuel efficient. It
costs significantly more.
With conjunctive adverb: The new model is more fuel
efficient; however, it costs significantly more.
Two sentences: The market sample was not representative
of the region. It failed to produce increased sales.
With conjunctive adverb: The market sample was not
representative of the region; therefore, it failed to produce
increased sales.
Conjunctions
Coordinating Subordinating Conjunctive
Conjunctions Conjunctions Adverbs
and after also
but although consequently
or as finally
nor because furthermore
for before hence
so how however
if incidentally
Correlative once indeed
Conjunctions since instead
than likewise
either . . . or
that meanwhile
neither . . . nor
though nevertheless
not only . . . but also
till next
both . . . and
until nonetheless
whether . . . or
when otherwise
so . . . as
where still
whether then
while therefore
thus
FIGURE 11—As you can see, you have a great number of conjunctions at your disposal for use in your writing.
Use this figure as a reference to help add variety and coherence to your writing.
Now What?
You may be asking yourself why you need to know the parts
of speech to be a good writer. How will being able to identify
a pronoun or a conjunction help improve your writing?
That’s a fair question.
Here are a few practical ways in which you can use your
knowledge of the parts of speech to improve your writing
skills.
• Practice using different pronouns to achieve the effect
you want. For example, if you want to speak on a per-
sonal level with your audience, use the second-person
pronoun you. If you want to be less direct, use the
third-person pronoun he, she, or they.
2. Insert nouns in the blanks below to make each sentence complete and coherent.
a. The _______ constructed the _______ and tested it.
b. _______ checked out a(n) _______ from the _______.
c. _______ performed the _______ according to the _______.
d. The _______ was in need of _______.
e. I like _______, I dislike _______, and I hate _______.
3. Underline the verbs in the following sentences.
a. More than 100 spectators watched the car crash into the wall.
b. Technical and business writing is something anyone can learn.
c. The repair technician had trouble with the installation of the parts for the older model
television set.
d. When the faucet dripped, I thought it was raining.
e. Sarah likes spaghetti, but she loves ice cream.
4. In the following sentences, underline the adjectives once and the adverbs twice.
a. The broken coffeemaker produced cold, weak coffee.
b. The elderly stockholder gave his substantial holdings to a distant relative.
c. Ned works efficiently, but his poor attitude makes him a risky employee.
d. The clogged carburetor caused many problems on cold winter days.
e. Her favorite aspect of architectural drafting is the very regular paycheck.
f. True happiness, the distinguished professor told me wisely, comes from
May to August.
g. The weekend conference is in town today and tomorrow.
(Continued)
Clear Antecedents
As you’ve already learned, a pronoun is a word that stands
in place of a noun. The noun itself is called the antecedent of
the pronoun. Consider this sentence.
Example: The supervisor of the department was recognized
for the extra effort he contributed to the campaign.
In this sentence, the pronoun he takes the place of the noun
supervisor. Therefore, supervisor is the antecedent of he.
When you use a pronoun in your writing, make sure that it
has only one possible antecedent. In other words, make sure
you make it clear what the antecedent is.
Unclear antecedent: Charlene kept in close touch with the
department manager while she was on vacation. (In this
sentence, the pronoun she could refer to either Charlene
or the department manager.)
Clear antecedent: While Charlene was on vacation, she
kept in close touch with the department manager. (In
this sentence, the pronoun she clearly refers to
Charlene.)
Unclear antecedent: George called Harold three times while
he was in the meeting. (Does the pronoun he refer to
George or Harold? Unless you know who was in the
meeting, you would have no way of answering that
question.)
Clear antecedent: When Harold was in the meeting, George
called him three times.
Pronoun Agreement
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender. For
example, if the pronoun refers to a female, use the pronoun
she, her, or hers. If the pronoun refers to a male, use the pro-
noun he or his.
Examples: Linda is at her best under stress. (The pronoun
her refers to the female Linda.)
Franco promoted his plan for a sales campaign. (The
pronoun his refers to the male Franco.)
A pronoun must also agree with its antecedent in number.
If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must also be sin-
gular; if the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural.
The table in Figure 7 lists singular and plural personal
pronouns.
Examples: Women often do their best under stress. (The
plural pronoun their refers to the plural noun women.)
Although the book was sitting in clear view, James did
not see it. (The singular pronoun it refers to the singular
noun book.)
Charlotte brings her lunch to work almost every day.
(The singular pronoun her refers to the singular noun
Charlotte.)
I me my, mi ne
Si ngular
you you your, yours
Pronouns
he, she, i t hi m, her, it hi s, her, hers, i ts
FIGURE 13—Using the correct
we us our, ours case for pronouns is difficult for
many people. This chart shows
Plural
you you your, yours the forms that personal pronouns
Pronouns
take in the subjective, objective,
they them thei r, thei rs and possessive cases.
8. The increase in unemployment in those districts (is, are) attributed to the sluggish
economy there.
9. The section in which you discuss future plans (need, needs) more development.
11. Four days (was, were) enough time to complete the job.
12. The management and the board of directors (has, have) to approve the plan before the
president can make a decision.
13. Either management or the board of directors (has, have) to submit the plan to the
president for approval.
14. Down by the stream (is, are) two large apple trees.
• Avoid jargon.
• Avoid pomposity.
Avoid Jargon
Jargon refers to the specialized vocabulary of a specific activ-
ity or group. Generally, there are two kinds of jargon:
1. It may be the specialized technical language peculiar to
some academic or industrial environment. For example,
electrical engineers, mathematicians, and accountants
each have a vocabulary that relates specifically to their
area of expertise. This type of jargon is intelligible and
useful to specialists in the field, but it can be very con-
fusing to outsiders.
2. It may be a special language that has developed within
a corporation. In this case, jargon is a kind of insider
language that separates “us” from “them.” This type of
jargon is also confusing to outsiders.
As an example of a specialized technical language, consider
two archeologists working at an excavation. You overhear one
of them ask, “Did you notice the supraorbital torus on that
skull fragment from S-14?” His companion’s reply might be,
“I did. Definitely distinctive.” You may read that conversation
over and over and never understand its meaning, unless
you’re familiar with the jargon of archeologists. To the two
specialists, however, the exchange is crystal clear: The skull
FIGURE 15—Here are three ways to say the same thing—from the extreme casual to the formal. In your business
and technical writing, strive for the middle ground of polite, but conversational. Above all, however, always keep
your audience in mind.
Avoid Pomposity
Pomposity is formality carried to extremes. Your business or
technical writing is likely to be considered pompous if you
use words like aforementioned instead of previous, ubiquitous
instead of widespread, superfluous instead of extra, or delete-
rious instead of harmful. Consider these two paragraphs:
Pompous: It has become evident through complaints prof-
fered to management that the resistance of employees to
standards of conformity with linguistic cafeteria decorum
has become ubiquitous and, thereby, has placed a delete-
rious burden on the cafeteria staff.
FIGURE 16—If you speak or write in a pompous manner, your audience may lose interest because your information
is so difficult to follow. If you want to communicate effectively, use conversational language that’s familiar to your
audience.
Answers
e-mails, forms, and employee appraisals.
Technical writing deals with information related to a
particular field like accounting, engineering, or computer
science. It includes such things as progress reports,
proposals, instructions, and feasibility reports.
2. In literature, style refers to the distinct way in which an
author uses words. In business and technical writing,
style refers to the basic writing principles for creating
practical, efficient, and logical communications.
3. A refers to abstract. In the beginning of a document, you
should tell your readers what you’re going to talk about.
B refers to body. In the body, you should put the details
of the information you want to pass on to your reader. C
refers to conclusion. In this part, you should summarize
what you’ve said in the body and attempt to get your
audience to agree with you.
4. Note: These sentences are just samples. Your answers
may be different.
a. I have located your document and will fax it to you
later today. Or, You’ll be glad to hear that I’ve located
your document and will fax it to you later today.
b. I sent your shipment on Friday, and you should have
it by Tuesday. Or, Your shipment left our plant on
Friday and should arrive at your office by Tuesday.
53
Self-Check 2
1. a. The Deckers didn’t come because their babysitter was
sick.
b. Our picnic ended when an army of ants invaded our
blanket.
c. A stitch in time saves nine.
d. This year, our company expects a large increase in
profits.
e. Denise, his assistant, wrote these reports on the
progress of the project.
f. This is the first time he was able to pass the test.
2. Here are some possible answers.
a. The technician constructed the circuit and tested it.
b. Bradley checked out a book from the library.
c. Andrew performed the job according to the
specifications.
d. The programmer was in need of assistance.
e. I like writing, I dislike dictation, and I hate typing.
3. a. More than 100 spectators watched as the car crashed
into the wall.
b. Technical and business writing is something anyone
can learn.
c. The repair technician had trouble with the installation
of the parts for the older model television set.
d. When the faucet dripped, I thought it was raining.
e. Sara likes spaghetti, but she loves ice cream.
4. a. The broken coffeemaker produced cold, weak coffee.
b. The elderly stockholder gave his substantial holdings
to a distant relative.
c. Ned works efficiently, but his poor attitude makes him
a risky employee.
d. The clogged carburetor caused many problems on
cold winter days.
e. Her favorite aspect of architectural drafting is the very
regular paycheck.
54 Self-Check Answers
f. True happiness, the distinguished professor told me
wisely, comes from May to August.
g. The weekend conference is in town today and
tomorrow.
5. a. Either Building A or Building B will be demolished in
February to create additional parking space for the
faculty and students.
b. Both the tennis team and the soccer team won the
state championships for the second year in a row.
c. Karen decided to practice her music before she started
the homework for the next day.
d. At the corner of Church Street and Maple Avenue
stand a library and a bank, both of which were built
in the 1920s.
e. When the game is over, Donna and Helen will do the
laundry and set the table.
Self-Check 3
1. me (The object of a preposition must be in the objective
case.)
2. are (Two singular subjects connected by and take a plu-
ral verb.)
3. am (The word I is closer to the verb, so the verb must
agree with I.)
4. likes (Two singular subjects connected by or take a sin-
gular verb.)
5. Was (Tina is closer to the verb, so the verb must agree
with Tina.)
6. she (A pronoun used as a predicate nominative must be
in the subjective case.)
7. their (All refers to supervisors. Since supervisors repre-
sent something that can be counted, you should use a
plural verb.)
8. is (The subject of the sentence is the singular word
increase. Therefore, the verb must also be singular.)
9. needs (The subject of the sentence is the singular word
section. Therefore, the verb must also be singular.)
Self-Check Answers 55
10. is (The word physics looks plural, but it represents a sin-
gle branch of science. Therefore, it takes a singular verb.)
11. was (The term four days represents one unit of measure-
ment, so it takes a singular verb.)
12. have (Two singular subjects connected by and take a
plural verb.)
13. has (Two singular subjects connected by or take a singu-
lar verb. The word directors is the object of the
preposition of and therefore doesn’t affect the number of
the verb.)
14. are (The subject of the sentence, trees, is plural.)
15. was (In this sentence, the collective noun committee is
used in a singular fashion and takes a singular verb.)
Self-Check 4
1. Note: These are just sample answers. Your responses will
be different from those given here.
a. The employee morale survey administered on
November 16 evaluated the job satisfaction of each
member of our department. (Note: Be careful not to
replace guy with the sexist word man.)
b. Seven of my fellow production workers were dismissed
because their unexcused absenteeism resulted in a
38 percent decline in production.
c. My production supervisor refused to appropriate
funds for the new lab equipment.
d. An inventory control specialist from the central office
in Madison was sent to evaluate our inventory
records.
e. The 124T Addison drill presses installed in March of
2001 have increased production 82 percent, decreased
downtime 90 percent, and initiated an overall expan-
sion of the production division.
2. a. The increased workload had surprisingly positive
effects on the employee morale.
b. The supervisor divided the project among Joe, Dave,
and me.
56 Self-Check Answers
c. Correct
d. From the description George gave at the meeting, we
have concluded that the new computer software will
make our jobs easier.
e. Correct
f. If you replace mica wafers with beryllium oxide
wafers, you’re likely to get the same results.
g. In her speech at the department meeting, our supervi-
sor implied that if production didn’t increase, a few
workers may be dismissed.
h. Correct
i. Correct
j. The transistor deteriorated when the thermal joint
compound failed to conduct the heat rapidly to the
heat sink.
Self-Check Answers 57
NOTES
58 Self-Check Answers
Examination
Using Words Well
EXAMINATION NUMBER:
05000100
Whichever method you use in submitting your exam
answers to the school, you must use the number above.
When you feel confident that you have mastered the material in
this study unit, complete the following examination. Then submit
only your answers to the school for grading, using one of the exam-
ination answer options described in your “Test Materials” envelope.
Send your answers for this examination as soon as you complete it.
Do not wait until another examination is ready.
59
3. What, if anything, should you do to correct the following sentence?
Our principal problem was that we had less people than necessary to obtain optimum
benefits from the program.
A. Nothing. The sentence is correct as it stands. C. Change less to fewer.
B. Change principal to principle. D. Change optimum to maximum.
4. In the sentence, “The report arrived too late to be of any value to me,” which word is a
pronoun?
A. report C. value
B. late D. me
5. Which one of the following sentences is most likely to engage a reader’s self-interest?
A. You’ll be happy to hear the news.
B. I have some good news to report.
C. There’s some good news to report.
D. My supervisor has told me some good news.
6. Consider the following sentence: “If you don’t file your travel report on time, you can’t
expect a timely reimbursement for expenses.” How does this sentence fail in terms of its
effectiveness?
A. It fails to use a positive approach. C. It’s too pompous.
B. It’s too indirect. D. It fails to use inclusive language.
7. In general, on what stage of the writing process should you spend most of your time?
A. Writing your first draft C. Analyzing your audience
B. Revising your material D. Prewriting
8. In the sentence “Although the book was more than 50 years old, it still contained helpful
information,” the word Although is a(n)
A. verb. C. adjective.
B. preposition. D. conjunction.
10. If you want to make your writing personal and direct, which one of the following pronouns
should you use?
A. He C. They
B. We D. You
60 Examination
11. Which one of the following subjects takes a plural verb?
A. Carol and Donald C. The children or the teacher
B. Either you or Denise D. Neither the top nor the bottom
12. The part of speech that answers the question “which one” is a(n)
A. preposition. C. adjective.
B. conjunction. D. adverb.
13. What is the best way to avoid misusing words in your business and technical writing?
A. Use only words you know.
B. Keep your sentences short.
C. Think in terms of your reader’s likely vocabulary.
D. Make frequent use of a dictionary.
14. In the sentence “Although Harry was concerned, the report that he wrote was overwhelm-
ingly approved,” what word is the antecedent of the pronoun that?
A. Harry C. wrote
B. report D. approved
15. In the most general terms, your basic objective in writing a business or technical document
of any kind is to convey
A. a value. C. meaning.
B. an idea. D. understanding.
16. In the sentence “Do you know whose book is lying on the conference room table?” which
word is a preposition?
A. whose C. on
B. lying D. table
17. What type of language should you use if you’re writing to a group of Ph.D.’s?
A. Plain, clear language C. Formal language
B. Technical jargon D. Pompous language
18. One way to make your business or technical writing concrete is to use
A. words that evoke emotions.
B. facts and figures whenever you can.
C. as few words as possible.
D. vivid words to describe your subject.
Examination 61
19. What, if anything, should you do to correct the following sentence?
He has the ability to affect the outcome, but he’s not likely to take that chance.
A. Nothing. The sentence is correct as it stands.
B. Change ability to capacity.
C. Change affect to effect.
D. Change likely to liable.
62 Examination