Education Expert Q&A

People who write proposals are the only technical writers who need to be concerned with persuasion.

Graphics and design elements are relatively unimportant in communicating persuasively.

Which of these examples shows the most effective transition from the first sentence to the second?

A) New screening techniques are being developed to combat computer viruses. They are the subject of a new research effort at Big State University.
B) New screening techniques are being developed to combat computer viruses. These techniques are the subject of a new research effort at Big State University.
C) New screening techniques are being developed to combat computer viruses. A new research effort at Big State University is focused on fighting computer viruses.
D) New screening techniques are being developed to combat computer viruses. Nevertheless, they are the subject of a new research effort at Big State University.

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.

An effective topic sentence will reflect which of the following?

A) the character of the writer
B) the title of the document
C) the coherence devices used in the document
D) the organizational structure of the document

What kind of relationship do the transitional phrases for example, for instance, and in other words express?

A) illustration
B) addition
C) contrast
D) summary

You are writing a report about sales of your company's products over the past three months. Sales are not growing, but appear to be steady. You have identified three factors contributing to this situation. Which of the following is the most effective lead-in for a paragraph list discussing these factors?

A) Certain factors are affecting our sales channels.
B) Three factors include:
C) I have identified three factors that are contributing to the plateau of product sales.
D) The following factors are contributing to the plateau of product sales.

Which of the following words or phrases should be used in the excerpt below to signal to readers that because land-use problems are causing high bacteria levels, landowners must take action. Bacteria levels are often above state standards and are due to localized, specific land-use problems. _______, landowners must take action to address these problems and reduce the high bacteria levels.

A) Nevertheless
B) For example
C) Next
D) Consequently

What advice would you give to a writer considering revising the long paragraph below? (Numbers were inserted to identify the sentences; they will not appear in the finished document.) (1) Although graphics can enhance a website, they can also serve as a distraction. (2) Having too many graphics that do not contribute to the content of the site may make your company appear unprofessional, as well as contributing to slow download times. (3) Your site, for example, has thirty moving images. (4) Such images do not reflect the serious nature of your business. (5) When it comes to graphics, we suggest you adopt a "less is more" approach. (6) Another troublesome feature of your site is the scrolling banner used as a navigation element. (7) To reach certain pages on your site, users must quickly click the links scrolling across the banner. (8) If they miss a link, they must wait another 20 seconds until the link scrolls by again. (9) Because this site is not designed to be a game but rather a place for customers to learn more about handling hazardous materials, you should not use a scrolling banner as a navigation element. (10) We recommend that you use standard navigation buttons aligned along the left margin or across the top of the page. (11) Also, you may want to include a text-only navigation element at the bottom of the page.

A) Start a new paragraph at (4) .
B) Start a new paragraph at (6) .
C) Start a new paragraph at (9) .
D) The excerpt is most effective as it is, as a single paragraph.

To create an effective title for your document, what should you focus on?

A) key words that describe the document's subject and purpose
B) key words that describe the attitudes of your audience
C) key words that you used in an Internet search while conducting research
D) key words that establish coherent transitions

Which of these statements provides an effective definition of a sentence list?

A) It is a list of all the parts of a sentence.
B) It is a list in which the bulleted or numbered items are words, phrases, or single sentences.
C) It is a list in which each bulleted or numbered item is a group of sentences.
D) It is a list of definitive statements about a sentence.

What is an advance organizer?

A) an outline of the document you are drafting, showing its content and organization
B) the text that introduces a list
C) any text that indicates the background, purpose, scope, and organization of the discussion that follows it
D) transitional words and phrases, such as first, therefore, furthermore, or consequently

Which of these statements does NOT identify a benefit of turning a paragraph into a list?

A) It forces you to reorder the sequence.
B) It forces you to look at the bigger picture.
C) It forces you to create a helpful lead-in.
D) It forces you to write more precisely and more clearly.

What type of sentence states, summarizes, or forecasts the main point of the paragraph?

A) a transitional sentence
B) a coherence sentence
C) a topic sentence
D) a body sentence

Transitional paragraphs tend to be much longer than body paragraphs.

To test a title, you should ask whether readers will be able to paraphrase it in a clear, meaningful sentence.

Bad news should be given in the topic sentence or at the end of the paragraph; it is misleading to bury bad news in the middle.

The only proper way to create a sentence list is by using bullet points.

In almost all cases, demonstrative pronouns should be followed by nouns.

A heading eliminates the need for a transitional sentence such as "Let us now turn to the advantages of the mandatory enrollment process."