TACN2 Chap 3.2

When should passive voice be used in business writing?

• When you want to de-emphasize the action or the recipient of the action

• When you want to emphasize the bad news

• When you want to conceal the doer of the action

• Never

Which of the following uses parallel structure?

• Our new paralegal must be smart, efficient, and have flexibility.

• The accident shattered her pelvis, dislocated her foot, and her spinal column was broken in three places.

• Big business demands superior forecasting, reporting, and analyzing.

• A good financial planner must be certified, competent, and must possess ethical standards.

To avoid dangling modifiers, you can ask which of the following questions after writing an introductory phrase?

• Why?

• Who or What?

• When?

• How many?

The sentence that expresses a paragraph's main idea is called the _______.

• blueprint

• preview

• supporting content

• topic sentence

How many main ideas should be developed in a paragraph?

• Two

• Three to five

• One

• As many as needed to convey effective meaning

In effective business writing, where in a paragraph does a topic sentence usually appear?

• At the beginning, to let readers know what to expect

• Midway through, to keep readers focused

• At the end, to summarize what has been discussed

• Topic sentences are unnecessary in business writing.

A topic sentence _______.

• provides specific details, explanations, and evidence that support the main idea of a paragraph

• links sentences within a paragraph

• is unnecessary in a paragraph

• states the main idea of the paragraph

The primary purpose of a paragraph’s supporting sentences is to _______.

• state the main idea of the paragraph

• repeat the topic sentence

• introduce the main idea of the previous paragraph

• illustrate and strengthen the topic sentence by providing specific details, explanations, and evidence

Paragraphs lack coherence when _______.

• all sentences are written in the active voice

• each sentence includes dependent and independent clauses

• ideas are organized randomly and illogically

• all sentences are compound sentences

To build paragraph coherence, a writer should _______.

• sustain a key idea by repeating the same expression or a similar one

• avoid using transitional expressions

• use nouns instead of pronouns

• exclusively use active voice