Final Exam 2017, questions PDF

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Final exam for CPEN 281 Conroy, P...

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CPEN 281 Section 102 Final Examination – December 16, 2017

Student Name _____________________________________ Student # _________________________________________

SECTION I: Choose only one option per question. Each correct choice is worth 2 points. Use the Scantron card provided to record your choice. 1. ‘You View’, as presented in textbook for this course, means (a) Your idea of how to construct a technical communication (b) The values you convey in a technical communication (c) The perspective of the recipient of a technical communication (d) All of the above (e) None of the above 2. What distinguishes technical writing from academic writing (a) Purpose (b) Your knowledge of the topic (c) Audience (d) Some of the above (e) All of the above, maybe more 3. The principle of Equal Consideration of Interests means (a) Always look for the best return on investment, regardless of how it is generated (b) Be honest (c) All of your priorities should be treated with equal weight (d) Give as much weight to the interests of others as yours 4. In technical communication, the best way to get a decision you desire is to use (a) Implication of dire consequences if the decision doesn’t go your way (b) Arguments based on justifiable interpretation of reliable evidence (c) Declarations of strong intuition and personal preference (d) All of the above 5. Beginnings and endings of technical communication paragraphs should (a) Be transition statements, not meant to convey new information (b) Are where most readers are looking for key information (c) Reflect the order in which you did the research involved in the paragraph 6. In the ‘Body’ of a technical communication, it is best to let the reader distinguish between fact and opinion (a) False (b) True 7. You should invest considerable effort on the ‘Conclusion’ a document because (a) Readers expect a steadily evolving presentation ending in a dramatic ‘reveal’ (b) It is often the only part of the document your reader actually reads in detail (c) You have to cram everything you want to say into a paragraph of no more than 30 words 8. When replying to an email technical communication you should (a) Always ‘Reply All’ and trust the previous sender(s) re CC and BCC recipients (b) Take a break to think about whether your draft is suitable (c) Use expletives and personal attacks strategically (d) Reply quickly - that’s the strength of email

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CPEN 281 Section 102 Final Examination – December 16, 2017

9. The biggest difference between a memo and an email is (a) A memo doesn’t have attachments (b) The nature of the recipient list (c) Their purposes are different (d) Emails are never erased from cyberspace 10. The difference between arguments and opinions (a) An opinion is always illogical, while an argument is always logical (b) An opinion never references authoritative evidence, while an argument always does (c) There is no difference (d) An opinion can never persuade as well as an argument (e) None of the above 11. The strongest point in an argument should come last in a series of points when (a) There are only a few points (b) There is a long list of points (c) It doesn’t matter where in an argument the strongest point should go 12. Challenging the credentials of a proponent of another ‘side’ in an argument (a) Is valid and useful, if based on fact (b) Is an ‘ad hominem’ attack, if not based on fact (c) Both of the above 13. ‘Storyboarding’ is (a) A skill requiring training in anime or cine noire illustration (b) Using drawings as the primary means to communicate your message (c) Is absolutely necessary for successful technical communication (d) Is a useful tool for a team to evolve the ‘flow’ of a technical communication 14. ‘Brainstorming’ is (a) An epileptic attack caused by too much thinking (b) A technique for generating ideas that explicitly avoids criticism (c) A method used in training weather satellite software 15. Questionnaires are most effective when their questions are primarily (a) Objective and open (b) Subjective and open (c) Objective and closed (d) Subjective and closed 16. A question is “closed” if it is formed of a complete sentence plus a question mark (a) True (b) False 17. When citing published authorities it is necessary and sufficient to (a) Provide their name and email address (b) Follow one of a known suite of very strict formats (c) Request specific permission from the authority involved 18. White space in a technical communication medium is always wasted space (a) True

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CPEN 281 Section 102 Final Examination – December 16, 2017

(b) False 19. The best format to use in a Formal Proposal is (a) Memo (b) Letter (c) Depends on the situation 20. Informal proposals that contain a client acceptance section are (a) Ill-advised, as they suggest a take-it-or-leave-it offer (b) Advisable, as you want to catch the prospect off-guard (c) Acceptable, as they suggest the readiness of the proposal to be turned into a contract 21. According to the textbook, how many parts are there to a standard Formal Report (a) Up to the writer (b) Whatever is needed to satisfy the reader (c) Nine (d) Five (e) One 22. The Table of Contents of a Formal Report should (a) Be organized by impact (b) Reflect the order in which the sections involved were written (c) Reflect the contents of the Report 23. The Executive Summary of a Formal Report serves as the Abstract in the ABC format (a) Not at all - it’s a sales pitch (b) If so it’s accidental, because it comes before more detailed material (c) Yes 24. According to the textbook, sentence length in a technical communication should be varied and average 15 to 20 words (a) True (b) False 25. ‘Grab-Persuade-Control’, in the context of this course, is a strategy for (a) Gaining power in your organization (b) Structuring a technical communication effectively (c) Winning arguments between peers (d) Taking charge of a Team Writing assignment (e) All of the above 26. Appendices are appropriate in a technical communication when (a) You want to impress the recipient by including extra information (b) Including the material in the Body of the technical communication would interrupt the flow (c) Your bibliography is too long 27. The principal meaning the term ‘active voice’ is (a) Use short, easily-pronounced words to permit faster reading (b) Emphasize what is being done to something (c) Emphasize who is doing something

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CPEN 281 Section 102 Final Examination – December 16, 2017

28. A ‘cliché’ is (a) A way of showing sophistication (b) Usually inappropriate due to the extra words it takes to say a simple thing (c) A relative of ‘quiche’, which is a form of French cooking (d) None of the above 29. Footnotes are recommended (a) Never – they’re an affectation intended to impress the reader (b) When you want to discourage the reader from studying your argument too closely (c) When a short expansion would help the expert reader but bother the non-expert reader (d) When you want to avoid extra Sections or Appendices to cover a new topic 30. Any technical communication can be reduced to graphs and charts (a) False (b) True

SECTION II: Answer 3 of the following 5 questions. Each answer will be graded out of 10. Use your judgment as to the length and detail of your answers, by comparing the value of each item to the value of each multiple-choice item above. Use the UBC booklet provided to record your answer. A. Describe the similarities and differences between “Process Description” and “Process Instruction” regarding technological mechanisms. Give an example for each. B. Describe the similarities and differences between “Comparing” and “Contrasting” groups of items. Give an example for each. C. What does each letter in the textbook definition of ‘ABC form’ stand for? Describe what information each element is intended to convey, and how these relate among themselves. D. Describe some of the key features of a well-formed Argument, as presented in the textbook for this course. E. Describe some of the important elements of Team Writing, as presented in the textbook for this course, and indicate why they are important and what may happen if not done well.

***************************************************** END *************************************************** BEFORE LEAVING THE EXAMINATION ROOM, ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED YOUR STUDENT NAME AND UBC STUDENT # IN THE APPROPRIATE PLACES ON EACH OF  THIS DOCUMENT  THE SCANTRON CARD YOU USED FOR THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS  THE UBC BOOKLET YOU USED FOR THE SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS. TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK FOR GRADING, INSERT THE SCANTRON CARD AND THIS DOCUMENT INSIDE THE UBC BOOKLET AND PLACE THE COMBINED PACKAGE IN THE BOX LABELED ‘SECTION 102’ AT THE FRONT OF THE EXAMINATION ROOM.

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