1.   Which one of the following words is a verb?
A. Maintenance
B. Manufacture
C. Cruel
D. However

2.   Of the following approaches to avoiding sexism in business and technical writing, which one is likely to be most effective?
A. Avoid references to individuals.
B. Apologize for using he as a generic pronoun.
C. Use plural nouns and pronouns.
D. Use the neutral pronouns it or its.

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.
B. Change principal to principle.
C. Change less to fewer.
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
B. late
C. value
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.
B. It's too indirect.
C. It's too pompous.
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
B. Revising your material
C. Analyzing your audience
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.
B. preposition.
C. adjective.
D. conjunction.

9.   Which one of the following pronouns correctly completes this sentence? The class took _______ examinations in three separate rooms.
A. its
B. their
C. his
D. your

10.   If you want to make your writing personal and direct, which one of the following pronouns should you use?

A. He
B. We
C. They
D. You

11.   Which one of the following subjects takes a plural verb?

A. Carol and Donald
B. Either you or Denise
C. The children or the teacher
D. Neither the top nor the bottom

12.   The part of speech that answers the question "which one" is a(n)

A. preposition.
B. conjunction.
C. adjective.
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 overwhelmingly approved," what word is the antecedent of the pronoun that?
A. Harry
B. report
C. wrote
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.
B. an idea.
C. meaning.
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
B. lying
C. on
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
B. Technical jargon
C. Formal language
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.

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.

20.   Which one of the following words is an example of a first-person pronoun?
A. She
B. You
C. We
D. They

1.B manufacture refers to the action of creating or producing something. When refering to a verb, you need to identify the word that describes an action or state, rather than a thing or a quality.

2.C the use of plural nouns and pronouns had the quality of refering to everyone, with no distinction of sex and appropiate for a formal style.

3.C 'less' is used in uncountable nouns, while 'few' is for countable nouns, since "people" is countable(you can count persons), 'few' is the correct word.

4.D. 'Me' is an object personal pronoun. Pronouns are used instead of nouns to refer to things or people, in this case it refers to the speaker.

5. A. This option directly adresses the reader. It is informal, and the vocabulary is attractive. The other options are too formal or do not address the reader.

6.C. The consequence of not filling out the form is not too clear. The language is somewhat strange and not straight-forward enough.

7.D the prewriting stage is essential to the succes of the writing process. It involves considering the target audience, the goal and objectives, and the appropiate style, and the ideas that should be included. It also involves planning. This is the stage you should spend more time on.

8.D it is a conjunction because it links both parts of the sentence and establishes a connection between them.

9.B "their" refers to all members of the class, without distinguishing gender. While the other pronouns do not refer to every person that is part of the class.

10. D "You" is a personal pronoun that addresses the reader directly. It is personal in the sense that it is used to express the author's opinion.

11. A. A plural pronoun has to be used because the subject refers to two people together, and not to alternatives. Therefore, choice A needs plural concord.

12. C. The question "which one..." usually asks about a quality in an object. Since qualities are expressed by adjectives, this part of speech is the correct one.

13. D. The dictionary is crucial to use words appropiately, since it provides information about the meaning and context in which a word is tipically used.

14. B the pronoun "that" refers to the subject of the relative clause, namely "report".

15. B. An idea is usually expressed in a bussiness or technical document, one that can be accepted or not. A value can be shown, but it is not generally the purpose of writing

16. C. 'On' is a preposition of place indicating position

17. B. Technical jargon should be used when addressing a group of specialists in a certain field, like a group of Ph.D.'s

18. C. Being concrete means using only the necessary words to fulfill the intended meaning

19. A. The sentence seems correct, the changes proposed do not apply, and change the original meaning

20. C "we" is a first person plural pronoun because it refers to the speaker and his/her audience at the same time.