BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SLO PRE-ASSESSMENT
1. List the following steps of the communication process in the correct order: (1.1)
a. sender encodes message, receiver decodes message, message is sent, receiver sends feedback,
sender has an idea
b. sender has an idea, sender encodes message, message is sent, receiver received message, receiver
decodes message, receiver sends feedback
c. receiver received message, sender encodes message, sender has an idea, receiver sends feedback,
message is sent, receiver decodes message
d. receiver sends feedback, sender encodes message, sender has an idea, receiver received message,
message is sent, receiver decodes message
e. message is sent, receiver decodes message, sender encodes message, sender has an idea, receiver
received message receiver sends feedback
f. receiver decodes message, message is sent, receiver sends feedback, receiver received message,
sender has an idea sender encodes message
2. Luciano owns a grocery store that is introducing a new line of packaged meals. To share this information
with his team he decided to hold a meeting instead of sending an email. Luciano has selected an
appropriate
to communicate his message. (1.1)
a. transmitter
b. gate
c. channel
d. scope
3. During a sales meeting, Alejandra points her finger towards her presentation to encourage her team to
examine a budget forecast. What type of communication is she using? (1.3)
a. gesture
b. verbal
c. eye contact
d. voice inflection
4. Which of the following is an example of verbal communication? (1.3)
a. sign language
b. body language
c. voice infection
d. tone of voice
5. Which step of the communication process occurs when a RECEIVER is listening to a message? (1.1)
a. encoding
b. decoding
c. feedback
d. channel
6. Select which word correctly completes the sentence. (2.1)
The employees are upset about using
vacation time to cover the extra shifts.
a. their
b. there
c. they're
d. they are
7. Which sentence illustrates the correct use of numbers. (2.2)
a. My parents were gone for thirty-one days.
b. My parents were gone for 21 days.
c. 51 student came from the test.
d. We counted 9 students who came in for the test.
8. Select the sentence that is punctuated incorrectly. (2.2)
a. John left to pick up lunches for everyone, but returned extremely late.
b. The principal is in charge of the entire school; however, the teacher is in charge of his/her
classroom.
c. Incidentally, Sally scored a remarkable 90 percent on her test.
d. My mother bought the following ingredients for the cake: flour, eggs, chocolate, walnuts, and
milk.
9. Which
a.
b.
c.
d.
sentence is written correctly? (2.4)
John is older than her.
John is older than she.
I did my work better than him.
Sally did much better than them.
10. Which is a sentence fragment? (2.4)
a. The weary traveler left his suitcase on the train.
b. Athletes representing their own countries.
c. We hold a meeting every month.
d. Early settlers displayed remarkable courage.
11. Which sentence uses modifiers correctly? (2.4)
a. Taxiing on the runway, the radio tower was in contact with the pilot.
b. Missing my family, the dormitory felt like a lonely place.
c. Standing on top of the Sears Tower, the city of Chicago looked like a picture postcard.
d. Playing in the yard, Sally broke her leg.
12. Which sentence avoids using a redundancy? (2.2)
a. The end results of the student's scores, showed a 65% improvement.
b. Those that were willing to give up their Saturday to go to the workshop, were few in number.
c. After discussing the topic with her brother, they both came to an effective solution.
d. Once they read the email, they realized that they were faced with a difficult dilemma.
13. Which sentence shows the correct use of parallelism? (2.2)
a. Skiing, snowboarding, and sledding are all winter sports.
b. I went to town, bought some groceries, and am eating at a restaurant.
c. Our dog is playful, sweet, and is really timid.
d. We had to decide whom we wanted invited, when we were going to hold it, and deciding who
would be the entertainment.
14. Which sentence is punctuated correctly? (2.2)
a. The elephant performed well in the circus, very few people were impressed.
b. The elephant performed well in the circus; very few people were impressed.
c. The elephant performed well in the circus but very few people were impressed.
d. The elephant performed well in the circus; but very few people were impressed.
15. Which of the following sentences is a phrase and not a clause? (2.4)
a. Opening the gate, Reed let the dog into the yard.
b. It is too bad that her sister won't make it to the party.
c. The player who hits the winning run will be the MVP of the season.
d. The girl whose leg was broken last year, will be running in the race today.
16. Select the correct word for the subject-verb agreement. (2.4)
It has been moved and seconded that the meeting
adjourned.
a.
b.
c.
d.
is
be
are
an
17. Differentiate which of the following statements best describes paralanguage? (1.3)
a. It involves the speaker's choice of words.
b. It can create a distinct impression of the speaker.
c. Its main component is body language.
d. It exists besides language and interacts with it.
18. Evaluate the term kinesics refers to: (1.3)
a. paralinguistic cues that are used to persuade.
b. vocal fillers that regulate the flow of speaking.
c. body movements that directly translate into words.
d. all forms of body movement other than physical contact with another person.
19. Discriminate which statement about adaptors is NOT correct? (1.3)
a. They are habits that are not intended to communicate.
b. People use them when they are uncomfortable or nervous.
c. They are uniform to most communicators and easy to classify.
d. They are behaviors that satisfy physical or psychological needs.
20. Which of the following sentences should be revised because it includes bias? (3.2)
a. Breakfast is the first meal of the day.
b. Their going to eat lunch together.
c. Annalee & Steve are going to eat hamburgers and french fries at a restaurant.
d. The waitress was attentive while we placed our order.
21. Which of the following sentences uses homonyms correctly?
(4.1)
a. The city counsel voted to accept the motion. b.
The city council voted to except the motion.
c. The city council voted to accept the motion.
d. The city counsel voted to except the motion.
22. Julianna only has 15 minutes to read two chapters from her business communications textbook. What
reading strategy would best help her examine the material? (4.3)
a. skimming
b. paraphrasing c.
directing
d. proofreading
23. Identify which word is an antonym of "good."
(4.1)
a. great
b. hood c.
dog d.
bad
24. Identify which word is a synonym of "big." (4.1)
a. small b.
dig
c. large
d. gulp
25. As a critical reader you must evaluate your material. All writers make assertions that they want you to
accept as true. You should ...(4.4)
a. Recognize every assertion as an argument that must be carefully evaluated.
b. Accept the fact that all writers will use the highest standards of accuracy.
c. Take every written document on its face value as being accurate and correct. d.
Don't accept anything for its accuracy. Trust no one.
26. Which of the following is an example of an internal document? (5.2)
a. A quotation
b. A job description
c. A claims adjustment d.
A policy bulletin
27. Determine which of the following is NOT an example of nonverbal communication? (1.3)
a. Pictures
b. Computer graphics c.
Company logos
d. An e-mail message from a CEO to shareholders
28. Which
a.
b.
c.
d.
of all of the following is NOT a criterion for effective business writing: (5.3)
The message is clear.
The message is accurate.
The message is what the reader wants to hear.
The message builds goodwill.
29. Toby sent a memo listing the approved vacation days for Munder Difflin. Who is the audience for this
written communication? (5.1)
a. The company's shareholders
b. Customers
c. A competing company
d. Munder Difflin employees
30. Which of the following is an example of external communication: (5.3)
a. Talking on a cell phone to a vendor.
b. An e-mail with an attachment sent from a salesperson to his manager.
c. A memo from a manager at the corporate office to a manager at a retail location in another state.
d. A teleconference among company sales representatives led by a regional manager.
31. Which
a.
b.
c.
d.
of the following is NOT an accurate purpose of a company's annual report: (5.2)
To persuade.
To build goodwill.
To present information.
To comply with government regulations.
32. Our local DECA chapter sent out letters to local business owners, requesting them to speak at our
school's Entrepreneurship Week luncheon. Their letter would classify the message as: (5.3)
a. A reminder message
b. An unethical message
c. A persuasive message
d. An informational message
33. Which
a.
b.
c.
d.
of the following reasons is NOT a result of better writing skills: (5.1)
Increased disagreements
Efforts become more effective
Communication is clear
Time is saved
34. If you compose written communication that contains both good and bad news, how should you construct
your document? (5.3)
a. Direct with the bad news, and then indirect with the good news.
b. Indirect with the good news, and then direct with the bad news.
c. Direct with the good news, and then indirect with the bad news.
d. Indirect with the bad news, and then direct with the good news.
35. Maggie is preparing to listen to her colleagues give a proposal. Which of the following does NOT
qualify Maggie as an active listener? (6.1)
a. asking questions throughout the proposal
b. taking notes
c. getting up to stretch in the middle of the proposal
d. keeping an open mind
36. If a caller asks for Jagger on the telephone, which of the following is the best way to answer? (6.2)
a. It's Jagger.
b. This is he.
c. This is me.
d. This is who you are talking to.
37. Identify which scenario is an example of a perceptual barrier to effective listening? (6.1)
a. Having a biased opinion about the speaker's qualifications on the
subject
b. The air conditioner humming in the background
c. Having to speak through an interpreter
d. Teaching students in a classroom where they have
38. Josh is sitting in class listening to a speech when his stomach begins to growl. Differentiate what
Josh is experiencing...(6.3)
a. Psychological noise
b. Physical noise
c. Physiological noise
d. Intrapersonal noise.
39. When communicating over the telephone, which of the following should be avoided? (6.2)
a. Sarcasm because they cannot read your body language.
b. Repeating the message to the caller.
c. Speaking slowly and enunciate.
d. Smiling because it affects the tone of your
voice.
40. Phineas told Ferb to build a roller coaster in the backyard before Candace tattles to Mom.
Which step could keep Ferb from following the oral directions? (6.1)
a. asking questions to ensure that he comprehends the location of the roller coaster
b. take notes on the details of the colors that Phineas has picked out
c. separating multi-step directions such as getting materials at separate times
d. reciting the instructions back to Phineas
41. Identify the proper method that the listener uses in the communication process:
(1.1)
a. Decodes both the message and the feedback.
b. Merely decodes the feedback.
c. Encodes the feedback, and decodes the message.
d. Decodes the feedback, and encodes the message.
42. Jim works for a paper company in Scranton, PA. He is one of the managers on the
sales team for the company. Which one of the following people is his subordinate? (7.1)
a. Michael- The regional manager of the Scranton branch
b. Dwight- Another salesperson on the sales team
c. Toby -A human resources representative who works in a different department
d. Clark- A customer service representative who works under Jim & Dwight.
43. Which of the following describes an agenda? (7.3)
a. A list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting
b. A type of internal communication used within a department
c. An informal method of communication between coworkers
d. A report showing the results of a survey
44. Which of the following is NOT an effective leadership skill? (7.3)
a. Sense of humor
b. Ability to delegate
c. Arrogance
d. Honesty
45. If your boss gives you credit for a project that your co worker, Craig, did most of the work, what
is the most ethical response? (7.4)
a. Tell your boss your co worker assisted with the project too
b. Accept the praise to prevent your boss from feeling embarrassed by her mistake
c. Tell your boss that Craig did the majority of the work even though you worked hard too
d. Don't tell your boss but make Craig aware of the mistake
46. Identify which word represents advocating for your own needs while still considering and respecting
the needs of others? (7.2)
a. Aggressive Communication
b. Assertive Communication
c. Passive Communication
d. Abrasive Communication
47. In Charles Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol, there are two main characters: Ebenezer Scrooge and
Bob Cratchit. As Scrooge's underpaid clerk in his money lending business, Cratchit endures the
abusive badgering of Scrooge. Which type of communication is exhibited by Scrooge and Cratchit,
respectively. (7.4)
a. Passive, Aggressive
b. Assertive, Abrasive
c. Abrasive, Passive
d. Abrasive, Assertive
48. Which
a.
b.
c.
d.
software tool would be the best to find a synonym for a word? (8.1)
spell check
thesaurus
grammar check
Adobe Photoshop
49. Word processing & grammar check would catch which of the following errors? (8.1)
a. Brent & Vince's offices was on the second floor.
b. Brent & Vinces office's were on the second floor.
c. Brent & Vince's offices were on the second flor.
d. Vince's office was on the second floor.
50. In written communication, select which instance would be best to use a bulleted list.
(8.1)
a. A step by step process
b. A list of the finalists for the FBLA Job Interview Event
c. When telling an elaborate story, full of details
d. For a three page police report because you're sure that the police don't want to read lengthy
sentences