Government & Business Correspondence:
Writing Persuasive Messages — Thill/Bovee 9



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This quiz is based on Business Communication (activebook 2.0) by John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee.

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  1. The principal strength of the AIDA plan for organizing persuasive messages is that it immediately calls the audience to decisive action.
    True
    False
  2. All of the following are common types of support for product claims except:
    product samples
    brochures describing the product and its benefits
    statistics regarding the product's effectiveness
    samples of inferior competing products
  3. Fundraising letters should have long warm-ups that ease the audience into your request with a detailed story about the cause.
    True
    False
  4. You reason from specific evidence to a general principle through _____________.
    induction
    logic
    analogy
    deduction
  5. The problem you'll most likely encounter when you write persuasive messages is:
    the audience’s self-esteem motivation
    a lack of understanding of your metaphors
    the audience’s inherent suspicion of persuasive messages
    busy audiences that receive many competing requests
  6. All of the following are good ways to establish your credibility except:
    demonstrating your expertise
    naming the sources of your information
    arguing through emotional appeals
    showing that your intentions are good
  7. An analogy is an example of:
    logical appeal
    assuming a false cause
    begging the question
    a request for action
  8. A paragraph in a sales message that relates the benefits of the product to a specific problem fulfills the __________ part of the AIDA plan.
    attention
    interest
    desire
    action
  9. Which of the following sentences would be the most effective revision to this sentence: "It seems to me that this problem could best be solved internally by existing personnel"?
    Existing personnel could best solve this problem.
    It seems to me existing personnel could solve this problem.
    I believe this problem could best be solved by existing personnel.
    No revision is necessary.
  10. If both you and your audience stand to gain from a proposal, you have:
    been specific
    provided adequate support
    created a win-win situation
    been moderate
  11. When dealing with resistance to a proposal, you should be prepared to listen to people, write them messages persuading them to accept your proposal, and search for compromise.
    True
    False
  12. When writing a persuasive message requesting an adjustment, you should adopt an apologetic tone, because most companies are annoyed by such requests.
    True
    False
  13. To prove that a sales letter involves fraud, you must demonstrate all of the following except:
    the writer’s intent to deceive
    that the writer made an untrue statement regarding a fact
    your justification in relying on the writer's statement
    that the letter was composed on forged letterhead
  14. In a sales letter, you should build the audience's interest by highlighting the ________.
    consumer benefit
    everyday low price
    central selling point
    logical appeals
  15. The best fundraising letters are those that give the reader the freedom to say “no” to the request.
    True
    False


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