C2 Communication and Documentation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In formal correspondence, what is the correct closing for a letter that begins 'Dear Sir or Madam'?
- Yours sincerely
- Yours faithfully (Correct answer)
- Kind regards
- Best wishes
Correct answer: Yours faithfully
In British formal convention, 'Yours faithfully' is used when the recipient is unknown (Dear Sir/Madam), while 'Yours sincerely' is used when the recipient is named.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of nominalization, commonly used to create a formal written style?
- The committee will decide on the proposal next week.
- A decision on the proposal will be made by the committee. (Correct answer)
- They will choose to accept or reject the proposal.
- The committee is going to let everyone know its decision.
Correct answer: A decision on the proposal will be made by the committee.
Nominalization replaces a verb phrase ('will decide') with a noun form ('a decision'), creating the impersonal, formal tone characteristic of official documentation.
Question 3: A project update email states: 'We are on track, mostly.' What is the primary problem with this phrase in professional communication?
- It is too short to convey meaningful information to stakeholders.
- The hedging qualifier 'mostly' introduces ambiguity without specifying what is off track. (Correct answer)
- It uses first-person plural, which is inappropriate in business emails.
- The phrase is in present continuous tense, which is informal.
Correct answer: The hedging qualifier 'mostly' introduces ambiguity without specifying what is off track.
In professional documentation, vague qualifiers like 'mostly' create uncertainty; the writer should specify which element is not on track and explain the impact.
Question 4: When preparing meeting minutes, which item is least essential to include?
- Action items with owners and deadlines
- A verbatim transcript of every speaker's words (Correct answer)
- Decisions made during the meeting
- The names of attendees and the date
Correct answer: A verbatim transcript of every speaker's words
Minutes capture decisions, actions, and key points, not verbatim speech; a full transcript is unnecessarily long and impractical for ongoing reference.
Question 5: Which citation style is most commonly required in US social science academic documentation?
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
- APA (American Psychological Association) (Correct answer)
- Chicago/Turabian footnote style
- Harvard referencing
Correct answer: APA (American Psychological Association)
APA style is the standard for psychology, education, and most social sciences in the US, governing both in-text citations and the reference list.
Question 6: A business proposal contains this phrase: 'We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for considering our proposal.' What is its main weakness?
- It uses first person, which is inappropriate in proposals
- It is a filler phrase that adds length without informational value (Correct answer)
- It is grammatically incorrect due to split infinitive usage
- It should appear at the beginning rather than anywhere in the document
Correct answer: It is a filler phrase that adds length without informational value
Filler phrases pad documents and dilute impact; professional writing replaces them with substantive content or omits them entirely.
Question 7: In a formal report's methodology section, which verb tense is most appropriate when describing procedures that were carried out during the study?
- Simple present, because methods are general truths
- Simple past, because the actions were completed before writing (Correct answer)
- Present perfect, to emphasize relevance to the current findings
- Future tense, to project what will be replicated
Correct answer: Simple past, because the actions were completed before writing
Methodology sections use simple past tense to describe procedures that were completed at a specific point during the research.
C2 Communication and Documentation 3
In formal correspondence, what is the correct closing for a letter that begins 'Dear Sir or Madam'?