GLA Communication and Collaboration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student receives feedback that her essay lacks a clear argument. The BEST revision strategy is to:
- Add more paragraphs about related topics
- Identify and strengthen the thesis statement so it makes a specific, arguable claim (Correct answer)
- Change the font and formatting to make it look more organized
- Remove all examples to make the writing shorter
Correct answer: Identify and strengthen the thesis statement so it makes a specific, arguable claim
A clear, specific thesis is the foundation of a persuasive essay and gives the reader a roadmap for the entire argument.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes 'active listening' in a collaborative setting?
- Thinking about your response while the other person is still talking
- Nodding occasionally without focusing on the speaker's words
- Paying full attention, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing what you heard (Correct answer)
- Staying quiet until the speaker is done, then changing the subject
Correct answer: Paying full attention, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing what you heard
Active listening involves full engagement with the speaker, including clarifying questions and paraphrasing to confirm understanding.
Question 3: When presenting information to a diverse audience with varying levels of background knowledge, a speaker should:
- Use only technical jargon to appear credible
- Define key terms and provide context so all listeners can follow (Correct answer)
- Assume everyone has the same level of expertise
- Focus only on the most knowledgeable audience members
Correct answer: Define key terms and provide context so all listeners can follow
Effective communication considers the audience's range of knowledge and ensures clarity for all listeners.
Question 4: A team is creating a shared document. To ensure everyone can contribute equally, they should FIRST:
- Let the strongest writer do all the writing
- Assign clear roles and establish guidelines for editing and commenting (Correct answer)
- Have each person write a separate document and merge them at the end
- Share the document with no instructions and see what happens
Correct answer: Assign clear roles and establish guidelines for editing and commenting
Clear roles and shared guidelines prevent confusion and ensure equitable participation in collaborative writing.
Question 5: Which technique BEST helps a writer avoid unintentional plagiarism when using a source?
- Copying sentences and changing a few words
- Paraphrasing in your own words and including a proper citation (Correct answer)
- Only using sources that are more than 10 years old
- Avoiding all quotations in the final paper
Correct answer: Paraphrasing in your own words and including a proper citation
Paraphrasing in your own words and citing the original source appropriately is the ethical way to incorporate information.
Question 6: During a debate, a participant uses an anecdote about a single person to argue that a trend applies to everyone. This is an example of:
- Strong inductive reasoning
- An ad hominem fallacy
- Hasty generalization (Correct answer)
- Circular reasoning
Correct answer: Hasty generalization
A hasty generalization draws a broad conclusion from insufficient or unrepresentative examples.
Question 7: Which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of a conclusion in an informational text?
- To introduce new evidence not covered in the body
- To restate the introduction word for word
- To summarize key points and reinforce the central idea (Correct answer)
- To ask the reader questions for further reflection
Correct answer: To summarize key points and reinforce the central idea
A conclusion synthesizes the main points and reinforces the central idea without simply repeating the introduction.
GLA Communication and Collaboration 3
A student receives feedback that her essay lacks a clear argument.
The BEST revision strategy is to: