Exercise/Assignment #2: Letters, Resumes, Memos, Short Reports
General guidelines: You do not need to rewrite the question; if the question asks for lists, use a list
format, not paragraphs with commas. Answers can be in phrases rather than sentences.
You may also save this document and enter the answers in between the questions.
After you complete the exercise, attach and submit the following (downloading and using the sample
templates accessible from the class website):
 Application Letter
 Resume
 Thank You Letter
 Memorandum
 Short Report
All six parts to these assignments should be sent in together attached to the same e-mail. Do not
send them in separate e-mails.
Exercise (submit with the other documents):
1. a. Which are the two major purposes of communication (a repeat question from 1a in the first
assignment)?
b. Which purpose should your resume serve (one of the major purposes in 1a)?
c. What additional purpose (one of the major purposes in 1a) can be included in your application
letter?
2. a. Never start any technical document using a blank page. What do you use to begin? Hint: Starts
with “T” …. eight letters Note: Use this concept for all your writing assignments.
b. What is the relationship between the application letter and the resume? Which is the technical
document and which is the cover document?
c. What is the relationship between the memorandum and the short report? Which is the
technical document and which is the cover document?
d. What are the purposes of the “Thank You” letter? --- Make sure you include the major purpose.
3. a. In your letter, what do you do in the salutation (Dear...) line if you do not have a specific name
(only a department or company) to address the letter to?
b. What do you do if at the end of a line, a new sentence begins with a short word such as “I” or
“my” or “the” and no other word follows on the line?
c. What spacing is used primarily in all technical writing, particularly in paragraphs?
d. What purposes is double spacing used for in a technical document? Which is the most
important and often used purpose?
e. How many line spaces do you leave for a signature? (The answer is not a number and may be
different for different people.)
4. a. In the resume, why is there no “Objective Statement” (a common error)?
b. Where should your resume be stored?
c. How many copies should you make of your resume?
d. How often should you revise your resume?
e. What major activity should cause you to review revising it?
f. How many complete sentences in a resume? How often should the word “I” appear?
g. Why is there no list of references?
h. What should the Employment History section describe using past tense, action verbs to begin
each phrase? (This is a three-word answer.)
5. a. For what singular purpose do you write a Thank You letter? (Trick question…)
b. When should it be written?
c. Who should it be written to?
d. What means of communication should never be used to send a thank you letter?
e. Under what situation, do you not need to send a Thank You letter?
6. a. What is the primary purpose of a memorandum in relationship to other technical documents?
See 2c.
b. What should be the maximum length of a memorandum?
c. What reference should be made to the short report?
d. How long should it take for a reader to understand a short report?
e. How many sentences or phrases should appear in a short report?
f. How do you display information most effectively in a short report?
Multiple Choice Questions…
Exercise #2: Multiple Choice Section: Make sure these answers are correct; no revisions on these. List
the Question Number with the letter (or letters if more than one) of the appropriate answer(s).
You may also save this document and enter the answers in between the questions.
1) A resume should include which of the following:
A) Personal Characteristics
B) Education and Training
C) Work Experience
D) Volunteer or non-paid work
2) All technical documents require a cover document which introduces, explains, or relates to the
technical document; which ones of the following might be attached to a technical document?
A) Sticky note
B) Transmittal letter
C) Manual
D) Memorandum
3) A cover application letter should include which of the following?
A) Please and thank you
B) Personal characteristics
C) Explanation of information in the resume
D) Awards and recognitions
4) Characteristics of a memo do include:
A) Cover for a technical document including making a recommendation
B) Detailed and complex information
C) Brief announcements
D) No more than one page in length
5) A short report should be:
A) Just facts with no recommendation
B) Visually oriented with little or no text
C) Clearly titled
D) No more than one page
6) A Thank You Letter:
A) Should be written at least three days after the interview
B) Should show continued interested in the position
C) May be e-mailed
D) Should be written to a specific person
7) For which of the following documents should a template be used:
A) Personal communication
B) Proposals and analytical reports
C) Letters and resumes
D) Memorandums
8) Resumes should not include:
A) Inferences or judgments about any part of your work history
B) Adjectives or adverbs
C) Metaphorical language
D) Full sentences
9) In regard to resumes:
A) Store them electronically
B) Make 500 copies and drop them off at potential employers
C) Back them up on a external hard drive, thumb drive, or optical disc
D) Adapt them to each job that you are applying for
10) The Employment History section of the resume should include:
A) What you have done, not what your job description says
B) What you have done, not what you were responsible for
C) What you have done, not what skills you have or have learned
D) What you have done, not how well you did it
11) I watched and took notes on the video lesson for this assignment and read the relevant
sections of the Class Notes. I also watched the video on Multiple Choice questions.
A) Yes
B) No, I found the answers on my Commando Cody Decoder Ring
C) No, I found the answers on WikiLeaks
D) No, I found the answers on a Mesopotamian hieroglyphics tablet