All Free Business Writing and Comprehension MCQs with Answers

Every Business Writing and Comprehension question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

239 questions · page 10 of 12

  • A. It includes the writer's central ideas
  • B. It changes the writer's main conclusion
  • C. It develops an unrelated supporting argument
  • D. It copies several sentences word for word

Explanation: A summary must retain the important ideas of the original text. Changing the conclusion or copying large portions fails to show accurate…

Correct answer: It includes the writer's central ideas
  • A. One-half of the original length
  • B. One-third of the original length
  • C. Two-thirds of the original length
  • D. One-fourth of the original length

Explanation: A conventional précis is generally reduced to about one-third of the original passage.

Correct answer: One-third of the original length
  • A. Counting all the descriptive words first
  • B. Replacing each sentence with a synonym
  • C. Reading the passage for its overall message
  • D. Selecting the longest sentence as the topic

Explanation: Reading for the overall message helps distinguish the central idea from supporting details.

Correct answer: Reading the passage for its overall message
  • A. The author's main claim
  • B. A necessary cause of the result
  • C. The conclusion of the passage
  • D. An illustration that does not affect the argument

Explanation: A minor illustration can usually be removed when it does not support the essential meaning.

Correct answer: An illustration that does not affect the argument
  • A. All parts contribute to one central idea
  • B. Every sentence uses the same number of words
  • C. The passage contains only one grammatical tense
  • D. Each original sentence appears in the same order

Explanation: Unity means that the writing remains focused on one controlling idea. It does not require equal sentence lengths or an exact reproduction…

Correct answer: All parts contribute to one central idea
  • A. The author makes an excellent and undeniable point
  • B. The passage argues that training improves job performance
  • C. I strongly agree with the author's useful conclusion
  • D. This interesting passage proves that managers are right

Explanation: The second sentence reports the passage's argument without personal judgment.

Correct answer: The passage argues that training improves job performance
  • A. Adding examples to clarify every point
  • B. Changing facts into the writer's opinions
  • C. Changing direct speech into reported speech
  • D. Removing the relationship between causes and effects

Explanation: Direct speech can usually be converted into reported speech to save space and maintain a consistent style.

Correct answer: Changing direct speech into reported speech
  • A. A précis follows a more controlled and condensed form
  • B. A summary is always longer than its source
  • C. A summary must contain the writer's personal response
  • D. A précis includes details that a summary excludes

Explanation: A précis is usually a tightly controlled condensation that preserves the source's essential structure and meaning.

Correct answer: A précis follows a more controlled and condensed form
  • A. Poor planning is an important business problem today
  • B. Poor planning may reduce profit by causing costly delays
  • C. Delays and profits are common subjects in business writing
  • D. Businesses should always plan carefully for better results

Explanation: The second option preserves the chain from poor planning to delays, costs, and reduced profit.

Correct answer: Poor planning may reduce profit by causing costly delays
  • A. The History of Ocean Exploration
  • B. A Personal View of Clean Beaches
  • C. Plastic Waste and Marine Life
  • D. Methods of Industrial Production

Explanation: A précis title should briefly express the central subject of the passage.

Correct answer: Plastic Waste and Marine Life
  • A. State each idea in separate sentences
  • B. Expand them to make the précis clearer
  • C. Replace them with unrelated examples
  • D. Combine them without losing their meaning

Explanation: Repeated ideas should be combined so that the précis remains concise and avoids needless duplication.

Correct answer: Combine them without losing their meaning
  • A. It is changed into a suitable third-person form
  • B. It remains entirely in the first person
  • C. It is converted into a series of questions
  • D. It is copied without changes in wording

Explanation: An objective précis usually changes personal narration into an appropriate third-person form while preserving the writer's meaning.

Correct answer: It is changed into a suitable third-person form
  • A. The original number of paragraphs
  • B. The original causal relationship
  • C. The writer's decorative expressions
  • D. Every illustration used by the writer

Explanation: A précis must retain the logical relationship between causes and effects because it is part of the passage's meaning.

Correct answer: The original causal relationship
  • A. The report wisely proves that reform is essential.
  • B. The report's excellent proposal deserves praise.
  • C. I strongly agree with the report's conclusion.
  • D. The report states that reform may improve services.

Explanation: The second sentence reports the document's claim without praising or criticising it.

Correct answer: The report states that reform may improve services.
  • A. Retain it or explain it briefly in context
  • B. Remove it to make the language simpler
  • C. Replace it with an emotional expression
  • D. Repeat it in every sentence of the précis

Explanation: An essential technical term should remain accurate, with a short explanation if the context requires one.

Correct answer: Retain it or explain it briefly in context
  • A. State the general claim and compress the examples
  • B. List all three examples in full
  • C. Discuss a fourth example in greater detail
  • D. Omit the general claim and retain one example

Explanation: The general claim carries the main meaning, while several examples can usually be compressed or represented collectively.

Correct answer: State the general claim and compress the examples
  • A. Adding quotations from famous writers
  • B. Using logical connectors between related points
  • C. Changing the subject in every sentence
  • D. Using difficult words instead of clear ones

Explanation: Logical connectors show relationships such as contrast, sequence and result, making the précis easy to follow.

Correct answer: Using logical connectors between related points
  • A. As the same question with added emphasis
  • B. As a personal answer from the summariser
  • C. As a clear statement of the implied point
  • D. As several new questions on the topic

Explanation: A rhetorical question usually conveys an implied assertion, which can be expressed directly in a précis.

Correct answer: As a clear statement of the implied point
  • A. Replace its words with more advanced vocabulary
  • B. Count only the adjectives in both versions
  • C. Check whether every sentence has equal length
  • D. Compare its key points with the source passage

Explanation: Comparing the précis with the source helps confirm that its essential ideas and relationships remain accurate.

Correct answer: Compare its key points with the source passage
  • A. A paraphrase presents only the author's conclusion
  • B. A paraphrase retains most details in new wording
  • C. A paraphrase removes the original logical sequence
  • D. A paraphrase changes the author's intended meaning

Explanation: A paraphrase restates the complete meaning of a passage, often with similar detail and length.

Correct answer: A paraphrase retains most details in new wording