Advanced Business Communication BAS22 Activity 3: Document Design

This document presents the completed homework assignment for Advanced Business Communication BAS22 Activity 3, focusing on document design and business writing. The assignment includes multiple-choice questions covering topics such as pie charts, design principles (proximity, contrast, alignment, and repetition), the HATS acronym, white space usage, and wordiness. Short answer questions delve into the advantages and disadvantages of online writing, the meaning of contrast in design, and the definitions of readability and usability in documents. Additionally, the assignment brief outlines the course content, including emotional intelligence, document design principles (CRAP), online writing, and different types of graphs and visuals (pie charts, bar charts, line charts, and tables). The document provides answers and explanations based on lecture notes and readings, offering a comprehensive overview of the subject matter and its application in business communication.

Advanced Business Communication BAS22
Activity No 3: Document Design & Business Writing
Multi-choice Questions: (answers are either on the lecture notes or on the reading)
1. What type of data set would you represent using a pie-chart? (Reading No 3)
a. All data should add up to 100
b. Are always three dimensional
c. Show proportional relationships
d. Are good for showing variations over time
Ans: c. Show proportional relationships
2. What are the basic 4 design principles? (Lecture notes 3)
a. Proximity, Contrast, Alignment and Typography
b. Contrast, Colour, Fonts and Layout
c. Alignment, Contrast, Layout and Repetition
d. Proximity, Contrast, Alignment and Repetition
Ans: d. Proximity, Contrast, Alignment and Repetition
3. What does Baker’s acronym HATS mean? (Reading No 3)
a. Headings, Acronym, Type Face and Specific
b. Headings, Access, Typography and Spell check
c. Headings, Additional, Typography and Space
d. Headings, Access, Typography and Space
Ans: d. Headings, Access, Typography and Space
4. What is the purpose of white space in a documents (Reading No 3)
a. Separates the sections
b. Looks more attractive
c. Is visual relief for the eyes
d. Adds contrast
Ans: c. Is visual relief for the eyes
5. Wordiness consists of the following” (Lecture Notes No 3)
a. It is clear and concise
b. Shorter words, sentences and paragraphs
c. Uses more words than are necessary
d. Is not ambiguous
Ans: d. Is not ambiguous
BAS22 Advanced Business Communications 2018 Page 1 of 3

Three Written Short Answers:
1. List three advantages and three disadvantages of online (mosaic) writing (Reading
No 3A)
Advantages Disadvantages
1 Enables creating hyperlinks for varied
content areas (Colorado State University,
2019)
Minimal information exists in a typical screen in
comparison to a printed page
2 Illustrates an ability of revealing
animation or movement
Inadequacy of tactility
3 Ability to transmit sound There exists maximised possibility of time lags,
particularly at the times when, slow computers or
low-powered modems were utilized
2. Describe what Contrast means in Design Principles – one paragraph (Reading No 3)
Ans: The notion of ‘Contrast’ essentially signifies the m elements that sustains on the
page, but are more or less similar can be avoided. The elements, which are, type, size,
colour, space, thickness, shape etc., does not appear to be similar, and then it appears to
be way different from one element to the other. In other words, it can be understood
that contrast is considered as the most significant visual attractions, which exists on the
page (Study.com, 2019).
3. Define what readability and usability is in documents - Two paragraphs (Reading No
3)
Ans: Readability is actually associated with the acknowledgment of the documents,
which is partly linked with sentence and word length (Stephan, 2018). On the other hand,
usability signifies, the extent to which the text can be understood and utilised. These days,
the information design involves matching and mixing of some distinct tools, which further
needs to be, apprehended extensively (Komninos, 2019).
BAS22 Advanced Business Communications 2018 Page 2 of 3

References
Colorado State University, 2019, Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Publishing, The
Writing Studio, viewed July 5, 2019 <https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?
pageid=803&guideid=37>
Study.com, 2019, Contrast as a Principle of Design, Business Courses, viewed July 5, 2019
<https://study.com/academy/lesson/contrast-as-a-principle-of-design.html>
Stephan, 2018, What is readability and why does it matter? A Medium Corporation, viewed
July 5, 2019 <https://medium.com/@uistephen/what-is-readability-and-why-does-it-
matter-7773d018e4b9>
Kominos, A., 2019, An Introduction to Usability, Community, viewed July 5, 2019
<https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/an-introduction-to-usability>
BAS22 Advanced Business Communications 2018 Page 3 of 3