DSST Technical Writing Exam
Are you a college student with technical writing experience? If you have learned about technical writing through work experience or independent study, you may be able to earn college credit for this knowledge without ever stepping into a classroom, through DSST testing.
The DSST Technical Writing exam will help you earn college credit for what you already know. If this sounds like something you might want to do, you should make an appointment with your academic advisor to see whether your college or university accepts DSST testing. You can register for the DSST Technical Writing exam with any college that delivers DSST exams.
The DSST Technical Writing exam has two parts: a scored multiple-choice section and an optional essay portion. The multiple-choice section of the DSST Technical Writing exam covers these topics:
- Theory and practice of Technical Writing
- Purpose, content, and organizational patterns of common types of technical documents
- Elements of various technical reports
- Technical editing
The optional essay portion of the DSST Technical Writing exam will not be scored, but will be forwarded to any colleges or universities you designate at registration. Some colleges require the essay portion for their use in deciding how much credit to award for the exam.
When you are studying for the exam, you should review a DSST Technical Writing exam study guide, which provides sample questions, a detailed outline of what will appear on the exam, and other helpful information - including a list of textbooks that will be especially useful reference during your study time.
DSST Technical Writing Practice Questions
1. Which of the following sentences does NOT describe a key goal of technical writing?
A. Use simple words rather than technical terms or jargon when possibleB. Use passive sentence construction
C. Use the ‘be’ verb construction whenever possible
D. Be concise and omit unnecessary verbiage
2. Which of the following sentences does NOT describe technical writing theory?
A. a .Technical writing is the accumulative process of researching, organizing, presenting, and fine- tuning information for a specific audienceB. b. Technical writing is an objective or technical approach to persuasion, used to convince an audience to take a desired action, such as funding a proposal or following instructions
C. c. Technical writing is the process of creating unique content to help an audience rethink an idea or action
D. d. All of the above
3. When analyzing one’s audience, which of the following is NOT an important consideration?
A. The education and professional level of the target audienceB. The knowledge and experience level of the target audience
C. How other similar texts may describe the product
D. Reading conditions, such as how the document will be used
4. Which of the following statements best describes how to determine the readability level of technical writing?
A. For technical writing, one can assume that the reader has a 10th grade reading levelB. One can use any standard readability formula such as FOG, SMOG, or Flesch-Kincaid
C. Only the instructions need to be written at an 8th grade readability level
D. Most governmental proposals should be written at a 12th grade reading level
5. Which of the following cultural considerations is not true?
A. Not all cultures read left to rightB. Color associations are not universal
C. A pointing finger is not an acceptable symbol for directions
D. When depicting bodily organs, it is appropriate to show breasts and genitals
6. Which of the following would provide an appropriate definition for a nontechnical audience?
A. A neoplasm is a type of tumorB. Cyclopia is a form of archencephaly
C. Acetaminophen is an analgesic (pain reliever)
D. Axonal arboration is a treelike formation of a nerve cell
7. Which of the following considerations is NOT part of the document development process?
A. How the user will think about and use the productB. The value the product has for the user
C. Whether the initial use of the product is intuitive for the target user
D. What prior knowledge or user experience can be assumed
8. When preparing a data report, which of these checks is NOT part of technical writing?
A. Check the source of the data to ensure it is reputableB. Check for conflict of interest of the data reporters
C. Check other sources to ensure that the data seems reasonable
D. Check the raw data to ensure that the data are accurate
9. Which of the following would provide the most balanced, in-depth resource for a report?
I. Expert testimony from an educational institute
II. Recent studies published in trade journals
III. Environmental groups fact sheets
IV. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statements
V. Media reports from the local area
VI. Industry reports
B. I and II
C. II, III, and IV
D. I and IV
10. Which of the following is NOT an important feature of a project progress report?
I. Informs managers and clients about project schedule
II. Provides recommendations for the next steps
III. Tells what has been accomplished since the last report
IV. Provides budget updates
V. Describes any problems or anticipated delays
VI. Provides a summary of general department activities
B. IV, V, and VI
C. II and VI
D. I, V, and VI
DSST Technical Writing Practice Questions Answer Key