English Language

Writing and Communication Skills

1,426 Questions

This hub tests writing techniques, essay structuring, and effective communication skills. It includes practical exercises on vocabulary replacement, drafting passages, and formatting reports. These English language questions appear in most competitive exams.

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Writing and Communication Skills Questions

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Imagine you wish to write a biography of a politician. Your target audience is the general public. 
Which of the following is relevant to include in this biography?

  1. Details of the politician's personality

  2. Details of the controversies surrounding the politician

  3. Details of how the politician contributed to his/her country's progress

  4. All the above are relevant
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Option A - The politician's personality can be disclosed as it is not a personal information. Thus option A is incorrect.

Option B - Controversies happen in public and hence one can disclose about the controversies in a biography. Thus option B is incorrect.
Option C - The details about politician's contribution to his/her country's progress should be known by the people, and hence should be included in a biography. Thus option C incorrect.
Option D - As all of the above can be included in a biography, option D is the correct answer. 

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Which of the following is not true of a biography?

  1. It provides information about a person's life

  2. It may be narrated in the form of a story

  3. It is written in the first person

  4. It includes details of the person's career
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Option A - Yes, a biography always provides information about a person's true life story. Thus option A is incorrect.

Option B - A biography can be narrated in the form of a story, play etc. Thus option B is incorrect.
Option D - It includes details of a person's birth, school days, education, career and other information as well. Thus option D is incorrect.
Option C - A biography is always written in the third person. Thus option C is the correct answer.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Imagine you wish to write a biography of a famous scientist. Your target audience is the general public.
Which of the following is least relevant to include in this biography?

  1. Details of the scientist's children's schooling and education

  2. Details of the scientist's greatest achievements

  3. Details of the scientist's childhood

  4. Details of the scientist's life choices
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
A biography is an account of someone's life written by someone else.
Option A is the correct answer because when we write a biography of a famous scientist, details of his children's schooling and education is not a relevant piece of information to be included.
Options A, C and D are incorrect because these relevant pieces of information are to be used in the biography.
Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

You are writing a biography of Sallie H. Ray, a popular lyricist. How would you best include the following in the biography:
Sallie said, "I never thought I would become a lyricist."

  1. Sallie never thought she would become a lyricist.

  2. Ray is reported to have said she never thought she would become a lyricist.

  3. Ray never thought she would become a lyricist.

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The given line "I never thought I would become a lyricist" when written in the biography, will change to indirect speech. The narrator will present Sallie H. Ray's point of view in the third person (indirect speech).
Options A and C: Both these options accurately present S.R's line.
'Sallie' and 'Ray' refer to the person whose biography is being written.
Ideally, the narrator will mention the surname of that person, not the first name. You call someone by their first name when you personally know them and you're talking about them in a friendly manner.
But, you call someone by their surname on professional grounds, and when you don't know them personally.
Hence, option C is correct and A is incorrect.
Option B: The words 'reported to have said' are unnecessary. They elongate the sentence without reason. Hence option B is incorrect.
Option D is incorrect because the answer lies in C.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Which of the following is not true of an autobiography?

  1. It is an account of a person's life

  2. It is an account of the most important events of a person's life

  3. It is written in chronological order

  4. It is primarily about the thoughts and feelings of the person
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is Option D.
An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life. An autobiography should include all the significant incidents in the author's life, be it positive or negative, good or bad. Every experience has its own significance in an individual's life but it's not just about the author it also includes thoughts and feelings of other people associated with the author during a given event.
Options A, B and C are incorrect as these facts adhere to the format of an autobiography.
Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

In which style may an autobiography be written?

  1. formal

  2. informal

  3. semi-formal

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Writing style of autobiography is flexible as it needs various forms, and elaborations to express the life experience of the subject. An autobiography is a form of introspection. When authors write about their past, it is not free from emotions. Therefore, it may be written in the formal, informal or semi-formal style as the author chooses to. Option D is the correct answer.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

In which register may a biography be written?

  1. Formal

  2. Informal

  3. Semi-formal

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Biographies can be written in various registers depending on the intended audience, purpose, and the subject matter, ranging from formal academic works to informal personal accounts.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

An autobiography is usually written in ____________ .

  1. First person

  2. Second person

  3. Third person

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is Option A.
An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life. Since, it is the author's own record, autobiographies are always written in first person.
Options B, C and D are incorrect as they do not stand appropriate to the given context.
Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

On which of the following option(s) may a biography suitably be written? 

  1. A popular singer

  2. Your own life and experiences

  3. Yourself

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Biography means the account of someone's life written by someone else. Option A is the correct answer as the biography will be about the popular singer written by someone else.

Options B and C are incorrect as they suggest one's own life experience, which is not applicable in writing a biography. Option D is incorrect because the correct answer has already been chosen. 

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

You have been asked to write an autobiography of a book.
Which of the following will you not include in the autobiography? 

  1. My job is to impart knowledge to others.

  2. Although my pages may turn yellow and old, my words will remain timeless.

  3. A book is an invaluable companion.

  4. I have seen decades of generations.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is Option C.
An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life. An autobiography should always use first person as the author refers to himself/herself, but Option C does not adhere to this format.
Options A, B and D are incorrect as all the sentences are appropriate and adheres to the format of an autobiography.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

While writing an autobiography, you should not do which of the following?

  1. Include only significant experiences

  2. Include a few minor experiences

  3. Include only positive experiences

  4. Include both positive and negative experiences
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is Option C.
An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life. An autobiography should include all the significant incidents in the author's life, be it positive or negative, good or bad. Every experience has its own significance in an individual's life. So only positive experiences should not be included in a autobiography.
Options A, B and D are incorrect as they adhere to the format of writing an autobiography.
Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

You are writing an autobiography of a pen. Which of the following would you include in the autobiography?

  1. I am a blue pen.

  2. I am very useful.

  3. This pen is blue. It is very helpful.

  4. The pen that I am going to write about is blue in color and is very helpful.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A,B Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answers are Option A and Option B.
Both Option A and Option B are written in first person which is the primary mandate in an autobiography as the author writes about himself.
Options C and D are incorrect as they do not adhere to the format of an autobiography.
Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Which of the following would you ask yourself while writing an autobiography? 

  1. How old are you?

  2. What is your name?

  3. Why do you wish to write an autobiography?

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The correct option is Option D.

An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life. An autobiography should include all the significant details about the author and the incidents in the author's life. An autobiography is always written with a purpose.
Options A, B and C are incorrect as each of these are only particular details which are to be mentioned in an autobiography and all of it together makes an autobiography.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

Here is a list of things you could include in an autobiography. Place them in the most appropriate order in which you would write them.
1. I was a shy child.
2. I was born in a small house on Somerset Road, Nashville. 
3. I was four when my parents sent me to study at my grandparents home.

  1. 1, 2, 3

  2. 1, 3, 2

  3. 2, 3, 1

  4. 3, 2, 1
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The correct answer is Option C.
An autobiography is the type of biography which tells the life story of the author. It is the written record of the author's life.
The events in an autobiography is arranged according to the scale of time, i.e., one's experiences when he/she was young to how they changed as they grew up and the correct order in the given context is given in Option C.
Options A, B and D are incorrect as they do not signify the correct order of autobiography writing.

Multiple choice biography and autobiography writing english

What are the requirements for writing a biographical sketch of a person?
Please select from the options given below:

  1. In-depth research

  2. List of achievements and influences

  3. Logical arrangement of information

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Option A - A person has to research in depth about the person before writing a biography. Thus option A is incorrect.

Option B - A person's list of achievements and influences are extremely important in a biography as the people love reading about these important details. Thus option B is incorrect.
Option C - All the information given in a biography are logically arranged by the writer for the readers to enjoy reading about the person's life in an ascending order. Thus option C is incorrect.
Option D - As all the options are vital, option D is the correct answer.