WorkKeys: Example Workplace Document Problems

Level 3 Sample Question (Also read this guide on Workplace Documents)

MEMORANDUM
FROM:  Kathy Jones
TO:  All employees
RE:  Disposal of waste in copy room
To reduce the company's environmental impact and ensure the security of sensitive information, please dispose of waste in the copy room as follows:
- Printed paper that is not marked as “Confidential” or
“Restricted” should be placed in the blue recycle bin.
- Printed paper marked as “Confidential” or “Restricted” should be placed in the gray shred bin.
- All other waste should be placed in the trash bin.
Thank you for your help in this regard.
--Kathy
END PROMPT

Question:  If an employee wants to dispose of a “Confidential” document, where should he or she put it?

A. In the blue recycle bin B. In the gray recycle bin C. In the blue shred bin D. In the gray shred bin E. In the green trash bin
 

Explanation:  There are a lot of irrelevant details in the passage, so you can approach the problem more efficiently by reading the question first. The question simply asks where an employee should get rid of a
"Confidential" document, so that's all you really need to find. The second bullet point states that documents marked as "Confidential" should be placed in the gray shred bin, so the answer is D.

Level 5 Sample Question
The following passage comes from a government-run web site explaining health coverage and benefits:
 

How Much Will You Pay Out-Of-Pocket?
Deductible: This is the initial dollar amount you must pay before your insurance company begins paying for health services.
Usually, the higher the deductible, the lower your premium. However, do not choose a deductible so high that you cannot afford to pay it. The contract will dictate the specific amount you pay per year for your family. You must pay a deductible each year, which will vary depending on the number of people covered by the policy.
Coinsurance: Coinsurance is the share or percentage of covered expenses you must pay in addition to the deductible. For example, your policy may pay 80 percent of covered charges after you pay the deductible.
You would then pay the remaining 20 percent as coinsurance.
Copayment: A copayment is a specified dollar amount you pay, as a subscriber to a managed care plan, for covered health care services. It is paid to the medical provider at the time the services are rendered.
Premium: The monthly or annual amount you will pay for your insurance policy.
Coordination of Benefits Provision: Even if you have more than one group policy, you cannot receive more benefits than your actual hospital and medical expenses.
Even if a husband and wife each have family coverage under separate group policies, they cannot collect on the same claim twice, even if they have paid two premiums.
Renewal and Premium Increase Provisions: These provisions determine the conditions under which you lose your eligibility, without a medical exam to prove you are in good health.
END PROMPT

Question:  A young girl undergoes surgery and a subsequent hospital stay costing a total of $30,000. Her mother and father each have a family policy that fully covers the cost of both the surgery and hospital stay. Neither policy stipulates a copayment or coinsurance, and each policy has a coordination of benefits provision. How much in total insurance benefits is the family eligible to collect?

A. $30,000, because the coordination of benefits provisions prevents collecting on the same claim twice. B. $24,000, because the insurance company will pay 80% of the expenses, and the parents will pay the remaining 20%, or $6,000. C. $60,000, because each of the parents has a separate policy covering the surgery, they can collect double on the same claim. D. $20,000, because each of the parents will pay a maximum of $10,000. E. $10,000, because each claim benefit is limited to $10,000.
Explanation: Again, you should start by carefully reading the question. From the question, you know the following: 1) the total amount of medical expenses is $30,000, and there is no copayment or coinsurance; 2) each parent has a policy that fully covers the cost, but they have a coordination of benefits provision.
Now, you can begin eliminating the answer choices. B is incorrect because there is no copayment or coinsurance, so the parents will not have to pay a partial amount of the bill. C is incorrect because according to the "Coordination of Benefits Provision," the parents can't collect twice on the same claim. D is incorrect because the document says nothing about a payment maximum. E is incorrect because the claim is only limited by the cost. This leaves A as the only possible answer.

Level 7 Sample Question
The following passage is from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedures (MPEP), which explains intellectual property-related rules and regulations in the United States. The passage below concerns rules for filing an international patent application.

Confidential Nature of the International Application.
(1)
(a)Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b), the International Bureau and the International Searching Authorities shall not allow access by any person or authority to the international application before the international publication of that application, unless requested or authorized by the applicant.
(b)The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not apply to any transmittal to the competent International Searching Authority, to transmittals provided for under Article 13, and to communications provided for under Article 20.
(2)
(a)No national Office shall allow access to the international application by third parties unless requested or authorized by the applicant, before the earliest of the following dates:
(i) date of the international publication of the international application
(ii) date of receipt of the communication of the international application under Article
20
(iii) date of receipt of a copy of the international application under Article 22
(b)The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not prevent any national Office from informing third parties that it has been designated, or from publishing that fact. Such information or publication may, however, contain only the following data: identification of the receiving Office, name of the applicant, international filing date, international application number, and title of the invention.
END PROMPT

Question:  Suppose Thompson, Inc. files an international patent application. Prior to the application being published, an employee from
Johnson, Inc., a rival firm, asks the patent office in the receiving country about Thompson's application. An employee of the office provides the employee from Johnson with the filing date, title, and a brief summary of the invention.
Is this proper, and why?
A.    Yes, because the national office has the authority to inform third parties that the application has been designated.
B.    Yes, because the office employee only released a brief summary of the invention, instead of a detailed description.
C.    No, because the office cannot release any information about an international application to a third party, in accordance with paragraph (2)

(a).
D.    No, the office could have released the filing date and title, but not a description of the invention.
E.    No, the office could have released a description of the invention, but not the filing date and title.
Explanation: 
Begin by reading the question, and the possible answer choices. From the question, you know that the patent office provided the third party with three pieces of information:  the filing date, title, and a summary of the invention.
Now read the text. Questions at the higher levels are usually quite complex, so you will probably have to read the whole text to make sure you don't miss anything. From paragraphs (1)(a) and (2)(a), you know that the patent office generally can't allow a third party to access an unpublished international application.
However, paragraph (2)(b) says that the office can provide a third party with basic information, limited only to the international filing date, application number, and title. This information does not, however, include any description or summaries of the invention. Thus, the only acceptable answer is D.