View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster discusses Pollan's How to Change Your Mind as an example of what?
(a) Science writing that does not use chronological order.
(b) Why self-help books can use many non-chronological structures.
(c) Science writing that begins in media res.
(d) Why self-help books are better off using a chronological structure.

2. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," Foster makes the point that during the Nassar scandal, the Lansing State Journal did what?
(a) Covered the scandal primarily as a sports story.
(b) Initially helped Michigan State University cover up the story but later pivoted to full coverage.
(c) Covered the breaking news and then allowed local magazines to take over coverage.
(d) Devoted its resources fully to the story and stuck with it over a long period of time.

3. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," one of the main points that Foster wants to make about All the President's Men is what?
(a) Woodward and Bernstein faced serious obstacles in investigating the Watergate story.
(b) Woodward and Bernstein used too many anonymous sources.
(c) It is unusual for people to write about themselves in the third person.
(d) All the President's Men is a work of nonfiction.

4. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster notes that the expectation for a writer to be engaging does not apply to which types of writing?
(a) Technical.
(b) Informational.
(c) Political.
(d) Academic.

5. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," what are the "four Ps" that Foster discusses?
(a) Problem, promise, program, and platform.
(b) Problem, proposal, program, and plan.
(c) Purpose, paraphrase, platform, and paragraph.
(d) Purpose, proposal, program, and plan.

6. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what does Foster give as the basic meaning of "preface," "prologue," and "foreward"?
(a) Leading.
(b) Ahead of.
(c) First word.
(d) In front.

7. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster calls a certain kind of reader the "cognoscenti." What kind of a reader is her referring to?
(a) Snobbish readers.
(b) Well-informed readers.
(c) Skeptical readers.
(d) Young readers.

8. Based on Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," how would Foster sum up the place of newspapers in today's world?
(a) Because we have invested heavily in modern newspapers, they have grown in popularity.
(b) Although they are losing popularity, they are still an essential form of news media.
(c) Print newspapers may be obsolete, but online newspapers serve the same purpose.
(d) In a connected world, newspapers are simply irrelevant.

9. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," how does Foster define "specialty journalism"?
(a) Feature writing.
(b) Editorial writing.
(c) The newspaper sports section.
(d) Forms of journalism devoted to a single subject area.

10. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," which is the only type of nonfiction that Foster says doesn't need "rock-solid" sources (69)?
(a) Biography.
(b) Memoir.
(c) Reportage.
(d) Philosophy.

11. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what is the implicit argument of most nonfiction writing?
(a) That the writer's angle on the subject is the correct one.
(b) That the writer has the authority to write about the subject.
(c) That the subject matter is important enough to read about.
(d) That the reader should change their beliefs or behavior.

12. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster call the rules governing different forms of nonfiction?
(a) Grammar.
(b) Precepts.
(c) Syntax.
(d) Laws.

13. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," Foster says that rules are determined by content, not codex. What does this mean?
(a) The rules for each form are determined by the type of writing, not the physical format that is used to convey the writing.
(b) The rules for each form are determined by subject matter, not by the medium of transmission.
(c) The rules for each form are determined by historical precedent, not by the topic under discussion.
(d) The rules for each form are determined by the purpose of the writing, not by traditions.

14. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," why is "foreward" spelled with an "e" instead of as we usually see it, "forward"?
(a) The spelling "foreward" is a British spelling, like "flavour," and is therefore an accepted alternate spelling.
(b) Foster is using an unconventional spelling to draw attention to the idea "fore," which means "ahead."
(c) Without the "e," the word means a direction; with the "e," it means a piece of writing that comes ahead of another.
(d) This is a proofreading error in the text.

15. According to "The Building Blocks of Arguments," what are the "grounds" of a argument?
(a) Explanations of the relationship between facts and claims.
(b) The conclusions that an argument is based on.
(c) The backing of a rebuttal or qualification.
(d) Factual data and evidence.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster tells us that changing the structure of a story changes its what?

2. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is the point of having a variety of media sources?

3. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is true of the sports section?

4. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what does Foster say the term "Fake News" originally referred to?

5. Which form discussed in Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," is generally not written by the author of the main piece of writing?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 903 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample