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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what implicit assertion about online writing does Foster make?
(a) It is often more accurate and more engaging than print media.
(b) It is susceptible to fewer hidden biases and is therefore more objective.
(c) It is capable of presenting hard news in a more timely fashion than print media can.
(d) It is nearly always lower quality than the writing in print sources.

2. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," Foster talks about the change in value over time of a reporter's eyewitness testimony. What does Foster call this change in value?
(a) The price of detail.
(b) The economy of information.
(c) The transfer of source validity.
(d) The decline of presence.

3. 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) Print newspapers may be obsolete, but online newspapers serve the same purpose.
(c) In a connected world, newspapers are simply irrelevant.
(d) Although they are losing popularity, they are still an essential form of news media.

4. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster call the "second draft of history"?
(a) Newspaper articles.
(b) Editorial columns.
(c) Textbooks.
(d) Magazine stories.

5. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what type of writing does Foster say relies heavily on eyewitness testimony?
(a) Journalism.
(b) Science.
(c) History.
(d) Op-eds.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," what is a piece of information that Foster says we can infer from the notes?

2. In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," what does Foster say is the difference between "hard news" and "soft news"?

3. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," Foster uses the word "etymologically" to describe what?

4. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," what does Foster give as the basic meaning of "preface," "prologue," and "foreward"?

5. What definition of "lede" does Foster give In Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," what are the ways that Foster suggests chronological order can be modified, and why would a writer choose to do this?

2. In Chapter 6, "Source Code," what does Foster say about biographies and the length of time that has passed since the lives of their subjects?

3. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," why does Foster say that focus and telos can change if the structure of a work is changed?

4. In Chapter 4, "The Parts You Don't Read," Foster discusses tables of contents and indexes. What is similar about these two things and what is different?

5. Explain why, in Chapter 7, "All in How You Look at Things," Foster says that, even in narrative nonfiction, there is a difference between chronological order and structure.

6. On page 33 of "Building Blocks of Arguments," Foster compares claims and grounds to two people standing next to one another at a dance and says warrants are what "pins" them together so that they can "go steady." Explain his meaning.

7. In Chapter 8, "Bringing the News," what does Foster seem to admire about the Lansing State Journal's coverage of the Nassar scandal?

8. Why, in Chapter 2, "The Ecology of the Nonfiction Biosphere," does Foster say that it is both good and bad news that all communication has a "grammar"?

9. In Chapter 3, "The Power of the Prologue," Foster explains the origin of the prologue. What is its origin and how is that origin reflected in today's prologues?

10. In Chapter 1, "The Structure of Nonfiction Information," why does Foster call the organization of The Boys in the Boat "kaleidoscopic" (14)?

(see the answer keys)

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