View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through "Why I Write," "Telling Stories" .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Telling Stories," what does Didion attribute to why she got a B in English 106A?
(a) Her excellent writing.
(b) Her class participation.
(c) Her teacher's kindness and understanding.
(d) Her teacher's disorganization.

2. What is the first speaker at the meeting Didion covers in "Getting Serenity" addicted to?
(a) Heroin.
(b) BlackJack.
(c) Vodka.
(d) Draw-poker.

3. What does Didion feel meetings such as the one she attended in "Getting Serenity" reinforce in people?
(a) The desire to gamble.
(b) The addict's passive view of his situation.
(c) The instinct to relive your story over and over.
(d) The belief they cannot recover.

4. How does Nancy's son get home from school in "Pretty Nancy"?
(a) A private car.
(b) Schoolbus.
(c) Taxi.
(d) Nancy picks him up.

5. In "Pretty Nancy," what does Joan say Nancy's father did for work?
(a) He was a musician.
(b) He was a neurosurgeon.
(c) He was a politician.
(d) He was a schoolteacher.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Alicia and the Underground Press," what does Didion feel the claim to have no bias in reporting leads to in writing?

2. What grade does Joan's friend get on the essay she wrote for him in "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice"?

3. In "Why I Write," Didion refers to writing as "the tactic of a secret" what?

4. What is one of the newspapers that the author lists as one of the few that do not make her feel as though "the oxygen has been cut off from [her] brain tissue" (20)?

5. One meeting attendee in "Getting Serenity" says his idea is getting what?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 276 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample