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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What period of writing constantly used semicolons?
(a) All modern writing uses semicolons constantly.
(b) Only 18th century England.
(c) The 17th century.
(d) The 19th century.

2. What should the lead in the first sentence do for a reader?
(a) It should introduce the article informatively and let the reader know it will be a good read.
(b) It should capture the reader and force him or her to keep reading.
(c) It should be very basic to hook in all types of readers.
(d) It should tell the reader very little about the article, so he or she will continue reading.

3. Good writing is ______________.
(a) Easy to teach.
(b) Easy.
(c) Seen often.
(d) Very difficult.

4. Does skipping grammar check save a writer time?
(a) No. It harms the writer, and makes more work for them and the editors.
(b) No, they have to do line edits anyways to check grammar.
(c) Yes. It is uneccessary since the editor can check grammer.
(d) Yes, it is one less thing the writer has to do.

5. Literature was once considered solely as what?
(a) Great novels.
(b) Fiction only.
(c) Historical pieces.
(d) Writing by only certain authors.

6. Why does the doctor write?
(a) He writes because he hates being a surgeon.
(b) He is writing a book.
(c) He writes for fun.
(d) He writes to make extra money.

7. What is it that the bad writers mentioned above do that makes their writing terrible?
(a) They don't check their facts.
(b) They use too many euphemisms.
(c) They lie too much.
(d) They have bad grammar.

8. What are the best aspects of a good story?
(a) Writing skill.
(b) Good research.
(c) Clarity.
(d) Clarity and writing skill.

9. What is a common problem with nonfiction writers?
(a) They tend to write confusing articles that do not interest anyone.
(b) Nonfiction writers tend to want to say the last word on a subject, which covers too much ground.
(c) They want to be the final experts and turn away viable information that would change their articles.
(d) They don't research enough.

10. What are two tools every writer should use?
(a) Spell check and dictionary.
(b) Spell check and grammar check.
(c) Thesaraus and dictionary.
(d) Thesaraus and grammar check.

11. What does Zissner think of gimmicky writing?
(a) It is worth a try to sell a book or article.
(b) It is what gets writers through the door.
(c) It never works.
(d) It is the secret to selling a book.

12. How does a thesaurus help with brainstorming?
(a) The book provides brainstorming exercises.
(b) The book gives a list of unrelated words that weeds out the bad choices.
(c) There are pictures of mindmaps within each thesaurus.
(d) Looking up a word leads to a list of related words and gives overal word choices and concepts.

13. Why is the English language changing all the time?
(a) It changes because academics choose the best ways to speak English and try to teach that to children.
(b) It changes because people don't know how to speak it properly and are changing the way it is spoken.
(c) It changes because of regional differences that make their way outwards.
(d) It changes because it is a living language.

14. Why is consistency in verb tense so important?
(a) It is important so that verbs don't get confused with nouns.
(b) It is important for slower readers to follow along.
(c) It is important for the development of characters, and to set up a plot.
(d) Very tense consistency is important so that the reader does not become lost in the timing of events.

15. What is the problem with American writing?
(a) It isn't complex enough.
(b) It is too complex.
(c) The writing is too sloppy.
(d) Americans are bad at fact checking.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does he recommend starting in the preferred tense?

2. Who is rivaling everything that Zissner is saying?

3. What do interviews do for the writer?

4. What happens when a product of writing is never read?

5. How much research does Zinsser recommend for an article?

(see the answer keys)

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