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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who utters an audible insult to some of the men in the experiment?

2. Who are the Borgenichts?

3. Of what does Gladwell say he hopes his readers are skeptical?

4. What is not unique in Harlan?

5. Where does Joe Flom grow up?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is a work ethic related to growing rice?

2. How do Korean Airlines change their bad record of crashes?

3. Why doesn't Joe Flom work for a large, prestigious law group when he graduates from law school?

4. What is the third lesson of Joe Flom?

5. How does understanding math relate to growing rice?

6. What does Gladwell say about early American educational theorists?

7. Why is Flom willing to work proxy wars?

8. What is the second part of the experiment and the final result?

9. Where is Harlan, and who settled it?

10. Describe the plane crash of Korean Airlines Flight 801 in 1997.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 5 is called "The Three Lessons of Joe Flom." Joe Flom is a partner in a very successful New York law firm.

1. Discuss, in depth, the three lessons of Joe Flom. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. How do you think the lessons of Joe Flom might relate to the idea of fate or destiny? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Do you think Joe's success, in his circumstances, was because he was Jewish or do you think any discriminated against minority might have fared the same? Why or why not? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think Outliers is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

Essay Topic 3

Hostile takeovers become more and more common and Flom and others receive more and more work. Finally, the white shoe firms come around and start to take on the work, but by this time Flom has so much more experience at it that he is able to command a large part of the business and surpass many of the established firms. Had he not been excluded for being Jewish when he first started, he would have lost the advantage, Gladwell explains.

1. Explain irony in the context of Joe Flom's success. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Do you think the way the circumstances changed in the law profession might have made the white Christian lawyers decide prejudice was not in their best interest? Why or why not? Use examples from Outliers and your own life to support your answer.

3. Make up an example of how a minority in your school might be successful at an endeavor because of prejudice. Use examples from Outliers and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,240 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample