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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. Where does Anne tell her students to start with their writing?

2. What is the question Anne's students always ask?

3. According to Anne, what is one thing that can make a book very tiring to read?

4. What does Anne say good writing is about?

5. What is Anne's response to her students question about knowing when they are done?

Short Essay Questions

1. Another of Anne's stories stems from the movie Stripes. The line is "Hey, lighten up Francis." How is this story helpful to her students?

2. How does Anne say perfectionism affects writing?

3. Alice Adams suggests the ABDCE formula for writing a short story. How can formulas be a great way to get us started?

4. According to Anne, how are we able to see the underlying essence of a person?

5. How did having a mother and father who read, and a father who was a writer, affect Anne's life?

6. When Anne's students tell her they do not know where to start, she tells them to start with their childhood. How is this helpful?

7. In college, Anne found a community in which she might fit in. Why did she felt a sense of community in college?

8. In Part 1, Section 12, Plot Treatment, Anne had been working on a book for over two years that still was not acceptable to her editor. How does she describe the plot treatment she wrote, which was accepted by her editor, and gained her the last of her advance?

9. How does Anne state dialogue affects a reader?

10. How does Anne suggest we can free ourselves from perfectionism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Aside from getting published, what are reasons to write? What are some things that reading books helps us understand?

Essay Topic 2

Ethan Canin says you should never write out of vengeance, while Anne says you should always write out of vengeance. These are two opposing ideas by two acclaimed writers. Who do you agree with and why?

Essay Topic 3

Why is publication so important so some writers? Do you think these people will ever see writing its own reward? Why or why not?

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