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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. What is one set of exercises mentioned in the possible exercises in style list?

2. What bus does the narrator get on in Past?

3. How many members are in the organization Raymond Queaneau is a member of?

4. What is unusual about the hat in the story?

5. What comparison does the narrator make about himself in Noble?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is common among the narrators in "Speaking Personally," "Exclamations," and "You Know?"

2. Explain the style used in the variation "Prognostication."

3. Explain how the words in parentheses are used in the variation "Word Game."

4. What do you learn about the narrator of "Ignorance" from reading the variation?

5. Why might the variation "Cockney" be difficult to read?

6. How are readers able to understand the invented words in the variation "Word Composition?"

7. How and why does the author use parentheses so frequently in "Distinguo?"

8. Explain the variation "Cross Examination."

9. Why is the first variation in Section 3 called "Surprises?"

10. Why do you think the variation "Noble" is titled "Noble?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain why the young man, second man and the young man's friend are not given names in the story. Does this help or hurt the overall story? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast "Alexandrines" and "Sonnet," paying close attention to the forms of the sonnets.

Essay Topic 3

How do the sounds of the words in some variations of Exercises in Style affect the reading of those variations?

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