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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," why does Foster introduce the example of Malcolm Gladwell?
(a) To contrast with the more rigorous writing of Neil deGrasse Tyson.
(b) To provide an example of amateur profiling.
(c) To illustrate the idea of a science writer who has developed a "brand" for his writing.
(d) To show how a clever writer can overcome public skepticism.

2. In "Interrogating the Text," what does Foster say most authors will do?
(a) Make up sources and say that people spoke "on background."
(b) Make it clear what their sources are.
(c) Try to get away with unsupported assertions.
(d) Craft arguments with a sympathetic audience in mind.

3. In "Interrogating the Text," Foster says that readers should beware of ad hominem arguments. What he means is that readers should be suspicious when writers do what?
(a) Appeal to emotion rather than to logic.
(b) Contend that because something is new it must be better or more correct.
(c) Portray the opposition argument as much weaker than it actually is.
(d) Attack the people making arguments instead of the arguments themselves.

4. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," why does Foster take the time to discuss the characteristic style of Barnes, Hitchens, and Robinson?
(a) To support his claim that there is an essayist for every kind of reader.
(b) To demonstrate that Barnes is the least interesting of the three writers.
(c) To point out the "earnestness" of Robinson's writing.
(d) To illustrate how different the voice and style of essayists can be.

5. In "Interrogating the Text," where does Foster say the "three questions" originate?
(a) Stephen Ambrose, author of Undaunted Courage.
(b) John McPhee, Pulitzer-Prize-winning nonfiction author.
(c) Stephen Toulmin, British philosopher and logician.
(d) William Shawn, an editor at The New Yorker.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what criticism does Foster level against Malcolm Gladwell?

2. Based on Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what would Foster call a journalist writing a general survey of the field of string theory?

3. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what aspect of Renaissance scholarship does Foster say the essay rebels against?

4. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster say the main role of editors is?

5. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster call inaccurate information?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," why does Foster spend time describing the contents of Cardinal Newman's autobiography?

2. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what two main types of subjective nonfiction does Foster define, and what four categories does he break these main types into?

3. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster say is problematic about the internet and web?

4. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," what are the three categories that Foster says outsider exposés fall into, and why does he say that they are more reliable than insider's writings?

5. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what does Foster say motivates antiscientific beliefs?

6. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," why does Foster say that the process newspapers follow to assure balanced treatment in opinion pieces creates a false dichotomy?

7. In Chapter 13, "On the Stump," what criticism does Foster level at Fox News?

8. In Chapter 12, "That Is So Last Year," what difference does Foster explain between primary and secondary sources?

9. In Chapter 14, "The Universe of Ideas/Ideas of the Universe," what are the three types of science writing that Foster describes, and what are the differences among them?

10. In "Interrogating the Text," where does Foster suggest that readers focus their interrogative effort, and why?

(see the answer keys)

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