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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 13, "On the Stump," Foster alludes to Peyton Place because he is implying that Fire and Fury is essentially what?
(a) A mediocre melodrama.
(b) A dry and academic piece of scholarship.
(c) A thought-provoking fiction.
(d) A comic masterpiece.

2. In Chapter 12, "Life from the Inside," what advantage does Foster say elapsed time gives to historical accounts?
(a) Accuracy.
(b) Perspective.
(c) Objectivity.
(d) Immediacy.

3. "Flu cases are 100% higher this year" is an example of what problematic use of data discussed by Foster in "Interrogating the Text"?
(a) Cherry-picking.
(b) Lack of context.
(c) False analogy.
(d) Appeal to extremes.

4. According to Foster in Chapter 9, "Living the News," what is McPhee's purpose in comparing geological change over time to a road trip?
(a) He is demonstrating how creative a nonfiction writer can be.
(b) He is using humor to engage his audience.
(c) He is constructing a warrant to link claim to grounds.
(d) He is trying to make something unfamiliar easier to understand.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," which claim does Foster make about thesis statements?

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

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

5. In Chapter 10, "From the Inside Out," what type of nonfiction writing does Foster refer to as "soggy" (141), and "soul-deadening" (142)?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," what does Foster admire about the writing of John McPhee?

4. 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?

5. Explain why, in Chapter 11, "Life from the Inside," Foster says that the narrators of nonfiction can be just as unreliable as the narrators of fiction.

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

7. In "Interrogating the Text," what does Foster say the purpose of interrogating text is?

8. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," Foster reveals the central issue of the book. What does he say the issue is, and why does he believe it is worth devoting a book to?

9. In Chapter 9, "Living the News," why does Foster say that Woodward and Bernstein do not belong in the category of New Journalism?

10. In Chapter 15, "Reading Internet Sources," what does Foster propose as a solution to inaccuracies on the web?

(see the answer keys)

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