View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of All the King's Men?

2. To whose poetry and prose had Gardner made allusions to in the novel Grendel?

3. Gardner notes in Chapter 1 that all writing requires some measure of a ____ state.

4. Who wrote Finnegan's Wake?

5. Which author does Gardner state had "gazelle eyes" which dominated the room in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Gardner assert of the author learning character through television in Chapter 1?

2. What essential things must an aspiring author understand in order to pursue writing?

3. What does Gardner remark about theme in Chapter 1?

4. What does Gardner say of writers with "bad taste" in language in Chapter 1?

5. What does Gardner suggest as ways to understand the psychology of characters unlike themselves?

6. What does Gardner say of "recognizing the significant" in Chapter 1?

7. What does Gardner relate about the "author's character" in Chapter 1? How does he describe "special intelligence?"

8. How does Gardner explain characterization and story through his hypothetical story in Chapter 1?

9. Who does Gardner refer to as the "best" novelists in Chapter 1? What lesson does he cite of them?

10. What does Gardner remark of the author's sense of observation in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Gardner mean in Chapter 1 when he refers to "verbal sensitivity"? What does this phrase mean and not mean to the author?

Essay Topic 2

Describe what Gardner refers to as the "moments of magic" in an author's work. How does one recognize these when reading? What examples does Gardner cite?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the benefits of earning a graduate degree from a writer's workshop. In what ways can this be beneficial for the author?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 724 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample