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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What kind of verbs does King recommend be used when writing?
(a) Verbs in the active voice, present tense.
(b) Verbs of vivid action.
(c) Verbs in the passive voice, past tense.
(d) Verbs in the active voice.

2. How does King use this advice from his uncle?
(a) He always takes all his tools when he has to fix something.
(b) He falls in love with tools and creates his own toolbox for chores around the house.
(c) He applies it to his writing.
(d) He buys new tools every time he receives a check for his work.

3. In addition to his injunction, King wants writers to leave something behind when they write. What should writers leave behind?
(a) Cleverness.
(b) Fear.
(c) Honesty.
(d) Their desires.

4. According to King, what should dialogue represent?
(a) Conversation between characters.
(b) Normal speech.
(c) Speech written as we hear it, i.e. Whatcha ya doin'?
(d) Dialogue should stress the best conversational ability of the characters.

5. How does King define vocabulary?
(a) An essential tool for good writing.
(b) A knowledge of words used by different people that you are going to write about.
(c) Good words and knowledge of how to use them.
(d) The sum of the words you know.

6. How does King use theme in his novels?
(a) To illustrate otherwise obscure points.
(b) To help him stay on course.
(c) To guide the plot along.
(d) To create a moral in his work.

7. If used correctly, King believes that dialogue could be what object for a writer?
(a) A helpful tool like a monologue.
(b) The least important tool in the writer's toolbox.
(c) A strong tool in the writer's toolbox.
(d) A clever device used by the writer when necessary.

8. What does King believe about writers who are too busy to read?
(a) They will lose a good source of ideas.
(b) They will be a successful writer.
(c) They are hobbyists, not passionate writers.
(d) They are too busy to write.

9. What does King feel he will accomplish with his technique regarding description?
(a) He doesn not want the reader to become an active participant in the creative process.
(b) He is leaving some things to the reader's imagination.
(c) He urges the writer to work more on his dialogues.
(d) He believes that a reader is unimpressed by description.

10. What book does King recommend for grammar study?
(a) Any good high school grammar text.
(b) Betty Azar's Understanding and Using English Grammar.
(c) Strunk and White's Elements of Style.
(d) Prentice-Hall Handbook of Grammar.

11. In the chapter, Toolbox, what advice does King give the reader?
(a) Writers need their own toolbox to be successful.
(b) Writers need to have outlets other than writing.
(c) Writers should always be prepared.
(d) Writers should carefully prepare their tools before beginning to write.

12. According to King, what three things are the bases of all stories?
(a) Dialogue, theme, and description.
(b) Narration, dialogue, and description.
(c) Narration, dialogue, and characterization.
(d) Characterization, dialogue and theme.

13. On certain occasions, King believes that grammar rules _________ .
(a) Can be ignored.
(b) May be played with.
(c) Can be explained casually to the reader.
(d) Should be discussed between characters.

14. What does King's uncle take with him when he works?
(a) Only a couple of his favorite tools.
(b) Usually his screwdriver, a hammer, a few nails and screws.
(c) His entire toolbox.
(d) The specific tools needed for the job.

15. What does King's uncle use from the toolbox?
(a) Several tools.
(b) A screwdriver and a hammer.
(c) A hammer and some nails.
(d) Only a screwdriver.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is unusual about the character Annie Wilkes?

2. What action does King believe a writer should take with respect to grammar?

3. However, King does believe _______ to be essential to a writer's vocabulary.

4. According to King, what characteristic should a writer's space have?

5. What kind of material should a writer read in order to learn the most from his reading?

(see the answer keys)

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