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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. Which punctuation mark does the speaker say is the "staple of familial punctuation"(1)?

2. What shape symbolizes the silence mark?

3. What symbol represents the pedal point?

4. What was the speaker's grandmother listening to in the car in the example he uses of the unxclamation point?

5. What symbol denotes the extraexclamation point?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the speaker's father engage with the angry man in the example he uses of the extra exclamation points?

2. What is the extraunxclamation points? What does the speaker think of them?

3. How does the speaker describe his relationships with women?

4. What conversation does the speaker use to exemplify the silence mark? To whom is he speaking? What is the subject of their conversation?

5. How did the exchange between the speaker's father and the stranger end? What conclusion did the father come to in regards to his handling of the situation?

6. Which member of the family uses the pedal point most with the speaker? Why?

7. What do we learn of the speaker's family health history in the first paragraph? Describe the context.

8. Who is yelling at the speaker's father and why in the example he uses of the extraexclamation points?

9. What symbol represents the pedal point? What does it mean? How is it different from an ellipses or dash?

10. What do readers learn of the grandmother's life in the first paragraph? Describe the context.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing narrative voice in Foer of "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease." Include thoughts on how the narrative voice of the story is effective in conveying the story’s themes.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Foer's language style and word choice in "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease." What are some words or phrases that stand out to you and why? What words or phrases are repeated? What words or phrases are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the speaker's depression in Foer's "A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease."

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