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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. What does the main character in the novel Skinny need to write while at fat camp, as noted in the essay "Reaching for Catharsis"?

2. In the essay "The Trouble with Prince Charming," what teenage book series does Gay mention is a modern day fairytale?

3. In the essay "A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories," a son of a lesbian couple testifies in their defense. In what state did that couple live?

4. What is the name of the Garret Keizer book that Gay references in "A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories"?

5. According to the essay "How We All Love," what percent of the 535 seats in the 113th Congress do women represent?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the essay "A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories," what does Gay say that people like, in this information age?

2. In the essay "Garish, Glorious Spectacles," Gay references the novel Play It as It Lays and introduces the female protagonist Maria. How does Maria relate her experience of motherhood?

3. At the end of the essay "Dear Young Ladies Who Love Chris Brown," what does Gay say to the ladies?

4. In "Feel Me. See Me. Hear Me. Reach Me.," what is the primary lesson Gay learns from advising students?

5. According the essay "Reaching for Catharsis," what is a major benefit that a "fat" person has in terms of emotionally healing?

6. In "Typical First Year Professor," how does Gay want her students to respond to her?

7. In the essay "How to Be Friends with Another Woman," what is the first and most fundamental rule Gay states?

8. In the essay "Not Here to Make Friends," how does Gay define "likeability"?

9. In the essay "Blurred Lines, Indeed," Gay has mixed feelings about female rape victims telling their stories. What does she predict will happen?

10. When Gay reflects on the book by Jennifer Pozner in her essay "Garish, Glorious Spectacles," how does she say women are portrayed in reality television?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing positive and negative societal ramifications of traditional journalism and social media. Include examples from the text and counter arguments/claims in your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing the author, Gay's, narrative tone and writing style. Use specific examples from the essays and essay titles as evidence for your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Most of the essays entail both personal experience and external evidence. Write an essay analyzing the author's choices to balance personal and societal information in the collection. How does her inclusion of both affect the narrative tone?

(see the answer keys)

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